Go for it Mel!:)

This fall will be the third time in three years we have booked Chalet Saudade thanks to Covid. I feel like I already know them. Look forward to your thoughts when you get back.

Maribel, thanks once again for the detailed descriptions of Sintra's sites and transportation options. I'm mulling over what we'll do and how we'll do it, but it's incredibly helpful to know that taxis and ubers are easy and fairly cheap. I'm not keen on long waits for packed buses, so I'm glad to have the option to take a cab. Or walk, though I'm not sure if I'm quite as ambitious as Mel! But if she can walk up to the Castelo dos Moros, then....well, we might consider it, but chances are likelier that we'll take advantage of other options than just our feet! :)

Melnq8, I'm excited for you and your trip - not too much longer! If you have time to share some feedback on your experience in Sintra, even a brief note, that would be much appreciated! And would love to know how you managed the hike challenge!

mlgb - thanks for your take on the different sites; it's a good reminder that we all experience these places differently.

maitatom, well, of course you know that the third time is the charm! So this one will be it! And I promise a report back on Chalet Saudade. I'm looking forward to our stay there, too.

progol -

I will definitely report back. We leave next week, but Sintra is towards the end of our trip.

Have a fantastic trip!

We don’t leave until early May, so whatever you have time to tell me about Sintra will at least help us prepare - hopefully, your experience will be good and manageable.

Absolutely - do not miss Sintra. Plan your events to go first thing in the morning and then do 'slow travel' through the less popular places in mid-day, then enjoy Sintra's narrow streets and restaurants after the day trippers leave. We booked our entry to Pena Palace at the first time slot available, and the crowds weren't too bad then; it's a real time saver to buy admission tickets in advance.

Thank you! We decided to keep the reservation and plan to do exactly what you suggest. I’m also glad that we’ll be near the very well-reviewed restaurant, Incomum.

We haven't booked anything (other than hotel) in Sintra yet and I'm not sure how far in advance we should. I'm not even sure what we want to see yet. I've read that Pena Palace is disappointing inside and the best bits are outside and the gardens.

I just looked at my itinerary from 2018. I landed at midnightish at Lisbon airport (due to a zombie hurricane). Lucky I had booked a hotel at the airport (Star Inn). Early the next morning I took the Metro to the train (from the airport Rossio train station is easier). I hadn't reserved the train tickets and the Rossio Station is less popular than the one in town for tourists, so I was able to get the next train. In Sintra, I dropped my bags at my lodging in Sintra (one night only) and walked straight over to the National Palace. After that, I took the bus up to Pena (with the combo ticket including the interior). Walked around town a bit that evening. Next morning I walked up to Quinta and in the afternoon took the bus to Monserrate. So two sights a day. Took a cab back to the station (since it was raining) and returned to Lisbon. I can't remember but I may have reserved the return time for the train. I think they do fill up in the afternoons.

So with that many nights you will be able to have a day for visiting Cascais.

I don't care for heights so didn't do the ramparts.

The crowds at the Jeronimo monastery were the worst. The ticket sales was part of the issue, so do whatever you have to get a ticket without waiting in line, if it's the same story these days. It was fall and the height of cruise and tourist season, apparently.

The thing I most regret in Lisbon was spending too much time at the pastais place in Belem, and running out of time to visit the Gulbenkian.

Progol and mel,
Since you both have 2 full touring days in Sintra It might make since to head to the most visited sites, Pena Palace and Regaleira first each morning, of course depending on what your hosts advise you to do.

The Pena Palace first timed entrance is at 9:30, and I was actually very interested in the interiors since they're frozen in time, just as the royal family left them when they fled.
Regaleira opens at 10 am, and I would purchase tickets on line if you're interested. I was very happy that we went on an "easy day", since the guide next to me told his group that on a "busy day" the line to descend the Initiation Well could be an hour long. I'm so glad that we were able to do this without standing in a long line in the hot sun.

Regaleira does have an audio guide with 30 points of interest within the park.
There were 5 ticket booths open when we arrived so we sped in, but again there were signs advising visitors to purchase online tickets.
Only the ground floor rooms of the Palace are open currently to visitors. Regaleira and Monserrate both have cafes if you're in need of refreshments.

The National Palace doesn't have a cafe or gift shop open, but none is needed because it sits across the square from the Cafe de Paris, where we had coffee and the dishes there looked terrific.

Because the situation in Sintra is so very fluid, I would certainly seek the advice of your hosts as to how best to do Sintra on your dates.What was my case on March 19 may not be the case when you arrive.

About Jeronimos this month,
We purchased our tickets online on the official site, and we arrived at the Monastery 15 min. before its opening at 10 am and were the first to go in, which was a sheer pleasure to be able to photograph and spend time identifying the characters in the gargoyles before the tourist hordes came in. However...when we left the monastery to visit the church (free to all) there was a long line to enter the church and no way to enter directly from the monastery, so it meant a long wait in line which one doesn't expect.
From the second floor of the Monastery one can see the church from the choir area but to visit the tombs and chancel one has to stand in line again. The Jeronimos Monastery still is a bit disorganized.
But I would encourage you, again, to arrive early. When we passed by again at noon, the lines were a mile long!
In our experience, the monuments of Belém can take an entire day.

