Sintra Castles in October

I’ll be following this thread cause we will also be there early October and are debating about visiting.

I haven't been so I can't write from experience, but everything I've researched so far for our late September trip says October will still be busy. My wife has a friend that was there last Fall and she booked an entry for later in the day for Pena and it was a bit calmer.

Our first stab at an itinerary has us starting at Quinta da Regaleira, followed by the Moorish Castle and then Pena. We're undecided if we'll use a timed entry for Pena or just see the exterior.

I apologize only because we were there on peak season, so I am only answering with minimal knowledge... It was miserable. We had timed entry that was never met. In fact it was an hour after our scheduled time that we got in. Then it was tiny slow steps through and we couldn't pause to ogle. In the end it didn't compare in quality to anything else we saw in Europe... Not worth it.

Things have changed dramatically in Sintra in the last few years. I would advise OP to request commenters provide month and year of visit. We visited in April of 2023. Right after Easter week AND right after a time period that Sintra was a big mess. The number of visitors was very high and workers were striking. Things had settled down some when we arrived and our visit went really well. It still was not the "shoulder" season we expected and were hoping for. It really helps to research and develop a strategy.

Incidentally, both Lisbon and Porto were extremely busy for what we felt was shoulder season. I would say make sure to have restaurant reservations and as much as possible tickets purchased in advance, online. There was a huge line at the Lisbon castle to buy tickets. Tickets could be purchased online right at the castle for immediate entry. We did not use public transportation in Lisbon or Porto because they were so crowded.

I think to get Pena to work well, You need to have one of the first entry times, so like 9 or 9:30am, maybe even 10am. Its helpful to get to the palace gates where the ticket counter is, about 45 minutes prior to entry time. There is a 15-30 minute walk up a hill to the palace entrance. We entered the palace on time and we had plenty of time with a manageable number of guests in the palace. They did have groups enter at the timed ticket time. If you are in the front of the group it is even more pleasant. The number of people in Pena and on the terraces builds as the day progresses. I can't imagine going and not getting inside. A grounds pass does not get you to the terraces. If you plan to do it as a day trip from Lisbon, you should leave in time to get to Sintra and then to walk or take a bus or taxi to Pena. So, I think that would be a train that leaves Lisbon by 7 at the latest.

The other palaces were quite manageable. Regaleria's grounds are lovely only the well was really crowded. To us, it looked best to do Regaleria at the end of the day, and then the well, at the end of the visit to time it after the groups left. There was a longish line to buy tickets to get in, but very easy to purchase a ticket online.

We also visited Monserrate which was gorgeous and peaceful. National palace is interesting for some. You can just buy the tickets at both of the palace entrance. We purchased tickets to the Moorish castle at a kiosk when we arrived. The Moorish was interesting, but the best parts were the views of Pena and Sintra. There are also palaces that are less busy that people seem to enjoy.

It is much more pleasant to do Sintra as an overnight rather than a day trip. We stayed two nights.

You may want to search this site to get more information. There have been a lot of posts on Sintra (and Lisbon) over the last year or so. Again, you really need to know when people that are commenting visited.

Belem is another Lisbon location you would really want to plan in advance, if you are planning to see the monastery. I was more frustrated by that visit than the Sintra castles.

I am also staying overnight in Sintra in mid May
My question is should I book first thing at Peña palace or 5 pm in the afternoon?
Will the castle be less busy later in the day? And more enjoyable to see
Thanks

@Greg, I heard that in that area of Portugal, sometimes it can be less busy at the end of the day. (I've heard this said about the monastery in Belem) but you can't be sure. You could watch ticket sales. If its completely selling out every day, I would go first thing in the morning, because the crowds just build as the day goes on, because, people are not limited in the amount of time they can stay in the palace.

I would say we had a very enjoyable time and we were glad we went.

My question is should I book first thing at Peña palace or 5 pm in the
afternoon?

From the website "The afternoon is, at the moment, the time of day when the Palace of Pena has fewer visitors, which provides a more relaxed visit. Consider scheduling your Palace visit for the afternoon and using the morning to discover the Park!"

We went last September. The key to beat the crowds at Pena Palace is to book the very first timed admission of the day and to catch a Bolt (google maps estimate €25) from your Lisbon accommodations to be dropped off at the Pena Palace entrance about 20 minutes before the start of the first timed admissions. You will be ahead of the massive crowd that took the train and had to line up for the bus (€10 pp) at the Sintra train station.

