The Rosa cruising the Douro River Valley for an amazing E Bike and Boat Tour

Alva

Name: Alva
Brand: Tripsite
SKU: ts115o5304
Rating: 4.9 (10 reviews)

Deluxe Class Boat

Portugal

Relax in luxury aboard this state of the art ship built in 2018. Offering luxurious cabins, outdoor pool, spa, fitness center, bar, cafe, and lounge, your floating accommodations will be as comfortable as the scenery along the Douro is spectacular!

Alva | Deck 1 - Category A cabin | Bike & Boat Tours

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Overview
The "ALVA" is a state-of-the-art cruise ship and the latest in the A-ROSA fleet (built in 2018). At 80 m in length with only 63 cabins, the ship offers understated elegance in a mid ship setting.
Overview

Capacity: 126 passengers
Length x Width: 79.8 m x 11.4 m
Year of construction: 2018
Decks

Deck 1: Category A cabins, massage area, spa, & sauna
Deck 2: Category C cabins, market, restaurant, & gym
Deck 3: Category D and F cabins, outdoor lounge, indoor lounge, stage & dance floor, bar, onboard shop, receptions
Deck 4: Swimming pool, outdoor restaurant with awnings, putting green, & outdoor shower

Cabin Layout

Category A: 12 m², located on the first deck, smaller window that cannot be opened, desk
Category C: 13 m², located on the second deck, drop-down panorama window, desk, and small sitting area with two chairs
Category D: 13 m², located on the third deck, drop-down panorama window, desk, and small sitting area with two chairs
Category F: 29 m², located on the third deck, balcony, sofa, bathroom with daylight and walk-in closet.

Cabin Amenities

Private bath with shower
Safe
Air Conditioning
TV
Telephone
Hairdryer
Soap and shampoo
Sauna towel
Bathrobe

Boat Features & Amenities

Spacious sun deck with a relaxed atmosphere
Heated outdoor pool
Putting green
Outdoor restaurant on the aft deck
Panorama Lounge with bar and dance floor
Outdoor bar
Small library
Fitness area
Sauna & spa relaxation room
Small gift shop with a limited selection of accessories, souvenirs, traditional and handmade products
Full laundry and pressing service
Elevator between decks 1- 3
WiFi (availability, performance, or speed cannot always be guaranteed)
220 V
Languages on board: English & German

Food & Beverages

Breakfast and lunch is served buffet style. At dinner you can help yourself to the starter and dessert buffet, but the main course is served at the table. Unfortunately, tables cannot be reserved!
Selected wines or exotic cocktails at the bar, in a stylish atmosphere, already included in the premium all inclusive tariff
Pleasant atmosphere: no fixed dress and seating regulations
Outdoor seating
24-hour coffee & tea station
Boats & Barges
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Elara 1
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Lisabelle
Luna
Magellan
Magna Carta
Magnifique I
Magnifique II

Magnifique III
Magnifique IV
Magnifique X
Merlijn
Milo M
Nebu
Primadonna
Princesse Royal
Princeza Diana
Prinzessin Katharina
Rigoletto
Roi Soleil
Running on Waves
Saint Louis
SE-Manon
Sea Cloud Spirit
Sena
Stella
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Vivienne

Premium Class Boats

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Comfort Class Boats

Anna van Aemstel
Atlantis
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Caprice
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Feniks
Fleur
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Fluvius
Flying Dutchman
Gåssten
House Boat in India

Kapetan Jure
L’Estello
Linda
Normandie
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Princess
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Wilderness Adventurer
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Wilderness Legacy

Standard Class Boats

Antigua
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Peter van Aemstel
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Tours sailing on Alva — 1 to 1 of 1

+ Early bird special!

