Kayaking and Waterfall in Peneda-Gerês National Park from Porto
Description
Embrace your adventurous side outside the busy city of Oporto: join us on a day tour that combines kayaking, tasty food/wine, a beautiful waterfall, surrounded by mountain landscapes and amazing places to swim! The journey begins with a 4x4 pick-up at the pre-selected meeting point, joining a small group of like-minded adventurers. Start your day in the National Park with a beginner-friendly kayak experience on the serene Caniçada Lake (approx. 1h30m). Enjoy a morning of paddling with the magnificient landscapes as your background. Take a pit stop on a small sandy beach to swim, relax and try a stand-up paddleboard. Savour a traditional meal in a local and welcoming restaurant with fair, delicious food and vinho verde included. After lunch, we take a short walk to a magical waterfall —perfect for grounding yourself in nature or enjoying a refreshing swim.
Tour Options
Itinerary
* Morning Kayak activity surrounded by stunning mountain landscapes; * Swim and relax at the beaches of the Caniçada lake. Try Stand up paddle; * Throughout the day learn the cultural and traditional aspects of the villages in the park; * Enjoy a traditional meal in a local and welcoming restaurant with fair, flavoured, deliciou food and wine included; * Short walk - avg. 25 min each way - (easy/moderate level) - path to a hidden waterfall - perfect to swim in crystal clear water; * Supporting our active/participative environmental project at the National Park; *Amazing landscapes/viewpoints along the way.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Travel time 1h40 min: Porto > National Park / National Park > Porto
- Take in consideration that the land rover is a vintage car, built for the mountains but not for comfort- some parts of the ride can be uncomfortable.
- The kayak activity is apx. 1h30min.
- The path is downhill and uphill, terrain can be slippery and you might need to scramble over some rocks.
- Vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free options are available. Please advise at the time of booking if there are any specific dietary requirements/allergies.
- This activity is suitable for everyone from 5 to 75 years old.
- We send an email the day before the tour with the exact time for the meeting point - The meeting point time in Porto is between 8h00 and 8h30.
- Not recommended for travelers with knee problems
Reviews(286)
Elena, our tour guide, was fantastic--knowledgeable, helpful, great conversationalist, fun! The tour was beyond what we expected.
Wonderful trip to the Geres national park, with Miguel, an insightful, relaxed guide, who teaches and is a mindfulness coach, in addition to guiding. Trip was sold as a 4x4 Land Rover trip, but the company’s 3 vehicles were off the road so we used a VW instead, probably more comfortable TBH, but still a little disappointing. Around 2 hrs to get to kayaking point, which is on a river at edge of the park, with pedaloes, etc, it didn’t look very inspiring or like a national park, but 30 mins kayaking took us down river to a quieter spot to swim and try paddle boarding. Back to the minibus, and up into the real mountains, and a wonderful lunch of local food, served by a family run taverna, with great views and nice wine! Afternoon was taken up by a visit to see 2 waterfalls with the opportunity to swim in the second, and for those brave enough to squeeze through under the fallen rocks wedged beneath, climb up above and jump into the beautiful pool beneath! Overall a great day out in good company. Miguel was a thoughtful and friendly guide, interested in what everyone had to say.
We had a very nice day in Gerês National Park with Adriano. He told us a lot about the park. Both the kayak tour and the hike to the waterfall were hardly visited by tourists, making it a lovely day outside of the heavy tourism in Porto.
The kayaking and waterfall were truly beautiful, but the car was extremely uncomfortable the car at best fits four and they will cram as many as six people.
Dear Jason, Thank you for your feedback. We're happy to know you enjoyed the kayaking and the waterfall. On the other hand, we are sorry the vehicle wasn't as comfortable as expected. Our 4x4 vehicles are chosen for their ability to access remote areas of the National Park rather than for modern comfort, and we do our best to set expectations before the tour. We also encourage guests to rotate seats throughout the day so everyone can experience different seating positions. We appreciate your comments and will keep them in mind as we improve our experiences. Kind regards, Rafael Costa General Manager Oporto Adventure Tours
Miguel was our guide for the day, and he was simply excellent! There were only five people in our party which made it very nice and friendly giving everyone a chance to get to know each other. The weather probably played a big part in our enjoyment of the day, which started with us being picked up from Braga at about 9.30 and being dropped off at about 5.30. The setting for the kayaking was wonderful, we had plenty of time on the water. We also had a go at paddle-boarding. The lunch was substantial and they provided a special meal for vegetarians. We then went to an old but still in use olive press and then onto the waterfall. This was excellent, refreshing and a lovely experience having water falling on you. Throughout, Miguel was attentive and provided physical help (climbing up and down and showing us exactly where to step) which was much appreciated. He engaged us in just the right amount of conversation allowing us to look at the gorgeous scenery. I would say that Miguel made the day!
The tour is definitely recommended. GUI is a cool guy and really does a great job. He was considerate of the group. He knows the best spots in the national park. The tour has the perfect mix of hiking, kayaking, and swimming. The waterfalls are really amazing and the viewpoints are truly beautiful.
Taking this tour with Ines was well worth every dollar. She was very knowledgeable about Portugal in general, the sites we were visiting and the history of the land / people. The size of the tour group was perfect, just 7 people for a social but intimate experience in nature. It was a physically and mentally challenging day which was exactly what I needed in an adventure. Ines also adapted to the needs of the vary different types of people who were there. The national park was beautiful and the waterfall exceeded my expectations.
I would recommend the tour for everybody who would like to see the beauty of the portugiese nature. Diogo was the perfekt guide for the tour. You could feel the joy he had when he told us all about the animals and nature.
I liked our guide and the food included in the price was great. However, we did a very similar excursion in Lisbon area and it was half the price. I’m not sure the trip is worth the price tag, although it was very fun.
An absolutely amazing, relaxed day with Miguel our tour guide! Kayaking, opportunity to try stand up paddle boarding, swimming in the river and in a beautiful waterfall. Amazing traditional Portuguese lunch and plenty of photo stops. Miguel taught us so much about the history of the area and Portuguese history. A perfect way to experience the national park!
