There are about 5 close-by palaces, each different and enjoyable, most with an estate or park to wander around. Each would merit a half a day or so. In a day tour you can see a couple of these and have lunch, although you will probably be there say, 10 to 4, when the town is most crowded with other day-trippers.
I understand the most crowded day is often Monday, since many sites in Lisbon are closed on Monday. Alternatively, walk back to the main road where you came from, and take a taxi, a bus, or a tuk-tuk. The above was our Sintra itinerary for the first day. Keep in mind that we arrived rather late since we were driving from Porto that day, and also got stuck in the traffic in Sintra for more than an hour.
After checking in at our hotel, we only started sightseeing at around 1. We visited the Pena Palace and Pena Park however only shortly. After that we headed to the Moorish Castle, and took the stairs down to the center of Sintra. We asked our hotel for dinner recommendations and had a really good meal at Restaurante Tulhas, just a bit outside of the main tourist routes. If we would have had hours more, we could have easily added one more castle to our itinerary or spent more time in the gardens of Pena.
TIP: Pack a picnic and spend the whole day on the mountain. It will take you at least half an hour to walk back down to the old town of Sintra. You might still have the time to visit Palacio Nacional in the late afternoon. If you decide to visit Quinta da Regaleira on the same day, make sure that you have at least hours for it. If you want to see more than two major castles of Sintra in one day, make sure to arrive very early and plan to stay till the closing time in the evening.
Half-day tours focus on just the main highlights of Sintra — usually two castles. The most popular day tours include not just Sintra, but also Cabo da Roca and Cascais. You can also opt for a private tour from Lisbon.
Only Palacio de Monserrate is a bit further from Sintra, but you can get there by bus or taxi as well. Entrance tickets to the castles are included in your day trip rate. On top of that, many of the organized tours also visit the beautiful coast and Cabo da Roca, and some even Cascais, e. Traffic in and around Sintra is the worst we saw during our day trip in Portugal.
You will lose hours in the traffic! Instead, take a train from Rossio station in Lisbon and you will be in Sintra in less than an hour.
Make sure you leave early in the morning so that you have enough time to see at least two main castles of Sintra. Trains run every 10 minutes in summer and cost less than 5 EUR return. Note that the Sintra train station is located far from all the castles and from the old town.
In my opinion, taxi is by far the best option. On top of that tuk-tuk is really slow going up the mountain and is extremely noisy. We took a tuk-tuk for a short ride from Sintra old town to the upper entrance of Quinta da Regaleira. The kids loved it, so it was worth it for the experience, not so much for being the most practical solution…. Sintra is popular with Portuguese as well, so try to avoid visiting on weekends and public holidays.
The best time to visit Sintra is on a workday in the shoulder season, such as March-April or October-November. Although Sintra can easily be reached by train from Lisbon, the main attractions of Sintra are located pretty far from each other. So you will need to use public transport to get around.
Quinta de Regaleira is not that far from the old town, and you can walk there min , as is Villa Sasetti. Palacio de Monserrate , Convento dos Capuchos , Santuario de Peninha , are all located further away, and are best reached by car or public transport. Pena Palace can be reached by car, and there is some limited parking nearby, on the side of the road. We were in Sintra by car as part of our Portuguese road trip, but after all the traffic chaos in town, we gladly left the car at our hotel.
Please note that this is just a car rental, so you still have to get tickets to the castles. Sintra is probably the most expensive place you will visit in Portugal. Having said that, the entrance tickets for each castle individually are not that expensive, but it quickly adds up if you visit three or four castles with a big family.
The key thing to know about visiting Sintra is that you will most likely only have time to visit attractions, even if you arrive early in the day.
One of the things we loved the most about Sintra is that each attraction is entirely different from the next including the designs, colors, and history. The first place we visited in Sintra was Pena Palace. Pena Palace is probably the most iconic spot in Sintra. The vibrant colors of the structures are very eye-catching and there are so many fascinating corners to explore.
There are two different tickets available to purchase a park-only ticket which will allow you to see the grounds of Pena Palace or a park and palace ticket which will allow you to see the grounds and the interior of the palace.
We arrived right before opening am and it was already getting incredibly busy. Otherwise, buy the ticket for the park to enjoy the view around the grounds, there is still plenty to see!
Tour buses usually start arriving around am and leave by 3pm. The Quinta da Regaleira was a residence built in the late 19th century. To us, this World Heritage Site felt very mysterious and romantic. The grand house is of ornate gothic appearance surrounded by lush greenery. But the main attraction for us was the luxurious gardens and beautiful structures throughout the grounds. One of the most well-known places at Quinta da Regaleira is the Initiation Well which is feet deep but has never once been used for water.
The downside is that there are no ordinary local buses here, and tickets for the tourist buses are relatively expensive. It will certainly help with outlying ones like the Convent of the Capuchos. Fair warning, though: the roads through the hills to many attractions can get quite narrow and winding. As for most places in Portugal, some times are better than others for your visit.
So, naturally, from the perspective of crowds and accommodation availability, summer is far from an ideal time to come. Instead, the best time to visit Sintra is generally during the shoulder seasons of spring and early autumn. Visit either side of summer, and you still get the pleasant weather and longer days while avoiding the hot weather and peak tourist period.
An added bonus is seeing all the trees and nature around Sintra blooming with life in spring and speckled with color during autumn. There are really two ways you can go about planning your visit to Sintra, regardless of how long you plan on spending there.
Your options really boil down to staying in Sintra with everything close by or traveling to and from Lisbon and staying there. One nice bonus of staying there is that the town really settles down once the day-trippers head home, so you can soak in its quaint splendor in peace. Most hotels in Sintra are located between the historical center and the Portela de Sintra area, although there are a few places among its scenic hills. Set inside a 19th-century manor house, this luxurious guesthouse is full of elegant touches, including a heated outdoor swimming pool.
With a friendly host, enviable location, and free breakfast, it has all the basics ready for you. Most people choose to stay in Lisbon. This way you can explore Sintra during the day and then take advantage of all the great restaurants, bars, and nightlife in Lisbon. This refined and traditional hotel offers river views and plenty of comfort.
Centrally positioned within the Baixa district, this boutique hotel offers studios with chic decor and plenty of comfort. Of course, there are Airbnb options in Lisbon as well. You should have no trouble finding hostels in Lisbon for budget travelers thanks to places like the Lisbon Destination Hostel.
This great hostel has a breezy look to it with lots of room and light, not to mention a fun indoor patio area to hang out in. You may also find the light is better for photography at these times — not that these scenic places necessarily need it.
One way you can reduce the cost of a day trip to Sintra is with the Sintra Green Card.
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