Douro River E-Bike & Boat

8 days from €3803
4.7 out of 5

Douro River E-Bike & Boat

View Tour

Easy–Moderate Bike + Boat Tour in Portugal
On its way to the Atlantic, the Douro meanders through a dramatic landscape. It flows through deep gorges and passes steeply terraced slopes that bear witness to its 2,000-year-old wine culture. The…
Bicycles
Electric Bike

Kreidler, Velo de Ville, or similar

Aluminum step-through frame
Upright riding position
Shimano Nexus 5-speed freewheel
Comfort Selle Royal gel saddle
Shimano disc brakes
Bosch performance motor
Bosch frame battery-625 Wh
Schwalbe's premium Super-Moto X tires
Please note that an electric bike is heavier than a normal touring bike. Your bike will weight approximately 26 kg. Good balance and good control of the bike is necessary!
Reviews

Reviews 1 to 50 of 54

Show All 54 Reviews

Elizabeth W.
2 weeks ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Thoroughly enjoyed our "boat & barge" trip on the Duoro. We were a group of 11 (family & friends) and enjoyed the time on both the boat and shore. Aside from our 6 cycling days, we were offered a walking tour of Porto, dinner at a winery and a port company tour and tasting. Cycling was enjoyable and gave us a good overview of the countryside, small villages and local customs. Our cycling guides, Horacio and Kevin were excellent! They were informative, supportive and patient in dealing with 16 riders of varying abilities and comfort levels.
Most of our meals were onboard and they were great - lots of options for every course and meal. Service staff were friendly and accommodating.
Cabins were comfortable & well appointed and housekeeping services were wonderful.

Brenda W.
2 weeks ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The scenery was spectacular and there is so much history to hear about and experience

Kathryn O.
8 months ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Great, personable guides on the bike rides & wonderful service & food on the ship. My favorite part was cruising downhill on the windy roads through vineyards & olive orchards toward the river! Highly recommended!

Michael M.
8 months ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The boat was great, staterooms were very comfortable and the staff all around very friendly, competent and thorough. The food was very good with a nice variety and just the table wine was fine for our taste. The young men running the bike portion were excellent, very friendly and thorough in their planning and communication, with everything executed in a timely manner. They were so kind, funny and personable! The food they provided was very good and everyone enjoyed the rides, which were mostly downhill! Make sure you bring bike gloves!
The only suggestion would be to have better correlation beforehand between the bike rides and boat excursions. It was very confusing when trying to look at both before we arrived and with the boat asking us to sign up for excursions at least 4 days before arrival, it made it hard to see if there were any excursions available to the bike riders. Bottom line is that you can sign up for excursions once you get there, so if you are in a riding Read More

Peg K.
8 months ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The guides were super engaging, and they carefully curated daily trips for our group that reflected our ability level. they also worked really well with the cruise ship to make our experience very special. I'd cycle and cruise with our guide team again, in a heartbeat!

Eileen R.
8 months ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
A super tour made possible by great guides. Horacio, Fabian and Kevin kept our group of 20 bikers safe and entertained. Explanations of the ride, terrain, history of the area and things of note were briefed before each ride. The e-bikes were easy to operate and we had no equipment issues. The Douro Natural Park Barca d'alv was stunning. The Alva was a great boat with a super crew. The meals were good and the entertainment was enjoyable. Highly recommend the Douro River Bike and Boat.

Doug K.
8 months ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Phenomenal trip. The bike rides were great but the guides made it fantastic. I can’t compliment them enough.

Heather W.
8 months ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The scenery was amazing. Our guide explained the different topography pertaining to the vines and wines made at different levels. Very informative.

Jana P.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The scenery was beautiful. Our guides, Horacio, Fabian and Sinan, without a doubt made this trip so memorable. They were so prepared everyday with our bikes ready to go, the planned rides with so much wonderful history and funny stories along the way. We had a delicious lunch prepared 1 on a lovely hillside one of the days! They looked out for our safety while making it fun. The boat was nice and clean and the food was very good.

