Lisbon to Sintra by Train, Car or Tour

The Three Stations at a Glance

CP's journey planner returns the following picture for the Sintra Line. All figures below are second class singles from CP's planner for a sample weekday and a sample Saturday and Sunday. Confirm your own date in CP's journey planner before you travel.

Why Rossio Is the Default

Rossio is the terminus in central Lisbon on CP's official station list for the Sintra Line, which also runs through Campolide, Benfica, Reboleira, Amadora, Queluz-Belas, Monte Abraao, Massama-Barcarena, Cacem, Mira-Sintra-Melecas, Rio de Mouro, Merces, Algueirao and Portela de Sintra before reaching Sintra. It is the only one of the three where every train starts its run, and 40 minutes later you are at Sintra station.

The weakness shows on weekends. CP's planner returns only 24 departures on each weekend day, hourly at :01 from 06:01 to 21:01. If you arrive at Rossio at 10:20 on a Saturday you wait 40 minutes for the 11:01. On a weekday the same arrival gets a train within half an hour, since the morning service runs every 30 minutes from 05:41 through 09:41.

Our pick: use Rossio on weekdays, and on weekends either take the 06:01 to 21:01 hourly pattern deliberately or switch to Entrecampos, where the planner still returns a train every 30 minutes at :17 and :47 on Saturdays.

Coming From Lisbon Airport

Lisbon Airport's own public transport page describes reaching the city by metro and train, or by taxi and TVDE ride-hailing apps, and names no dedicated airport shuttle to Sintra. The standard public transport route is the red metro line from the airport to Oriente, then the CP Sintra Line from Oriente straight to Sintra. No official ANA or CP page states a flat combined airport to Sintra fare, so the correct cost is the metro fare at the Oriente end plus the $2.94 (€2.55) CP zone fare from Oriente to Sintra.

For taxis and Uber or Bolt style TVDE rides, the airport's official page is clear that fares are metered or app-quoted. No fixed airport to Sintra fare is published. The Lisbon Carris and Metro single is €1.90 on the operator's own fare notice, so the public transport route costs a few euros in total.

If you land early and want to go straight to the palaces, our Pena Palace tickets page explains the timed palace slots, which have no delay tolerance.

The Outbound Pattern From Lisbon

From Rossio on a weekday the planner returns 40 departures across the day, every one of them a 40 minute ride. The service starts at 05:41, then 06:11 and 06:41, followed by trains every 30 minutes through the morning peak until 09:41. Midday the pattern alternates between :01 and :41 in a cycle of 20 and then 40 minute gaps, running from 10:01 to 16:41. The evening peak brings back the 30 minute rhythm from 17:11 to 23:31, and the night service runs at 00:01, 00:31 and 01:01.

Oriente and Entrecampos carry a heavier service: CP's planner returns 73 weekday departures at both. From Oriente trains leave every 10 minutes during the peaks, 06:38 to 09:38 and 16:38 to 19:58, and every 20 minutes between, with the last departure at 23:38 followed by 00:08, 00:38 and 01:08. From Entrecampos the pattern matches, with the journey taking only 38 minutes, the fastest of the three stations.

Practical translation: Pena Park opens at 09:00, so the 07:41 or 08:11 from Rossio on a weekday puts you at Sintra station at 08:21 or 08:51, and at weekends the 07:01 or 08:01 does the same job.

The Return to Lisbon and the Last Trains

Coming back, CP's planner gives Sintra to Rossio in 39 minutes at the same $2.94 (€2.55) fare. On a sample weekday there are 39 departures, the first at 05:20 and the last at 23:50, with one more at 00:20 after midnight. That late service matters. It means you can stay for dinner in the historic centre and still ride back to Rossio.

The weekend return is thinner. On a sample Saturday the planner returns 25 departures, hourly at :50 from 07:50 to 20:50, then every 30 minutes to 23:50. If you aim for a :50 train you will rarely wait more than an hour.

One warning from the fare rules. The CP Tourist card and the 24h Carris/Metro/CP ticket only allow you to leave stations in their final 30 minutes of validity, so do not cut it fine on the last train with a nearly expired pass.

The Weekend Trap

Here is the single most useful scheduling fact on this page. On Saturdays and Sundays Rossio drops to hourly departures at :01 from 06:01 until 21:01, while Oriente and Entrecampos keep a train every 30 minutes, at :08 and :38 from Oriente and at :17 and :47 from Entrecampos. The fare is identical at $2.94 (€2.55).

So on a weekend morning, Entrecampos gives you twice the choice of trains at the same price. Our pick for a Saturday or Sunday is Entrecampos, arriving at :15 past the hour so the :17 departure is always within reach. If Rossio is closer to your hotel, simply plan around the :01, and remember the last comfortable day train leaves at 21:01.

Our best time to visit page covers what changes by season and day of the week, and the two day itinerary spreads the hilltop sights across two mornings if a single day feels tight.

