Sintra in October

When we went in late May 2017, the 434 bus was not dependable. Sometimes we waited over an hour at a stop for the bus and in another situation, it stopped at an unscheduled stop. We didn't know better and got off at the stop and were stuck there for over an hour, which prevented us from using tickets we had already bought to the Moorish castle. Our experience is that that bus is not as dependable or convenient as it claims.

I took the 434 bus last month when I was in SIntra. I didn't have any major problems - I was lucky that one was leaving just after I got off the train in Sintra so I just hopped on and bought the day ticket. The only problem I had with it was that I visited the Moorish Castle second after Pena Palace, then got on the 434 at Moorish castle (which is before Pena), and when the bus got to Pena, it stopped for about 20 minutes. A few of us on the bus didn't realize this was going to happen (headed back to Sintra) and we just waited. There was another 434 bus right in front us for 2-3 minutes - plenty of time for us to have gotten off and gotten on that bus - but the idiot driver never told us!!!!! So waited almost 20 minutes longer than we could have to get back to Sintra.

I recommend not buying your Pena Palace tickets at the Pena entrance. (You can buy them online!) It was a mob scene there - at both the ticket machine lines (which only offer tickets for park + palace; I wanted park-only entry, which lets you walk around the palace just not go inside) and at the huts. I probably would have done better going to the Moorish Castle first (probably much shorter lines - you can even go to the 2nd Moorish castle ticket window about 5 minutes ahead of the first one).

The Pena Palace is amazing (from what I saw on the outside, anyway - seen enough palaces and castles inside, don't need to see another one). The park you walk through to get up there is nice but not worth spending much time in. I'd hustle to the palace, see it, and then move on from Pena and not really bother with the park. Truly the highlight for me of Sintra was Quinta da Regaleira, but I was there only for a day so didn't get to see everything in town.

Note that when you catch the train back to Lisbon, some of the trains go back to Oriente station not to Rossio (where most tourists would want to go), so watch that. It is possible to take a train to Oriente and change to one to Rossio closer to town - that's what I wound up doing.

There also "tuk tuk" mini-taxis at Sintra (and all over Lisbon) if you want to skip the bus.

Another thing to be aware of, it is not truly hop-on, hop-off for the day. If you are intending to visit any of the sites out of sequence and hope to continue on the bus past its last stop, you cannot do that, the bus will be cleared.
We spent a little over a week in Lisbon last year, loved it, friendly and helpful people everywhere we went, the only place where we felt we were being treated like cattle-herded, just-open-your-wallets tourists were when we were dealing with the Sintra bus operators.
FrancisSD

Francis, do you mean the bus was "cleared" at the end at the Sintra train station after it made its loop up the hill? I'm not sure that people would want to ride it from say Pena Palace all the way down the hill and then back up the hill to Moorish Castle anyway - it's about a ten minute hike but would take another 20+ minutes to take the bus loop back down the hill and up again.

Could be that your bus was just ending service after the last stop. But if you mean, "Don't assume every 434 bus will run in a continuous loop," that's likely true.

Our 434 wasn't cleared when we got to Pena (after I got on at Moorish Castle) - as I said, we just waited for 20 minutes. I wish it HAD been cleared so we could have gotten on the one in front of us!

It will be somewhat less crowded in October but is more crowded than other places in Portugal all year round. I just went again in early June and it was pretty miserable trying to take public transportation. They have made the central part of town pedestrian only and this has messed up some of the bus stops. And, the signage doesn’t do a good job of telling you where the new stops are located! It may have been worked out by October, but maybe not.
If and when I go again, I will find a tour or private driver to take me around to the different palaces. My first trip to Sintra three years ago was with a small group tour out of Lisbon. It was, by far, the most enjoyable trip with significantly less hassle. There are many small group tours leaving from Lisbon. You might want to research some of them. Also - Saturday is the most busy day of the week!

I know that there is a tendency to recommend Sintra as a day trip, but we actually went and stayed overnight there. We stayed for 2 nights, but I think could have been only 1. With that extra time we were able to enjoy the area without quite the crowds. We actually ate dinner in Sao Pedro which is a town that we felt was walking distance to Sintra, and were the only people one night in the restaurant.
Which brings me to my next point. The sites are walkable and some of the enjoyment to me of Sintra was the lovely scenery as we walked along. It is a big uphill hike, but if you are doing the hills in Lisbon I think is doable, and October will be cooler.

The posts are most interesting. The comments re the 434 bus didn't come as a big surprise (it sounded too good to be true and we all know what is said about "too good to be true"). I think we'll look for other transportation. The "tuk-tuk" sounds interesting, is this a pay-per-ride (like a taxi) or can the vehicle and driver be hired for X number hours (to visit several venues).

I know very little about Sintra, except for the preponderance of posts about how crowed it is, and that walking from one venue to the next could be a hilly-hike. Does the congestion carry over to the roadways and are the venues congested with vehicles as well as people?

I suppose that admission could be pre-purchased on line, but I am at a bit of a loss to know the number that could reasonably be visited in one day, how long to allow at each, and I'm even more in the dark about what "order" to visit the venues.

Any additional comments would be appreciated. In the meantime, I'll look at "tours" from Lisbon.

I've checked several tours to Sintra from Lisbon and most visit two venues in Sintra (one is always the Palacio de Pena), one other, lunch in Sintra and a stop at Cascais. We'd hoped to visit three venues from among the following: Palacio de Pena, Palacio Nacional de Sintra, Castelo dos Mouros and Quinta da Regaleira, Palacio de Monserrate. It seems most of the places noted do not open until 9:30 or 10:00 and most close between 17:30 and 18:00. If all are open for 8 hours, is it reasonable to visit three in one day? Can anyone recommend a small group (private) tour guide in Lisbon that may arrange a visit to three of the venues and perhaps not return to Lisbon until 18:30-19:00 hr?

Alternatively, could anyone recommend a tour guide in Sintra that we could meet at the train station if we arrive between 8:30 and 9:00 and return to the train station by 18:30 or so for a train back to Lisbon?

I still don't understand why you are so worried about doing it yourself. It is very easy. If I were going again, I would take the 434 again in a heartbeat. What I would do differently is 1) visit the Moorish Castle first, Pena second, 2) buy my Pena Palace tickets AHEAD OF TIME (not at the crowded Pena entrance - either online ahead of time or buy them at the Moorish Castle), and 3) not waste much time in the Pena Palace park itself - just walk up to the Pena Palace itself and explore around the outside and take pictures of it. It's really a colorful and unique palace, even though I didn't go inside. (Maybe you should - I've seen enough palaces and mansions inside and just don't need to see more of them.)

Quinta da Regaleira was the highlight of Sintra for me, although I didn't see everything in Sintra. I wish I would have had time to see the Monserrate palace and park - would have had time had I done more planning ahead of time and figured out the things I mentioned above. I would have just taken the 435 bus out to Monserrate.