A view of yellow and cream Pena palace towers through the tree branches in Sintra, Portugal.

March 29, 2026

How to Get Around Sintra: Essential Tips for a Stress-Free Day Trip.

Are you planning a visit to the iconic palaces of Sintra from Lisbon but not quite sure how to get there or how to get around once you arrive?

You’re in the right place!

After visiting Sintra twice and trying a few different types of transportation there, I’ve put together everything you need to know about how to get to Sintra and how to get around Sintra.

You’ll know what to do and – just as importantly – what NOT to do to make the most of your time in the park, especially if you’re squeezing it all into one day!

Ready for my best tips?

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Table Of Contents

How to Get Around Sintra: Essential Tips for a Stress-Free Day Trip.

Let’s start with the first big question:

How to get to Sintra from Lisbon?

By train

Taking the train from Lisbon is by far the best way to travel to Sintra.

A red urban train approaching the platform at Rossio Train station in Lisbon, portugal.

There are direct urban trains departing from Rossio Station and Oriente Station. From Rossio the ride takes about 40 minutes and from Oriente about 47 minutes. Rides with longer duration usually involve a stop and a transfer.

There are no direct connections from Santa Apolonia station.

Check schedules here.

Helpful tip: when searching for the connections on the official website, type “Lisboa” in the search bar and you’ll get a dropdown menu with the three train stations. If you type in “Lisbon”, the system won’t find it, even in the English version of the webpage.

You can buy tickets at the train stations from the self-service vending machines or at the ticket window.

The cost of a one-way ticket is 2.45 euros.

Note: the urban trains to Sintra (marked “U” on the timetable) are included in the Lisbon Card and in the Navegante Occasional Card if you added that option during purchase.

Once you arrive at the train station, you can decide how you want to explore Sintra from there. Read more below in the “How to get around Sintra” section of this guide.

By car:

Can you bring your car to Sintra? In theory, yes.

Should you bring your car to Sintra? No, it is not recommended, unless you’re spending the night (or nights) there and have a parking spot at your accommodation. There are very few parking options in Sintra and driving there is not for the faint of heart.

How to get around Sintra?

Once you arrive at Sintra train station, you have options:

1. By bus

There are two public buses in Sintra: #434 (Pena Palace Circuit) and #435 (Monserrate Circuit). They can be found right outside the train station.

A white public bus at a stop near the train station in Sintra Portugal.

Bus 434 (Pena Palace Circuit)

This is a 7-stop loop route taking you to the Moorish Castle (Castelo dos Mouros), Pena Palace (Palácio da Pena), and back to the train station through the historic center of Sintra.

This is not a hop-on on hop-off option – you can only use the ticket once for each stop and the bus only travels in one direction in the order listed above. So you have to follow the order or go back to the beginning and buy another ticket.

For example: if you want to go to Pena Palace first and then to Moorish Castle, you’ll take the bus from the train station to the palace, then back to the train station and buy another ticket to got to the castle.

Tickets cost 5.50 euros and can be purchased directly from the driver.

A bus stop in Sintra Portugal. — *A bus stop in front of Monserrate Palace.*

Bus 435 (Monserrate Circuit)

This is also a loop route starting in front of the train station with 10 stops, including Quinta da Regaleira, Palácio de Seteais and Monserrate Palace (Palácio de Monserrate). Then it goes back to the train station.

Tickets also cost 5.50 euros and can be purchased directly from the driver.

Just like with the Pena Palace Circuit above, you can only use your ticket once for each stop of the route in the direction of the loop.

I have not taken the bus personally, but I have heard mixed reviews. Especially in the high summer season they are frequently late due to traffic and you can expect long lines.

However all other transportation options (ride share drivers and taxis) face the same traffic, so just be prepared for slow travel.

Buses are scheduled to operate between the hours of 9:30 and 7:50 pm in the summer (6:10 pm the rest of the year)

Helpful tip: if you’d like the Hop-On Hop-Off option, you can buy a 24-hour bus ticket, which will give you unlimited rides to all palaces and castles for 24 hours from the first scan.

Buy your Hop-On Hop-Off ticket on the official website or here for easy cancellation should your plans change.

See the map below for a picture of the bus routes to help you navigate:

A photo of a map of bus routes in Sintra, Portugal.

2. By Uber/Bolt

We used Uber during our second visit to Sintra. We were going to try taking the bus bu,t we arrived earlier than they started running.

