Subscribe to get posts direct to your inbox

What do you get for subscribing? Epic adventures & stories, travel inspiration for off the beaten track explorers, city guides, road trip plans and stunning landscape photography

Once you have hit the sign up button you will receive a confirmation e-mail. Head over to your e-mail, confirm that and then you are all ready to receive our blog posts via e-mail!

City to sea: A day trip to Sintra

Sintra. It’s one of the most popular tourist destinations in Portugal and it encompasses a huge swath of land including castles, palaces, gardens, hills, forests, beaches and royal estates. It also comes complete with its own micro climate. The area is huge and we know we’ll only be able to dent it, and because it’s so large that we won’t really be able to get around. With this in mind we make the collective decision to rent bikes. But we’ve got to get there first, it’s a 40 minute ride on the train.

There are two stations where you can catch the train to Sintra from: Rossio & Oriente. Rossio is the main station, closer to the center but we choose Oriente because it’s on the same metro line as our hostel. It will prove quicker for us. We’re up bright and early to make the most of our day, we’ve got pack lunches and lots of snacks to save money. Being careful with money when visiting Sintra is important because my god is it expensive and everything costs. You can spend hundreds of euros if you’re not careful.

The train costs €2.25 per person each way so around €10 return for two people. At least the train is reasonably priced. The journey is uneventful except for the glimpse of suburban life we witness, sprawling concrete and soulless copy-paste buildings. Not something we imagined we would see in Portugal.

Lame secret plan in Sintra

Now it’s time to reveal our ridiculous secret plan. We are going to rent bikes. Not just any bikes though. Electric bikes. We are kind of ashamed and excited at the same time. Hear us out: Sintra is too big to explore by foot, the bus would require numerous fairs and inconvenient times. A normal bike is not going to cut it because, well, we have no mountain biking experience and there are some pretty tough inclines around the area. Pushing the bike for half the day would defeat the point. So there it is, you can clearly see we have no other option.

We walk the five minutes across what feels like a strange suburbia to Park E-Bike where we arrive exactly at the opening time to pick up our bikes, which we pre-booked. It takes another five minutes to go over the charging and battery change procedures and some other health and safety spiel.

We leap on our bikes and zoom off with big smiles on our faces. It turns out electric bikes are quite liberating. Our first stop is Pena palace. The ridiculously ram shack, Disney coloured, perched on a rock, princess castle. We’ve got to see it. Or maybe not. The weather’s not quite on our side, thick mist seems to obscure even the closest buildings. As we leave the main road and enter the national park and the countryside, everything changes.

Lisbon’s playground for the rich and famous

The land is mountainous, nothing is flat. The vegetation is thick and lush, wet and green. The forests are dense and sprawl on, for kilometres. The roads become ever so tight and twist so much you have to slow down in order to not crash into oncoming traffic on blind bends. They’re also extremely steep and already within the first twenty minutes we’re decidedely content we made the right decision. We’d already be pushing normal bikes by now. The park oozes a sense of mystique. Fantasy, nature and religion are all at one here.

We ride maybe twenty minutes from the cute little village of Sintra to the Pena Palace gardens. Along the way there are numerous stops: fountains, palaces & castles but we put them on the back burner. At the gardens we lock our bikes and go rambling through the woods. We look on maps.me and pick random cool sounding locations, various look out points, ponds, little fort-like buildings and so on. We have a lot of fun. It’s nice to be in nature again: we’ve been exploring cities for the last week or so and had an absolute blast in Porto.

No fogging views in Sintra

After reaching the lookout point and clambering onto the tallest rock we peer out to the magnificent view of… fog. Thick white fog. We can’t see anything at all. From here, on a nice day, there are said to be dazzling views of Pena Palace besieging the landscape. Not today. We drop back in to the woods and the fog lowers through the tree tops. The wind howls, shaking the trees and blowing the fog through the eerie forests. If we can’t get any nice shots of the landscapes and palaces and least we will have some cool ones of spooky forests. That’s fine by me.