After your visit with the Pena Palace, you can easily walk down to the Moorish Castle where there is very little lineup. From there, you can hike down or you can go back to the road and catch a ride back down the hill. When we were there, there were locals with cars giving tourists rides €5 pp back to Sintra. Good luck

We did exactly the same as what funpig describes. After the Moorish castle, we uber'd to Monserrate.

We had gone to Regaileria the afternoon, the day before. That timing also worked well. The tour groups were leaving.

As others have indicated Pena Palace has become a mess post COVID. Nothing to do with the disease but the "revenge travel" that has exploded worldwide has infected Sintra badly

Forget all guidebooks and travel blogs and YouTube videos clips.
Ignore them

This forum is much more helpful.

Key Points:
1. Having visited this place with both timed tickets for interiors and untimed park tickets, our personal recommendation is to skip.the hassels of timed tickets and long lines and uncomfortable walk through inside (in line). But please do your own research.

"Park" or "Grounds" ticket actually lets you see all but one of the Instagram worthy castle terraces and those beautiful views. Even let's you have a cheap meal on cafeteria terrace. It is half price and does not require time slot selection.

1. another suggestion is to wait until late previous night or early morning to buy your tickets as weather in Sintra could be very different than one in Lisbon. You want to avoid going on rainy or foggy or windy day. Recommend spending 3 euro for the green bus. Worth it every penny to save energy. Another tip: when bus seats are full and people in line are waiting for the next bus, you can go ahead and take a standing room place - it's only 4 minutes bus ride up the hill.

2. For day trippers from Lisbon, useful advice (found on this forum,) was to ignore all guidebooks and travel blogs, and instead take Bolt/Uber from your hotel directly to Pena park entrance. It's actually cheaper and saves so much of time and hassels

3. Monserrate Palace and Regaleria are liked a lot on this forum. Again, use Bolt/Uber to move quickly and comfortably. Moorish Castle Skip or visit is personal choice and depends on how many such castles you have visited elsewhere. It does take time and energy to climb. But views are beautiful on clear days.

4. You can spend time in Sintra town take train back if you rather not Uber back.

5. Some people drop Monserrate palace and instead add Cabo de Rocca and Cascais area to their day trip. That's a personal choice. Cascais and Belam could be different day trip too. (Have done both ways)

We went this past October. It rained the entire time we were in Lisbon and I really wanted to see Sintra. In retrospect I wish we would have skipped it. The weather was so bad that the vibrant colors of the Pena Palace were muted. The winds were so high that it would have been dangerous to visit the Castelo dos Mouros. I suspect that it would been a different experience in better weather. In any weather, skip the inside of the Pena Palace, it is not very interesting.

@sandyO
That's unfortunate and bad luck.
Monitoring Sintra weather and make plans only at the last minute to avoid rain/fog/highwind seems like sound advice

My visit to Sintra and the palaces was on October 6, 2023 and I have to say, it was a very enjoyable time for me. Since I was traveling solo and wanted an all inclusive experience, I chose a one day tour (9 hrs) from Lisbon that included Peña Palace, Sintra and Quinta Regaleira. However, I had to purchase my entrance to the Regaleira separately from the tour and I’m so glad I did because aside from the beautiful views of the Peña Palace on the terrace, the Initiation Well at the Regaleira gardens was fabulous and a nice escape from the heat. Yes, it was hot for me in Lisbon, Sintra and Coimbra during the visit in October but you will notice that I live in a temperate place (Seattle) so my tolerance for heat is low. YMMV

The tour eliminated the need for Ubers or Bolts and was well worth the time. Yes, there were crowds inside the Palace and on the narrow streets in Sintra but otherwise, I didn’t get irritated by too many people in my way. Wear good walking shoes and take your time.

@OP, Here is a link for a travel website specific to Portugal. She makes a lot of good recommendations. https://juliedawnfox.com/

@TravalJunkie, I'm curious as to when you were last in Sintra. I was in Portugal last spring. I used the forum quite a bit and a facebook group with many more contributors than this forum. There was no consensus that the interior was not recommended. There was discussion that Sintra and Portugal had become heavily touristed. While the terraces used to be included in the exterior/park tickets there is no longer access to the terraces without the interior ticket.

