All year round
Dates
4 / 10
Physicality
+/- 9 Hours
Duration
6+
Age
Aveiro, Paiva
Location

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In this tour, the walk difficulty level is easy/medium! You`ll walk only 5km and downstream!

Short description: You`ll go across one of the longest suspension bridges of the world and walk one of the most beautiful trails: The Paiva Walkways! Visit one of the highlights of Portugal: Costa Nova, and Aveiro, the Portuguese Venice!

We leave from Porto towards Arouca town where we will stop shortly for bathrooms and coffee.

After a short drive, we`ll arrive at the Walkways and go across the Suspension Bridge! It spans 516 meters-long across the valley and hangs 175m above the Paiva river!

Notice: crossing the bridge is not mandatory. You have the option to skip it.

Then, you`ll walk the Paiva Walkways downhill in a total length of 5km over a wooden boardwalk zig-zagging along the left bank of the river. Trail Areinho-Vau.

The walk will be followed by another highlight of our day: lunch! (fish and vegetarian options also available)

After a power nap in the van, we`ll arrive to Costa Nova! Costa Nova is one of the highlights of Portugal – a beautiful fishing village known for its striped colorful houses!

Time to enjoy Aveiro, also known as the “Portuguese Venice”! Discover the city center on a short walk, enjoy some free time and relax on a boat trip to see the charming city through the canals!

Finish the day back in Porto.

PICK UP/DROP OFF At meeting point: Calçada da Vandoma, next to Estátua de Vimara Peres (cathedral)
START AT / END 8:00 am / 6:30 pm (approx)
INCLUDED
Pick up/drop off at Calçada da Vandoma (cathedral)

Transport by top class minivan (8 people)

Paiva Walkways and Suspension Bridge tickets

Traditional lunch (roasted veal)

Visit to Costa Nova and Boat ride at Aveiro canals

NOT INCLUDED
Personal expenses
Gratuities (optional)

Any service that is not clearly specified in the inclusions

book here

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Detailed itinerary

  • Meet at the meeting point: Calçada da Vandoma, next to Estátua de Vimara Peres – (Horse statue at Porto Cathedral);
  • The Paiva Walkways;
  • The Arouca 516 Footbridge (optional)
  • Traditional lunch at Arouca;
  • Visit to cost Nova
  • Drive to Aveiro;
  • City center and fish market;
  • Boat ride at the Aveiro canals.

Return to Porto.

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End of the Tour


The paiva walkways
people hiking at the paiva walkways
arouca 516 bridge
Arouca 516
the paiva walkways stairway and river
the paiva walkways along the river paiva
Art Nouveau buildings in aveiro and the moliceiros boats
Aveiro canals
Aveiro tour

Tour Reviews

4.95 based on 693 reviews
13/07/2021

Amazing experience!
Norberto is a great guide. He is very communicative, riding with him was a great experience. He explained everything to us. Paiva walkways is amazing. Beautiful nature, peace and quiet everywhere, beautiful photos. Ponte 516 Arouca was an interesting experience. Aveiro was also interesting along with the cruise. We really liked it. Thank you for a great trip.

10/07/2021

“DO NOT HESITATE !! Do it !!! It was a great day. A very nice experience. Crossing the suspension bridge is impressive, the walk of 8km is nice, close to the nature. Just make sure to have a hat, enough water and put good sun cream on. The food was just delicious. Simple, traditionnal, & very tasty. It’s a.big meal and you really enjoy it after the “sportive” morning. The afternoon is more relax, full of colors. We loved the friendship bridge (little surprise of Norberto over there). We also tasted those sweet eggs. Ok I will not eat those everyday but it was fun tasting. This day was a very great. We did a lot. Norberto picked us up at our renting place. He was perfectly on time. the car was very confortable with airco. Thanks again to Norberto. Super expérience. Elle en vaut vraiment la peine. Norberto est venu nous chercher à notre appart’ pile à l’heure. Super traversée du pont, impressionnant. La descente de 8km est une vraie communion avec la nature, surtout qu’il n’y avait pas bcp de touristes. Attention on n’oublie pas casquette, bonnes baskets, crème solaire car ça cogne et de l’eau. Le repas de midi était excellent. Traditionnel, simple et copieux. La viste d’Aveiro était sympa, surtout la petite attention de Norberto au pont de l’amitié. La dégustation des oeufs sucrés nous a laissé un souvenir marrant. Mes filles de 14 et a7 ans ont vraiment aimé cette journée. Très bon rapport qualité prix. Norberto est quelqu’un de très sympathique et prévenant. So JUST DO IT”

