Sintra Monserrate - solo

We’ll be in Lisbon early October. Since I do all the planning, I’m debating between 3 options:
Hire a guide for the day
Follow your plan
Skip Sintra all together
I will be reading the answers to help make a decision.

Part of me wants to skip this all together. No one seems to want to answer posts about Sintra. It’s been stressful planning this trip and Sintra seems like a crowded tourist trap. I think I created another post elsewhere and was blown off. Sintra is the last itinerary I need to figure out. Time is ticking.

When I get back, I can give you an opinion.

Also consider Palace of Queluz going towards Lisbon.

Monserrate seems beautiful but far out of the way. Not sure it’s doable. The interior of Pena is not an interest to me. Regaleira’s gardens seem enchanting. Can it all be done without driving….? In one day? Hopefully someone will answer.

Personally, I would see Regaleira first thing in the morning. You can walk there from the train station or take a bus if you don't want to walk. Next, I'd head to Monserrate. There's a bus that connects Regaleira and Monserrate (435). Monserrate has a great lawn outside the palace that is a perfect spot for a picnic lunch and just to chill. Monserrate will be the least crowded of the palaces. Then head to Pena for late afternoon where hopefully the crowds would have calmed down. The tickets are not timed for Regaleira, Monserrate or Park of Pena.

If you are talking about the Navegante for Lisbon and the train to Sintra, no it does not cover the buses in Sintra. You can buy a ticket from the driver. https://scotturb.com/mapa-discover-sintra/

As a side note, my favorites are Regaleria and Monserrate.

I’ve stopped going to Sintra because of the hordes of people so don’t answer many questions as it’s been a few years since I’ve been over there.

Like the previous poster wrote, going to Peña late afternoon might be best. I do know the tour buses - of which there are many - go early. I wouldn’t spend the time walking, but that’s just me. Download the Bolt app before you come. It’s the same as Uber but a bit cheaper. That said, I’ve heard of people have difficulty getting either in Sintra because of the crowds. At any rate, it would help you other places.

You won’t need more than a couple of hours at most at Regaleira. The house itself is pretty empty and underwhelming. But the gardens are well are spectacular. The walk from Regaleira to downtown is only about 10-15 minutes and it’s flat. Of any walks in the area, it’s likely the easiest.

Like others, my favorite palaces are Montserrat and Regaleira.

Thanks so much for your responses Kathryn and Gail. I’m glad to see this is doable. I’m hoping I could walk the grounds of Regaleira early in the morning then bus to Monserrate. Yes both those places caught my eye too. Pena just seems colorful and interesting in a not so pleasing way from the outside while the other two places are more to my liking. Should I use Bolt to get from Monserrate to Pena, then walk from Pena back to town? I’ve found links to purchase tickets. I’d prefer to get them before I go to avoid mobs of people. Thanks again.

I see the link for the bus is 12.50 for hop on hop off. I assume it’s for everywhere including Monserrate . I’ll need to look into individual tickets as well. Thanks.

Skip Sintra, too crowded, and dull.

We were in Portugal early spring of 2023, a lot of Lisbon (and Porto) was extremely crowded. If we would have skipped every place that was crowded or had a line, we wouldn't have seen much.. The challenge is to figure out a way to manage the crowds and do what is important to you. It doesn't sound like Sintra is that important to you. When are you going? If you are going at a busy time which is probably April thru October, maybe skip Sintra and visit if you come back during off season.

For me, a brief visit of a bunch of the palaces doesn't allow one to really experience Sintra anyway. I thought the Regaleira grounds were beautiful and fun. We noticed that on the day we were there, after 2pm, things really calmed down. The initiation well line was at it shortest after 3. I believe this is because the tour groups thin out as the day goes on. I didn't think the Regaleira palace was at all interesting. There was wait to get in and we shuffled through it with the masses not able to see much. I thought the Regaleria palace was more crowded than Pena palace interior and the flow through Regaleria made it more difficult. There is a central hall and you stop and peak into each room. The hall was incredibly crowded and as a 5'-3" person is was hard to get a peak. Now we did the Regaleria palace at about 2:30, and maybe the crowds are thinner at the end of the day. Some folks said for Regaleria, go to the well, first thing in the morning. Others said to go to the palace first. Others said that the tour groups arrive in mass at 9am. Its probably all true, including the experience we had, it just depends on the day.

