Sentra Castles: Pena Palace, Moorish Castle, and Quinta da Regaleira

Someone with more recent experience can probably give better information. Walking, public bus, tuk tuk, taxi and uber are all possible. If you are trying to see all 3 places in one day, walking only may not be time-efficient. However, the busses may have a wait and/or be full. I have heard that getting a taxi or uber between palaces might be difficult due to high demand, but I did not try that. When I was there in 2019, I started to walk from Pena Palace but then it started to drizzle and I was fortunate to jump on a bus which did eventually get me to the Moorish Castle but went back to the train station on the way.

Thank you for your information. I am not sure if walking is our best method of travel or if we need to consider the Bolt/Uber/Taxi/ other will work better and save us the time we need. Thanks again.

I was in Sintra last month. I walked up one hiking trail from town to Pena Palace, wandered around the park and the outside of the palace for a few hours, then walked back down a different trail. I didn't stop at Moorish Castle since I'd been there the day before, but the trail goes right past it. Quinta da Regaleira is a walkable distance from the main part of town. It's easy to spend a few hours in that park as well.

Since you don't have a lot of time, I'd recommend taking a Bolt up to PP. I'm pretty sure that would be quicker than a Tuk Tuk and most likely less expensive. They can pick you up right at the train station or parking lot, wherever you are when you get to Sintra, usually within a few minutes.

Thank your for your suggestion. I do believe that maybe the best answer to our need. I hear that the walk down the hill is beautiful. I have been out of town for a day so i am sorry I did not respond earlier.

We are planning on visiting Morrish castle in Sintra late May from Lisbon, I understand transportation might be hassle…we would like to walk to the castle from the town center or take a tuk tuk or a PP ( what does it mean PP)….if you have a Lisboa card I believe the train to Sintra is included and a 2 euros discount on the entrance to the castle …any information you can share?

Thanks for the information on the Lisboa Card. I am sure that a PP is meant to mean "Pena Palace".

Frank, i hope you can let us know what you finally do as we’ll be there in early October.

Will do we are planning to be at Sentra in the end of April.

Bolt/Uber directly to Pena Palace.
You can visit almost all terraces with the grounds ticket and you don't need timed entry. Green bus to top is nice but not critical for reasonably fit

Then walk to Moorish Castle or skip it. Much easier to get Bolt/Uber from pena palace as one may be dropping someone off

Then visit Regaleria or walk to town for late lunch.
Easy to get Bolt/Uber to go to Cabo de Rocca. Better to offer direct payment to that driver to wait 10 minutes for photo up and then take you to Cascais. He would be willing to stop 5 minutes at Boca de Inferno for photo up on the way.
Tip him well.

After few hours, take another Bolt back to Lisbon or hope on the frequent local train that starts in Cascais and ends in Lisbon near TimeOut market.

We went there in February. We got hijacked right off the train to hire a day driver who would take us anywhere we wanted, for 75e/person. If you choose to do this, find a guy who will take you anywhere you want, not just a prescribed route. This turned out to be a very good decision for us. Despite having a driver, we walked almost 7 miles, a fair amount up hill. He took us to Pena, waited right there until we were done, took us to Regaleira, waited there for us, took us to the beach, we had lunch, then took us to Cabo, waited for us, then dropped us in Cascais where we caught the train back to Lisbon. It was a nice day and he was very interesting to talk to. I think there are a number of people who stand near the train station and accost people getting off the train, we usually do not have anything to do with them, but this worked out well. There is a lot to do in Sintra and all of it involves a good deal of walking, lots uphill. So my suggestion is to try to eliminate where you can. The bus within Pena was crowded, even in the middle of February it was full for each ride.

This is the type of information that will help us in our travel. Thank you for all your information. We have not tried a Bolt but that may be the way to travel there.

Thanks again.

We took an uber from Lisbon to the entrance of Pena Palace first thing in the morning, immediately followed by the Moorish Castle (where we had a snack in the cafe) and then took a taxi from there to Quinta da Regaleira. We bought all of our tickets ahead of time. We then walked to Sintra to have lunch and shop. We took the train back. We were in our 50s at the time (June 2019) and were absolutely exhausted that evening. But, it was a really fun day. If I had to do it again, I would skip the Moorish Castle (or maybe just do a small part of it). I did not think it was worth the energy.

Visiting Pena Palace, Moorish Castle, and Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra in one day is possible but can be a bit tiring. Walking between them is an option, but it's a long walk, especially uphill to the Moorish Castle. It might take around 30-40 minutes. After that, walking to Quinta da Regaleira takes about 20-30 minutes, also uphill but not as steep. If you're okay with walking, it's doable, but if you prefer, you can take a taxi or a Bolt ride between the sites to save time and energy. It's up to you! Enjoy your trip to Sintra!

Some suggestions:
(different people have different preferences)

1. Bolt/Uber direct to entrance of Pena Palace from your hotel will save lots of energy/time/hassles to begin with.

2. Skip inside ticket as "grounds" ticket actually lets you see the castle including almost all but one terraces. This option also eliminates tension of timed ticket.

3. Green bus up from park entrance to Castle/Palace saves significant energy

4. Moorish Castle can be visited or skipped depending on personal choice. (It is easier to get Bolt/Uber from PP entrance)

5. Take Bolt/Uber to upper entrance point (rather than lower exit point) of Regaleria. (It's a unique place vs Moorish Castle type castles are dime a dozen all over the world)

6. Either spend rest of the day in Sintra village and take train back to Lisbon or continue to ....

7. Bolt/Uber to Cabo de Rocca. Make a private deal with driver to wait for you 10-15 minutes and take you back to Sintra or to Cascais.

