We took a gamble with this trip as we had never been to Porto and knew very little about where we were staying. Thankfully the trip was amazing.
Yudith and Fernando were super helpful, offering local knowledge and support in getting around the city.
Their place in the little fishing village of Vila nova de Gaia was great. A friendly place amongst the natives with enough shops and restaurants for those wanting to self-cater, or not.
For those wanting to enjoy the sun more, A 2 minute drive down the road and you have the beach ‘Praia do Cabedelo’ a very clean and fairly quiet place which is where we spent half of our week enjoying sun, sea and sand.
A quick 10 min (and for only €5-6) Uber ride into the Porto and you have many things to do and see. We actually felt we needed a lot more than a week to see it all, as it’s a maze of streets filled with a great variety of shops amongst buildings of beautiful architecture.
As we traveled with my 10 year old daughter (needless to say architecture is not her thing) we wanted to make if fun for her too and booked the water park at Amarante. A 50 minute drive away, which we would recommend to those thinking of travelling with kids. However a little busy in August (due to summer Holliday) but with plenty of fun water rides to choose from and pools to cool of in. Also being set on the sloping banks of a river it was quite a beautiful picturesque spot.
We decided on day two to hire a car to get about. While the bus, Uber and taxi service is great, it did give us the convenience and freedom to go wherever we wanted, which was a blessing, travelling with a 10 year old.
In short - we couldn’t be happier with our Stay and the trip will most definitely live long in our memories!