Portugal: Sintra

Ahhhh Sintra, the reason we decided to start this website.  The first line of this was going to be "don’t do this to yourself with toddlers” but actually, now that the sweat has dried and we have some perspective… we had a pretty good day.  Learn from us so yours can be even better!

Getting there and getting around: What we did vs. what we would do now. 

After reading many, many, websites, blogs, instagram stories, about Sintra we generally thought it would be busy but manageable and, especially with four toddlers, decided our best bet would be to drive. For this portion of our Portugal trip we were all traveling together so we rented a nine seater van. Picture us, four adults and four kids under four, the Frozen 2 soundtrack playing on a loop, inching down two way roads that are only 1.5 vehicles wide.  

Key learnings:

• The amount of tourists in Portugal is increasing exponentially.  We mention this because we read many posts about parking and driving in Sintra that were only a few years old that did not represent the situation accurately for Sintra in 2024. The Sintra Parks website here now pretty much tells you not to drive - why was this not one of the things we read? I don't know - but now you do!

• After a certain time in the morning the main roads in Sintra become one-way.  No where did we read this somehow but in talking to people after we got home other friends ran into the same issue.  This means that since we started our day at Quinta da Regaleira we could not drive back through town to get to our afternoon stop at Pena Palace. Instead we had to drive out and around to get back to town changing a 15 minute drive into 45 minutes. 

• Parking is not close to the sites and will most likely be an uphill walk away if you can even find it.  This we were sort of prepared for but 15 minutes flat vs. 15 minutes uphill is a different beast with kids. 

• Tuk-tuks are not allowed to take children under the age of 7.  We heard from a few tuk-tuk drivers that the “jeeps” could take children but we never found one to verify that or find out how many children they could accommodate and at what cost. 

What we should have done:

• Take the train or drive into Sintra and park and then take the bus to the castles.  A day pass for the bus is 13€ per adult.  This was what we ended up doing to get to Pena Palace - the cost was a bit of a tough pill to swallow since we were only using it for the afternoon and had already paid for parking in the morning but it was very smooth once we got going.

• To note - we were there in May and the line for the bus wasn’t an issue but I would expect to wait a bit in high-season.

• Alternatively, if your children are over 7 train/park in town and take a tuk tuk to the sites if the bus lines are long or book a tour! 

Seeing the sites: Quinta da Regaleira & Pena Palace

We did Sintra as a day trip from Lisbon so we had to be selective on what we visited. However, you could honestly do a full day at either of these places if you were staying in Sintra and wanted to spread them out or if you’re looking for a bit of a more relaxed itinerary.  Doing both was awesome as they are so different but it did mean a bit of hustle. 

Quinta da Regaleira

Cost: 12 € per adult and children under 5 are free. You can purchase tickets online in advance and have them on your phone to avoid lines at the ticket office. If buying online make sure to buy a ticket for the children under 5 years old as well - it will be 0€ on the bill but they do give you a digital ticket for them and it’s required for entry. 

We were aiming to get there for opening at 10am to beat some of the crowds. Despite our best efforts to buffer ourselves, the complexity of the driving and parking put us there around 10:30am and even in early May there were already a fair number of people there.

One regret: if we did it again one of the adults would have gotten an audio guide and been our designated fun fact announcer.  It was still incredible but I’m sure we missed a lot of interesting detaisl. The audio guide was highly recommended when we were researching but after a hairy arrival we forgot.  Can’t win them all! (especially with four hangry toddlers in tow). 

Once inside, our top priority was getting to the Initiation Well so we walked straight there - there’s signs along the path pointing to the key spots and you can download this map from their website here.  Pro-tip - I don’t know if it was the file size of the signal but downloading this on site was very slow so I would do it in advance if you remember! 

No surprise - there was a huge line. There is no staff person outside at the well organizing the line and thus no family bypass. We selected one adult to get in the line while the others sat with the kids for a snack break and then took them on “hikes” along the little trails in the woods around the main walking path.  

The line was probably 30 minutes by the time we got to the front but the well was very cool and worth the wait.  This was our only long wait - from there out there were a few crowded areas that I suspect might have a bit of a wait in peak season but based on our experience I think the well will be your biggest down period so I would plan to have a snack or activity prepped for when you head up that way!

The well is not accessible and it would have been really tough to even carry a folded stroller down with how narrow it is. We opted to leave the stroller in the car for this stop and brought carriers for the twins and the two older girls walked mostly - which they loved - or hopped up on shoulders.  The stairs are a bit slippy in places where wet so would definitely recommend helping any younger children down the stairs. 