The Navegante Card and the Single Fare

The Lisbon to Sintra journey crosses four zones, and CP's zone table prices an adult 4-zone single at $2.94 (€2.55). You cannot buy a bare paper ticket. Tickets are loaded onto the reusable Navegante card, which costs $0.58 (€0.50) and is valid for one year from first use. Only one ticket type can be active on the card at a time, so if you still hold an old metro ticket you may need to use it up or let it expire before loading the train fare.

The honest arithmetic for a day trip, our sum: the card at $0.58 (€0.50) plus two singles at $5.88 (€5.10) comes to $6.46 (€5.60) for the day. That is the true door cost of the round trip on your first visit. Keep the card: it stays valid for a year from first use.

The Return Ticket Saves Nothing

CP's price sheet lists a fixed Lisboa-Sintra return ticket at $5.88 (€5.10), which is exactly the same as two singles at $2.94 (€2.55) each. There is no round trip discount on this route. The return buys you one transaction instead of two and nothing more. Two singles keep you flexible, for example if you decide to return to Oriente instead of Rossio. We would buy two singles and be done with it.

Children aged 4 to 12 inclusive travel at the half fare, which CP prices at $1.50 (€1.30) for the 4-zone Sintra journey, each way. The price sheet prints no fare for children under 4, so ask at the ticket office rather than assume.

Ticket Options Compared

Every figure in this table is from CP's official price sheet. Prices are per adult unless stated.

The Train and Bus Ticket Disagreement and Two Card Warnings

Two official documents disagree about the combined Train & Bus tourist ticket. CP's own price sheet lists it at $16.15 (€14.00) for one day, valid on the CP Sintra Line and Scotturb buses 434 and 435. The tariff sheet of Viação 434, the operator of the 434 circuit, lists Train & Bus at $18.46 (€16.00), sold at its Sintra 434 store. CP's own English tourist-ticket page has also described the combined ticket as temporarily unavailable. We would not build the day on it. Buy the train singles, and buy 434 tickets at the Sintra 434 stores or online.

Two warnings on passes. First, the Navegante Lisboa monthly pass does not cover Sintra journeys, it is a Lisbon-city pass listed separately from Navegante Sintra on CP's table, so a Lisbon resident's monthly card does not get you up the line for free. Second, the Lisboa Card's official page lists the Sintra Myths and Legends Interactive Centre among its free museums, but it does not state whether the Sintra train, Pena Palace, the National Palace or Regaleira are covered or only discounted, so we would not assume train coverage.

Ticket office hours, from CP's official document: Sintra station's office opens 07h30 to 19h00 on weekdays and again 07h30 to 19h00 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Portela de Sintra's office runs 08h15 to 12h45 and 13h30 to 15h45 on weekdays and closes on weekends and holidays.

Bus 434 to Pena and the Moorish Castle

The 434 circuit, run by Scotturb, is the official transport to the palaces and castles, and Parques de Sintra's how-to-get-there page names it for both the Moorish Castle and Pena, with the 434 or 435 serving the National Palace. The operator's own tariff sheet prices the 434 single leg at $5.42 (€4.70), the round trip at $9.98 (€8.65), and a Turístico day ticket at $21.20 (€18.35) covering the circuits. No child fare is printed on that sheet. Scotturb's own website publishes no fare page and no timetable, its tariff link returns a 404, so the operator's official PDF sheet is the source for these figures. The sintra434.com site, which sells the circuits online, shows a 24-hour hop-on hop-off ticket at $12.64 (€10.96) on its homepage and says buses run on average every 10 minutes.

The full route detail, stop by stop, is in our getting around Sintra guide. Buy the round trip if you plan the classic station, Moorish Castle, Pena, town circuit, and the day ticket only if you will ride the circuit more than twice.

Bus 1253 to Regaleira, Monserrate and Cabo da Roca

The Carris Metropolitana 1253 is a circular Longa line from Sintra station that serves the historic centre stops, Quinta da Regaleira, the Seteais Palace stop, the Monserrate park, then Colares, Almoçageme, Azóia and Cabo da Roca before returning. As a Longa line it costs $3.11 (€2.70) on board in cash to the driver, or a cheaper $1.79 (€1.55) prepaid on a Navegante card balance. Some vehicles accept contactless bank cards at the yellow validator, but the prepaid rate is the reliable saving.

Planned departures from Sintra station on the day checked by the operator's page start at 06:30, run every 30 to 40 minutes through the morning, every 20 minutes from 12:10 to 18:50, and end at 20:00. Parques de Sintra also lists the 1253 as the bus connection toward the Convent of the Capuchos, followed by a 40-minute walk. If the coast is your goal, our pages on Cabo da Roca, Praia da Ursa and Azenhas do Mar pick up from where this line drops you.

Walking Into Town

Parques de Sintra's official guidance puts the walk from Sintra station to the National Palace at 10 to 15 minutes, and the same 10 to 15 minutes to the Villa Sassetti trailhead. In our view the walk is worth it one way: ride the 434 up to the castle and Pena, then come down on foot by the Villa Sassetti Trail, which Parques de Sintra times at 45 minutes over 1,850 metres. The village of São Pedro de Penaferrim is the start of the Santa Maria Trail, the other marked route.

