Travel Note
You will need a passport that does not expire for at least 6 months after the date of departure. U.S. citizens may enter Portugal for up to 90 days for tourist or business purposes without a visa. When in Portugal, transportation, food, and alcohol are generally reasonably priced. Please be sure to check out our FAQ section for updates related to COVID travel or view current information here: https://pt.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/
Flight
Oporto (Porto) International Airport, traditionally called Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport, is the closest international airport to the Douro Valley. Located approximately 1.5 hours from Pinhão. Our Uber from the Porto airport to our hotel in the heart of downtown Porto was about 20 euros. Lisbon International Airport is approximately 4 hours south of the Douro Valley.
Train
From Porto: You can take Linha do Douro (the Porto to Douro Railway). The train departs from Sao Bento train station in central Porto. Sao Bento train station is a tourist destination in its own right due to the famous blue azulejos (tiles). You will want to purchase a single-ticket ride from Sao Bento to Pocinho and get off at the Pinhao stop. A single ticket to Pinhão costs about €12,00 and the ride is about 2.5 hours. We recommend sitting on the right side of the train for the best river views on the way to Pinaho! See this article from Condé Nast Traveller to read more about what makes this train journey so special: https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/train-journeys-through-europe From Lisbon: You can take a train from Lisbon --> Porto --> Pinhão There are multiple train stations in Lisbon (Lisboa) with trains departing for Porto. The ride is roughly 3-3.5 hours depending on which route you take and costs approximately €25 - €30.
Hotel
This is where the wedding ceremony & reception will be taking place. Located centrally in Pinhão and nearby to the oldest Port maker in the Douro, Croft Vineyards, the hotel has 50 rooms, accommodating up to 130 people in total. We have booked out the entire hotel for the weekend of our wedding as there are somewhat limited accommodation options in Pinhão. Additionally, we will be hosting a variety of other events throughout the weekend and would love to see you poolside! TO BOOK THE HOTEL, email the hotel your completed booking form (available here by copying and pasting this link into your browser search bar https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oaW-07mLWUSPKIe6O0-LqpSawpqzWM-t to events@vintagehousehotel.com.
Hotel
A Porto hotel that was recommended by our wedding planner. We stayed here to test it out on our last trip to Portugal. It is roughly a 12-minute walk to the Sao Bento train station. Warning: though the walk to the train station is downhill it is over cobblestones and does involve some stairs so keep that in mind depending on how much luggage you have (we managed with our two suitcases and carry-ons but might not be feasible to walk for everyone).
Hotel
Another recommendation from our planner. We've stayed at multiple NH properties in Portgual and have always been pleased. This location is about an 8-minute walk to the train station (also downhill but over cobblestone).