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 54 reviews

Mimi M

March 10, 2023.

Unforgettable tour & amazing tour guide Amazing trip with breathtaking views. Our guide Daniel was very fun and informative! A recommendation to everyone!

Sarah H

March 5, 2023.

Best Tour Ever! Both delightful and very informative. I cannot say enough good things about this tour of Sintra that my best friend and I did with Daniel. What a delight! Daniel is so dynamic, fun, and knowledgeable. We learned SO much about so many different aspects of the area: the history, architecture, natural terrain and much more. And we had a gas throughout. Thank you, Daniel!!See you soon for another one…

Ronald G

February 24, 2023.

Sintra Daniel’s way Daniel’s day long Tuk Tuk tour of Sintra was exceptional. I typically shy away from tours but Daniel’s genuine passion and knowledge was infectious. He is personable , caring, and became a friend by the end of the day. I highly recommend anyone visiting Portugal take the time to book one of his tours!

Alec Garner

February 19, 2023.

Daniel never showed, doesn't provide photos Needs his star rating dragged down as to not ruin your trip to Portugal. Been fighting him for months to the fact that he never showed.

GojiAnna

February 8, 2023.

Excellent We had an amazing tour yesterday with Daniel Ponce . The tour would not have been the same without him!He picked us up at our hotel, Pehna Longa and took us to Pena Palace and Quinta de Regaleira stopping along the way with stories and history. Then we all went to lunch in Sintra village . It was an absolutely amazing day!!Thank you Daniel

MYRON B

January 30, 2023.

MUST BOOK DANIEL!!! Daniel was an AMAZING, EXCITING, and Most Competent tour guide. There is no one who knows the historical facts and ins and outs of Sintra and Portugal the way Daniel does! I would recommend Daniel 1000% of the time. He made us feel comfortable and also took great pics of us at selected monuments and places along the tour. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!

Jesse H

January 20, 2023.

Phenomenal Tour Guide Sintra is magical, mysterious and extremely hard to navigate without guidance. Our tour guide Daniel Ponce was fantastic to work with from beginning to end. His tuk tuk was easy to hop on and off and he covered the history as he explained the various architectural styles and who built these amazing palaces, plus current occupancy. Since the crowds were low, he went into Pena Palace with us for an indepth explanation. He went way out of his way to explain the veggitation, natural and what was brought into Portugal. Palm fern trees from Australia! From castles to beaches, his knowledge about Portugal is intriguing and with emotion. He took many photos of us amidst the monuments and gave tons of recommendations beyond the tour throughout all of Portugal. Highly recommend reaching out to him as the Sintra website is difficult to navigate as is the city. But mostly because he cares! Ask him about the centuries old pastries and who has the best! Thank you Daniel!

Mary G

January 6, 2023.

Best tour of Sintra! If you are looking for a fun way to tour Sintra or the surrounding areas - do not hesitate to book with Daniel Ponce! Our family of six adults spent 2.5 hours with him last week, touring Sintra - and it was one of the the highlights of our trip! Daniel is so friendly, and FUN and was so knowledgeable! We learned so much about the area during the tour, and he went out of his way to make sure we enjoyed ourselves, even bringing us treats from the area because the store that we would have stopped at was closed!My (adult) kids are still talking about it! Plus, Daniel went above and beyond helping me with train information, weather information and so much more. You won't be disappointed, Daniel is the real deal!

Raffaella S

January 2, 2023.

Una giornata bellissima Bellissima giornata a Sintra. Abbiamo avuto la fortuna di incontrare Daniel proprio davanti la stazione dei treni. Con il suo tuk tuk ci ha portato a visitare i monumenti più belli ,spiegandoci per ognuno la sua storia. Durante tutto il viaggio ,tra una spiegazione e l'altra,abbiamo riso e cantato a ritmo di samba .Grazie Daniel,sei SUPER!!!!!!

Alessandracc

December 2, 2022.

Great experience Great tour with Daniel. He knows the best spots to see the castles around Sintra and explained to us all about the history of the region. He also gave great tips on where to eat and what to visit on our way back to Lisbon. The electric tuktuk was great because it made almost no noise. I highly recommend his tour!

I hope that these advices were helpful to you and that they help you make the right decisions.

You can click this link if you’d like to do a tour with me or check my prices.