During my six nights in the incredible capital city of Portugal, one of my favourite days was doing the Sintra, Cascais & Estoril Tour with Inside Lisbon.
This was my second tour booked with them, I had spent my first day on their Lisbon Experience Walk which I very highly recommend, it was the perfect introduction to the city.
On this full day trip, we got to venture up the beautiful coast and see more of stunning Portugal, stopping at two beautiful towns before exploring the famous Pena Palace.
A Day Trip to Remember
Our tour's meeting point was outside the Hard Rock Cafe at 9 am. Even though there were quite a few people waiting there, it was all very organised and in no time we were directed into our groups of no more than eight people.
Our guide's name was Joao, meaning John, and we followed him to his parked Inside Lisbon car. We all comfortably fit in the large 11-passenger vehicle and set off on our road trip up the coast.
Everyone went around and introduced themselves and Joao led a full and interesting commentary and engaged in conversation all throughout the drive.
Stop #1: Cascais
After about an hours' drive, we arrived in Cascais, an absolutely gorgeous coastal resort town.
We had a whole hour of free time to explore it at our leisure.
My first order of business was having an espresso and a Pasteis de Nata (a delicious Portuguese custard tart) from a local cafe. I then highly enjoyed wandering through the cute cobblestone streets and along the marina. I would definitely love to return again in summer.
The next part of our drive up the coast was even more scenic, with beautiful beaches, amazing houses and old forts on the left and incredible mountain ranges on the right.
Our second stop was a quick photo opportunity with the Westernmost point of continental Europe in the background.
We then continued to that exact point, Cabo da Roca, where we got to spend twenty minutes “where the earth ends and the sea begins.” It was a very scenic place and unsurprisingly full of other admiring tourists.
There was a gift shop and cafe opportunity if we needed any refreshments before we all met back at the car to venture forth. From there, it was only about a half an hour drive to our next stop at Sintra.
Stop #3: Sintra Town
Our third stop of the day was at the stunning old town of Sintra. Here we got a nice long break for lunch and had plenty of time to explore.
I had a nice panini sandwich from a cafe and enjoyed looking in souvenir and tile artwork shops.
I soaked up the amazing, colourful buildings.
Stop #4: Pena Palace
The large Pena Park and romanticist castle lies atop Sintra Mountains and was designed by King Ferdinand II. He was known as a creative genius and his work is one of the greatest expressions of 19th-century romanticism in Portugal.
Tickets to visit the park and inside the lavish palace was included in our tour and we could wander through and admire it at our own pace. It was like diving headfirst into a colourful picture book.
Inside and out, the castle is so incredible to see. Pena Palace is an absolute must-do and visiting it later in the day just before sunset was perfect because there weren't too many other tourists around.
The time just flew by, probably because we were having such a good time, and sadly it was time to leave. It took no time at all to get back to Lisbon and we arrived at about 5 pm.
Everyone was highly satisfied after such an amazing full day of seeing some of the top highlights of Portugal.
Everyone was highly satisfied after such an amazing full day of seeing some of the top highlights of Portugal.
The Details
Reviews: 5/5 stars out of 3,244 reviews on Trip Advisor
Price: Normally 75€ per adult (the current winter special price is 63,75 €)
Times: Every day year round at 9 am
Final Thoughts
If you are coming to Lisbon I couldn't recommend this tour highly enough, it was such an incredible experience and it was one of my favourite days from my whole Europe trip. The tour was extremely well-run and every single stop was fantastic.
Our guide Joao was the best, he was so friendly, easy-going and had a great sense of humour. He told us so many interesting facts and stories about Portugal and it was such a pleasure to have him as our driver and tour guide.
With the exception of food, everything was included in the price, making it excellent value for money. It's the perfect tour for every kind of traveller, from solo to groups of friends, to families.
Definitely add this one to your bucket list, it's one of the most memorable tours I've ever done.
Happy Travels,
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Want to read more? Check out their tour I did on my first day in Lisbon, their Lisbon Experience Walk.
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