A Day in Oporto lazing about on the River

On my last cruise in March, one of the ports of call was Oporto – known as the city of bridges and is the second largest city in Northern Portugal. We had decided in advance that we didn’t want to do any of the excursions the ship provide, so decided to explore Oporto independently.

P&O ran a complimentary shuttle bus from the port to the city as it was approx. 30 mins drive away and the drop off place was Cordoria Square . Before we boarded we had done a little research and found there were companies in Oporto that were offering boat trips to see the famous 6 bridges along the river Duoro for just 12.50 Euros per person, so as it was a lovely day we decided this was what we were going to do. so disembarking from where the bus dropped us off, we knew we had to head towards the river which was downhill. Oporto itself is very hilly and a word of advice – remember what goes down the hill has to come back up them.

We found the kiosk on the quayside and had just made it in time to take the 10am boat trip (they do run every half an hour). The boat we had did have an indoor and outdoor seating area and as it was a lovely sunny morning we opted to sit outdoors. The boat did have commentary in English explaining about the bridges but unfortunately sitting outside did mean we couldn’t hear a great deal of what was being said. The tour was an hour long and we first went up the river and then came back down to the entrance of where the sea met the river before coming back to the beginning. We did pass some of the River cruise boats such as Ama Waterways and Viking, who were all berthed along the river.

We then walked along the harbour front where there was lots of little market stalls set up selling souvenirs such as tea towels for just 1 euro e ach. We then headed back up the hill and stopped for a drink in a café on Praça da Liberdade, before heading back to the bus to take us back to the ship.

What have you done when on a day trip to Oporto?

Have a great couple of weeks and I am now on countdown to join the largest ship in the world – just 18 days until I get to experience Harmony of the Seas

Kerry

xx