In contrast to Regaleria, we felt the best time to go to Pena was right away in the morning. I know you are not interested in the interior, but advice from many, the interior is less busy for the first few ticket times because folks are not given a visit length. As the day advances, there are more people in the palace and more people hanging out on the terraces. We did the gardens after the interior and the gardens did not get busy until about noon and on. We noticed on our way from the Moorish castle to Montserrate that Pena gardens, ticket lines were nuts in the afternoon. It was a lovely day so that may have been a factor. Also, it might be quieter at the end of the day.

I thought the Moorish castle was a great visit. We had views of Sintra and Pena and it was great to be out side. We walked to the Moorish castle directly from the Pena gardens.

OP's are looking for the exact time periods with shorter lines for the palaces. On some days later in the afternoon might be better. Another place with miserable lines in the hot sun is the Belem monastery. We got there at 9am. I asked a guard if a later afternoon visit might be better. His reply, was "sometimes". Then I asked for which days would later afternoon be better. He said there was no pattern. I think similar is likely happening in Sintra.

When we were in Sintra, the bus situation was a mess. Very crowded and unreliable. Walking and using the bus takes more time so our strategy was Uber/Bolt which worked in some situations and was a nightmare for others.

I think one of the problems with SIntra is people are looking for the perfect plan. Well, things are constantly changing there and every day can be different. I think posters for Sintra are getting all kinds of differing advice because conditions can vary day by day and week by week. Also, people can have differing experiences and can, do, and are allowed to have differing opinions. For some people, a wait might be worth it for places like Pena and the Jerónimos monastery. For me, I planned for both those venues carefully taking in many opinions and for us, our strategies worked and we enjoyed our visits.

ADDING: I saw the Palace of Queluz in the comments. We didn't go, we couldn't fit it in. People seem to really like it. Its easy to get to and at least for now, less busy.

The road up to Pena Palace is a one-way loop. If you look at Google Maps, you will see that it is faster and cheaper to go from Pena Palace to Montserrate instead of traveling from Montserrate to the Pena Palace.

Also, the crowds at Montserrate or Regaleira should not be as bad compared to the Pena Palace at any time of the day. IMO, it is probably better to do Pena Palace first, and Regaleira and Montserrate later in your day.

Our recommended strategy for Sintra is to catch a bolt ride at about 8am directly from your hotel all the way to the gate entrance of the Pena Palace arriving at about 9am. A bolt ride from Lisbon to the Pena Park entrance is about €25-30. This may be a bit pricey for a solo traveler, compared to the train and city bus option. However, imo, it is still worth it for beating the crowds and way cheaper than taking a tour bus. Perhaps you can find some fellow travelers to split the cost of the bolt ride.

With a pre-purchased timed admission for 9:30 a.m., you can be one of the first persons to enter the Pena Palace and beat all of the crowds from the tour buses and those who are on the train and city bus. The interior of the palace is worth seeing, imo. After the Pena Palace, you have the option to walk to the Moorish Castle. You can return to the roadway and try to catch the bus, bolt/uber or find a local driver who often wait at the entrances offering tourists a car ride back down to Sintra (or Montserrate, etc) for €5 pp.

You can the visit Regaleira and Montserrate.

At the end of the day you can take the cheap train back to Lisbon.

If you do decide to do Pena in the morning, then what makes the most sense would be taking Bolt/Uber directly to Pena, as the prior poster suggested, to be one of the first to enter. Taking a train and catching the first bus is a very much published and common strategy, so you might not be successful getting that first bus up to the palace (could be too full). And if you get there later in the morning, the tour buses and the rest of the tourists will have arrived.

After Pena, the next logical stop would be Regaleria then Montserrate since the route between the two sites is one way. You can't go from Montserrate directly to Regaleria, but would have to loop around again (435 bus).

For the prior plan where I recommended Regaleria first, there are a few options to get from Montserrate to Pena. There is the bus, which would require you to take bus 435 back to the train station. At the point you can spend some time in town, if you want to, then catch bus 434 to Pena. You can take Bolt (what I would try), but there have been some who mention that they are not always successful getting a driver. Or there are the tuk tuk drivers, the most expensive option. But the drivers can be fun and if you get a good one, it might be worth the money for the entertainment and "tour guide".

My recommendation to see Pena last is based on the recommendation of the Parks of Sintra.

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!

https://www.parquesdesintra.pt/en/plan-your-visit/tickets-palace-of-pena/#:~:text=The%20afternoon%20is%2C%20at%20the,morning%20to%20discover%20the%20Park!

Either option is fine to see the 3 sites. It really comes down to which sites you want to see the most since the last site will most likely be the one you explore the least due to being tired.

Thanks for all the replies. I’ll review them then make a decision.