More Enchanting Landscapes

Clouds and waterfalls engulfing the Karwendel valley
Austria

Wild and without: 3 day trek in Karwendel Alps – Part 2

The bear categorically does not step in the mountain lodge. So I guess you are wondering what these stepping bears are all about? Well, it’s an Austrian countryside expression for something happening, like to find out where it’s cracking. Wo steppt der Bär?! Where is the bear stepping?! It’s perfect and the idea of bear […]

March 16, 2019
0
Stormy sunset at Black rock lake in Lagodekhi Protected Areas, Georgia
Georgia

Black Rock Lake: 3 Day hike from Lagodekhi

Our time in Georgia is coming to an end and while we’re sad, we’ve got big plans for the summer. We are going to drive through Central Asia on the Silk Road with a final destination of Kyrgyzstan. A country not many people have ever heard of. When the summer is over we will head […]

October 31, 2021
0
A small alpine lake in Aigüestortes i Estany of Saint Maurici national park lake reflecting trees, cloudy mountains in background
Spain

Wild and without: Aigüestortes i Estany of Saint Maurici National Park

In the heart of the Pyrenees, we wake up from a cosy nights sleep in our tent, it was cold but not excruciatingly so. Wide awake, freshened and energetic to explore. We came to Espot to experience the mighty Pyrenees mountains. We decided randomly on the national park Aigüestortes i Estany of Saint Maurici. Well […]

January 19, 2020
2
Grüner See reflecting the mountain in the background
Austria

Wild and without beer at Grüner See

Grüner See (Green lake, I’ll let you guess why) is a karst lake in Styria, Austria. No one knew it even existed until Ashton Kutcher posted about it on Facebook a few years back. After that, the council had to impose a swimming and diving ban to protect the environment due to the tourist masses. […]

November 23, 2018
0
Lone tree top in the foggy forests of Sintra

Next stop: palace. We meander through the forests to the main admission area of the Palace. So far we’ve met barely any other souls. That’s because they’re all here. It’s rammed, which is surprising since it is the middle of winter. It’s probably never quiet here. We purchase terrace tickets for €7.50 which allows us in the courtyards and viewing platforms around the palace. The full price to enter inside costs €14. We’ll skip the rich indulgence and instead admire the architecture and views. Except we won’t because, well, fog.

Foggy day at Pena Palace, Sintra

Trans Sintra: E-bike

Next stop on the itinerary is the Atlantic coast. We are heading for a spectacular looking beach named Praia da Adraga. We find the most logical route on the map and pick a few stops along the way to explore. As soon as we exit the palace and zoom through the forest, we’re once again alone with our thoughts.

The few places we stop all seem to be closed, either due to renovation or out of season. Never mind, we head for the coast. It’s a long slog, in which we truly begin to appreciate the size of the national park. We zoom through numerous forests and hamlets, always descending to the coast. After what feels like an age we breach the cliffs and descend in to a narrow valley. The road snakes its way directly to the beach where a small car park and restaurant reside. There are but a few other people around. The wind is sharp and the clouds are stormy, so paddling is off the cards today.

Wild Adraga Beach

Praia da Adraga beach on a moody day, Sintra

My god is it beautiful though. Perfect soft golden sands, sharp rocks and extreme cliff faces. The crashing Atlantic ocean swallowing the beach whole with each wave. Then there is a magnificent natural arch carved from the rock which we try to run through and around before the waves catch us. We’ve still got our coats on and it reminds me of cold days on British beaches. We frolic around, tempting the waves, getting as close as we can when they withdraw and fleeing back inland as they crash at our ankles.

About that time to get lost

Time is advancing fast, and we barely saw anything yet, so we decide to leave and head for the next stop. Riding back out of the gorge is tough. The batteries on the bike are running low and this seems to make pedalling hard. Even harder than a normal bike because the electric bikes weigh a tonne. Well, what a laughable situation we are in. The battery reports it still has half its life, it doesn’t feel like it, and we’ve only ridden about 30 kilometres.

We struggle out of the gorge and swap the batteries which seems to help for a little while. We take a shortcut, which is not a shortcut. It’s a dirt road which turns in to a steep trail where we have to carry the bikes over rocks and other obstacles. After numerous arguments and uphill battles we emerge through someones back garden on to a kind of road where we are actually permitted to ride the bikes. You’re not allowed to take them off road. Oops.

By the time we get back to Sintra it’s getting late and we need to take the bikes back. We had hopes to visit some of the villas and palaces around Sintra. In particular the Initiation Well and the gothic mansion Quinta da Regaleira, but it’s too late, and to be honest, too expensive. If you’ve read this far make sure to prepare yourself better than we did and don’t follow our plans. You will do better to follow the advice over here.

From Lisbon to the Algarve

We take our bikes back to rental shop and hop on the train. We’ve had a blast but we’re exhausted, back to our cheap crappy hostel in Lisbon!

We’ve got one more day in Lisbon where we will do a little more exploring and planning. With time running low, our adventures to the Algarve and the South of Spain must be perfectly calculated.