09/07/2021

Excepcional,. el trayecto, las visitas, el paseo en barco por los canales, el top 10 con el puente colgante, pero sobretodo la calidez y humanidad de nuestro guia Norberto.

11/06/2021

Norberto is an excellent host who curated a wonderful and exciting experience for us. The sites we visited were stunning and varied so we had the chance to see a lot of different parts of the area. Norberto is an inspiring storyteller as well and made the journey fun and super enjoyable. Totally recommend it! Don’t miss it!

10/06/2021

So much more than I expected. Norberto is really personable and has amazing stories. The Arouca Bridge was incredible with amazing views. The Paiva Walkways are picturesque and then the beautiful city of Aveiro has many spots that are very ‘Instagramable’. Five stars.

09/06/2021

Norberto was great and looked after us all day while being really informative. Highly recommend booking through Norberto. The walk had lovely views and lots of steps.

06/06/2021

One of the best guided tours ever. Norberto was amazing. If you are looking for any guided in Northern Portugal, Norberto is the guy to go to.

06/06/2021

Fantastic day out with Norberto – everything perfect from pickup to drop off. Amazing views and experiences – would definitely recommend – 11 out of 10!

05/06/2021

Norberto is wonderful both as a driver and as a guide. He was very patient with all our (re)arrangement in these challenging time and always ready to help. We enjoyed the tour a lot and highly recommend.

03/06/2021

Spectacular tour with the really lovely Norberto who has experiences, stories, hospitality and patience in abundance.

27/05/2021

Brilliant trip by Norberto!
He picked us up from our hotel on time and was very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Dropped us off at the start of the Paiva walkway and was there to meet us at the end to take us to a traditional Portuguese restaurant for a lovely lunch. We were then driven to Aveiro for a walk around the town (with a market) and had a nice 45 minute trip on a ‘gondola’ before making our way on to our final stop for the day, Costa Nova, with its brightly painted fishermens cottages.

ennetours
26/11/2020

Peak experience!
Looking back, this was the highlight of my trip to Portugal last year. I was captivated by the image of the wooden boardwalk cantilevered over a river. A beautiful place, but the best thing about the tour is Norberto, who has such enthusiasm for his country’s culture, is funny, intelligent, and even a bit irreverent. Taking a tour when you are traveling solo is a great way to connect with people for a bit. This was a friendly group, and after Norberto walked us up the several hundred steps to the start of the trail, he headed back so that he could meet us with his van at the end of the trail. After the ascent, we strolled, mostly on a slight downslope; a very easy walk with convivial people. Afterwards we were taken for a wonderful lunch at a quality restaurant in a small town. The food was superb. Next, we went on a canal boat trip in Aveiro; the “Venice of Portugal.” Norberto cautioned us that it was nice, but to not expect Venice Italy. The guide on this boat trip was charming, informative, and had a tremendous warmth. The final stop was at a famous fishing village which has now become somewhat of a Instagram sensation. We stopped in a shop for a wonderful pastry, and then we headed back to Oporto. I am crazy about Portugal, and did many wonderful things on my two week trip there, but this was the peak experience. Now I am back in California with fond memories of this trip. I just bought a sailboat which I am naming “Obrigado.“ Thank you, Norberto, for this wonderful experience.

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