Jeff G.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Boat experience was excellent but the surprise was the cycling experience … beautiful vista views with spring wildflowers in bloom … just stunning. And our tour guides were fabulous … couldn’t think of a single negative about the trip. Highly recommend!

1 Reply

Laura L.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
We did a bike tour and it was great. The rides are not super long but beautiful! The guides Horracio, Amos and Fabian were soooooo great. Our group just has the best time with them. Personable, safety focuses, professional, fun, knowledgable. The boat is very nice and rooms were perfect. We love the Staff on boat as well!!

Dan H.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
We had a great time. The service and accommodations were fantastic. The country was beautiful. We e biked everyday. Trip site had all the T’s crossed. Went off without any issues. Our third trip with Tripsite.

1 Reply

Matt H.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The ARosa Alva is a beautiful ship with an outstanding crew. The town of Porto is charming.
The biking tour guides; Horacio, Fabian and Amos were outstanding. The riding was fun, though mostly downhill. The scenes along and above the Duoro were the kind that pictures cannot do justice to. A great trip to learn about Port winemaking. Outstanding!

1 Reply

Maureen D.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Horácio, Amos, and Fabian were excellent guides as they led us all through the Douro River Valley. Horácio was kind, intuitive to our needs, fun, and very knowledgeable of the area and the people. Surprising at such a young age he was able to entertain us 60+ year olds. We were a large group of 22 all traveling together and had some most amazing best time! Also, Horácio managed to take photos of us cycling and put them on a google drive that we were then able to download! 5 stars to the men who guided us and to the tour. We packed a lot in a few days and wish we had more time.

1 Reply

Dacia L.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Absolutely beautiful scenery. Amazing service. Everything was really nice, and relaxing. Every single employee was nice and helpful!

Lisa F.
1 year ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
This was a lovely trip, beautiful scenery, great people and guides. The biking was mostly on good roads. On the boat, one of the most fun and interesting experiences was going through the locks.
What I had not realized would be the case is that we were a very small group of 8 on a boat with about 120 other passengers.

Cheri A. E.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
I highly recommend this tour. Portugal is a phenomenal country and riding an electric bike through such a gorgeous landscape is a terrific experience. Do book a hotel for two or three nights so you can explore Porto before boarding the ship. Marvel at the city's beautiful tiles and the historic sights while enjoying tasty meals served at attractive restaurants.
Our guides were fun and quite wonderful and the ship lovely and comfortable with delectable meals served by kind staff. Don't hesitate to book this tour. Riding through Portugal and feeling the breezes blow by as you coast down steep hillsides past canyons, rivers and terraced vineyards is an an experience you will never forget.

Robin F.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Portugal is beautiful and seeing it from a ship on the Douro River was perfect for me. I enjoyed the excursion to Castelo Rodrigo and comments from our ship guide. Food was delicious and ample. Ship staff were particularly helpful hunting down my lost luggage and offering first aid when I tripped on the sill to the bathroom.

kristyn b.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
1) I loved the 2 hour walking tour of Porto the night.
2) I loved sitting on the upper deck of the cruise watching the terraced vineyards as we cruised through the Douro River.
3) The ship itself was clean, the staff was wonderful and attentive. They were always ready to help with a smile! I loved the touch of robes and slippers in our rooms!
4) I loved biking everyday! Our guides, Horacio and Kevin were fantastic! I thought the e-bikes themselves were excellent.

John H.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The scenery and the E-bikes used. The guides were excellent. Food on the boat and service was also excellent

Christina S.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Our guides made the trip memorable! Horacio and Kevin were wonderful and so much fun to be around. They kept us supported and educated on the area we were biking through. They both supported the varying levels of abilities within the group and I greatly appreciate their flexibility. My families memories of Portugal will forever be intertwined with Horatio's antics and Kevin's jokes. The scenery was wonderful. The biking was scary at times ( I really prefer a guardrail on the side of a cliff), but aligned with the rating for the tour.

