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Aveiro and Costa Nova Half Day Private Tour: Explore 'Venice of Portugal' and Scenic Costa Nova
4.8
102 Ratings
Porto
Discover the enchanting ‘Venice of Portugal’ and the scenic Costa Nova on a half-day private tour. Explore Aveiro’s canals, try traditional pastries, and take a boat ride. Expert guide included!
Discover the enchanting ‘Venice of Portugal’ and the scenic Costa Nova on a half-day private tour. Explore Aveiro’s canals, try traditional pastries, and take a boat ride. Expert guide included!
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Porto - An expert guide will pick you up from your hotel, accommodation, or designated meeting point and take you to Aveiro and Costa Nova. During the journey to Aveiro, the guide will share insights into Portuguese history, development, and cultural heritage.
- Costa Nova - The first stop is Costa Nova do Prado beach, commonly known as Costa…
- Porto - An expert guide will pick you up from your hotel, accommodation, or designated meeting point and take you to Aveiro and Costa Nova. During the journey to Aveiro, the guide will share insights into Portuguese history, development, and cultural heritage.
- Costa Nova - The first stop is Costa Nova do Prado beach, commonly known as Costa Nova. The most charming feature of Costa Nova is its coastal road lined with wooden huts painted in vibrant stripes alternating with white. Originally built by fishermen as shelters and equipment storage, these huts have been transformed into unique holiday homes.
- Ria de Aveiro - Enjoy a cruise on Aveiro’s stunning canals aboard a classic Moliceiro (traditional boat). Relax and take in the scenery on this traditional vessel, which was once used for collecting seagrass in the lagoon.
- Aveiro - Known as the capital of the Ria, a vast lagoon where the freshwater of the River Vouga meets the sea, Aveiro is crisscrossed by canals, genuine water streets, where the brightly colored boats called barcos moliceiros glide by. Founded during the reign of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Aveiro is now one of the most fascinating cities on the Portuguese coast. Explore the history of this beautiful city and savor the traditional pastry, “Ovos Moles.”
What's Included
- Porto City Walking Tour
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Driver/guide
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- Traditional ‘Moliceiro’ boat ride
- Porto City Walking Tour
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Driver/guide
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- Traditional ‘Moliceiro’ boat ride
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
Additional Information
This 4-hour private tour offers you the chance to explore the charming towns of Aveiro and Costa Nova. Often referred to as the “Venice of Portugal,” Aveiro boasts picturesque canals, while Costa Nova is famous for its colorful striped houses.
The tour includes a 45-minute boat ride on a traditional Moliceiro boat. Throughout the tour, your professional…
This 4-hour private tour offers you the chance to explore the charming towns of Aveiro and Costa Nova. Often referred to as the “Venice of Portugal,” Aveiro boasts picturesque canals, while Costa Nova is famous for its colorful striped houses.
The tour includes a 45-minute boat ride on a traditional Moliceiro boat. Throughout the tour, your professional driver/guide will provide insightful commentary, highlighting important landmarks and sharing interesting details about this quaint northern Portuguese city. You’ll also have the opportunity to taste the local delicacies, “Ovos Moles” and “Tripa de Aveiro,” which are must-try traditional pastries.
Discover the hidden gems of Aveiro and Costa Nova with the expertise of your knowledgeable guide on this half-day private tour. There’s so much more to learn and experience in these beautiful towns!
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- We pick up from any hotel in Porto or Gaia city center. In alternative, we can collect you from the Tourist Service/Living Tours located at Rua Mouzinho da Silveira, 350, Porto - next to Porto - São Bento train station.
- Activity duration may vary due to traffic; avoid scheduling other plans immediately afterward.
- Discover Porto in a unique way with a Free Walking Tour with Living Tours, available to all customers who book this activity. Our Free Walking Tour is available on a daily basis, in English and Spanish, at 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. departing from Living Tours Agency located in Rua Mouzinho da Silveira 352, 4050-418 Porto
- Itinerary might be amended in case of need
Location
Porto
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(102 Ratings)
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Tatiana_k
Nov 5, 2025
Must do when visiting Porto - If you’re traveling in the north of Portugal, visiting Aveiro is an absolute must. This charming small city has such a unique character, full of delightful discoveries. Its historical streets and beautifully preserved Art Nouveau buildings make walking through the city an experience in itself.