More of Portugal

Man walking past side of Igreja do Carmo
Portugal

Essential Porto: Top 10 authentic things to do

Porto, what a city! We don’t usually write these types of posts, for us it’s mostly about the journey rather than the destination. Especially when it comes to hitchhiking, driving and camping in foreign countries. Most of our stories come from the detours, disasters and downright crazy situations we always seem to end up in. […]

April 2, 2020
0
Woman smoking in window of Villa Sousa, Lisbon
Portugal

Tracing trams to find Lisbon’s liveliest lookouts

It’s dark outside as our train shuffles into Lisbon. We attempted to hitchhike here from Aveiro but failed miserably so opted for the train. In a sense quite fitting since for the last few weeks I’ve been reading The night train to Lisbon. A romantic account of a Swiss professor leaving behind his life for […]

December 6, 2020
0
Afternoon light pouring Benagil Cave
Portugal

Wild and without a campground: Lisbon to Benagil

Leaving Lisbon for the Algarve seems to be a bit of a problem. We have plans to get to nearby Benagil caves and beach and wild camp somewhere on the beach or cliffs. Before we can even consider that though we need to get south. Train and Bus are out of our budget. We toy […]

August 16, 2021
0
Sunrise at Carvalho Beach on the Algarve
Portugal

Benagil to Faro: All along the Algarve

It was absolute ordeal getting to the Algarve & Benagil, much more complicated than many other trips we’ve recently made. Like when we hitchhiked all the way across Switzerland on a sightseeing tour. The Portuguese are kind of adverse to the idea of Hitchhiking. Still, we do manage to catch one ride, so all is […]

October 18, 2021
0

FACTS FACTS FACTS

How to get there

You’re most likely going to be coming from Lisbon. If you need help getting to Lisbon, check our post about that.

The best option for getting to Sintra is by train.

There are two stations where you can catch the train from: Rossio & Oriente.

Rossio is the main station, closer to the centre but we chose Oriente because it was on the same metro line as our hostel. The train costs €2.25 per person each way so around €10 return for two people. You will most likely want to get off the train at the final destination: Sintra.

Things to do

  • Pena Palace – That’s what you came for right? Go there first, early. Most people follow the tourist bus route and usually end up at the palace later in the day. Avoid the crowds by hitting it first. It costs €14 euros to visit.
  • Pena Palace gardens – They’re stunning and there are lots of great look out points for fantastic views, if you get the weather that is!
  • Quinta da Regaleira – A fantastic mansion surrounded with stunning gardens and that cool well that you’ve probably seen pictures of. It costs €6 euros and can be reached with a 5 minute walk from Sintra village.
  • Castelo dos Mouros – A huge fortified restored Moorish castle on a rocky mountain with incredible views over the national park. It costs €8 and can be visited from Pena Palace.
  • Palace of Monserrate – A 19th century Islamic inspired mansion. It’s off the normal 434 bus route so it’s often less busy. Take the 435 bus to visit. It costs €8 to visit.
  • The Sintra Tram – This thing is a bit out of the way and we never got to do it but it’s super adorable and we will be back to ride it.
  • The beaches – The coast is wild and stunning. We had an absolute blast at Adraga beach. There is also Praia da Ursa. This looks like something off the coast of Hawaii and apparently is devoid of tourists.

This list if by no means exhaustive. There is SO MUCH to do and see around Sintra. Check out Google Maps, click on random stuff and find your way. You will no doubt have an adventure, just like us.

How to get around

You could rent e-bikes like we did. It was pretty fun, not gonna lie. Check out Park E-Bike.

Failing that, you’re left with the bus or a car. We wouldn’t really recommend driving your car around Sintra. The roads are too small and it’s a beautiful place that would be ruined with too many cars.

That leaves you with the bus.

You want bus number 434. It departs from Sintra train station and stops at a few popular places in the national park. You can find the timetable here on the bus operator website. It departs regularly during the summer, a few times an hour and less so during the winter.

You can get a hop-on, hop-off ticket for around €6.90, but it only allows one circuit.

There is another combined ticket which might be of use, which includes the train from Lisbon, the 434 bus, and another bus, the 435 which allows to visit the Palace of Monserrate. This ticket costs €15.80 and can be bought at any train station in Lisbon. This seems option seems to be the best value for money. Ask for the 1 day Sintra and Cascais ticket.

Accommodation

We didn’t stay in Sintra so we can’t really offer any advice here. Check on booking.com and Airbnb. There’s most likely lots of options. There are also some hostels right near the historical centre of Sintra.

Pro Tips

  • Have more money than us. It’s really quite expensive to visit all the iconic attractions in Sintra.
  • Stay in Sintra for a night or few. There’s so much to do – you can barely scratch the surface in one day!
  • Enjoy the nature as well as the palaces, there’s a reason they chose to build them here!

Leave A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *