Sintra and Cascais Small-Group Day Trip from Lisbon
Description
Experience the natural and historical beauty of Portugal on a small-group day trip from Lisbon to Sintra and Cascais. Just a few hours from Portugal's capital city, Sintra is a magical place where man and nature exist in perfect harmony. Discover secret trails at Pena Park, admire the natural wonders of Sintra Natural Park and the cliffs of Roca Cape, and visit the whimsical Pena National Palace. Enjoy a scenic drive along the Atlantic coast, and stop at Cascais Beach. Walk around Cascais town and bay.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Start your tour with the journey to Sintra. Visit Pena Park, where you will be amazed by the variety of trails, trees and other plants. Next, feel like Portuguese royalty as you enter the romantic Pena National Palace at the top of Sintra Mountain. See the Great Triton, the guardian of the palace, inspired by Manueline art. Inside the palace, admire the attention to detail in the bedrooms of the king and queen and the Arab Room. Pena Palace tickets are included only if option "Tickets Park & Palace Included" is selected. Pena Park tickets and guided tour are are included only if options "Tickets Park & Palace Included" or "Tickets Pena Park Included" are selected.
Leave the palace and follow your guide to the historical center of Sintra, where you’ll have free time to explore the town, you can visit the Sintra National Palace on your own, where the Portuguese royalty of the 15th and 16th centuries used to spend the summer months (own expense) or have a drink and a snack (own expense). Try a travesseiro or a queijada, two delicious local pastries.
Next, admire the landscape of Sintra Natural Park on the way to the next stop. Enjoy a photo opportunity at the cliffs of Roca Cape (Cabo da Roca), the westernmost point of Europe.
Pass by the surfer's paradise of Guincho Beach.
Pass the cliff at Hell’s Mouth (Boca do Inferno), before stopping to stretch your legs along Cascais’ bay.
Free time for lunch and to wander around the centre of Cascais, a former fishing village and today a popular holiday spot. Follow your guide through narrow alleyways and see the traditional Portuguese white houses or enjoy some time relaxing at the beach. If the option "Upgrade to Regaleira" was chosen, time spent in Cascais is 60 minutes.
On the drive back to Lisbon where your tour concludes, soak up the scenic views along the Atlantic coast and in the town of Estoril.
After an introduction from your guide, enjoy free time to explore the spectacular Quinta da Regaleira, with its enchanting gardens, mysterious tunnels, and iconic Initiation Well. This visit is included only when the “Upgrade to Include Regaleira” option is selected. Important note: by making this upgrade, the time spent in Cascais is 1 hour (and not 1 hour 30 minutes)
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Duration of stop at Cascais Beach depends on weather conditions
- It's rare, but this tour may be conducted in two languages to accommodate all participants
- Infant / child seats are mandatory for children aged 0-11. These are available on request if child age is advised at time of booking.
- There is no room in our vehicles for strollers and luggage
- If the booking is for more than 8 people, the group might be divided in separate vehicles
- In peak season, very rarely, might be operated in a 24 seat minibus
- For bookings without tickets: same-day Palace tickets may be limited. Alternatives include staying near the park entrance or buying a Park-only ticket (no Palace or guided visit). Please confirm plans with your guide in the morning.
Reviews(7,606)
Great day out. Luise was a great tour guide and showed us all of the great spots in Sintra and Cascais. It takes the stress out of making sure you get to see the sights. Highly recommend.
A great trip out of the city Sintra was the highlight for me but Cascais was also amazing. The palace and gardens fantastic. Trip was made even better with our guide Orlando who was very knowledgeable and relaxed. Would thoroughly recommend especially if you have limited time in Lisbon
I really enjoyed this experience. The castles were so beautiful and the tour guide was so kind! Definitely do this excursion.
Great small group tour,Hugo was a wonderful guide- highly recommend
Can be crowded at venues but tour operator managed it well for our tour group. Knowledgeable tour guide.
The locations visited were absolutely beautiful and appropriate time allocated for each. The tour guide was great.
When we booked this tour, our cruise ship was supposed to arrive at 8:00 am. Three weeks before the tour it was changed to 10:30 arrival. Called Joao, no problem. Tour changed to 11:00. Joao drove us to Sintra and gave us a personal tour of the beautiful castle and grounds. He also treated us to coffee and pastry on the way. He was very knowledgeable and spoke very good English. After the castle he dropped us off (no parking) in Sintra to explore on our own. He recommended a pastry shop to stop by. The pastry shop is the oldest in Sintra and was fabulous. Afterwards we drove to Cascais, and he showed us some sights and let us wander around the seaside town for a bit. I strongly recommend Joao if you are looking for a Sintra tour. He is kind, attentive and very knowledgeable.
Fabio was our guide and he did an amazing job. He was incredibly knowledgeable, as well as funny and was very open to answering all of our questions. The tour was by far the best part of our trip and I would recommend all visiting Lisboa to book. :)
Ana was a great driver and guide speaking 2 languages to accommodate American and Latin guests
This was a great day. Our guide Maria was full of fun and great energy. She gave us a little bit of information about a lot of topics, without spending too long on each. She was very accommodating to the group. As we were a young and fit group, we moved quickly through all the steep uphill sections and made excellent time, so we had 2 hours for lunch at Cascais, which was very relaxing. Maria even took us back along the scenic coastal route because we were ahead of time, so in all it was a lovely day. If you are in doubt whether to include Quinta de Regaleira, I would definitely include it. It was actually more interesting than the Pena Palace. Overall I highly recommend - just beware there is a LOT of uphill walking, but it is worth it.
