Sintra, Pena Palace, Regaleira, Roca, Cascais, Small Group tour
Description
Small-group day trip from Lisbon to Sintra and Cascais coast. Enjoy iconic Pena Palace terraces and viewpoints, explore Sintra village, admire dramatic views at Cabo Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe, and relax along the Cascais coastline. After lunch, we return to Lisbon around 4:30 PM. With great local guides, the tour combines engaging explanations, with leisure time to explore at your own pace. Along the way, stroll through charming streets, taste local pastries, enjoy the views, take photos, and learn about Portugal’s history, culture, and daily life. - Pickup in Lisbon centre - Pena Palace visit: select option: 1- Pena Palace interior / 2- Pena terraces, garden & park (exterior & viewpoints) / 3- Tickets not included - Sintra - Regaleira (optional**) - Cabo Roca - Cascais & Estoril - Drop-off in Lisbon Important Information Note: ** Regaleira visit not included - to visit, book for 11h30 - it gets sold out days in advance (see: regaleira by blueticket)
Tour Options
Itinerary
Visit to the Pena Palace terraces and Park, one of the best representations of 19th century Romanticism in Europe. Being the second-highest point in the Serra de Sintra (over 500m above sea level), it will amaze you with its unique architecture and spectacular views. King Ferdinand II - the king-artist - fell in love with Sintra, and following the purchase of the property, decided to build a unique castle and park, with 500 plant species from all corners of the world. The palace incorporates Manueline and Moorish architectural influences, that together will give you an atmosphere of “a thousand and one nights.”. An unforgettable experience (see ticket options - terraces and viewpoints or interior rooms).
In the center of Sintra you can either stay in the village, view the National Palace or walk to visit Regaleira (tickets not included). Also, a great option is to stay, and enjoy the wonders of this beautiful medieval little town, walking the narrow streets, feel the local atmosphere and then grab a coffee and try local pastry "Travesseiro".
Regaleira is a 19th century Villa, known as Palácio da Regaleira. Located in the center of Sintra, it was bought by a Portuguese businessman who was fascinated by secret orders such as Freemasonry and the Templars. Regaleira was transformed into a palace surrounded by gardens, lakes, caves and enigmatic constructions, symbolic places, typical of secret societies and rituals. A unique monument influenced by Romantic, Neo-Gothic and Manueline architecture. When in Sintra you can walk to see Quinta da Regaleira (in case you wish to visit please book 11h30 slot, on the official shop: regaleira by blueticket .
Sintra National Palace is one of the most important royal palaces from the 12th century, built by the moors initially, and later further developed and expanded during different monarchs' reign. This was one of the most important political centers, during the discoveries of the 15th and 16th centuries. It has the most relevant moorish ceramic tiles collection in Portugal.
We will stop at Cabo Roca, the westernmost point of continental Europe. After your Sintra's visit, you will stop here to take pictures, get a bit of fresh air, and relax.
Cascais will amaze you, with its mix of a little fishing village, together with the sophistication of a place where kings and queens would spend part of their summer. Time to relax and enjoy the views
A quick view of Estoril, where kings were living and spies would come to meet during World War II. Fancy James Bond? You will know a bit of history also.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pickup in Lisbon city centre, from 7h40 at hotels downtown or 7h50 Uptown - we will confirm time the day before. In case we have no parking access or your hotel is not in the centre, we might ask you to walk 5 min to a nearby meeting-point. If your hotel is not listed, choose the closest from where you are staying, or select one of the meeting points (Praça Luis de Camões 7:40 / Praça Figueira 7:40 / Hard Rock 7:45 / Evolution Saldanha 7:45 / Praça Marquês de Pombal 7:50). Maximum waiting is 5 minutes, for both pickup and after meeting points during the visits, to avoid delaying the tour.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Includes ticket to visit Pena Palace terraces & park (enjoy palace history, viewpoints, terraces, only not entering rooms)
- Regaleira is not included - if you wish to visit, please book for 11h30 on regaleira by blueticket. It will be sold out in advance, and in that case you cannot visit the interior
- Good to skip lines
- Tours can be bilingual (operated in 2 languages)
- We recommend wearing comfortable shoes, as we will walk at some of the sites to visit
- We will have regular comfort stops, but recommend bringing a bottle of water
- Sintra is often rainy / foggy or colder than Lisbon, particularly early morning, so please check forecast
- Tour will go ahead even under rainy conditions, always ensuring everyone's safety
- Not suitable for travellers with limited mobility
- LGBTIQ+ friendly
Reviews(2,135)
We had an amazing time. David was awesome. We learned so much history from him. Never a dull moment. He had a great sense of humor. We went with our daughters, son in law & our son. Our family was very impressed with him. Definitely take this excursion & ask for David. You will not be disappointed.
Èdi is extremely knowledgeable and has a real passion for history, he was not just regurgitating facts along the way and made the trip super fun today! Definitely one of the best day trips ever. Oh and he's a great driver too!
Was a fantastic all day tour. The sights were amazing but our guide Edi really made the trip special. Would highly recommend this tour with Edi, so thankful we did it.
Our day tour of Sintra was epic and Filipe, our tour guide, had an incredible knowledge of history and was friendly and a wonderful host. I wouldn’t bother with paying for the inside of the palace - the outside and grounds are the best part. Wish we had a little more time in the village of Sintra as the Regaleira takes time to do properly. Highly recommend this tour!
Yesterday we had the pleasure of doing this tour with David as our guide. The sites were stunning and we never felt rushed. Loved the palace. It is a must see. David was extremely knowledgeable, funny and friendly. He also gave great suggestions on places to eat and things to do during our stops. Highly recommend!
I travel quite often and I'm usually very critical when it comes to tours, so I don't give recommendations lightly. Based on my experience, I can truly say this tour exceeded my expectations. Everything was perfectly organized, the places we visited were beautiful, and our guide David was outstanding. He was knowledgeable, professional, friendly, and made the entire day enjoyable with his great stories and positive attitude. If you're visiting Lisbon, I highly recommend this tour. Thank you, David, for an unforgettable experience!
David’s cool, he made the trip very enjoyable and gave a lot of context and fun facts throughout the tour. The communication was clear throughout and everything was pretty easy to follow along, and we had a very solid amount of time dedicated to each portion of the tour. Got to talk with him personally a bit as well and he’s very genuine. Definitely book with David.
This was a 1 day speed course in Portugese history! While a visiting beautiful places. An early start at Sintra is a major advantage as this is an intensely busy place. Felipe doesn’t spare any effort to share his wealth of knowledge.
It was a good day but I feel 3 hours in Sintra was too long. Our guide was ok and came over as very knowledgeable
Dear Cammy, thank you for your feedback - it helps us as we strive to keep improving. Great to see you enjoyed our tour. We normally suggest our customers to book one of the optional palaces in sintra as these get sold out in advance (Regaleira as an example), but you did not want to book - our customers love to explore the village, but being an old town it is not exactly a big shopping location. We take your comment on board, although 99% of our customers love the itinerary, we can always do better. It was a pleasure welcoming you and we hope to see you again on a future visit. All the best!
Edi was our tour guide and he was amazing! Our family had such a great experience with him. Couldn’t have asked for a better guide for this experience. Great balance between history and fun. Highly recommend!
