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
ennetours
05/12/2022

Fantastic guide is Roberto! We enjoyed everything. A very mixed dayfull tour wiith fun, adventure nature and a lot more. Perfect!!!! Thank you for this amazing day Norberto!

ennetours
28/11/2022

Norberto ist ein klasse Guide und wir hatten viel Spass auf der Tour, trotz des Regens. Alles hat perfekt geklappt und war gut organisiert. Da die Tour Ende November stattfand, gab es kaum Touristen, was sehr gut war. Auch das Mittagessen war sehr lecker.

ennetours
27/11/2022

The whole experience was great. The bridge and walk along the river was magical. We had a wonderful lunch mid-day and then on to Aviero for a walk around town and then a boat ride, finishing in Costa Nova. Norberto made us feel welcome. Highly recommend.

ennetours
27/11/2022

Nous avons passé une magnifique journée. Notre guide, Ricardo, a été super à l’écoute. Il a répondu à l’ensemble de nos questions. Il est un excellent guide 🙂

24/11/2022

Norberto offers an absolutely fantastic experience. Despite the rain, we saw an amazing amount of sights, perfectly timed and in a leisurely manner. I was a bit concerned beforehand about the walkways, but don’t worry, it is basically all downhill! Norberto thoroughly explained how long the hike was and even offered to stop in the middle for those who might need it. The bridge was very cool and we even got to see some old houses constructed out of stone. All before the delicious local lunch! The cozy restaurant truly served all we could eat and drink. Afterwards, we explored Aveiro and took a fun and interesting boat trip before checking out the striped houses and returning home. Norberto is an avid traveler with loads of great stories about Portugal and abroad. He set a wonderful tone for the trip and we made lots of new friends. Before we booked this trip, we looked into several different options to see some of the sights and Norberto offers the best experience by far. I highly recommend it, even in the rain!!

21/11/2022

The bridges, hiking, boat ride, and villages were great, but tour guide Ricardo is what makes this experience, well, an experience. He lives in the area and gives a first-hand account of how people live, which is something you really couldn’t get any other way. Our group asked all sorts of questions that might have seemed silly (“What kind of coffee should I order if I like it this way?”), and he answered them all kindly. This was a terrific experience!

ennetours
20/11/2022

Ricardo was a lovely guide and host, ensuring we knew how long each visit would be and the various options we’d have as it is a lot of walking. The suspension bridge alone is worth the visit, truly magical.

ennetours
20/11/2022

Ricardo ist ein super netter Reiseführer und hat uns gut durch den Tag gebracht! Zuerst ging es per Kleinbus auf Schleichwegen zur Arouca Brücke, die wir dann überquert haben. Dann machten wir uns an den Abstieg über die Paiva-Wege – ca. 500 bis 600 Stufen bergab. Nach 4km auf Holzbohlen kam dann die erste Möglichkeit, abzukürzen. Wer wollte, konnte noch weitere 4 km entlang des Flusses wandern. Alles in allem erwarten einen ca. 6 bis 700 Stufen, man sollte auf jeden Fall gutes Schuhwerk tragen. Mittags gab es ein landestypisches Essen in Arouca – sehr lecker und familiär. Nach Aveiro war es auch noch einmal ca. 30 bis 40 min Fahrt. Der Ort ist hübsch, die Brücken mit den Bändern sind fotogen. Die Fahrt auf den Kanälen mit dem Boot war sehr informativ und unterhaltsam. Auf dem Rückweg noch ein Abstecher zu bunten Häusern am Strand, leider war es schon relativ spät und daher relativ dunkel. . Alles in allem ein toller Tag und absolut empfehlenswert.

18/11/2022

I had a wonderful time on this experience. I was really lucky in the group of people that I went with, and they made the experience. There were 8 of us, and Ricardo was absolutely fantastic! He was so accommodating and patient with us as we asked questions about the area or needed a bathroom break. He provided us with umbrellas and ponchos as it was pouring during our hike. The weather was gross, and we got drenched. But it was still a lovely hike, and we were actually the only people on the trail that day because of the weather. I do wish we had a bit more time to explore in Averio and the coastal town, but many places were shut down in the off season anyway so no big loss. The group really made the experience, and we ended up going for dinner afterwards and brunch the following day!
Ricardo was amazing! Thank you!

ennetours
18/11/2022

Nous avons passé une journée exceptionnelle! La prise en charge super! Et le guide était génial! Il nous traduisait tout en français! Les visites fidèles à la description du programme! Le repas dans un petit restaurant était tres bon! Merci pour cette belle journée! Merci à notre guide!

ennetours
16/11/2022

Ricardo the GREAT!
Great walk with a fabulous guide. Ricardo was so accommodating to our meeting point…offering many
reasonable options. Once on the tour, he offered so much insight and personal knowledge, tips, and
recommendations. I HIGHLY recommend this trip and Ricardo in particular.

ennetours
13/11/2022

Excellente journée! Les paysages sont magnifiques, la passerelle est impressionnante et Ricardo notre guide est très sympathique! Très bon restaurant à midi également. Merci encore!

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