Sintra is Portugal's most enchanting day trip destination, a fairytale town set in the cooling hills of the Serra de Sintra just waiting to be discovered from Estoril. This UNESCO World Heritage site enthrals visitors with its extraordinary collection of Romantic palaces, ancient castles, and whimsical 19th-century villas.

Sintra is easily accessible from Estoril via a regular bus service or ride-hailing apps such as Uber or Bolt. These options eliminate the hassle of changing trains in Lisbon or attempting to drive through Sintra's notoriously narrow streets, where parking is virtually impossible.

This guide provides details for the Estoril-Sintra bus service, including fares, links to timetables, and bus stop information.
Related articles: Sintra guide

The town centre of Sintra

The 1629 bus route, operated by Carris Metropolitana, provides the main service between Estoril and Sintra. There is also the less frequent 1630 route, which takes a slightly longer path via Monte Estoril, though both services terminate at the same destination.

The journey takes around 35-40 minutes through pleasant countryside. If you're buying tickets from the driver, a single fare costs €2.60, and you will need cash. However, you can save money by using a pre-paid Navegante card, which brings the cost down to just €1.55 per journey.

The Navegante is a rechargeable card used on all public transport, buses, trains, trams, and metro, throughout the Lisbon region. You can purchase one for a small fee (€0.50) at any metro or train station ticket machine and then load it with credit for your journeys.

The 1629 and 1630 buses depart approximately every hour. For the most accurate and up-to-date timetable, please consult the Carris Metropolitana website: www.carrismetropolitana.pt/horarios/

On the website, search for line number 1629 or 1630 to find the current timetable. 'Dias úteis' means Monday to Friday, 'Sábados' is Saturday, and 'Domingos e Feriados' means Sundays and public holidays.

The magnificent Pena Palace

Neither Estoril nor Sintra has a conventional bus station. In Estoril, the 1629 and 1630 buses depart from the main bus stops directly in front of the train station (Estoril Estação - GPS: 38.703, -9.398).

In Sintra, the bus terminates at Portela de Sintra (GPS: 38.802, -9.376), which is in the modern part of town with its shops and services. This is not the historic centre that is the main tourist draw.

From Portela de Sintra, you face a substantial 2km walk to reach the historic centre and the iconic Sintra National Palace. The major attractions, such as the Pena Palace, the Quinta da Regaleira, and the Moorish Castle, are even further up the hills.

To reach these sights, most visitors connect to the 434 tourist bus, which departs from the Portela de Sintra train station.

Ride-hailing apps like Uber and Bolt offer a convenient alternative to the bus, particularly if you're travelling as a group or prefer a door-to-door service. The journey typically takes 25-30 minutes and costs between €15-€25, depending on the time of day and demand.

During the peak tourist season and on weekends, expect higher fares due to surge pricing. Availability can also become limited as drivers concentrate on the busier Lisbon routes.

The main advantage is being dropped directly at your chosen destination in Sintra, whether that's the historic centre or one of the major palaces. This saves you from having to connect to the 434 tourist bus and can be particularly valuable during busy periods when the tourist buses get crowded.

For the return journey, booking a ride from Sintra can be more challenging, especially at peak times.

Driving from Estoril to Sintra is strongly discouraged:

The roads climbing into the Serra de Sintra hills were built centuries ago for horse-drawn carriages, not modern cars and coaches. These narrow, winding routes create bottlenecks that result in lengthy traffic jams, particularly at weekends when the area is flooded with day-trippers. What should be a 30-minute drive can easily stretch to over an hour during peak times.

Parking presents an even bigger challenge. There is no parking whatsoever at the Pena Palace, and the roads leading to both the Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle are completely closed to private vehicles. Only taxis, Uber, Bolt, and the official tourist buses are permitted access to these hilltop attractions.

The main public car park for Sintra is located near Portela de Sintra train station, the same area where the bus from Estoril terminates. From here, you'll still need to catch the 434 tourist bus to reach the major sights, negating any advantage of having brought your car.

Even parking in the historic centre is severely restricted, with just a handful of spaces that fill up early in the morning. The combination of limited parking, traffic congestion, and restricted access to the main attractions makes public transport the far more sensible choice for visiting Sintra.

Travelling from Estoril to Sintra by train is unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming compared to the direct bus. The journey requires multiple connections that turn a simple trip into a logistical puzzle.

First, you would take the train from Estoril to the Cais do Sodré station in Lisbon. From there, you would need to travel across central Lisbon to the Rossio train station. This requires either a metro journey or a 20-minute walk through the city's busy streets and up the steep hills of the Chiado district.

Alternatively, you could walk from Cais do Sodré to Rossio, but this involves a 20-minute trek through Lisbon's busy streets and up some steep hills through the Chiado district. Neither option is particularly appealing when you're trying to reach Sintra efficiently.

Once you reach Rossio station, you board another train for the 40-minute journey to Sintra. The entire door-to-door journey typically takes at least 90 minutes, compared to the direct bus which gets you there in 35-40 minutes. The train route also costs more, roughly double the price of the bus, whilst taking more than twice as long.

There is a second, more scenic bus route that connects the neighbouring town of Cascais to Sintra. The 1624 bus (also operated by Carris Metropolitana) follows the coastline and passes the spectacular Cabo da Roca cliffs—the most westerly point of mainland Europe—before climbing into the Sintra hills.

While a more direct bus, the 1623, also connects Cascais and Sintra, the 1624 is the scenic choice. A single ticket costs €2.60. The main bus terminal in Cascais, located next to the train station, is a pleasant 20-minute walk from Estoril.

The Cabo da Roca coastline of massive cliffs

While it is a pleasant 1km walk from Sintra train station to the historic centre, the climb to the Pena Palace is very steep, so most tourists opt to take the bus.

The sights for a typical first day in Sintra are covered by the 434 (Circuito da Pena) bus route. It connects the train station to the historic centre before climbing the hill to the Moorish Castle and the Pena Palace. A popular option is the 24-hour hop-on-hop-off ticket for Scotturb's Sintra routes, costing €13.50. For a guide to the bus please click here.

Important: The tourist buses within Sintra are operated by Scotturb and are not part of the Carris Metropolitana network. Tickets for the 1629 bus are not valid on these services.

For a second day, the 435 (Villa Express 4 Palácios) bus connects the station to the Quinta da Regaleira, and the Seteais and Monserrate Palaces.

The 434 and 435 tourist buses

The €13.50 daily Scotturb ticket is good value as it covers all their main tourist routes (434, 435, and the scenic 1624 bus to Cascais).

Sintra gets very busy during the summer. It is advisable to start your day early and, if possible, avoid weekends, when the town is at its most crowded. Monserrate Palace, being the furthest from central Sintra, is often the quietest national monument and a good choice for a weekend visit.

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