After the well you’re let out into some well lit and easy to navigate caves which were a hit with everyone and gave the kids a chance to roam a bit more freely.  The grounds were beautiful with lots of interesting structures and vegetation and we spent the next little while roaming the walking paths and checking things out.  The map makes it look quite large but it feels smaller and easier to navigate on site.

Our initial plan - which would be great if you plan accordingly! - was to give the kids picnic lunch there before moving to our second stop in the afternoon.  After our trials in the morning we felt like we might need the picnic lunch as an emergency dinner if things didn’t go smoothly and the cafe on site is very picturesque with a view so we stopped there for lunch.  We didn’t take a picture of the menu but we were all shocked how affordable it was for a restaurant in a mega tourist attraction so this would also be a great option! (Plus they serve alcohol).

Before heading back to the car we checked out the Palace. We lucked out and there was no line to get in but you’re sort of in a line for the duration of the time you’re inside as it’s quite tight and you’re just moving along with the crowd. It was cool to see but wasn’t much of a thrill for the toddlers to be super confined - in hindsight this would have been better to tackle earlier in the day rather than just after everyone would have normally been napping. 

Since we were heading to the other palace we skipped the Labyrinth unfortunately but apparently it’s quite a cool experience.  We did read however it’s not very well lit so it might be a better activity with slightly older kids. 

Pena Palace

Cost: There are two ticket options for Pena Palace - one for the grounds only and one for the Palace and the grounds.  We opted for the grounds only ticket for a few reasons:

• It’s cheaper! (10€ vs. 20€ per adult) And the outside bright colourful castle is what we were mainly there to see. The grounds only ticket still allows you to walk up and around the castle and onto most of the walled areas just not inside the residential space. 

• The palace entry has a giant line and is quite tight inside from the accounts we read and we didn’t feel it was going to be enjoyable with four toddlers to wrangle. 

• And the top reason for us - the grounds ticket is good all day while the palace entry is timed and if you miss your timing you’re out of luck for entering the Palace. 

This is a great example of how we’re thinking about travel a bit differently now that we have kids and a scenario where we agreed it was better to skip something for an overall more enjoyable day.  The stress of having to be there for a certain time without knowing how long we would want to linger at our first stop plus wrangling toddlers in a space likely full of breakables and off-limits zones after a lengthy line didn’t feel worth the amount of enjoyment we would get from touring the inside of the palace. It won’t always be the case, depending on the attraction, but it’s good to consciously think it through and decide in advance!

If you decide to go grounds only you are looking for the ticket called Park of Pena - it’s way at the bottom.  And if you book more than 3 days in advance for either ticket type you get 15% off!

Now onto the visit! This is the palace that always comes up when you google Sintra with the bright yellow and red walls and it’s just a cool in person. 

When you get off the bus (or tuk tuk) at the entrance to the park you have to walk through the grounds to get up to the palace.  There is a very disheartening sign telling you you are a 30 minute walk from the castle.  I’m not sure if they are estimating people walking at a stroll or if that is to buffer tourists who are cutting it close for their entry time but I think we cleared it in under 10 minutes - each carrying a toddler.  So that was a nice surprise - but we were definitely walking with purpose.

I mean what really is there to say… the pictures speak for themselves!

We can also attest that the crazy lineup to get inside was very real.

There is a little outdoor cafe on the upper level as well as a restaurant on the main level but we didn’t stop in.  After checking out the castle we went out into the grounds and busted out the emergency dinner as it was getting quite late by that point. After our surprisingly long drive back to the city centre and figuring out parking then the bus to get up there we didn’t have a ton of time to explore the grounds but what we did see was beautiful. 

On the “for next time” list: 

• Our original plan was to stop in Cascais for dinner on the way back to Lisbon.  We have it on good authority from then childless friends who did stop that the beach town is beautiful and could be a day trip from Lisbon on its own.  If we HAD stopped the plan was to head for Casa da Guia - a complex located on the outskirts of Cascais, offering several restaurants with outdoor seating and views of the Atlantic Ocean.  For a slower itinerary one castle + Cascais would be a lovely day trip from Lisbon!

• There is SO much to see in Sintra - it should really be its own trip rather than a day trip from Lisbon - hence the next time list.  Two other sites we seriously considered before narrowing down to Quinta da Regaleira and Pena Palace (though there’s many others):

• The Moorish Castle - this would make a better pairing with Pena Palace if you’re looking for an easier two stop itinerary as they are walking distance from each other.  This is a medieval ruin you can walk through and is reportedly less busy than Pena Palace.  

• Palace of Monserrate - it looks very cool with a real mix of agricultural styles and apparently the gardens are amazing and very diverse. 

If you’ve been to any of these places let us know what you thought! And feel free to let us know if you have any questions on navigating Sintra with kids!