Our third tour with Pedro and another amazing adventure. Again started our day in a pastry shop with coffee and local treats and walking in the steps across the pilgrimage bridge. Next a drive to the beautiful Mateus Palace, gardens and fruit trees and grape vines. Next to a family owned winery for a fabulous lunch. Since this was our third tour with Pedro, I think he made sure all our lunches had been very different and yet all local dishes and no shortage of drinks. Even though Pedro is well versed in everything we saw, he still had us on every tour with an expert for the full information. We learned so much on each tour with Pedro while having such wonderful days and not having to worry how to get here or what we should order, he just took care of everything and let us enjoy ourselves. I think he might have even relaxed with us on the Rabelo boat tour. Again never rushing us or on such a strict schedule that it felt like we were going to work. We have been on many tours small and large and everything in between and I can truly say Pedro is a gem. Thank you for making our holiday perfect.

If you are looking for a Douro Valley tour that isn't JUST the Douro Valley ie. not just vineyards/quintas and wine tastings and a river cruise, this is the one! In fact, this is the BEST Douro tour you are going to find for the price have I tried them all? No, this is the only one... but I know you will not find better, because we searched and searched, and it doesn't get any better than this, especially for the price!

We wanted to see the valley and do some wine tasting, but we also like variety. When I saw the pictures of the historical and beautiful Amarante and the opulent Mateus Palace and gardens -- and then I saw the affordable pricetag -- I knew this was the tour for us.

1 It was billed as a small tour but what we actually got was a personal private tour! we would have been fine with up to the 5 or so people that the very nice and comfortable Mercedes van accommodates, but being a private tour for the 2 of us was an unexpected bonus! I can't guarantee this will be the case, but even if not it would be a very small group...

2 Communication was good -- it was nice that Pedro checked in with us the day before to remind us he was coming and when/where to be.

3 Pedro speaks English very well in addition to some other languages, and has a very amicable personality and a good sense of humor. In addition, he took photos on his own camera no need for selfies! and sent them to us.

4 The route we took, the time we spent, and the sights seen were a perfect choice. We like churches/cathedrals, historical sites, architecture, landscapes/scenery, good food and good wine... and this tour includes all of the above! It's the ONLY Douro tour I was able to find that included all of these things... in addition to a river cruise which my wife was apprehensive about, since she gets seasick -- but it wasn't a problem on the motored boat on the flat Douro river very enjoyable one hour cruise, in addition to everything else!

5 We got to learn a lot about and try a lot of Portuguese food, including local pastries and coffee for breakfast, as well as a MASSIVE and tasty lunch of pork, sausages, bacalhau fritters, soup, and boiled beef and vegetables for lunch at the nice Avessada winery. It was a LOT of food and seemingly as much red and white wine as you wanted to drink... all of the above was included in the cost of the tour, and in fact we did not need to eat for the rest of the day or even until lunch the next day! because we were so full...

Overall, this tour both met and exceeded our expectations. As long as the price remains reasonable, I suggest you book this one without hesitation... as soon as I saw the listing, after searching through dozens, I booked it immediately because I knew this was the one, and I wasn't wrong