One thing I read from online posts is to skip the train from Lisbon to Sintra and take a Bolt or Uber (Bolt is supposed to be cheaper). I cant remember what the cost is but it is cheap. You can avoid the train crowds and hassle and have your ride take you directly to your first attraction. We are planning to do that in September.

re. Renee's comment. Bolt/Uber can vary in price, but travelers could try "dummy bookings" a few times prior at the same time of day travel is planned to get an estimate for price. I do it frequently when trying to determine transportation modes.

EDITED TO ADD: I don't know that I'd characterize the Bolt price from Lisbon as "cheap". I priced it from the airport and it was more than twice the cost of train for two people. But, you can do some dummy bookings and decide for yourself.

One thing I read from online posts is to skip the train from Lisbon to Sintra and take a Bolt or Uber

I just feel a bit of a need to comment. Lately there have been posts, that I feel, are pushing the use of Bolt as if that is the "right" way to get from Lisbon to Sintra. I believe it makes sense in some situations (first entry to Pena), going directly from the airport to Sintra with luggage, etc. But definitely not the only way or necessarily the best way to get from Lisbon to Sintra. The train is a very easy and cheap option that many of us have used successfully in the past. So, don't buy into the narrative that Bolt is the only logical option.

If you have lots and lots packed into the day, yes, I suppose Bolt can get you quickly from one site to the next. But I personally feel the charm of Sintra is slowing down and choosing to see less instead of rushing. I've been there a few times now and some of my better memories are just taking my time and walking. It's a rather lovely place.

Beauty of this forum is that you get varied opinions and viewpoints of different travelers. And usually no one option is perfect for everyone in every season.

So, you will have to search more or just pick one.

We have done Sintra many times (with interior tickets and without) in recent times (last 12 months). Have done that tiresome hotel to Rossio, Rossio to Sintra, struggle to find transport to Pena track as well as easy Bolt to Pena from hotel option.

Based on varied experiences our conclusions were (and those are just our conclusions, others may have different strong opinions)

1. Skipping interiors at Pena (half the cost, no nuisance of timed entry, you see almost all terraces)

2. When there are 2 or more in the party, Bolt direct to Pena is so painless compared to train option.
   (For solo traveler, it is pricey but still so much advantageous option)

Regarding Bolt availability:
While returning from Pena , it is better to search from Pena entrance rather than Moorish Castle entrance

We wud consider Sintra worth visiting and all the negatives about Pena can be overcome by skipping interiors and doing Bolt directly to Pena first thing in the morning

Immediately upon arrival to Lisbon, we did the metro to train from the airport to Sintra, very easy and inexpensive. At the Sintra train station we took Bolt from the train station to our inn on the edge of town. It was a whole let less stressful to arrive Sintra the night before. We stayed 2 nights and saw Moorish, Pena, Regaileria, National and Monserrate palaces as well as doing a self walking tour around town and eating at a fabulous restaurant (Incomum)

I think that in terms of the order of palaces beyond what I've already described, the one that may really matter in terms of transportation is Monserrate. After our experience of having difficulty of getting Uber/Bolt at the end of the day, I think it might be best to be done at Monserrate, 2-3ish??? That way, I think it might be easier to get an Uber or Bolt back into Sintra because some will still be dropping off tourists, as opposed to the end of the day, when none of them will be coming to Monserrate with tourists. Additionally, it is entirely possible that the buses are a better option than they were for us. A bus would be ideal, if they aren't crowded.

For timing I plan on going on May 15

One last question. To get from Monserrate back to the train station - options Uber/bolt or the 1254 bus line to Sintra station, correct?

Maybe I'm not reading the replies close enough, but did anyone discuss "timed" tickets for Monserrate and Regaleira. I don't know if either has timed tickets and Monserrate isn't typically that busy. We did buy our online before we left from our inn for Regaleira, but I don't believe they were timed tickets.

1254 bus line to Sintra station, correct?

I believe the 1254 will take you to Portela de Sintra train station (hopefully someone can confirm). And 435 will take you to Sintra train station.

Thanks checking Rome to Rio.

This is the link to the Scotturb buses that run between the Sintra sites. These buses might not be on Rome2Rio.

https://scotturb.com/en/turismo-2/descubra-sintra-2/

And if you are not already aware, Sintra train station is by the historic town and palaces. Portela de Sintra train station is further away and when traveling from Lisbon to Sintra, it's the stop prior to Sintra station.

This link was helpful. https://veganderlust.com/sintra-day-trip-from-lisbon/