How to Get To Pena Palace

Best way to get to Pena Palace – An honest guide by a local tour guide.

With more than 4 years of experience being a tour guide in Sintra, here are all the ways to reach Pena Palace from the train station of Sintra or the village of Sintra:

Foremost, let me explain that the palace is at the top of the mountain.

There are many ways to reach Pena Palace and I’ll try to explain the pros and cons of each of them:

Uber: The cheapest

If you’re really on a tight budget and want to get there quickly, Uber is the right option.

Cost: 4-6€

434 Scotturb Bus: the crowded

Yes, very very very crowded, especially in the high season.

In my opinion, there’s nothing positive about it.

The bus has long lines of people waiting to board.

There are many people inside the bus.

Expect to have a waiting time with big lines to go down as well.

If you like to go regular and follow the crowds this is for you.

The purpose of this post is not to criticize it.

If you go to Google and search for Scotturb, you’ll see they have a 1.3 rating.

Many of the reviews say “DO NOT USE”

It is cheap? Not that much. 11,5€ per person, all day ticket hop-on-hop-off.

Taxi: Very similar to Uber, but more expensive.

Around 10€

Private car: DON’T!

It’s forbidden for private cars to drive up. There aren’t always police on the road, so many tourists drive anyway with their cars up, but not every time they find a parking space.

There is a possibility that you will be fined or told by the police to go in the opposite direction of the palace, which would require you to spend 30 minutes returning to Sintra.

Comboio de Sintra: Train on wheels

An green train that is a truck with the outside looking like a train, is really nice and affordable.

The unique problem is that there is only one train. Therefore, if you miss it at Pena Palace you have to wait more than 1h30 to come again, and it takes a long time to leave the train station.

Tuk tuk: Can be the best option or can be the biggest adventure

There are many tuk tuks in Sintra, around 150 of them. Crazy right?

One of them is mine

It really can be the most memorable time of your time in Portugal or the biggest survival experience in your life lol

You can pick the most experienced guide with the most comfortable tuk tuk or the craziest driver with a tuk tuk without breaks lol

It’s funny, but really true.

Doing tours and transfers with my electric tuk tuk in Sintra for more than 4 years, my opinion is that this is the most memorable and unique way of experiencing the mountain of Sintra.

Definitely not the cheapest one.

The transfer costs 10€ per person to go up and 5€ to go down.

It really can be a fun time riding the tuk tuk up the mountain. Specially with all the turns and corners.

But you really must choose the right guide/driver.

It is helpful to share that the drive from Sintra’s train station to Pena Palace takes around 25 minutes, and on the way we get to see the 5 most famous monuments of Sintra, as well as the most spectacular views of the mountains.

On the way up, you can do an hour-long tour that will take you to all of these amazing sights and tell you the story of Sintra.

It will make a huge difference, since you will ultimately understand why Sintra exists and why Pena Palace was built.

(Spoiler alert, it is a beautiful love story )

Did I tell you that this is going to be really fun and that you’re going to have breathtaking moments seeing all the amazing views?

Using Uber, a taxi, a bus, and a train-on-wheels, you miss all of that.

They just drive straight to Pena Palace and you miss all the views and the fun

In conclusion, many times I heard that the tour going up was better than visiting the palace.

So if I was going to give you an advice, it was going to be this one:

Go up in a nice tuk tuk with a trustworthy guide like me, and you won’t forget Sintra.

That’s one of the reasons why I have more than 60 reviews with all being 5-stars saying that doing the tour was the best decision.

Check them out here ?

     Excellent  
     Based on 69 reviews 
    
 
 
   
 
 
        
   ElvioB 
 March 14, 2024.
 
 
  BIG SCAM !!! Ghosted after deposit paid !!!!
We have booked a tour for the 31st of March, but after effecting the payment, Daniel ghosted us. The only option we had is to cancel the tour and book with someonelse. As of the time of writing this review, the refund for which we are entitled to, as we cancelled prior to 15 days of the tour date, was not yet processed and still did not hear anything from Daniel. We belive he is a scammer !!!!
  
 
       
   David B 
 March 14, 2024.
 
 
  A day on the tuk tuk in Sintra
6 of us booked an all day tuk tuk tour of Sintra and Cabo da Boca Cascais and the coast. It was an absolute marvellous adventure with our driver Pedro who Daniel set us up with. The history and the sights and the lunch were amazing. Highly recommend booking this day
  
 
       
   Stressed2 
 December 25, 2023.
 
 
  Perfect private tour of Sintra
Daniel Ponce was an amazing tour guide on an all day tour of Sintra in his electric tuk tuk. Sides come down and blankets are available if cold. Lunch was in an authentic Portuguese restaurant - we were the only tourists there. Daniels really knows the history and does a good job explaining everything. He was willing to take as many pics as we wanted. Highly recommend!
  
 
       
   Moremarsh 
 September 11, 2023.
 