Either way train back to Lisbon or if tired, just Uber/Bolt back to hotel.

I would truly like to thank everyone who replied. I was worried that there would not to much guidance for this visit to Sentra, I do believe that the knowledge we have received from visitors that have made the journey before us will make our trip wonderful. With our research and your guidance I am sure that the trip to Sentra will be great.

Good choice to arrive at Pena Palace early. It's packed. There was virtually no line at the Moorish castle. We walked up on the path and down on the street. There is very little room on the street so a different way would be best.

We are now back from our trip. Yes, we went to Sentra and it was wonderful. We took a Bolt from our hotel to Pena Palace and were let off at the entrance (They DO NOT open the the gates early). entered and it was a long walk UP hill to the palace and the palace is all up and up. From the palace walls the view was beautiful and the pictures magnificent. Next we walked some of the wonderful gardens and proceeded to the Moorish Wall. Again up hill and uphill to the walls. I really loved the views. The trail down to Sentra was not well marked and on the way down we picked up a tuk-tuk and were taken close to QUINTA DA REGALEIRA. It was up, up, and up to the entrance. In the park it went up, up and away just to get to the well (Yes, there is a line to go down. The well was worth the time and effort. toured some of the other buildings and walked to Sentra town center. We had a wonderful lunch and found the tile shops and made several purchases. A little down (yes) and then UP (only way to get to walk up) we arrived at the train station to take the train back to Lisbon. A 10 minute walk from the Lisbon train station and we were back at our Hotel. With all the up hill walking our day was DONE.

Thanks for all your information and help with our planning.

If you go you will have a good time and have FUN!

Frank and Sondra

I have seen many videos and read many blogs on how to visit Sintra. I really like TravelJunkie’s itinerary and am wondering if we can add the Palace of Monserrate at the end… and do all of this WITH an 8-month old baby? I know, I know, I’ve read it’s a lot of walking but my husband and I have FOMO and would love to visit all four sites in Sintra in a one day itinerary. We would be traveling from Cascais and I would be willing to take as many Bolts as possible to reduce walks and time. I have also read that Quinta da Regaleira is stroller friendly, so maybe that could help our stamina? My ideal day would look like:

Take a Bolt to Pena Palace and purchase timed entry for 9:30am (in advance), but be there by 9am as soon as gates open. Spend no more than 2 hours, I’m really not interested in visiting the inside of the palace nor exploring the park and gardens.

Then, if we can take another Bolt to Moorish Castle to save time, we would do that and again, try not to spend much time there. I’d be fine with walking half of it if possible.

Next, we can take a Bolt to the city center, eat, recharge, and head to Quinta da Regaleira. Spend again, no more than 2 hours there, see what we can and take a Bolt to our final stop, Palace of Monserrate.

If we are just wanting to get some of the most basic pictures with our baby in Sintra, could hitting these four places be possible in one day?

Mind you, we are traveling to Portugal for 13 full days and are trying to see as much as possible. We are a very go go go kind of family when it comes to traveling, however this will be the first big trip we take with baby boy.

Lastly, if we are encouraged to take the stroller for the last two parks, is there somewhere it can be stored while we visit the first two carrying him in a carrier?

Thanks in advance!

To the pp with a baby, my advice is to ditch Moorish Castle. We took our boys (10 and 7) to Sintra 2 weeks and hit Pena, Moorish Castle, and Quinta da Regaleira. It was TIRING without pushing a stroller or carrying a baby, and we're a fit and outdoorsy family. Our favorite parts were Pena Park and Quinta. The kids especially delighted in the garden of Quinta. Pena Park was also enchanting. On our way to the Moorish Castle (between ticket kiosk and actual entrance), we saw a father pushing his baby's stroller and it was the bumpiest ride. The baby was so miserable it was crying the whole way and my heart just went out to it.

Your visit will also be hugely impacted by weather. Pena Palace under a blue sky is magical. 70% of the Moorish Castle's allure is the view. The day we went the forecast said partly sunny with no chance of rain. We got blue sky in the morning while visiting Pena, but while at the Moorish castle, the clouds rolled in real fast and obscured the views within minutes, thus cutting our time short there. By the time we made it to Quinta, it was downpouring at times. Rain does not diminish Quinta's charm though, and the thinned crowd allowed us a wonderful time to explore and savor the place.

We truly enjoyed Sentra and all the palaces. I want you to know that our day in Sentra, the PP, the Moorish castle and Quinta da Regaleira was wonderful BUT it was all up hill. I really mean UP HILL! From the gate of PP it is uphill to the palace. The gardens were fun and beautiful I would skip the Moorish Castle, it is not an easy walk. Then I would enjoy Sentra and have lunch. There is a lot of up hill in Sentra but the food was good and we found tile stores that were great. Then on to Quinta da Regaleira. From where the bolt or what ever let you off, it is up hill a long way to the ticket office. Then it is up hill a long way to the well. If you have covered all of this with an 8 month old baby you will have had an extremely long day. Enjoy but too much will not allow you to have fun.

Frank

Thanks for the insight. I have decided that we will skip the Moorish Castle and stick to the other 3 sites!