Sintra, Portugal Travel

I (over)debated how to see and do Sintra, Portugal – do I book a tour or DIY? I only had one day and decided to DIY, and it was a big success!

It gave me the most flexibility to do the things I wanted to without being stuck to a schedule. However, if you’re going on a busy day (weekend on peak season) with multiple people and/or you want the most carefree experience, then definitely book a tour. For tours, I looked at Viator and WithLocals. None of them quite had all the attractions I wanted to see and/or included time in Caisis which I didn’t care as much to see in my limited time.

How to Explore on Your Own

Here are my tips if you’re thinking about exploring on your own:

• Buy tickets to the attractions online and in advance! You can do this for Pena Palace and Moorish Castle (but I don’t think you can do this for Quinta Regala)
• Get the to sights as soon as they open!
• Try to go on a weekday if possible! I went on a Saturday and it was very crowded
• Pack a lunch! Give yourself flexibility to take your time and stay fueled up

There is a lot to see in Sintra, Portugal and you can’t cover it all in one day, but I think a day trip was more than enough to see the good stuff. I selected a few of the sights and palaces that I really wanted to see. I recommend Pena Palace + Moorish Castle + Quinta da Regaleira. They each had their own history and charm to them – all stunning in their own right from completely different periods and architecture.

I took the 7:01am Saturday train from Lisbon (Rossio station) to get there in time to enjoy breakfast before the sights opened at 9am. Trains leave every hour from Lisbon on Saturday and Sunday (every 30 minutes Monday to Friday) and takes about 45 minutes for a cost of €4.50 roundtrip (+ €0.50 if you’re getting a metro card for the first time). See the train station schedule here for the latest. For breakfast, go to Saudade (it’s right next to the train station) – also grab a sandwich here to eat later!

Getting Around Sintra, Portugal

Once you’re in Sintra, Portugal, you have a few opens to get around – taxi, tuk tuk, bus, walking. I did a combination of the bus and walking (since I was unsuccessful in getting a taxi/tuk tuk). Since the sights are spaced out quite a bit, you should plan out your route. There are a lot of ways to do it, but my recommendation is to visit them in this order: Pena Palace + Moorish Castle + Quinta da Regaleira.

Quinta da Regaleira is actually walking distance (about 15 minutes) from the Sintra, Portugal town, it is the easiest one to access and one you can easily decide to go or not to go, so I decided to do it last.

There is a one way road to access both Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle, so it made sense to do these first. The Moorish Castle comes up first on the drive, but they are only a 10 minute walk from each other. Pena Palace draws a bigger crowd, so I suggest doing Pena Palace first (as soon as it opens!). Take the Sintra tourist 434 bus (€6.90 for a single loop trip).

It is pretty easy to find the bus stops or you can ask around and someone will point you in the right direction. Alternatively, you can look out for a taxi or tuk tuk, but if you’re on one of the early buses, it should be pretty easy to just take the bus up (I did ask a taxi if he would drive me up but he just directed me to the bus – depending on traffic, I think the fare can add up).

Pena Palace

Pena palace is absolutely stunning! Plan to spend at least 1-2 hours exploring. I checked out an audio guide (I think it was only a few €), but spent most of my time in awe (and GoProing) so I didn’t actually use it. I also hopped in line to go inside the palace, but it was too crowded and slow moving so I quickly jumped out of line.

Moorish Castle

The Moorish Castle is about a 10 minute walk back down the one way road. Also incredibly stunning and out of this world in its own right. Plan to spend at least 1 hour here. Great place to picnic with your packed lunch

I visited on a Saturday and the traffic between the Moorish Castle and Pena Palace was pretty bad around noon so I walked back up to Pena palace to catch the bus down to the town as well as look out for a tuk tuk/taxi to get me to town quicker. There were a lot of people looking for tuk tuk/taxis and I wasn’t up for a fight, so I got in line for the bus – the wait wasn’t that long and I was on my way to town.

I got off in Old Town to head to Quinta da Regaleira. You walk through town (“Old town”) and it’s the perfect time for an ice cream break or pastry break at Piriquita (get a warm Travesseiro!!! It is amazing, very unique to Sintra, Portugal, and just as special pastel de natas). I suggest ice cream before Quinta da Regaleira and pastry after Quinta da Regaleira 🙂

Quinta da Regaleira

Quinta da Regaleira is ALSO stunning. It is huge, you could spend hours here (and of the three spots, this is the one that I would love to come back to), but I wanted to catch the 15:01 (Saturday) train back to Lisbon to make time for dinner at Ramiro so I spent about an hour here. Definitely check out the wells – there are two of them.

I did look into a few other options to get around by my own: Walking/Hiking and E-Bikes. And I’d still recommend the options above. You end up doing quite a bit of walking as part of getting around the sites so I definitely recommend taking either a taxi or the bus to Pena Palace/Moorish Castle.

The E-Bikes were tempting. The town actually has a great rental service during the week days only (there are other companies that will rent during the weekend), but it got very hilly and I didn’t see any other bikes on the road (or anywhere to park them!). You’re also on a narrow road with the cars, so was really glad I didn’t go for this option.

Sintra, Portugal Travel – The Bottom Line

Sintra, Portugal is a great destination to do it yourself, and it’s only a half hour away from Lisbon. I had the flexibility to do the things I wanted without being stuck to a schedule. With that said, definitely book a tour if you’re going on a busy day.

While there’s a lot to see in Sintra, Portugal, I think a day trip was more than enough to see the good stuff. Select a few of the sights and palaces that you really want to see.

My recommendations are Pena Palace + Moorish Castle + Quinta da Regaleira. They each had their own history and charm to them – all stunning in their own right from completely different periods and architecture.

Enjoy your time in Sintra, it’s an incredible experience!