June’s storiesPortugal · Spring 2026

Three weeks, three trains, one toddler and a great many custard tarts

We flew into Lisbon and went north by everything except a plane: the fast train to Porto, the slow one up the Douro, a hire car into Galicia and a ferry to an island you need a permit for. Pip, who is two, set the pace. It was the right one.

Profile picture of June & Teo MarshJune & Teo Marsh8 August 2026 · 9 min read
The Douro river between green, terraced hills
When
1 – 24 May 2026
How long
24 days
Who went
June, Teo and Pip (2½)
Stops
7
Getting around
Trains, a hire car, a ferry, and Teo's shoulders
The Douro from the quinta, the morning Pip said "bath" and then slept for two hours.
Trip details
Who went
June, Teo and Pip (2½)
Getting around
Trains, a hire car, a ferry, and Teo's shoulders
In this story · 2 chapters
  1. 01The two regrets
  2. 02What it all cost

Twenty-three nights, one toddler, two regrets

We got home on a Sunday evening in late May, sunburnt, damp and very slightly fatter. Pip walked into the flat, looked around at her own toys as if they were a hotel's, and asked when we were going home.

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01 The two regrets

  1. Six nights in Lisbon was one too many, with a toddler and those stairs. Four in Lisbon and two more in the Douro next time.
  2. We didn't book the cellar tour in Porto and it was full for three days. Book it before you go.

02 What it all cost

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Would we do it again? We are already planning to. Galicia's north coast next spring, the bits between Santiago and the sea. Pip has asked whether there will be octopus. There will be octopus.

Read nextWe are taking a two-year-old to Portugal, on purposeWhere it started, and the plan we didn't stick to.

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