We only visited Monserrate Palace this time (we saw the rest of Sintra during our first visit) and needed a ride there and back.

We were also going to try the taxi (read below why we didn’t), but eventually chose to book an Uber ride, and it was a great experience.

The rides were fast, reliable and relatively inexpensive. We were a group of three and paid around $9 to get to Monserrate and just under $7 to get back to the train station. The wait was only about 5-7 minutes.

There was a group of tourists next to us as we were leaving the palace, talking about a good experience with their Bolt ride, so that’s a good option as well.

3. By taxi

A row of taxis in front of the train station in Sintra Portugal.

This option is there for you, but we didn’t have the best experience, so I’ll leave the decision up to you.

The taxis are lined up right in front of the train station and even though I was previously warned to not use taxis in Portugal and some of them may be less than honest and reliable, I figured we can try it just for our visit to Monserrate Palace and back.

So we approached the first driver and asked about the cost. We were given and estimate of “about 18 euros more or less”.

This was a cool April morning before 9 am with no traffic yet. The driver did not seem very interested in the ride and I didn’t want to be taken advantage of, so we walked away and booked an Uber instead.

4. By tuk tuk

A white tuk tuk parked curbside in Sintra, Portugal.

There are plenty of tuk-tuks by the station and in other areas of Sintra.

They will usually offer not just a ride but a tour as well, and prices can vary. They are more than Uber and Bolt, but seem more reliable than the taxis, so you just have to ask for your quote before you get on.

5. By e-car

This is what we did during our first trip to Sintra. After a lot of reading, thinking and discussions we decided to book two e-cars and explore Sintra on our own.

A black and white two-seater e-car, parked curbside in sintra Portugal.

It was a fun experience, although a bit stressful at times. Like I said earlier, driving in Sintra is an adventure!

It did give us independence from the buses and Uber rides, we were able to park the little cars in spaces in which a regular car wouldn’t fit and visit everything we wanted.

When booking the cars the experience is called “a tour” but you just need to choose which attractions you want to visit, so the company can program your routes in the GPS you’ll get with the car.

Read my full review of our adventure with renting an e-car in Sintra.

The exact tour that we booked seems to no longer be available, but here are some experiences very similar to ours:

6. NOT by car

Please trust me on this – you don’t want to drive around Sintra to visit the attractions.

First of all, access to Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle is restricted so you will not be able to get to the parking lot.

Secondly, the historic center of Sintra is closed to traffic, so you’re much better off leaving the driving to an experienced resident driver, familiar with the narrow winding roads and Sintra traffic.

7. By walking

You are welcome to walk around Sintra, however, keep in mind that while the roads are very scenic, there’s a lot of uphill walking involved.

We walked from Pena Palace to the Moorish Castle, and even though it was not a long one, it was still a hike!

Also, if you only have one day to visit all the sites, walking between them will eat up a lot of your time.

Are there tours to Sintra?

Yes, there are many tours to choose from.

You can book a tour from Lisbon that will take care of the transportation to and within Sintra or book a tuk tuk tour to visit the attractions once there.

Sintra Transport Options at a Glance

Still not sure which way sounds best?
Here’s a quick side-by-side comparison of all the transportation options to make your choice easier:

Option	Cost (approx.)	Best for	Pros	Cons
Bus 434	€5.50 per ticket	Visiting Pena Palace, Moorish Castle	Efficient route to the highest points	Only one direction, hop-on hop-off option to buy
Bus 435	€5.50 per ticket	Visiting Monserrate, Regaleira, etc.	Good for the historic center & Monserrate	Same ticket limitations as Bus 434
Uber/Bolt	€7 – €10 per ride	Small groups, flexible timing	Fast, reliable, affordable	Surge pricing possible in peak times
Taxi	€18+ per ride (estimate)	Travelers prefer local rides	Easy to find outside the train station	Unpredictable pricing, less reliable
Tuk Tuk	Varies (€15 – €30)	Adventure seekers, small tours	Fun experience, local driver knowledge	More expensive than bus/Uber
E-car rental	€50 – €80 for a few hours	Independent explorers	Freedom to visit multiple attractions	Driving can be stressful, tight roads
Walking	Free	Hiking enthusiasts with time	Scenic and flexible	Very hilly, time-consuming

My best advice for a smooth and efficient Sintra experience is using the buses or Uber/Bolt and saving walking for shorter distances between nearby sites.

Now that you know how to get to Sintra and how to travel between attractions, it’s time to plan your perfect day trip from Lisbon to Sintra!

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