Blake B.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
This was an excellent trip with amazing scenery during bike rides. I would highly recommend this trip as a great way to add to your experience of the Duoro valley. The tour guide was excellent and added to the experience.

Rob K.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The bike and boat trip on the Douro River was a very memorable experience. The bike rides were scenic through towns, natural areas, vineyards, and olive groves. Our guide Nuno was skilled, informative, and made the trip fun for all. The ship is modern, rooms are spacious, food was excellent, and the staff were helpful and friendly.

Lee M.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The bicycle rides through the beautiful Douro valley countryside were incredibly scenic and not to be missed.

William B.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The most memorable parts of our trip were riding down from high in the mountains through the vineyards to the Douro River each day. Nuno and Matias ,our tour guides, were outstanding hosts and companions for our entire experience.They worked very hard to make sure that everything ran smoothly in order for us to maximize the enjoyment of our bike rides. The views and scenery on each ride were simply breathtaking, as the routes had been very carefully planned to be not only safe ,but stunning for miles and miles at a time.

Greg C.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The wonderful Douro River views and vineyards as seen up close via bicycling.

Lynn H.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The ship Alva is incomparable to any other boat/ barge tour we've ever taken. It was of equal quality to a Viking Cruise regarding the rooms, food service, staffing
and overall quality. The boat was large enough (120 passenger) to provide nice features such as a small spa, exercise room, sauna, outside and inside sitting areas and pool. The majority of passengers were there to cruise, there were 11 bikers. We really enjoyed te size of our small cohesive bike group.
The biking tour guides were wonderful and so is Portugal. Porto is a great little city with a long history. Go to the WOW cultural district and check out a few of the contemporary museums there if you have time. We enjoyed the E-bikes; a must in this mountainous terrain. My only comment regarding the bike riding
itself is that most rides were too short (+/- 10 miles and 2- 3 hours) and many were mainly down hill. We had to revise the two longest rides due to weather, unfortunately. Not the tour Read More

Kathryn P.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
This was an amazing boat bike tour. This was our 5th boat/bike trip with Tripsite. Our Guides Nuno and Fabian were great and took us to beautiful interesting rides along the Douro River. We were a group of 11 bikers. 8 were friends from Virginia and the three women who joined us were friends from Montana. We all had a great time together. This is the first time not everyone biked on our trip. This boat was much bigger than our other one. Their were 126 passengers.

Cheri C.
2 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The routes were varied and extraordinary. Some villages, some countryside and some off road exploration of ancient trails. The guides; Horacio and Kevin knew their paths and made accommodations for various skill levels. The scenery was breathtaking.

alan o.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Nice group of people. I suggest tighter and better organized biking component.

Lynn K.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The most memorable part of the trip was the scenery of the terraced vineyards, and olive tree orchards against a clear blue sky. Mountain roads without cars winding through the landscape to the Douro River below.
Food on the Alva Rosa was excellent as was the service, the bar staff, cooks, and servers.
Tips: Use multi use water bottles as part of bike tour. Longer rides with a little more uphill as we had E bikes!

Kevin P.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Accommodations on the boat and the food were spectacular. The biking trips were very short and mostly downhill. The guides did not provide much history or background for the sites that we visited.

Katherine H.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The scenery both on the boat and during the biking were spectacular. The food was fantastic. The rooms were really comfortable. I really loved the trip.
For improvements, having the guides know where bathrooms are along the way would be nice. A lot of people had to find bushes along the way. On your France barge I took we stopped in towns to walk around and sometimes had a coffee and people used the restrooms. More information on the towns would be gppd. Also, we had a very sick guide and maybe she should have been traded out at some point and not been eating and hanging out with us. She's a lovely person but if I were that sick I would stay away from people as much as possible. We all came home very sick.

1 Reply

Joan-Carol B.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The biking was lovely, the service on the boat was excellent.
But, communications between the boat and the bike guides was terrible. There was a lot of second guessing and lost time.
For the biking, more cultural information would have been good. Stops for coffee in interesting places would also heighten the experience.

