Porto: Aveiro Tour Including Moliceiro Cruise
Porto, Portugal
- 4 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
See a different side of Northern Portugal on a half-day trip to Aveiro that includes a Moliceiro cruise. Aveiro’s charm lies in its Venice-like canals, which you will experience aboard a classic ‘moliceiro’ boat. Walking alongside an expert guide, discover more captivating sights of Aveiro’s town center. On your voyage back to Porto, stop in the spirited fishing town of Costa Nova and visit its spectacular white sand beaches. For your convenience, this tour offers both morning and afternoon departures.
- Explore Aveiro on a walking tour to focus on the finer details
- Go beyond the guidebook and learn about the town’s Roman and medieval history
- Cruise around Aveiro’s canals aboard a traditional moliceiro boat
- Let someone else handle the driving with included round-trip transportation
What's Included
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Professional guide
- Moliceiro cruise
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
- Pick up and Drop Off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- R. de Mouzinho da Silveira 352, 4050-418 Porto, Portugal
Our Tourism office is located on the top of Rua Mouzinho da Silveira door number 352-354, near São Bento Train Station.
End point
- Rua de Alexandre HerculanoR. de Alexandre Herculano, 4000 Porto, Portugal
Itinerary
Your exciting Aveiro guided tour with moliceiro cruise starts with meeting your guide at a central location in Porto. Hop aboard your comfortable air-conditioned coach and head south on northern Portugal’s scenic Rota da Luz towards Aveiro. Learn about the charming history of Aveiro’s fishing roots and thriving medieval seaport. Then, discover the countless canals as you arrive in the ‘Venice of Portugal,’ so to speak.
Hop out here and begin traversing the canals on a walking tour. With your expert guide, see an abundance of alluring Art Nouveau homes and then stop at the 15th-century Aveiro Cathedral to observe its baroque architecture. Hear stories of the town’s Roman settlement heritage as you pass Museo de Aveiro, formerly a famous Convent of Jesus of the female Dominican Order.
Your walking tour ends at a canal, but your 1-hour moliceiro cruise begins! Aboard your vibrantly painted gondola-like vessel, learn how it was formerly used to harvest seaweed. Capture more Aveiro’s sights cruising the calm waters and finish your cruise at Costa Nova.
Hop off the boat and relish some free time to stroll the white sandy beaches of Costa Nova. Along its coast, enjoy snapping fun photos of candy cane-striped fishing homes that line the town’s beachfront. Perhaps, pop into a a café for a snack and a drink (own expense) and then rendezvous with your guide for your pleasant ride back to Porto.
Hop out here and begin traversing the canals on a walking tour. With your expert guide, see an abundance of alluring Art Nouveau homes and then stop at the 15th-century Aveiro Cathedral to observe its baroque architecture. Hear stories of the town’s Roman settlement heritage as you pass Museo de Aveiro, formerly a famous Convent of Jesus of the female Dominican Order.
Your walking tour ends at a canal, but your 1-hour moliceiro cruise begins! Aboard your vibrantly painted gondola-like vessel, learn how it was formerly used to harvest seaweed. Capture more Aveiro’s sights cruising the calm waters and finish your cruise at Costa Nova.
Hop off the boat and relish some free time to stroll the white sandy beaches of Costa Nova. Along its coast, enjoy snapping fun photos of candy cane-striped fishing homes that line the town’s beachfront. Perhaps, pop into a a café for a snack and a drink (own expense) and then rendezvous with your guide for your pleasant ride back to Porto.
Porto (Pass By)
1
Aveiro
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Ria de Aveiro
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Praia da Costa Nova
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Infants must sit on laps
- Infant seats available
- Most travelers can participate
- There is no bathroom on board the bus
- Dress code is smart casual
- The tours may be changed without prior notice
- A moderate amount of walking is involved
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
3.8
based on 82 reviews
Angela_M, Apr 2026
My friend and I did this trip today. We really enjoyed it. We had enough time at Costa Nova and also in Aveiro. George the driver was great, and Aldrin our guide was fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble, he came and chatted to all of us individually on the bus, gave us lots of information and was the perfect host. This trip was well worth doing and we highly recommend it. Thank you Aldrin and George!
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! We’re delighted to hear that you enjoyed your time in Costa Nova and Aveiro.
It’s great to know that George and Aldrin made your experience so special — we’ll be very happy to share your kind words with them.
Thank you for your recommendation, and we hope to welcome you again soon!
