Aveiro and Costa Nova: Private Tour with Moliceiro Cruise Half Day
Recommended by 95% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Porto, Portugal
- 4 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Venture away from the hustle and bustle of Porto and discover two nearby villages with a unique history. First, head to Costa Nova beach to see the colorful, wooden beach huts that hug the coast. Then, head to Aveiro, also known as the “Venice of Portugal,” to walk through the city and take a ride on a traditional moliceiro boat through the canals.
- Learn about Portuguese heritage from your guide
- Choose from a morning or afternoon tour time
- A private tour ensures a personalized experience
- Hassle-free transfers from your Porto accommodation
What's Included
- Driver/guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Transport by air-conditioned minivan
- Traditional "Moliceiro" boat ride
- Porto City Walking Tour (available from the day after your experience)
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
We pick up from any hotel in Porto city or Vila Nova de Gaia city. 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.
Itinerary
Porto (Pass By)
1
Costa Nova
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Ria de Aveiro
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Aveiro
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Infant seats available
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- 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
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 110 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Traveling with our driver and guide, Diogo, was an excellent experience. Our discussions on the way to Aveiro varied from past history of Aveiro and Costa Nova to modern day issues of Portuguese life.
Diogo was extremely knowledgeable and we learned quite a lot. The Aveiro stop included a canal tour, and yes as people say its not Venice, but Aveiro is small, quaint and that was just right. Our Canal guide Alex was courteous and intelligent.
A note: we left our souvenir photo in Diogo’s vehicle. But Living Tours reached out to Diogo, who located it and drove all the way back to our hotel and dropped it off for us.
Its the big things that make a tour good. But sometimes its the small things that make it great.
Thank you Diogo, Living tours and beautiful Aveiro. Now wherek’s that box of Ovos Moles???
Fred our tour guide was exceptional, he took the time to explain Porto, Aveiro and Costa Nova. He made the tour fun as well. Highly recommend this tour Aveiro was beautiful
This tour was a lovely way to spend an afternoon away from the bustle of Porto. Both locations were pretty. Our guide, Rui, was very helpful and we had great conversations with him about Portugal. He also was kind enough to give us recommendations for great meals in Porto.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Good afternoon from Living Tours,
We appreciate your feedback! We are very pleased to know that you enjoyed your experience with us.
Thank you for choosing Living Tours, and we hope to welcome you back soon!
Best regards,
Living Tours Team
Fred was our guide and very informative and engaging. He picked us up at the hotel and drove us to Aveiro. Fun time!
Response from Host, May 2026
Greetings from Living Tours,
Thank you very much for sharing your opinion regarding your experience with Living Tours and our team. We are happy you had a great time.
Thank you for your recommendation and we hope to see you again soon!
Best regards,
Living Tours Team
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!
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Good afternoon from Living Tours,
We appreciate your feedback! We are very pleased to know that you enjoyed your experience with us.
Thank you for choosing Living Tours, and we hope to welcome you back soon!
Best regards,
Living Tours Team
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.
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Good afternoon from Living Tours,
We appreciate your feedback! We are very pleased to know that you enjoyed your experience with us.
Thank you for choosing Living Tours, and we hope to welcome you back soon!
Best regards,
Living Tours Team
Our tour guide Fred was knowledgeable, engaging, and informative. Really spent time g3tting to know us, listened, and crafted an experience that made it a memorable trip.
Response from Host, Dec 2024
Greetings from Living Tours,
Thank you very much for sharing your opinion regarding your experience with Living Tours and our team. We are happy you had a great time.
Thank you for your recommendation and we hope to see you again soon!
Best regards,
Living Tours Team
We had a lovely day with Diego. He was very informative, and extremely safe driver, timed everything extremely well. And spoken impeccable English. Lovely, clean transportation, very comfortable
Ana was an excellent tour guide. She was prompt, knowledgeable, friendly, & courteous! Not only did she take us to Aviero & Costa Nova, she gave us insights into what it is like to live in Portugal. Aviero is a cute town & the boat ride was nice. The houses in Costa Nova were colorful. My husband & I both would highly recommend taking this tour with Ana!
Response from Host, Oct 2023
Greetings from Living Tours,
Dear Darlene,
We are delighted to hear about your experience on your Aveiro Private Tour in the company of our excellent guide Ana was pleasant for you and your husband! Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts and for also taking the time to recommend this tour, which makes us feel very proud of our effort to provide the best experience to our guests.
Kind regards,
Living Tours Team
I wasn't all that pleased with the actual ride on the Moliceiro, as I was expecting more of a private/smaller tour, and the ticket agent questioned our entry until intervention by our tour guide. Based on how it was advertised, I thought it would have been a smaller group, but we were lumped in with what appeared to be a public tour. But, it was sufficient to say we rode on a Moliceiro. The better part of the tour, which really was private, meaning just the tour guide and us, was very informative and enjoyable. Although I was prepared for it being a walking tour, I must have missed that in the fine print, as I didn't recall seeing that when booking, however, as it was more enjoyable to walk, as Joao was very attentive, and we were able to stop by the shops, the museum and take pictures without the distraction of a vehicle, parking and traffic. I just didn't remember seeing that it was a walking tour, so that must have been in the fine print. Notwithstanding, the tour company was very accommodating, and once we met up with the guide, we took a brief walking tour, went on the Moliceiro, and then Joao drove us out to Costa Nova. It was a wonderful day, the ride out to Costa Nova was nice, and the tour guide made all the difference, as he was welcoming, informative, detailed and Portugal patient! We couldn't have asked for a better guide. I believe his name was Joao. The vehicle was very nice, we were comfortable, had plenty of waters, and the parting gift was also a nice touch! I recommend Joao and Living Tours. They could just possibly use a different service for the Moliceiro Cruise. Be well!
