Sintra
 

Does anyone know names of private drivers who are licensed English speaking tour guides or organized small (8) group trips to Sintra and Cascais from hotels in Lisbon Portugal? 4 of us are going in two weeks and we would love input.

Based on a recommendation from a friend who used this company, we have booked them for a day trip from Lisbon in June. They have been very easy to work with, and we are looking forward to our day trip; we are a group of 5.

https://www.premiumtours.pt/en/

Sinatra is very easily reached by train. Once there you either go on foot to the castles with a very nice - long - walk/hike or take a bus.

cascais i didn't pay attention to train.

If you want a tour I would simply ask your hotel. Everyone in tourist industry in Lisbon speaks English well enough.

WoinParis was thinking of the night trains - "Strangers in the Night"?

>Sinatra is very easily reached by train. Once there you either go on foot to the castles with a very nice - long - walk/hike or take a bus.<

Yes, I took the train from Lisbon - easy and cheap! I walked to the castle: and it is uphill and on windy roads. I did it on a Sunny Sunday and, when I finished my tour of the castle, the line-up for the bus down to the station had about a million people, so I walked down. It was far more exercise than I had planned for that day :)

Search the internet for 'small organised tours from lisbon to sintra'. Here is one example:

https://www.viator.com/tours/Lisbon/...3SINTRACASCAIS

In Lisbon you board the Sintra train at Rossio station, not far from the metro stop Rossio (a few minutes' walk between the two only).

In Sintra you can walk to one of the two castles you MUST visit - it's a bit of a hike to the upper level of the town, we took it, or you take the bus right from the train station.

This castle is serious, historical, a proper museum in its own right.

Then there is the OTHER castle, on top of the mountain. You can walk there, but will your legs and lungs allow it? Take the bus - the fare includes the ride back down (you can also walk down, of course).

That castle is NOT serious, the design is whimsical, playful, downright funny in parts. It makes for great photo ops from all kinds of wacky angles. It's real, not a Disney construct, but closer to the Disney concept than to a real austere formally fortified castle in the historic sense.

I'm sorry, I'm spacing on the names of these two, and I don't have the time to look them up right now - you'll have no trouble getting the info when you start looking.

You might want to check "tours by locals" - we have used this company in several European cities and it is always a pleasant experience.

We visited Sinatra and Cascais as day-trips by train from our hotel, the Avenida Palace (wonderful hotel).

Very easy & pleasant trips. Trains leave from two different stations, so be aware of that.

You could also ask at your hotel, for a driver.

Palacio Nacional is the historic one in town which we preferred to Peña Palace up high on the hill, filled with whimsy, much newer..

Sintra (not Sinatra, Frank is turning over in his grave...) trains from Rossio station in Lisbon,

Cascais trains from Cais do Sobré station (which is also a bus/tram/metro/ferries hub), or from Belém (first stop after Cais do Sobré) if that's closer to your Lisbon address.

The transportation card that you use in bus/tram/trolley etc also works on both these trains, either the Via Viagem card or the Lisboa Card (the Lisboa card includes entrance to many museums and such) - see https://www.lisbon.net/transportation