Which castle in Sintra? Which beach nearby?

The Moorish castle has no interior, but your kids would probably really enjoy climbing the ramparts and seeing the views.

Pena Palace is amazing. It looks like it was designed by Dr. Seuss. However, I don't remember anything about the interior that would particularly appeal to kids. In fact, as I remember it, we saw a kitchen and a chapel, and the rest of the areas accessible to the public were outdoors. The exterior would have the most appeal for kids (and adults) of the three, though. The palace in town, with the twin chimneys, had a more extensive interior tour, but of the three, it is the one I would skip if I were really pressed for time.

We took the train to Sintra from Lisbon. It was an easy, short trip, and it was included on our Lisboa card. We took the bus up to Pena Palace and visited there first, and had lunch on the terrace there. We then walked down to the Moorish castle, climbed to the top and looked around, and then took the bus to town to visit the castle there. After that, we walked around the town and had tapas before returning to Lisbon. All in all, I'd say we spent about 8 hours in Sintra, but we really like to explore and take a lot of photos.

We took a train to Cascais the next day, and it was a similar short and easy trip that was included on our Lisboa card. We walked around, had a meal, and spent a while on the beach. I believe there may have been chair/umbrella rentals there, but we did not rent anything, so I can't speak to that. I don't remember seeing anyone boogie boarding, though. The beach is pretty rocky (i.e. It is sandy, but there are a lot of big rocks there, too.).

I can't imagine spending only 90 minutes in Sintra, but if you are pressed for time and must go to Sintra and Cascais on the same day, the tour would probably be your best bet. I think it would be challenging to see all 3 palaces in 90 minutes using the pubic bus, otherwise.

Is there a reason why you need to go to Cascais and Sintra on the same day?

@BB - we only have one day to head up there of our 3 in the area. Our kids are just not go see something all day types, so we are trying to do a morning site-seeing and afternoons just relaxing beachside. Of our 3 days in Lisbon we are doing the following:

Arrive 8am - check into our apartment, go to the market for food, take a 2 hour convertible Beetle Tour of Lisbon at 2pm, dinner, bed early. In other words keep that kids awake and entertained until bedtime without too much effort on their part.

Day 2 - Either food tour or another tour of downtown Lisbon. Basically see what we didn't see the day prior.

Day 3 - DH will go rent the car early - Drive to Sintra in the morning as detailed above, Cascais for lunch and beach for afternoon.

Day 4 - Check out of apartment drive to Faro area, lunch and beach for a few hours, drive on to Seville Spain for the next part of our trip.

Hence we only have the one day to do the area and after history/tour heavy first 2 days we want the kids to have a beach afternoon near Sintra.

Hope this helps!

Ah, well, I think the tour would probably be your best bet, then. Sintra is one of my favourite places ever, though, so 90 minutes just doesn't seem like enough. But 90 minutes is better than nothing. :)

I agree that the national palace would be further down the list of "musts" in Sintra. My favorite - so far - is the Quinta da Regaleira. I enjoyed it more than the Pena Palace. It apparently was an initiation site for either the Mason's or Knights Templar and is really amazing. You walk through grottoes, caves and can view an amazing 'well' with a spiral staircase. I think your boys would love it. To get a better description, you might want to google it.

When I visited Sintra for the first time, I did a tour and was glad I did. But, the train is very easy from Lisbon. I would not try to do Sintra and Cascais in one day. If you want to do a trip to Cascais, there are actually 3 fairly small beaches where your boys could get in the water. There are beach side restaurants that serve cocktails but I haven't been here is summer yet, so don't know about boogie boards. You can also take the train from Lisbon to Cascais very easily.

Unless you have a very serious case of attention deficit, I would not bother with a super fast tour.
For boys your age, I can't think of a better place to visit than the Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra. Interesting buildings and an extensive garden with secret caves, tunnels, battlements and many surprises. Be sure to bring a couple of flashlights. That visit could easy take up all of your short time in Sintra. As of a year ago, it was not possible to park at the Regaleira - you should park in Sintra and take a short walk.

Then drive down to the coast at Guincho for lunch and the beach. If it is too windy at Guincho, Cascais is a short drive away. There are, of course, several good beaches in and to the east of Cascais.

I would suggest you not pick up your car until the day you leave. Instead I would skip Cascais, and spend the entire day in Sintra. There is a lot to see and do. You are getting beach time the next day anyway. And driving in Lisbon and Sintra is busy, and parking in Sintra can be difficult if it is a busy day. There is a train from Lisbon to Sintra that is fast and inexpensive.
I also think that the Quinta de Regularo will be a lot of fun for your boys, and then you can spend the afternoon seeing the Moorish and Pena palaces