Response from Host, Oct 2023
Greetings from Living Tours,
Dear Bartina,
Thank you very much for taking the time to share with us such a detailed and informative comment about your Aveiro Private Tour. We are delighted to know that, even though you didn't particularly enjoy your cruise through the Aveiro's canals in a traditional Moliceiro boat, you had a wonderful day out, with a nice tide to Costa Nova and the accommodating and informative company of our guide Jorge. We are looking forward to creating more pleasant memories that you can cherish in the years to come.
Best regards,
Living Tours Team
Long drive and boring destination. the guide was not very informative. The boat ride was through a concete canal with no good views. Very disappointing for the time spent.
Response from Host, Oct 2023
Greetings from Living Tours,
Dear Christopher,
Thank you very much for your comment concerning your Aveiro & Costa Nova Tour. We are sorry to know that your experience did not meet your expectations.
Aveiro has earned the name “Venice of Portugal” by the Portuguese since it’s the city in Portugal that most resembles Venice due to its scenic canals where you can cruise on a traditional “moliceiro” boat. We believe that the moliceiro ride provides you a distinctive way to feel and discover the city of Aveiro. Regarding Costa Nova, in addition to its beaches, it has a distinctive coastal landscape at a national level, full of small fishermen's houses with their typical colorful striped facades that, we believe, are well worth a visit. However, we regret that this was not your perception and that we are sad that you find both visits less enjoyable.
Concerning the time travel and our guide, we would like to thank you for bringing this situation to our attention - we will take your opinion into serious consideration. Nonetheless, we sincerely hope that you still had a good time on your visit.
Once again, we appreciate your opinion which is very important to us, as it helps us to improve our services daily.
Best regards,
Living Tours Team
Anna, our guide was truly amazing! She is so sweet and very informative and helpful. We enjoyed the perfect day!
Response from Host, May 2023
Greetings from Living Tours,
Dear Leeann,
We are very grateful for your feedback regarding your Private Aveiro & Costa Nova Tour with our guide Ana. We are happy to understand that you enjoyed your perfect day!
Best regards,
Living Tours Team
Our tour guide/driver Maria was already outside our hotel even before pick up time. Our drive to Aveiro and back from Costa Nova was very pleasant and Maria gave us a lot of details and information about the places we passed by. We started in Aveiro. Our ride on the Moliceiro wasn’t due till several minutes later so we walked around a little bit to see the beautiful old parts of the city. Then we went to a famous bakery, tried their famous egg dessert. We did our restroom break there also. From there it was an easy walk to the boat. The boat ride was really nice. The views were good to photograph on both sides of the canal. From there we went to Costa Nova to see the beautiful painted houses. Took lots of photos. Maria saw to it that we had our fill in photographing the place. We had so much fun with Maria especially in photo taking. From there she took us to a short side trip to a beautiful beach at the Atlantic side. Then we drove back to our hotel.
Response from Host, Nov 2022
Good morning from Living Tours,
Dear Haydee,
We can't thank you enough for sharing your experience with us on our private tour Aveiro and Costa Nova with our guide Maria. We really appreciate you taking the time to share some of your day.
We look forward to seeing you on a future visit!
Kind regards!
Living Tours team
We have really enjoyed the tour and Manuel was so great tour guide. I would strongly recommend it this tour.
Response from Host, May 2022
Good afternoon from Livingtours,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us.
We are very pleased to know that you have enjoyed everything including our guide Manuel.
We are looking forward to seeing you, maybe once again in Porto.
Warmest regards
Livingtours Team
Super moment la visite vaut vraiment d’être faite de plus le guide était vraiment super gentil et avec de bonnes explications avec un très bon français
Response from Host, Aug 2023
Bonjour de Living Tours,
Chère Marie,
Merci beaucoup de nous avoir fait partager votre expérience lors de votre Aveiro & Costa Nova Tour. Nous sommes sincèrement heureux d'apprendre que vous avez eu le plaisir de partager une super expérience avec notre guide !
Avec nos meilleures salutations,
L'équipe Living Tours
Excellent après-midi en compagnie de notre très sympathique guide Claudia ! Aveiro ne manque pas de charme et la balade en moliceiro était très agréable... tout comme la balade et la découverte finale de Costa Nova et de ses maisons colorées !
Response from Host, Aug 2021
Bonjour de Living Tours,
Merci beaucoup par votre comentaire trés attentif sur le tour à Aveiro et Costa Nova avec notre guide Claudia.
Cordialement
Équipe Living Tours
Member Pricing
From
$165.69
per personWas $174.41(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Aveiro and Costa Nova: Private Tour with Moliceiro Cruise Half Day
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