Sintra Day Trip

Montserrat is the least crowded of the three and well worth your time. The buses that run it there are small and very crowded. Taxi or Uber would likely be better and with the added advantage of not having to time yourselves around the bus.

The Quinta is most crowded around the spiral well and caves. The rest of the grounds will not be a problem. Unfortunately, I think you might run into crowds but it would be almost impossible to avoid all the crowds in Sintra. The house isn’t really the draw and can be skipped if you are running short of time. It’s mostly empty.

Not having been up to Peña in the afternoon, I really don’t know much about crowds at that time. But, it likely would be better than in the morning when the tour groups arrive.

Thank you @kathrynj! I think we will be inclined to taxi. Picking up a taxi at the train station will be easy--wondering if there are larger vehicles, like a van to hold 6 people? Will taxis be readily available at Monserrate and then at Quinta? It might help our timing and full day if we can use taxis in between places.
Thanks!

Just came back from Lisbon yesterday.
question first - does everyone in your crowd walk? RS book recommends taking a tuk tuk or bus to the Pena, walking down to the Moorish, then downhill into town. Once in Sintra it is all pretty walkable. It is a maybe 10-15 minute easy walk from downtown sintra to Quinta Regaleira and way worth it.

Walking up to the castles is pretty tough. We started in Sintra, walked to Q. Regaleira, then took a bone jarring and crazy fun tuk tuk up to the palaces; we didn't get out, but you could do that and walk down. Or if not, you could probably get a bus (I think it is the 434) back down.
We went on a Sunday and while it was busy, it wasn't crazy crowded.

Not certain I’ve seen van type taxis but I haven’t been looking either.

When I went to Monserrat several years ago there were no taxis so we waited for the bus. It was a longish wait. If you have access to your phone you could Uber or call a taxi.
There might be taxis at the Quinta but as the other poster wrote, it’s close to town and an easily (flat) walk.

@joseph - yes we are all walkers. Thanks -- good info and read Rick's suggestion, too, about walking down into Sintra. I'll keep in mind walkable to Quinta as well. I think we are aiming to do Monserrate, Quinta, Pena and Moorish, with time in Sintra to browse--but may not go into National Palace. I think more of our challenge will be to get everyone on the train by 830a ...to accomplish all we want to see.

@kathrynj - thanks for the info on taxis, too. I'll reach out to some of the taxi companies I see for Sintra and check for larger vehicles and also see if I can coordinate pick up at Monserrate. Whatever I can coordinate to help manage our time efficiently and be able to see all we want to see in 1 day -- while not ideal, it is what we are aiming to do!

Thanks again!

I just returned from Sintra- would highly recommend getting the Peña Palace tickets online ahead of time- the website address is parquesdesintra.pt. You can also get tickets for other sites on there as well.

@broekered - thanks! Yes will probably buy all online ahead of time. Good tip!

@broekerd. Good tip on tickets ahead. Did you go out to sintra from Lisbon? What would be a comfortable time to book so we’re assured of getting there on time? Is the transportation add on mentioned in the ticketing a bus to the top?

Hi, We we’re actually staying in a hotel in Sintra when we went to Peña Palace- if you are going from Lisbon, I suggest going on a weekday, since many people from Lisbon as well as hordes of tourists visit on the weekends. Trip from Lisbon ti Sintra is only about 40 minutes, depending on traffic. You can buy your blue shuttle bus ticket up to the palace on the same online site. I would recommend taking a Hop on-Hop-off bus up from Sintra- after you get off that, you can get on the blue shuttle bus. Have fun!