Aveiro & Costa Nova Day Trips from Porto: The 8 Best Tours

1.Traditional Moliceiro Boat Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 3,443 reviews · 45 min · from $16Our pick

Cruise Aveiro’s canals aboard a traditional Moliceiro with a live guide in English, Portuguese, Spanish, or French. You’ll pass Rossio Garden, the old port captaincy, the former brick-factory canal, and the Canal das Pirâmides, where summer salt pyramids add local color. Guides such as Ricardo, Soraia, and Mariana bring history and humor to this short city tour.

“I like it in general, it was very entertaining and interesting”

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2.Aveiro and Costa Nova Half Day Tour from Porto with Boat Ride

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 1,522 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $55

Ride from Porto to Aveiro and Costa Nova in a small group, hear Portuguese history from your guide, cruise the canals in a traditional moliceiro boat, sample Ovos Moles, and photograph Costa Nova’s striped fishing huts. Guides may include Helder, Maria, Carlos, or Diego. Expect about four hours, with limited time ashore.

“The tour was great and Franco did a great job explaining everything in Spanish and in English he was very friendly. The boat in Aveiro was great also and the guy who did the tour was so funny. We have a good time. We recommend this tour to everyone who goes to Porto.”

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3.Scenic Guided Boat Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 1,047 reviews · from $17

Board a mint-blue Moliceiro boat in central Aveiro for a 45-minute guided cruise through the Central Canal, Canal do Côjo, Canal das Pirâmides, and Canal de São Roque. Your guide may include Dora or Michelangelo, both praised for lively multilingual commentary. Expect salt flats, Art Nouveau buildings, the Fishermen’s Quarter, and the old Jerónimo Pereira Campos ceramic factory.

“not really much to do in Aveiro and this was probably the highlight. A small 40min tour round the Canals. Not much to see but not a bad way to break up the morning. the guide was funny (Michelangelo) ... impressed he spoke four fluent languages and was a good host.”

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4.Half-Day Tour from Porto with Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 963 reviews · from $52

From Porto’s São Bento area, you’ll ride by minivan to Aveiro, walk through the old center, take a 45-minute moliceiro cruise, and visit Costa Nova. Guides such as Rafael, José, André, and Paulo have been praised for clear explanations and good humor, though the tight schedule leaves little time for food or longer walks.

“A really enjoyable morning! We’d read about Aveiro back in the UK as “The Venice of Portugal” and it’s lovely! A well planned morning with Rafael as our guide and Gandra as our driver. Just one tip - when you collect your tickets remember to ask where to board the bus as it’s round the corner from the ticket office!”

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5.Aveiro, Paiva Walkways and Arouca 516 Footbridge

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 957 reviews · from $142

Spend 10.5 hours with a small group of up to eight, crossing the Arouca 516 Footbridge and walking 5km downhill along the Paiva Walkways. Your English-speaking guide, often Dani, Tomas, Mauro, or Philip, also leads you to Costa Nova and Aveiro, with lunch and an Aveiro canal boat ride included.

“It was a great trip, the best of all the five we had from Porto. Beautiful views, enough time everywhere. Lunch was delicious and plentiful. But the best was our guide Tomas, already on the first trip to Arouca he told us much more about Portugal than the other guides on the other trips put together. He was very polite, always helpful and answered any questions, he is very committed to his job. Thank you very much!”

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6.Porto to Lisbon Up to 4 Stops: Aveiro, Nazare, Fatima & Obidos

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 810 reviews · 4 to 10 hours (approx.) · from $287Top rated

Travel privately from Porto to Lisbon in a comfortable Mercedes with your luggage onboard and up to four sightseeing stops. Choose Aveiro’s canals, Nazaré’s Atlantic coast, Fátima’s sanctuary, and Óbidos’s medieval walls. Guides such as Alfredo, Tiago, Nuno, and Ricardo tailor the day, suggest lunch, and help you make the most of limited time.

“I enjoyed this excursion. I modified the locations to visit as I had been to several of the options prior. The tour operator was very accommodating with my request. Teresa, my guide was so sweet and kind. We stopped at locations that I was interested in seeing, she offered a recommendation for a great location for lunch in Nazare and made a reservation in advance to ensure I had a table. This was a great way to get from Porto to Lisboa and see additional towns along the way. Highly recommend.”

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7.Traditional Moliceiro Boat Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 797 reviews · 45 min · from $15Best value

Spend 45 minutes on a traditional moliceiro boat from Largo do Jardim do Rossio. A live guide, sometimes including Rui, Ines, Aldrin, or Alex, explains Aveiro in Spanish, English, French, or Portuguese as you pass Art Nouveau buildings, salt pans, Beira-Mar, the Fish Market, and a ceramics factory. A typical Aveiro treat is included.

“Friendly operators, convenient location, excellent and knowledgeable on board guide, whose English, needless to say, was impeccable.”

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8.Aveiro, Paiva Walkways, Suspension Bridge and Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 434 reviews · 9 hours (approx.) · from $130

Spend nine hours with a small group of up to eight, crossing the Arouca 516 Bridge, walking the Paiva Walkways, eating a traditional lunch in Arouca, and visiting Aveiro and Costa Nova. Guides such as João, Dani, and Tomas lead the day. Expect steep steps, winding roads, and a full but varied schedule.

“I think our guide was Dani. He was so fun and friendly and made it a great day. They pivoted the suspension bridge vs the walkway and he was open and honest about everything. Comfortable drive, great service, fun activities, good free time to do things and the lunch was really nice in a restaurant that service excellent fish. No complaints. An excellent way to visit 3 sites if short on time.”

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