Best way to get to Pena Palace – An honest guide by a local tour guide.
How to get to Pena Palace is one of the most common questions for anyone visiting Sintra. Whether you’re coming from Lisbon or already in the village, this guide will show you the easiest and most scenic ways to reach this iconic monument.
With more than 6 years of experience as a tour guide in Sintra, here are all the ways to reach Pena Palace from the train station of Sintra or the village of Sintra:
Foremost, let me explain that the palace is at the top of the mountain.
There are many ways to reach Pena Palace FROM SINTRA and I’ll try to explain the pros and cons of each of them:
- Uber: The cheapest
If you’re really on a tight budget and want to get there quickly, Uber is the right option.
Cost: 4-6€
- 434 Scotturb Bus: the crowded
Yes, very very very crowded, especially in the high season.
In my opinion, there’s nothing positive about it.
The bus has long lines of people waiting to board.
There are many people inside the bus.
Expect to have a waiting time with big lines to go down as well.
If you like to go regular and follow the crowds this is for you.
The purpose of this post is not to criticize it.
If you go to Google and search for Scotturb, you’ll see they have a 1.3 rating.
Many of the reviews say “DO NOT USE”
It is cheap? Not that much. 11,5€ per person, all day ticket hop-on-hop-off.
- Taxi: Very similar to Uber, but more expensive.
Around 10€
- Private car: DON’T!
It’s forbidden for private cars to drive up. There aren’t always police on the road, so many tourists drive anyway with their cars up, but not every time they find a parking space.
There is a possibility that you will be fined or told by the police to go in the opposite direction of the palace, which would require you to spend 30 minutes returning to Sintra.
An green train that is a truck with the outside looking like a train, is really nice and affordable.
The unique problem is that there is only one train. Therefore, if you miss it at Pena Palace you have to wait more than 1h30 to come again, and it takes a long time to leave the train station.
- Tuk tuk: Can be the best option or can be the biggest adventure
There are many tuk tuk in Sintra, around 200 of them. Crazy right? It really can be the most memorable time of your time in Portugal or the biggest survival experience in your life 
You can pick the most experienced guide with the most comfortable tuk tuk or the craziest driver with a tuk tuk without breaks
It’s funny but true
The drive from Sintra’s train station to Pena Palace takes 25 minutes. On the way, we get to see the five most famous monuments of Sintra and the most spectacular views of the mountains.
Riding the tuk-tuk up the mountain can be fun. However, I recommend choosing the right guide/driver before going there.
You can also take a tuk-tuk tour with me and my team on our electric tuk tuks.
We can do tours where we see all the monuments from the outside + Cabo da Roca.
Or we also do Customizable Full day Tours where we take you inside the palaces telling you all the history of Sintra, have lunch in a very local family restaurant, see the coastline and even finish the tour in Cascais, the wealthiest city in Portugal 
Pro tip: You’ll have amazing photos of you 
I hope that these pieces of advice were helpful to you and that they help you make the right decisions.
Below, you have a 10-minute video where I highlight the must-see spots in Sintra and Cascais, plus an idea of what we can explore in a full day. Check it out—I’m sure you’ll love it!
Go up in a nice tuk tuk with a trustworthy guide like me, and you won’t forget Sintra.
That’s one of the reasons why I have more than 160 reviews, all of which are 5-star reviews, saying that doing the tour was the best decision.
Check them out here:
I hope that this advice was helpful to you and that it helps you make the right decisions.
You can click this link if you’d like to do a tour with me or check my prices.
