SINTRA PORTUGAL | Magical Day Trip from LISBON

SINTRA, PORTUGAL: Enjoying a day trip from Lisbon to the mountains of Sintra where I found the wonderland of Quinta da Regaleira, the colourful Pena Palace & impressive Sintra Castle.

Instead of taking an organised tour to Sintra I decided to do it myself - I caught a train from Rossio Station in Lisbon and was in the picturesque Portuguese mountain town 45 minutes later. I decided to arrive early and leave late - trains run frequently throughout the day so you really can push it to the extremes!

Throughout history Sintra has attracted the upper class - including wealthy businessmen and nobility. Beyond the palaces and mansions it also served as a great lookout for the Moors when they ruled the area - so much so that they built a large castle on top of the mountain and used it to spot enemies approaching from miles around.

There's a couple of different options to see Sintra and all its attractions - an organised tour or a self guided one?

If you join an organised tour you'll likely arrive in a group, have a specific timetable, be provided transport for getting around, and of course a guide to tell you all about the wonderful places you're visiting. An organised tour will be the most expensive option but one that gives you the least hassle.

If you opt to do it yourself (as I did) you will be able to see Sintra for the lowest price. A return train ticket from Lisbon costs around 5-10 Euros and on top of that are all the entrance tickets to the places you want to visit. However, you get to see exactly what you want, when you want - and if you decide to spend more time in a certain place and less time somewhere else then that's going to be fine. You will however need to do a bit of research before you travel, work out what you want to see, decide on times etc. A great way of doing this is to watch my video.

My Timetable for Visiting Sintra (One Day Trip to Sintra)
6.45am - Get up and ready
7.30am - Walk to Rossio Train Station
8.00am - Train to Sintra
8.45am - Explore historical centre and get breakfast
10.00am - Quinta da Regaleira
midday - Bus to Castle
1.00pm - Sintra Castle
3.00pm - Pena Palace and Gardens
6.00pm - Bus back to Sintra
6.30pm - Dinner
7.00pm - Sightseeing in town
7.30pm - Walk to train station
7.50pm - Train to Lisbon

No doubt it's a big ask to do Sintra justice in one day, especially during winter when the days are much shorter - still, I gave it a go and was pretty pleased with what I saw.

*CHAPTERS:*
📖 00:00 Intro
📖 00:23 Train to Sintra
📖 01:03 Sintra Historic Centre
📖 01:50 Quinta da Regaleira
📖 05:07 Sintra Tourists
📖 05:31 Sintra Castle
📖 07:14 Sintra Castle Views
📖 08:51 Pena Palace in Sintra
📖 10:48 Best View in Sintra (Cruz Alta)

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[MattWhitingsEurope]

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Got any thoughts on the vlog or channel? Let me know in the comments!

[WITYTRAVELS]

You have Lisbon to yourself! That was a quick dead end. The views from the castle 😍 That's a nice yellow paint job.

[Watfordherts]

Everytime you get on something it’s empty 😂 have you upset Portugal . Lovely video really enjoyable . I didn’t say anything but my dad passed 3 weeks ago with dementia and had the funeral Friday and a great send off so all good . Wasn’t sure if kosovo would still happen so wasn’t excited but I’m glad to say we are going and looking forward to it more than anything. I will relax and enjoy kosovo . Dad in a much better place now as he was suffering so I’m at peace and Happy . Look forward to more videos cheers Matt

[WhenAdventureKnox]

I was hoping you'd have visited Sintra as part of this trip. Personally I'm a little more excited about seeing Sintra over Lisbon. That train was too funny after the aqueduct last episode 🤣 Shame the gardens weren't quite as deserted, but I feel like it was less busy than I'd expected them to be. What time did you arrive to avoid the tourist masses that seemed to come by every means possible - I saw a land train, hop on hop off bus, tuk-tuk and huge 4x4 🤣 I found this video particularly helpful for when I come to plan a visit as I didn't realise the gardens and well were much lower down than the palace and you'd catch a bus between the 2! I couldn't agree more about the best view at the end too - the shots you got were stunning - and in that light too!!

[OlgasBritishFells]

I liked Sintra (from your video, I've never been there) much better than the capital Lisbon. Many beautiful and historic places to see. When do you decide to hire a car on your travels and when do you not hire a car? Does it depend on the public transport there?