Programme
One night, five hours, a city in celebration.
Boarding & on-board dinner
Finger food, caldo verde soup and bifanas — the São João trio. Served as we leave Douro Marina heading to Ribeira.
Sunset over the Douro
The sky turns orange above the wine cellars of Gaia. The best seat in the city is a chair on the deck.
Balloon launch
Tradition observed: we release a São João balloon from the deck, joining hundreds that light up the sky above the city.
Fireworks · Ponte Luís I
The moment. We stop near Ribeira to watch, without crowds, the spectacle that defines Porto’s night.
Return to Douro Marina
Back on land. The night continues in the city — or ends here, with the smell of sardines still in the air.
Included
Everything you need is already on board.
Dinner
Finger food, caldo verde soup and bifanas — São João as it should be.
Drinks
1 litre per person: sangria, beer, juice or water.
Balloon & Hammer
The official night kit — to launch and honour Porto’s tradition.
Music & Insurance
Soundtrack on board and travel insurance included.
Vessels
Five boats. One unforgettable night.
The tradition
The festival that defines Porto.
São João is the feast of the city of Porto. It is celebrated on June 24 and the night before the longest night in the city.
After eating the traditional grilled sardines, everyone picks up their noisy toy hammers and goes out into the street to find them on the heads of everyone who shows up. The tradition comes from the 60’s where the students took advantage of the noisy invention of Manuel António Boaventura, the hammer that by the whistle that has and the rubber bellows that with the air emits a noise, became the Hammer of São João.
On that night, bonfires are made everywhere, small balloons of hot air are launched that illuminate the skies of the city and make it completely starry. A unique spectacle. It is also on that night that the Douro River is the stage for one of the most beautiful fireworks known. An incandescent spectacle that attracts tens of thousands of people to the city every year.
During the night people move between the city, walking between the different areas of the Fontainhas and Ribeira, the main points of interest.
Book · 2026
On board, with us.
Limited to five vessels. Those who book first choose best.