JohnPaul_F, Jul 2025
The tour company was fine. Aveiro is not what I remember it to be when I was young. Just felt that they had let it go some.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We're glad to know that you were satisfied with the service provided by our team. We hope to welcome you again in the future.
Shawna_A, May 2025
I was disappointed in this tour. It started at the striped houses and only gave us 20 minutes there after a 45 min. Bus ride. When we got off the public washrooms we’re closed so most of us had to go buy a drink in a cafe to use their washroom, amd spent our 20 min standing in the washroom lineup and then rushing back to the bus. From there we went on the boat ride which was fun, and then had a short walking tour to 2 spots, amd then only 1/2 hour until we left. We didn’t get to go further than 2 blocks before we had to get back to the bus. We saw nearly nothing of the city of Aveiro. In hindsite I wish we had taken a train to Aveiro so we could spend the day there.
Richard_B, Mar 2025
It was worth the 1 hour bus ride. The fisherman houses are postcard perfect. We enjoyed walking around the village. The Moliceiro Cruise through the canals of Aveiro canals was the highlight of the trip. The amount of time given at each stop was adequate and the tour guide was informative. We recommend it highly!
Response from Host, Mar 2025
Firstly ,on behalf of our entire team,we would like to thank you for your valuable feedback.Your appreciation has been shared with our team and we work hard to strive for excellence.
Jennifer_J, Oct 2024
Xavier was a fantastic tour guide and was very insightful and informative. I wish this tour was an hour longer as there was not enough time to explore.
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Thank you so much for the time taken to review our services and we are glad ,we stand up to your expectations
Claudia_A, Sep 2024
The Guide didn´t have a microphone, so he said he was not going to talk. We just sit and went to Aveiro with no information at all. It was really sad. We had to Google everything about Aveiro
Response from Host, Feb 2025
Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we apologize for the inconvenience
defranksiegel, Jun 2024
Disappointing trip. Too much time In Costa Nova. Guide should have told us to walk to the ocean side.
How many striped houses does one need to see for thirty minutes??? Vito was wonderful and beautiful, but only 45 minutes to walk around. Sad.
Guide never told us where the bathrooms were.
That’s an issue for a four hour trip.
Maybe it was an off day for her.
PhyllisF, Mar 2024
What we enjoyed the most was the Aveiro canals. The boats were comfortable and our guide, Alex, was very knowledgeable. He entertained us as well as informed us with history and current information. The 1 hour ride was easy and our guide, Pedro, gave us some pertinent information about our destination. We have already recommended this tour to other hotel guests.
Response from Host, Mar 2024
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.Your appreciation has been shared with our team and we are motivated to strive for excellence.
Kenneth_C, May 2023
This was a pleasant day out to Aveiro, the Moliceiro Cruise was reasonably informative and the seafront houses were picturesque. But it was a long way to travel for such a short experience.
Response from Host, May 2023
Thank your for your review and we are glad tto know that tour was overall to your satisfaction
Erin_L, Jul 2022
Aveiro was super cute and we loved Costa Nova. The reason we gave this 4 stars was bc there was not nearly enough time in these areas. This tour should be a 6-7 hour tour vs 4 hours. The boat ride in Aveiro was nice, but took up most of the time and was really just a ride around the outside of the city… the town and shops were cute and fun and we wanted more time there. We only got about thirty minutes at Costa Nova- we would have LOVED to spend a couple hours at the beach… but all we were able to do was run and put our feet in, then leave! Cute places though, if you have the time, you should check them out.
Sanna_E, Jun 2022
We signed for English speaking tour and ended up in dual language one. We wouldn't minded it, but the guide spoke 95 percent of the time in Spanish. We didn't get any valuable information about the cities. The tour guide was neither knowledgeable nor pleasant.
Response from Host, Jun 2022
Thank you for your review.We are sorry to hear you had a negativ experience but we do realy appreciate you bringing this issue to our attention.We would like to clarify that the regular tours are multilanguage regular daily tours.
FrequentFlier806015, Dec 2019
The tour guides is very professional and nice which will take care everyone.
Unfortunately, it's only a half day tour which the time is a bit rush. Recommending a all day tour for this spots.
Tin, Sep 2018
Our guide Andre was great! Very enthusiastic and willing to share all sorts of news/things to do in Porto and elsewhere!
Jennifer A, Nov 2017
A must do. Most enjoyable and interesting. Our guide was Claudia, was brilliant.
Jacobie_B, Oct 2017
Francisco was an amazing guide. He went the extra mile. Very informative.