Such great research and planning. I will keep this for our own future use.

Maribel, a few days ago, I looked on the official site for Jeronimos and just want to confirm that you purchase the ticket for a specific day but can enter at any time? I skipped it on my previous trip because I didn't want to wait in line, so it's on my list for next month. Thanks.

Sintra is wonderful! We stayed for two nights, the last two days of October a couple of years ago. Yes, in the middle of the day during high season the center of the town will be crowded. One shop owner told me there were so many people in the center it was hard to walk. But planning your day around the mass of day trippers will help. FYI, we thought the National Palace was fascinating. Some tour books and postings suggest that it is not a priority sight. If you go, you might find it less crowded than other sights. Enjoy your trip!

I finally got around to re-reading this thread and taking copious notes. I think we now have a plan. Many thanks to all of you who have contributed. I've spent more time researching Sintra than any other place we'll be visiting on our three week trip!

wtm003,
Yes, on the official Jeronimos site you can purchase the ticket for a specific day, but I believe you can enter at any time. That said, our ticket did say 10:00 am (but there was no way to select a time slot on the online purchasing site) and to beat the crowds we did enter at 10. I learned from several previous experiences that getting to Jeronimos 15 min. before opening, we could be the first in line and enjoy the site before the hordes of buses appeared at around 11.

Ticket sales for all the Patrimonio Cultural sites--
https://bilheteira.patrimoniocultural.pt/pos/space/list

The site is a bit tricky to use because you need to click on Bilhetes (tickets) in Portuguese. The click on "Mostrar Datas Disponíveis" (show available dates).
Standard tickets cost €10 and senior tickets cost €5. We purchased sr. tickets but weren't required to show an i.d.
The site took my Visa without a problem.

The Monastery and other Belém sites are closed on Mondays, so that's when visitors head to Sintra.

On our Belém day, there was a 6,000 passenger P&O ship docked in Lisbon, so we knew that many passengers would be headed to Jeronimos.

Sure enough, at around noon, the Jeronimos line was oppressively long, and at the ticket booth there was only 1 ticket seller when we entered, whereas at Regaleira in Sintra there were 5 ticket booths, but at the entrance there were signs urging visitors to purchase online tickets instead.

The way Jeronimos is organized today, the monastery opens at 10 but the church (free to all) opens at 10:30, which means that early birds aren't able first to visit the church as before, but have to wait until they finish their Monastery visit. Then when we finished visiting the Monastery we needed to stand in another long line to enter the church, which doesn't make much sense, but alas, that's the way it was.

The waitress at Café de París in Sintra, directly across from the National Palace, also told us that the crowds were tremendous during the high season. We had heard that before on our last visit in November. But because we arrived early before the Palace opened at 9:30, there was plenty of room on the outdoor terraces to enjoy a coffee. And the National Palace, indeed, was far less crowded than Regaleira. The upper room completely covered with blue tile murals is exquisite.

Hope this helps.

Maribel, thank you for answering my question. All of your posts have been so helpful!

wtm003,
Just a note about getting cash from Portugal banks.
I was shocked at the number of little Euronet ATMs all over Lisbon and Sintra, especially in the tourist zones. We put all our purchases possible on our credit cards with no transaction fees, and cash withdrawals from the official banks' "multibancos" (the BBVAs and CTTs)
But even then, when doing a transaction we were offered the dreaded DCC conversion rate into dollars. We declined, clicking on "conversion rate not accepted" to get our transaction done in euros. This is quite the scam, so I just mention it so that folks will be aware.

Thanks for the heads up on the DCC Maribel. We noticed the DCC trick on ATMs in Switzerland last fall, which we'd never seen there before. And it got us once, in our exhausted jet lagged state, as we didn't see the teenie tiny chf button in the lower right hand corner waaaay at the bottom of the screen. It felt rather sneaky.

It was sneaky mel, if we had accepted the conversion rate, it would have been 26 euros per hundred euros conversion fee. Ouch!

Maribel, thank you for that reminder! We had the same experience in Portugal and Spain in 2019 and it was very confusing. I started doubting myself and almost pressed the wrong button.

We made a late change to our trip yesterday and decided to go to Amsterdam instead of Lisbon. Getting our covid test results in time, plus the cost, was starting to stress me out. This trip originally started out as a cruise, which was cancelled, so we decided to keep our original flights, then our friends cancelled and we realized we were mainly going back to Lisbon because that's where they wanted to start the trip. We'll still head to Spain after Amsterdam. Nothing like being flexible!

I've been soaking up all of your suggestions and will use them when I return to Portugal...those pastéis de nata are calling me. I'm guessing the ATM situation will be the same in AMS, so I appreciate the reminder. Thank you!