I assure you that we, and others did have problems with Uber in Sintra and Lisbon. As was discussed on this forum, the driver does not get the exact location/route until they accept. If you are familiar with Monserrate, it is harder to get to with one way roads and heavy traffic. We had a number of drivers cancel 10-15 minutes later. The drivers felt they couldn't make enough money on certain trips. Our BnB in Sintra was about 3/4 miles out of town and each morning we had a couple drivers cancel the ride. Drivers cancelled a few times when we were wanting to get from the Moorish castle to Monserrate when they found out our destination. Both our BnB in Sintra and in Porto strongly encouraged the use of taxis over Uber/Bolt because their guests couldn't rely on a Uber/Bolt driver showing up. We were stranded at Monserrate and only got a ride because a group of four allowed us to join them. The driver explained why Uber drivers were frustrated and often cancelled rides.

I did not make up that we waited for Uber for 1.25 hours after the driver accepted. I could see the driver's location and the fact that she didn't move for quite a while and then when she did leave, she went to the wrong address. None of our rides in Portugal were booked in advance. I've used Uber in many locations. In the U.S. we use Uber and Lyft both in our home town and other cities we visit.

Obviously, weather in Lisbon and Portugal can be different. However, we stayed in SIntra for the purpose of visiting the palaces.

@jules

Your information could have been valid when you visited last year.

My information is from this year(have done both visits both- with interior and without)

Park ticket of course allow access to terraces and steps (and even wall walk when open). You can even eat at cafeteria. Latest information can easy be reconfirmed by emailing park office itself.

The last two posts are incredibly frustrating with opposing information regarding access to the terraces at Pena Palace. Does anyone have a link that specifically says what is/is not included with the park only pass? The official website doesn't clarify.

Allan, I was at Pena Palace on March 16, 2024. This was my experience: I was with a small tour group. There was an initial ticket check prior to entering the palace gardens/grounds. After that, there was a short walk uphill to the castle. There was a second ticket check right at the entrance to the interior of the palace. My guide did not have a ticket for the interior, so we went in without her. When we finished touring the inside, we meet up with our guide who walked around the exterior with us. There were no other ticket checks at any of the terraces. Based on that experience, it seemed that the Park ticket permitted a person access to everything except for the interior of the castle. I think there might have been one terrace that I reached from the interior. So, for that particular terrace you would need the interior ticket. But for everywhere else outside, one would have had access with just the Park ticket.

I was there during the offseason. Perhaps things are different depending on the time of year and the need to control crowds around the palace.

@allan,

Fully understand your frustrations with finding contradicting information.

Information in my posts were from 2 visits in CURRENT year (one with interior Tix and one with just park)

Things change in Portugal a lot as it struggles with avalanche of tourists.

They can easily change policy off peak vs peak seasons if peak season crowd is too much even for park only Tix

So, suggestion to send email with the specific question closer to your date is pretty good.

For what it's worth, at least couple of weeks ago, park ticket allowed access to all terraces but one, access to cafeteria and also wall walk (when it is open).

Hope you get definitive answer to your email query to dispel any doubts.

Here's the message I received from the Pena Palace about access to the terraces. It appears the terrace is included with the untimed park ticket.

[email protected] [email protected] 8:31 AM (13 minutes
ago) to me

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your contact.

We would like to inform you that you may purchase tickets just for the
Pena Park at:
https://bilheteira.parquesdesintra.pt/evento/parque-da-pena/249/en.
Doesn't require a selection of a date/hour.

Please be advised that tickets to Pena Park include a visit to the 85
hectares of gardens, entry to the Condessa D'Edla's Chalet and a visit
to the Terraces of the Pena Palace.

We would like to inform you that road traffic in Sintra has changed,
with access to the perimeter of Serra de Sintra (namely Parque da
Pena) conditioned for private vehicles and circulation in the historic
center limited to residents.

You could leave your car in one of the available parks
(www.parking.sintra.pt) and use a taxi, Uber or other vehicles used
for tourism such as the Scotturb bus 434 (https://scotturb.com/pt/) at
the train station in Sintra, which connect Sintra to Pena Palace and
Park.

You can check the access conditions, prices and schedule at:
https://www.parquesdesintra.pt/en/plan-your-visit/opening-times-and-prices/

For any other questions, please contact us again.

Kind regards,

Miguel Pereira

Direção de Programação e Serviço ao Visitante

Serviço ao Visitante | Customer Service

Thank you Allan for sharing the correspondence. We too will be in Sintra in October!