 
  Amazing Tour Guide ..Daniel is awesome!
Awesome Tuk Tuk Tour with Daniel! Our family of 4 had an amazing day touring Sintra and Cascais with Daniel from Yes, you deserve Tours. From the first point of contact a few weeks before our requested tour date to the day of our tour…the timeliness and professionalism with which Daniel engaged us was incredible! The tour itself was beyond amazing. We gave him free reign to plan our day and he did not disappoint. His knowledge, expertise and charisma was top notch! He infused us with his love for Sintra, sharing all the beautiful sites and history. From the iconic monuments, to touring the quaint town, lunch at a traditional family restaurant, hidden gems off the beaten path, a winery tour and everything else in between. He truly made our day magical ! Thank you Daniel for being an awesome tour guide !!
  
 
       
   Mike 
 July 13, 2023.
 
 
  Amazing day in Sintra with Daniel of Yes you Deserve!
When we were planning our great adventure of Sintra 1 name kept coming up with rave reviews Daniel Ponce of “Yes you deserve”. So happy we followed everyone’s lead and hooked up with him for our tour. The sights were awesome but without the narrative from Daniel it would have not been the same. His personality, wit, knowledge and humor made this trip unforgettable. He had our young adult daughters totally engaged with can be a bit difficult to say the least! The family restaurant only a local would know about was unbelievably good. Thank you Daniel for a day our family will never forget! — with Yes, you deserve by Daniel Ponce and Mike Coyne at Sintra, Portugal.
  
 
       
   Lucky0ne 
 June 28, 2023.
 
 
  Amazing day
Our day with Daniel was a highlight for the month my family spent with us in Portugal! We appreciated his enthusiasm, entertaining stories, and good planning. He was attentive to my Sister’s walking disability, and made sure we all had a memorable time.
  
 
       
   Kasi S 
 June 24, 2023.
 
 
  An Unforgettable Day
Our full day tour with Daniel was amazing! I was worried because one of my daughters has a health condition and to be honest, the teenagers didn’t want to spend all day in lines waiting. They want to see sites and take pictures! Daniel took us all over Sintra with the highlights being the Moorish Castle, Seteais Palace, Peninha Sanctuary, and views of Pena Palace and the National Palace of Sintra. We tried the most amazing pastries of Sintra and had the most delicious lunch we have ever experienced. At the end of our tour, Daniel drove us along the coast with a stop at Boca do Inferno before dropping us off in Cascais. This tour was the highlight of our first trip out of the United States with our teenage daughters. Daniel took so many pictures of our family and each of the girls which we also have not done in years. At the end of the trip, both girls had tears in their eyes because they didn’t want to leave their new friend. Thank you Daniel for our unforgettable day!
  
 
       
   Joe M 
 June 20, 2023.
 
 
  Sintra Magic
Thank you, Daniel Ponce, for leading our family through the Sintra region with incredible guided tours of Pena Palace, Monserrate, the Sanctuary of Peninha and the road to Cascais. Plus a delicious lunch at Pensão Sisudo! Daniel magically helped us avoid the crazy crowds and kept our whole group, ages 14 to 80, smiling the whole way. Obrigado!
  
 
       
   Colleen D 
 June 14, 2023.
 
 
  A Magical Day in Sintra Area and Cascais
As I was planning our family of four trip to Portugal I knew we wanted to visit the Sintra mountains with it’s beautiful gardens and palaces. Do we do a self-tour with the buses and no guide or do we spend the day with someone who knows the area better than anyone else? Do not spend the time thinking about this…reach out to Daniel Ponce @ Yes, you deserve by Daniel Ponce!! It will be an experience that you will never forget. We worked with Daniel on the sites we wanted to see…Quinta de Regaleira, Monserrate Palace and Gardens, Cabo da Roca, fabulous views of Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle…just to name a few. He had special spots and stops along the way via his Tuk Tuk, including an amazing lunch. The day ended in Cascais, which was absolutely beautiful. We never ever could have done this by ourselves. He captured us in photo’s all along the tour as well. I made the right decision by asking Daniel to be our guide. It was a magical day in a magical place. Thank you Daniel Ponce!!!
  
 
       
   Isabelle 
 June 13, 2023.
 
 
  Meilleure visite guidée de Sintra
Quelle journée incroyable avec Daniel! Nous l’avons rejoint dans un beau petit café local Casa do preto avec un super bon café et des pâtisseries. Une journée parfaite avec peu de file d’attente, un ciel dégagé. Daniel connaît toute l’histoire de Sintra et partage ses connaissances de façon dynamique et interactive. Daniel nous a amené dans un restaurant local pour le lunch. Le meilleur repas de notre voyage! Le restaurant est calme et le service est attentionné et courtois. Daniel a pris des photos de notre famille à de multiples reprises. Il a adapté l’horaire en fonction de nos besoins et des situations. Nous avons dégusté les pâtisseries locales travesseiros. La promenade en tuk tuk permet d’avoir des vues incroyables du paysage et des monuments de Sintra. Son tuk tuk est propre et confortable. Daniel nous a fait découvrir des petits coins secrets que les grands tours ne permettent pas. Merci de tout cœur Daniel, nous avons passé une journée mémorable dont nous reparlons à tous les jours. À côté des autres visites que nous venons de faire, la tienne est inégalable.