Sintra travel blog — The fullest Sintra travel guide & how to make a perfect day trip to Sintra from Lisbon

September 13, 2020

A trip to Lisbon is incomplete without a visit to Sintra. With colorful castles, diverse culture, rich in history and vintage streets. Sintra is really a highlight for any journey to Portugal of any traveler. So, how to make a perfect day trip to Sintra from Lisbon? Let’s check out our Sintra travel blog (Sintra blog) with the fullest Sintra travel guide on how to spend 1 day in Sintra, Portugal (one day in Sintra) perfectly from how to get there, top things to do… to find out the answer!

Sintra castle — Park and National Palace of Pena seen from afar.

Sostiphicated architecture at Pena castle

Sintra, the real-life fairyland of Portugal.

Sintra blog: How many day should I spend for Sintra is enough?

Sintra is a large land, recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage. In fact, with a trip to Lisbon, you only need to spend a day to visiting Sintra, depart in the morning and return in the afternoon.

Chalet Saudade Hotel (Agoda.com or Booking.com)

However, it should be noted that the number of visitors to Sintra is very crowded. Especially the place to visit of the castle, sometimes you have to queuing to buy tickets for an hour. Waiting for the bus is also very long and crowded. So if you want a more comfortable trip, you can consider staying here for an extra night.

Sintra travel blog: How to get to and getting around Sintra

Getting to Sintra from Lisbon

Means of transportation to Sintra and their estimated time.

Traveling between Lisbon and Sintra is extremely easy by train. It only takes about 40 minutes of train ride comfortably, not too crowded to reach Sintra from the center of Lisbon. Round trip ticket is 4.5 euros / adult and 2.3 euros / children . You can take the train from the Gare Lisboa-Rossio central station and buy tickets right at the station. Train tickets do not have fixed seats so you can sit at any coach.

Lisbon and suburbs metro map that including Sintra route.

Sintra, Cascais, and Estoril Day Tour from Lisbon

Getting around Sintra

There are several means of transport in Sintra that you should consider:

Bus: You can get a map of the bus lines in Sintra right at the bus ticket office opposite the train station. There are two main bus routes in Sintra, bus number 434 running through 3 points, namely Moorish Castle – Pena Palace – Natural History Museum. And bus number 435 runs through the National Palace of Sintra – Quinta da Regaleira – Seteais Palace – Monserrate Palace.

Sintra bus routes of 434 (orange line), 435 (green line)

Both of these buses departing from Sintra station, all are hop on – hop off buses. You can get on the bus at any time, the fare is EUR6.9 / person. If you buy a single ticket is EUR3.9E / trip.

Outside Sintra station, tou can see the main means of transportation of Tuk-tuk.

Tuk-tuk: You will immediately see this vehicle as soon as you leave the station through the greetings from the drivers who are always smiling. Price at EUR5 / person or go with group will be cheaper at EUR10 / 3 person for a short trip. It is cheaper than taking the bus. If you are in a hurry and meet a tuk-tuk, you can jump up, because the walking from the station to the attractions is quite far.

Sintra travel blog: Best places to visit in Sintra

National Palace of Sintra and Old Town

Sintra National Palace is located right near the Old Town center. You can see this palace from afar while walking from Sintra train station. Admission fee is Eur9.5 / person.

If you just arrive Sintra, you can walk or take a tuk tuk to stop at Old Town. This is a large area with lots of shops, eateries, and souvenirs. The shops here are very vintage with typical Portuguese style.

Pena Palace

Pena Palace is a must-go place when you come to Sintra, one of the sprawling and colorful palaces and the symbol of Sintra. This palace was built in the 19th century in Roman architectural style, with many domes and outer steps. Tourists are always crowded here, so for good photos you should come here early in the morning. Pena Palace is very special, unlike any other castle or palace in Europe.

Admission fee is 14 Euros / person.

Park and National Palace of Pena Entrance Ticket

Quinta da Regaleira

Sintra, Quinta da Regaleira, & Monserrate Palace Full Day Tour with Wine Tasting

Quinta da Regaleira is known as an older castle than Pena. Inside is a collection of caves, wells, gardens, tunnels, and trees. Perhaps its mysterious looks attracts the curiosity of tourists the most when coming to Quinta da Regaleira. Especially the deep water well with the surrounding stairs going down makes everyone must shiver.

Admission fee is EUR6 / person.

Montserrate Palace

At the first glance, Montserrate is a separate palace from the area surrounding it. This palace is decorated and blended by many different architectural styles such as Gothic, Arabic and Indian architecture. The view from here is beautiful to the surrounding hills. Montserrate seems less popular so it is quiet and not as crowded as Pena and Quinta da Regaleira.

Admission fee is EUR7.6 / person.

Park and Palace of Monserrate Entrance Ticket

Castle of the Moors

Moors Castle is located at one of the highest peaks in Sintra. Built a long time ago (9th century), Castle of the Moors was quite old and many its parts were destroyed and ruined. You can walk along the walls and enjoy the beautiful view of Sintra from this castle. The paths here are like a part of the miniature Great Wall.

Admission fee is EUR7.6 / person.

Moorish Castle Entrance Ticket in Sintra

Tivoli Seteais Palace

Seteais Palace was built in the 18th century and is now open to visitors. In fact, this is a beautiful 5-star hotel called Tivoli Palácio de Seteais (Agoda.com or Booking.com). You can consider staying here for 1-2 nights to experience a pure, quiet and mysterious of Sintra.

In general, if you don’t have much time, you can just visit Sintra in a day is enough. But if you want a deeper experience, with more relaxing time, you should stay here for at least 2-3 days. Because, during the peak season, tourists flock here very crowded, waiting time for the bus is also long. And only when you have 2 days or more, you can fully experience the sights in this wonderful land of Sintra.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in and from Lisbon you can refer to

Are you looking for more top things to do in Lisbon: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Let’s check it out at here.