It was a time of pandemic, a time of war, and a time of uncertainty amongst those who valued bodily autonomy and followed fiscal markets. But it was not from a Dickens novel from yesteryear. It was in the Summer of 2022. There was so much chaos that in many ways we became accustomed to it. It faded into the background as a white noise playlist on Spotify. Sometimes you needed an escape from it. There were so many false dawns the last 2 years, that it became painfully obvious there wasn’t going to be a perfect time to travel internationally around the corner. So instead of biding our time, we followed the old axiom of “carpe diem.”

For a milestone birthday, we decided to explore Porto & the Duoro Valley for our first international trip in nearly 3 years. Fortuitous for us, the timing of our trip coincided with the Sao Joao festival in Porto! Despite being Portugal’s second largest city, Porto blends the old and the new well with a UNESCO worthy historic downtown along with Michelin level dining. And it’s strategic location at the mouth of the mighty Duoro river makes it the perfect starting point to explore the gorgeous and award-winning vineyards further upstream in the Duoro Valley. We would recommend at least 36 hours (1.5 days) in the city of Porto and at least an additional 24 hours (1 day) for the Duoro Valley itself. To be honest, we covered a massive amount of ground on this trip. But when you are fortunate enough to travel kid-less for a few days (the grandparents were watching our toddler), you better take advantage of that window. As a side note, we really enjoyed the beautiful vineyards and the meandering roads of the Duoro Valley so much that we wouldn’t have minded an extra day there to be honest. If you are headed to either Porto or the Duoro Valley, we are certain something in this post will appeal to you and perhaps make it onto your itinerary. So come explore with us.