Our guide, Alex, was knowledgeable and attentive. The Moliceiro boat trip was a lovely way to see Aveiro from the water.
After exploring the city, it was refreshing to head to Costa Nova. The village by the ocean has a calm, slightly nostalgic feel, especially outside the high season. The iconic colorful striped houses are even more charming in person and definitely worth the visit.
This day added warmth, beauty, and a touch of magic to our vacation. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Viator
Y4067clpamb
Sep 16, 2025
Very good but too short. - We toured with Rafael, we enjoyed his explanation as we traveled. It would have been nice to have more time in both towns. Each town was very unique but 20 minutes was just not enough time in each one. I would have paid more so we could have had more time.
Thank you…Pam and Mike
Review provided by Tripadvisor
421allisonf
Aug 24, 2025
Great way to explore Portugal - Diego was a great guide! This was a nice way to see more or Portugal while staying in Porto. There is not a ton of time at the stops so maybe check in advance if there is something you really want to do
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Muratc1075
Aug 17, 2025
Living tours - Aveiro with Anabela & Paulo - Anabela & Paulo !!!
Great People,
Paulo (the driver) is kind, helpfull has allways a smile to share.
Anabela is also Kind and helpful,
She gives proper Informations about history and also a few hints, you may not get so easily over google
Review provided by Tripadvisor
128janetm
Jun 21, 2025
Lovely half day trip from Porto to Costa Nova and Aveiro. - We first visited the pretty area of Costa Nova with the striped houses overlooking the lagoon or the beach depending which way they were facing. The beach had lots of restaurants and was not crowded
We then went to Aveiro which was also lovely with art deco buildings and canals. We had a 45 minute canal tour which was interesting but a little disjointed as the lady guide had to speak in 3 languages because of the mix of nationalities.
Jose, our guide bought us some traditional Portuguese sweets from the area which were delicious. He then took us on a small walking tour through Aveiro and also took us to see the station.
A very enjoyable experience and thank you Jose for recommending and booking Ze Bota in Porto it was excellent!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Navigate63024851601
May 31, 2025
Enjoyable private tour - Alexander was a fantastic guide. Very knowledgeable about all the local history. His English was fantastic. Would love to have little more time at each stop but only booked 1/2 day. A+
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Janeta2016
Feb 19, 2025
Relaxing half day trip near Porto. - Louis was a wonderful, knowledgeable guide. The trip to two other towns near Porto was relaxing and interesting making it a nice activity for a change of pace. The canals in Aviero aren’t spectacular but we enjoyed it and had a very good guide on the boat also.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Emily_t
Jan 30, 2025
Great way to explore Aveiro and Costa Nova - This was our second tour in 2 days with Jose C. as our guide. The tour was wonderful. Despite the rain during the cruise - Alex, the guide on the cruise, was friendly and entertaining. Jose showed us around Aveiro and Costa Nova and he was kind, patient, and very knowledgeable.
Review provided by Viator
Sandradd3898hu
May 23, 2025
Insufficient tour - Beautiful places but... were not respected the times provided by the 'itinerary... 20 minutes costs nova instead of 30... the guide not very nice and sincerely tone of voice too low to hear the history of the various places visited. Return not to established location
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trovan22
Aug 14, 2025
A day to forget - On the way back to Porto (from Costa Nova) the coach left without us. We were given a meeting time that was absolutely not respected. In fact, the departure was supposed to be at 12.45, but in fact arrived there (five minutes before) there was already no one. To which, suspiciously, we called Customer Service asking for our guide’s number (to ask again if we had the wrong meeting place) but not only did they not want to give it to us, but they also tell us that they already knew everything and that the bus had waited 20 minutes before leaving. Unlikely given we were at the bar opposite the place of the “alleged” meeting, but we did not see our bus.
In any case, even if we had misunderstood the time (which is very unlikely), such a Service should at least require a telephone number of the person making the reservation, to avoid unpleasant situations like these.
Among other things, we must also say that the day started badly because about 15km from port the bus had a breakdown and we were forced to wait for another (half an hour) to pick us up in the middle of a state road.
So I strongly advise against this company because it was really embarrassing, not worth a euro of what we paid.
You're embarrassing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