Linda W.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The boat and food were great. Beautiful area along the river. Nice wines. Wait staff were incredible

Kenneth B.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
We receive several additional outings that we were not aware of that really added to the trip. Our tour guides, Tobias and Kevin were outstanding. We had just the right amount of biking, sightseeing, and relaxing, with good food and beverages.

Kelly L.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The bike rides were my favorite part as we saw all kinds of different terrain.
The guides as well made the trip spot on. Very pleasant and knowledgeable about the area. The boat was a beauty very luxurious!

Glen J.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The bike tour was everything that was promised in the description. Our guide, Sonia Teh was wonderful. She was knowledgeable about the area, pleasant and professional.

Michael T.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
This was a river cruise with a biking contingent of 19 people out of 100 people. I would have enjoyed more biking. I especially enjoyed our picnic at Castello Rodrigo, the food and views were fantastic. Later that same day we stopped for a break in a small town where the local townspeople invited us to see their church. Truly magical!

Jodi A.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
We didn't know a lot about the Douro Valley and were amazed at how beautiful it is!

Kurt S.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Beautiful country side.
Excellent guides Sonya and Fabian

Denise K.
3 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The entire trip was amazing. The Allura ship was absolutely wonderful. Our bike tour guides, Fabian and Tobias, were the best.

sara r.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The biking group was wonderful. However there were not enough biking opportunities. I expect longer rides and rides into small towns to catch the culture. Wine tasting is not what I want?

Beth T.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
I can't possibly name the most memorable part of the trip. It was all memorable! The boat was beautiful and quite comfortable. The staff was always so helpful, the food was exceptional, and of course, the location was stunning. As being part of the cycling group on board, the Terra Nova group was adept at executing and leading the group to beautiful and unique locations throughout the Duoro River Valley. I felt that the descriptions of each daily ride was spot on and lived up to what was written in the itinerary. The experiences off the boat was every bit as memorable as the experiences on the boat. The on board programs were great, as they provided the passengers a informative view of Portugal, from its history, culture, food, and national pride. Overall, the trip is one that I would highly recommend to anyone considering an immersive experience in Portugal, in this uniquely special manner.

Mark T.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Great food, wonderful attentive service, spectacular
beautiful scenery, relatively easy cycling, great trip for our entire family.

Mark T.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Great food, wonderful attentive service, spectacular
beautiful scenery, relatively easy cycling, great trip for our entire family.

Jacqueline C.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Really enjoyed our trip to the Douro Valley. The staff of the AROSA Alva was very attentive and friendly. Our bike guides Jens, Kevin and Johanna were fantastic! We had a mixed language group of 13 and the guides did such a fantastic job of interpreting and handling any scenario. The only complaint was that the actual biking was not as long as I thought it would be per day. Definitely recommend this trip!

Donna K.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The trip was amazing from start to finish. The Douro Valley is too beautiful for words. You just have to see it for yourself to believe it!

Suzanne F.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
The most memorable both positive and negative :
Having a small biking group aboard the ship we were on- we got to get off and bike through the countryside and explore in a way a bus tour group (like the other people on the boat) we not able to . It was a beautiful experience and great guides .
The most memorable negative was the boat was German and all the people on the ship were German and myself and my friend were the only 2 American and english speaking people. I would have appreciated a heads up that this boat rarely has Americans travel on it as I may have selected a different option for my trip and we were both unable to socialize or understand much of what being said . Being that every one on this boat was in their late 60's and 70's it was an old and old world vibe and I can not say that we were meant to feel welcome by anyone other than our waiter and bartender!

1 Reply

LuAnn L.
4 years ago
Verified Reviewer

Alva Douro River E-Bike & Boat
Portugal
Cycling alongside the Douro with views of vineyards, quaint villages, and castles. A picnic lunch prepared by our guide at a castle was the crowning jewel.

Show All 54 Reviews