Just a short train ride from the vibrant streets of Lisbon, Sintra is a fairy-tale town popular for its romantic architecture, breathtaking landscapes, and rich history. With its unique palaces, including the colorful Pena Palace and the ancient Moorish Castle, Sintra makes a popular and perfect day-trip destination for anyone!

What makes Sintra even better is how easy it is to get to Sintra from Lisbon, thanks to its reliable public transit system. In this post, we’ll walk you through different methods of transportation and the easiest ways to navigate your journey to ensure your trip is as seamless as possible.

1. Sintra Train

This is by far the easiest and quickest way to get to Sintra from Lisbon, with one-way trip taking around 40 minutes. There are four popular stations where you can depart from including: Rossio station and Oriente station via different lines. Entrecampos station, Oriente station, and Cais dos Sodre station. You can check the train schedule on the Comboios de Portugal (CP) website here.

From Rossio Station

Rossio station is popular station for those departing from near the city centers. This station is located near tourist districts like Bairro Alto, Alfama, and Baixa, making it a most convenient way to travel to Sintra. You can simply take the Sintra line towards Sintra (green line) at the station. The trip will take around 40 minutes.

From Oriente Station

Oriente station is another option for those staying near the upper districts. You can also take Oriente-Sintra line from different stations such as Roma-Areeiro, Entrecampos, and Sete Rios. You can take the Sintra line from the station and the trip will take around 47-50 minutes.

How to buy a ticket

You can buy one way or round trip ticket directly from the station at the ticket office or the ticket vending machines/kiosk. The ticket office is easily located once you enter the Rossio station, with train platforms typically located on the upper floors. This is the same for Oriente station where the ticket office is located on the first floor with train platforms on the second floor.

2. Bus

You can also take a bus to Sintra although it can be more complex with multiple transfers and slower. Most often, it would be easier to look into bus company services like FlixBus that runs direct to Sintra but we still recommend train ride as it’s the most convenient.

3. Bolt or Uber

You can also take bolt or uber to Sintra if you want to skip the hassle of arranging public transits. It can be more costly but convenient to get bolt or uber ride to Sintra station or center of Sintra.

4. Drive

While you can drive to Sintra, we do not recommend it. It’s not only difficult to find parking, but taking the car up to narrow and curvy path of Pena palace would be difficult.

Getting to Pena Palace

There are also several ways to get to Pena Palace once you arrive at Sintra. Some methods include: taking uber or bolt, tuk-tuks, bus, or hiking.

1. 434 Tourist Bus

This is a popular method of travel for many tourists to get up to Pena palace and Moorish castle. You can board the bus just outside of the Sintra station and the bus will take a loop where you can visit Pena palace and Moorish castle. The exact stops are as followed: Sintra station / São Pedro de Sintra / Sintra Vila / Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle) / Palácio da Pena (Pena palace), then back to Sintra station.

The 24-hour ticket costs 15 euros, round trip ticket costs 7.50 euros and a one-way ticket costs 4.10 euros if you would like to hike down or up. You can purchase the ticket from the bus driver or at the Sintra station.

Please note that during peak tourist months, there are often huge line-up which can make the tour inconvenient. If you are planning to use 434 bus, we recommend you to line up as early as possible. The first bus departs at 8:50 am and runs until 7:50 pm during peak seasons and 7:20 pm during non-peak seasons, running every 15 minutes.

2. Bolt / Uber

Bolt or Uber is another easy option for tourists as you can avoid lining up for the bus and it directly gets you to your destination. The cost varies around 10-15 euros. However, one thing to note is that we personally had difficult time getting a bolt ride back down to the sintra center from pena palace. So, always have different options in mind just in case this happens.

3. Tuk-Tuks

Tuk-tuk can offer a unique ride experience and it also gets you directly to your destination conveniently. You can take the tuk-tuks located in the sintra centre but it can be quite expensive, costing around 30 euros. It’s important to negotiate with tuk-tuk drivers and set the price before you hop on the ride.

4. Hiking

If you are a nature-lover and an avid hiker, you can hike the “Caminho de Santa Maria” trail. It takes around an hour and can be quite steep at times but the trail is well-marked and beautiful. If you arrive in Sintra early and have some time to spare with some energy, we definitely recommend you take this trail up!

Enjoy your day in Sintra!

We looked over some transportation option to and within Sintra. I hope this post was helpful in planning your day trip to Sintra 🙂 Enjoy your trip!