SashieZ

We will be flying into Lisbon from Madeira and will be renting a car at the airport and driving to Sintra where we will spend 3 nights. We will probably arrive in Sintra early afternoon on a Sunday and would like to see the market in Sao Pedro de Sintra (we happen to be there the second Sunday of the month). I'm thinking we could stop there on the way to Sintra. Or should we drop the car at our hotel and walk there? I read it is walkable.

We would also like to take a day trip to see Obidos and Cascais. We would like to include Tomar...would that be doable? Or too far of a drive? so with one day left, will I be able to see everything in Sintra in one day? Castelos dos Mouros, Convento dos capuchos, Quninta daRegaleira....and I haven't even mentioned the two palaces. don't want to visit both... which is the not to miss one? I also want to walk around and maybe do some shopping and not feel rushed.

will I feel rushed with this schedule?

Sher

Hi SashieZ. We are here. We are just lazy, I guess.
Are you spending any time in Lisbon?
But you asked about Sintra. Yes, three days is enough to do Sintra and the side trips you want.
You can do Obidos and Tomar and Cascais in one day with your car. The distances really are not that great.
I thought Sintra was really worth the time we spent there but I just don't feel that the sites warrant three days. You will have plenty of time to enjoy them.
Make sure you take some time to drive along the coast from Sintra to Obidos. The seaside is quite lovely.
Have a great time.
And bringing this to the top someone else will jump in I am sure.

HappyTrvlr

May I assume you have time in Lisbon in addition to your three days in Sintra? Do not short change Lisbon.

SashieZ

There you are!!!! thanks so much for responding.

We actually have three additional days in Lisbon. Sher - thanks for the tip on the coastline...maybe we will do that on the trip back.

Any guess on how long the drive from Sintra to Tomar is? I basically have one full day in sintra and one full day driving to Obidos and Tomar if we decide to do that. We arrive on a Sunday and would like to do the market.

Wasn't planning on visiting Estoril - should I? It seems more of a beach resort. am I wrong?

Thanks for your help.

valtor

Not far from Sintra (10 minutes by train) is Queluz, with its wonderful palace, which has one of the most beautiful statues garden that we saw).

adrienne

<< Any guess on how long the drive from Sintra to Tomar is? >>

Why guess on how long the drive is? You can look it up.

mappy.com
viamichelin.com

I always add extra time to what the driving sites tell you and it depends on whether or not you take highways or secondary roads.

One day is not enough to see everything in Sintra. You could do the two palaces and perhaps the Quninta da Regaleira if you rush through all of them.

Sher

I didn't want to say that if I had to choose between days in Sintra and days in Lisbon I would x Sintra because I enjoyed my visit there but I wouldn't give up one for the other. Now some people disagree and love Sintra more than Lisbon. Everyone is different.

So if you have three days you can do what you wanted: plan on full day in Sintra and one day to do Obidos and Tomar. The distances are just not that great. You can find out exactly how much time to go between Sintra and Tomar on www.mappy.com or www.viamichelin.com.

Cascais, Estoril, Nazare are beach resorts really. But visiting them will allow you to see some of the coast and you really don't need lots of time to do so. On our last trip we drove friends to Sitio which is above Nazare and just walked along the cliff wall and enjoyed looking at the sea.

Just remember. If you find you want to linger in one place or the other you can always return!

SashieZ

Thanks for the websites. The driving time is approx 1hr 45 min. As much as I would like to visit Tomar, I'm thinking the drive is too long. Unless of course the drive is gorgeous and not to be missed. (?) Now I'm thinking Obidos, then a drive down the coast to Cascais and back to Sintra. Maybe a stop at Alcobaca.

adrienne

<< Unless of course the drive is gorgeous >>

I drove from Tomar to Obidos and didn't find the drive gorgeous. In fact, most of the drives in central Portugal were dull - dry and brown (September/October). The scenery wasn't lush until I was near the Spanish border; it was a bit more interesting near the western coast.

If you're going to be in Lisbon I would see the monastery there (the best of the 3 I saw - Tomar, Batalha, and Belem) and forego Tomar. While Tomar is nice, Lisbon can offer just about everything you can see in Tomar. And since you're thinking of Alcobaca you can definitely miss the monastery in Tomar.

Obidos is worth about 2 hours tops so you can plan your day around that timeframe.

If I had to choose between Sintra and Lisbon I would x Lisbon! Sher and I disagree about this but she has more experience in Lisbon than I and I had an awful time there.

For Sintra - definitely see the palaces - they're the best part of the sightseeing. The National Palace is in town so you can do some shopping after seeing that. Go to the Pena Palace first as it will take you longer to see and it's spectacular!