MargaretE_C, Sep 2017
Nice trip and guide was informative. However we seemed a little rushed we could have had more time in Aveiro to shop for the World Famous Sweets and a little longer in Costa Nova to have a good look round and get to the beach. But we all enjoyed the excursion.
Laura_C, Sep 2017
Aveiro was a cute city and the tour guide did great getting every one from place to place. It would have been nice to be able to walk thru the city a bit but we just didn't have time before moving on to another small town. I think half a day is plenty to see this town but I think we could have skipped the second town and walked around Aveiro a bit more.
sandra c, Sep 2017
Arrived at Aveiro to be frogged marched round the town extremely hard to keep up with the tour guide and then when we got to the boat we were informed that it was going in a couple of minutes and we had to be quick if we wanted to use a local café toilet facilities. Unfortunately, there was a long queue and consequently the boat went without a member of our party.The tour guide did nothing to help us or tell the captain of the boat that not all of us were onboard-very disappointing.Then when we got to New Coast we were told we only had 20 minutes which is not long enough to look round or have a coffee/drink .At no - point did the tour guide apologise and was continuously in a hurry.
I feel this tour would be much better if it was for 6 hours not 4 hours so that touists can spend an hour in each location looking round.
Anita M, Aug 2017
We enjoyed this trip, but both felt that the time to travel to Aveiro and Costa Nova was too long - around an hour by mini-bus each way. This was not at all clear from the info on the trip when we booked.
The pick-up was prompt and our local guide was very friendly and knowledgeable.
The moliceiro boatman was very friendly, informative and fun!
juliaanicholson, Jul 2017
The hotel pickup was on time and made this a very easy tour for my first day in Porto. I would have liked to spend a little more time in Costa Nova - 20 minutes is not nearly enough to get a sense of the town. In addition, I would skip the Moliceiro Cruise and spend the time enjoying more of Aveiro. The cruise is literally a ride down a canal that is not very scenic and back the same way. Our guide, Sophia, didn't seem to have very much energy or enthusiasm for what she was doing and provided minimal information.
Gilles L, Jul 2017
Took the half day tour to Averio. Had a great guide to visit this beautiful place with colourful stripped houses bordering a peaceful lagoon.
Took a small boat tour through the canals however we would have preferred more time to explore the village or take a bike ride along the lagoon. Maybe the full day tour would have given more time to explore.
Jennifer E, May 2017
I booked a morning tour and was told they were out of room. While they were willing to reschedule, I had limited time in Porto and was unable to reschedule. The company refuses to speak to me, return my phone calls or emails.
Would recommend taking the train instead and save a little money.
Ezgi K, May 2017
Aveiro and Nova Costa are beautiful small towns but still there was not nothing much to do, still I would like to spend much time in Nova Costa than Aveiro. If you have much spare time in Porto this tour can be good, but otherwise spare your time for other activities. However our guide Marta was great, I think she and her guidance was very good.
Liz_B, May 2017
A super trip - very knowledgeable guide - really friendly and knew his stuff.
We learned a lot about the area and the history. The boat trip was lovely - nice to see somewhere out of Porto. Totally recommend the trip. Only comment would be to the management to provide hands free in the vehicle for the drivers. They have to arrange the boat trip and need to confirm our time, therefore had to use phone.
Claudia E, Mar 2017
Excellent half day trip from Porto. Especially enjoyed Costa Nova beach and the striped houses. Christian was an excellent guide.
Angela_D, Dec 2016
This is charming excursion if you are visiting northern Portugal. It's a small city with a delightful energy. Although I would not compare the canal ride to Venice, our guide was a quirky young man who was fluent in many languages and very willing to charm the boat riders with tales of his town. A worthwhile way to spend an afternoon.
Lucinda H, Oct 2016
The boat tour was interesting but the rest of the tour was unremarkable. Our guide picked us up 45 minutes late without an apology. Consequently, by the time we got to our last destination all the stores were closed and we got back to Porto later than anticipated and almost missed our dinner reservations.
EileenV_M, Jul 2016
Good half day tour and good guide. Pleasant boat trip.
E_S, Jul 2016
The guide was great and friendly. The car was clean and big, but how dare they call aveiro The venice of Portugal. One small canal, two old buildings, a beach, Some colored houses. Even though our guide was super it wasnt worth leaving beautiful Porto for. A waste of time if you ask me.
Diane_F, May 2016
This was a lovely trip. Pedro was so knowledgable and interesting, and went out of his way to make the day a great experience for all of us. It was lovely to see a truly different area.
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