For reference at the top, Parques de Sintra says to allow around 30 minutes from the Park of Pena entrance gate to the palace itself. The Essential visit costs $23.10 (€20) for adults, and the round trip transfer bus inside the park is a further $5.19 (€4.50) per person over 6. Quinta da Regaleira's official adult entry is also $23.10 (€20). Budget both when you compare the train day against a tour that includes tickets.

The Road Closures That Decide Everything

Three restrictions shape any driving plan. Since the scheme took effect around December 2019, the Calçada da Pena, the road up to Pena Palace, is closed to general private traffic and open only to authorised vehicles such as residents, emergency services, taxis and security forces. The municipality's stated reason was that it could not guarantee emergency-vehicle access on those mountain roads. In addition, a one-way system runs on Estrada dos Capuchos west to east, from the junction with the Pena roads down toward the Chalet of the Countess of Edla. Finally, Parques de Sintra states that private vehicles in the historic centre are limited to residents, and that access to the Moorish Castle is not authorised to private vehicles at all.

Read together, these rules mean a rental car from Lisbon buys you a car park at the bottom of the hill and a bus or shuttle ride up, exactly what the train provides for $5.88 (€5.10) return. A car earns its keep only on a day that continues to the coast, and even there line 1253 reaches Cabo da Roca from the station.

Portela de Sintra Car Park and the Free Shuttle

If you do drive, the port of call is the EMES-operated Portela de Sintra car park on Avenida General Mario Firmino Miguel, with 250 spaces. Tariffs are $0.35 (€0.30) for the first 15 minutes, then $0.29 (€0.25) per subsequent 15-minute period, capped at a daily maximum of $2.08 (€1.80). Monthly subscriptions exist, including a discounted Park & Ride rate for train pass holders, but visitors need only the daily cap.

From there, the municipality runs a free shuttle connecting the Portela de Sintra and Cavaleira parking areas to Sintra train station, with departures guaranteed every 7 minutes between 09:00 and 20:00 on a 24-seat wheelchair-accessible vehicle. This is the combination we would use if driving: park at Portela de Sintra for $2.08 (€1.80), shuttle to the station, then bus 434 or 1253 upward.

Park and Ride on the Train Line, and the Free Cavaleira Lot

Two more free options sit on the railway itself. EMES lists free parking at Mira Sintra/Meleças station with 583 spaces and at Monte Abraão station with 586 spaces on Rua Cidade Desportiva. If you are driving in from the north or west, or you fear Sintra's narrow roads, park at either station and ride the train the last few stops. It is free parking on top of the $2.94 (€2.55) train fare, and it removes all hill driving from the day.

For visitors who insist on driving as far up the mountain as possible, the free Cavaleira peripheral car park is the designated alternative for cars that cannot use the Calçada da Pena, reported at the time of the 2019 restriction as having more than 1,500 spaces. From Cavaleira you connect to the same free shuttle toward the station. Paid parking with the same tariff structure as Portela de Sintra also exists at Queluz-Belas station.

What the Money Actually Buys

The cheapest listings start from $27.93 for a 9-hour coach day (tour-4, rated 4.8 from 11,267 reviews, and tour-5, rated 4.7 from 23,907 reviews, 9h 30m). At that level you are buying round-trip transport in an air-conditioned vehicle with hotel pickup and a live guide. Read the option list carefully: both operators state that Pena and Regaleira entry tickets are only included on the options that say so. By our estimate the $27.93 option costs close to five times the train return, and what it saves is the bus connections and the planning.

The mid-range adds the tickets. Tour-10 at $60.02 for 8 hours, rated 4.7, builds in two hours for lunch and free time in Sintra, with Pena Palace and Regaleira on the full option. Tour-9 at $78.48, rated 4.9, includes Pena entry and substitutes Queluz Palace if Pena closes. At the top, tour-7 is a 5.5-hour small-group tour for a maximum of 8 people at $91.18, rated 4.9, including a pastry tasting, though it needs a minimum of 4 bookings to run.

One card plays by different rules. Tour-8 at $75.02 starts in Sintra itself, meeting outside Café Pérola da Portela at Portela de Sintra station, so you still take the train from Lisbon and then join a 4-hour guided walk covering Pena, Regaleira and the historic centre. It is a sensible hybrid if you want the train's flexibility plus a guide on the ground.

Our Honest Recommendation

If you are comfortable buying tickets online, take the train. It is cheaper, it runs late, and the 434 bus covers the hill for $5.42 (€4.70) a leg. If any of the following apply, a tour earns its price: you have a single day and no patience for logistics, you want the Cabo da Roca and Cascais coast combined, as on tour-4 and tour-5, or you want a small group and a guide's commentary, as on tour-7 or tour-9. Note that every tour listed here is rated not suitable for wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments, and most warn about significant uphill walking. The train plus 434 bus is the more accessible combination for anyone with limited mobility, since the bus fleet is ramp-equipped per Scotturb's own site.

Whichever way you go, Pena Palace tickets are timed and dated, so book the entry slot before you lock in any transport.