Day Trip to Sintra, Portugal

If you’re visiting Lisbon, Portugal, a must-do on your list is to make a day trip to Sintra, the land of castles!

You can easily spend a whole day or more in Sintra as there are plenty of castles to explore. We went with a hop-on-hop-off bus pass that gave us access to two castles, the Moorish Castle and Pena Palace. Another popular castle is the Quinta da Regaleira, but this one belongs on a different bus route. This day trip was definitely a highlight while we were in Portugal!

What You Need to Know

Transportation

From Lisbon, you can catch a train going to Sintra from Rossio Square for 4.50 euros round trip. It’ll take 45 minutes. The train runs about every 15-20 minutes from 7am to 8pm (it also runs earlier and later with less frequency).

Check this site for the time table.

Once you arrive at the Sintra central station, there are a couple of bus options for you to choose from depending on which castles and how many you want to visit.

I would advise to take a bus once you get to Sintra, instead of walk, because these castles are located uphill, and the uphill battle is not an easy or fun one. Plus, you don’t want to waste your time walking when you’ll need the energy to walk the vast expanse of the castles. 🙂

Bus Routes

Check this site for the bus tours offered. Below are two popular circuits.

434 loop (6.90 euros for one hop-on-hop-off loop)

• Sintra station
• Town center
• Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle)
• Palacio da Pena (Pena Palace)

435 loop (5 euros for one hop-on-hop-off loop)

• Sintra station
• Town center
• Quinta da Regaleira (Queen’s Palace)
• Setais Palace
• Montseratte Palace

Weather

The weather can be somewhat erratic. One moment it’s sunny and the next, fog is rolling in. Make sure to bring a light jacket!

Entrance Fees

Check this site for entrance fees for the castles. The site doesn’t show the fee for Quinta da Regaleira, which is 6 euros.

You can purchase tickets to enter the castles online for an initial 5% discount. The more castles you visit, the more of a discount you get!

If you want to wait to purchase your tickets, it’s also possible to get them at the entrance of each castle once you’re there.

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Have fun in Sintra!! xx

Dress: Lulus.com