Sintra and Cascais Private Sightseeing Tour
Description
Embark in a private sightseeing tour of historic Sintra and its stunning surroundings. Stop to see important sites along the way and enjoy exploring places not included on typical tourist routes. You’ll have plenty of time on this full-day trip to take in all the spots of historic importance and admire views of the area’s natural splendour. You will visit two lesser-known monuments of Sintra: The National Queluz Palace, or the Natural Monserrate Palace. Two of the lesser-known and "forgotten" palaces of Sintra, away from the overcrowded Pena Palace. After seeing the highlights of Sintra we will drive through the National Park of Sintra to the coastline. There we will visit the western-most point of continental Europe, Cabo da Roca, and before returning to Lisbon, we will pass by the coastal village of Cascais.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You will meet your guide at your Hotel or airbnb in Lisbon´s old-town/down-town area, and start you tour.
Discover the fascinating palace of Queluz, a magnificent building that changed throughout its existence since the 17th century, and is often “overlooked”. The palace combines Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical architectural designs, while the gardens was inspired by the French styles. One of the first rooms visited is the impressive Throne Room. Royalty used to receive here their guests, decorated with gold carvings and mirrors, it is not difficult to be transported back to a time when the ladies and gentlemen would dance around in gallant balls.
Driving to Sintra you will discover it´s history and most importantly, the natural park, that was all planted by hand centuries ago.
Monserrate attracted numerous international visitors, especially among the British, who praised its beauty in their travel accounts and engravings. When Francis Cook,visited here, he was fascinated. From this passion there emerged a masterpiece of Romanticism: the Park and Palace of Monserrate. Francis Cook put his dream into practice in transforming Monserrate into what we know today, with its exuberant gardens, with the exotic species sourced from every corner of the world. This palace represents a true ode to romantic architecture, the refined taste of Francis Cook and the genius of its architect James Knowles Jr., who combined various different influences here. However, the history of this charming site is marked by many different vicissitudes. Come and discover it with us.
As you are in Sintra, you cannot miss the chance to visit the westernmost point of mainland Europe, Cabo da Roca. It´s around 140 meters above the sea, making it a very nice location for a panoramic view over Sintra´s Mountain range and the coast, making it worth the visit.
After passing the Guincho Beach and driving along the coast, we reach Cascais. Situated near the sea and traditionally a fishing village, Cascais enjoyed an important period of development in the 14th century, when it was a major stopping off point for boats on their way to Lisbon, turning it into a very busy port at that time. From there it had an even more important period in history, during the 2nd world war, haven been an inspiration for the so well knows spy, "Bond. James Bond" 007. Discover the details with your guide.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Your meeting point is flexible, and to be agreed with your Guide. The meeting point will be at your hotel or accommodation, or your Guide will meet you at a convenient location close to your hotel or accommodation.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- ! During summer, if high temperatures, Sintra might close all access without former notice !
- National monuments close on public holidays and special occasions, without notice;
- We do not visit the National Palace of Pena, neither is it an option
- If you are on a shore excursion from the cruise port, the tour times are flexible;
- Be sure to bring comfortable shoes and a warmer jacket.
Reviews(22)
Jaoa provides not only a safe ride, but a first class and once in a lifetime experience. A subject matter expert who pays close attention to every detail and the history associated with each respective site. If this is your first trip to Portugal, you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you did not book with TakingUThere.
John was an excellent tour guide for our day trip to Sintra and Belem. He was knowledgeable, personable and flexible. He had a deep knowledge of Portugal history and was able to give us a great understanding of the history of the area. Our walking tour to the Pena Palace was fun and John stopped to show us different spots where the royal family built special spots. Our whole family enjoyed the day.
Great day …. Our tour guide Vasco was professional, patient and kind. We saw SO much in a single day and Vasco made it easy for us. This is how you should visit these areas … highly recommended
Our group of four people spent two days with Paulo visiting Sintra and Setubal. Paulo’s love for Portugal was evident and we enjoyed his enthusiasm. He shared a lot of information about the different areas and sites we visited. He was fast-paced and got us where we needed to go efficiently. We enjoyed the lunches in restaurants the locals visit. When he learned we hadn’t yet purchased authentic Portuguese tiles (but wanted to!) he took us to a family run business to learn how tiles are made and painted. We learned so much and miss Portugal already.
I am from Colombia and we spent the best day of our holiday in this experience with Paulo nobody should miss this opportunity picked us up at our hotel took us to Sintra and without it we would not have managed to get in explained us about the history of Portugal and the palace is quite a historian then took us to Cascais stop in all the places that were beautiful to meet with an energy and vitality that made our day perfect in the end led us to have the best local culinary experience in Lisbon we were fascinated Thank you Paulo for making this day the best memory We hope to come back soon and book a new tour with you
We spent the day with Rodrigo touring the Queluz Palace, seeing the packed, crazily busy Sintra and finishing with a stroll through beautiful Cascais. Rodrigo was personable, had a great wealth of knowledge and spoke English almost flawlessly. We started out at the Queluz Palace, which as you arrive, doesn't look like much, but once you get inside and get a look at the gardens, it's quite the place! And, they are doing a great job of slowly, meticulously, restoring it. We next traveled into Sintra, along with about 5,000 other tourists, most of whom seemed to arrive on multiple Cruise ship busses, swarming the small town! But, that wasn't Rodrigo's fault, just the nature of travel in this quasi-post pandemic travel storm! We left there, using a small, twisty, scenic backroad to Cabo da Roca, Europe's most Western point. It was much less crowded, had beautiful views of the ocean and was a nice break from the craziness of Sintra. We then headed along the coast to Cascais. What a beautiful, small beach town! We wish we would have known about this town when arranging our trip so we could have booked a room there. Lots of small shops, a beautiful square overlooking one beach and a smaller beach over by the marina. And, Rodrigo's knowledgeable commentary helped enjoy the visit more. We finally left there and embarked on Portugal's version of California's Pacific Coast Highway as we drove along the Atlantic, heading back to Lisbon, passing through Belem with commentary by Rodrigo. A perfect day, perfect weather and great guide!
Paolo did a wonderful job of providing us with a tour of Sintra and the surrounding area. When a rainstorm called for a change in some of our plans, we did a driving tour of Caxcais and parts of Lisboa. He clearly has a passion for his country, its culture, and food and wine. We learned a lot and invited him to join us for lunch. In return he showed us to a great seafood restaurant, locally owned for years that had the best meal we’ve had in Lisboa. We look forward to seeing Paolo for a return visit to Lisboa or maybe Morocco.
Two day tours of Sintra, Bellum, Obidos, and Batalha far exceeded our expectations. The sites not only included beautiful monuments and magnificent churches and palaces, but also adorable, quaint villages.. Our guides for these days were Paolo and John, respectively. Paolo's forte was a contagious cultural enthusiasm and pride of country, while John's was an extraordinary knowledge base of historical information. Both were extremely considerate of their clients. We highly recommend this company, specifically these two gentlemen.
Thank you so very much for your review! Me and Paulo have our unique ways of showing our country that we do love, But yes, our main goal is to give our travellers an honest and unique view of our culture, history and views. That’s why we only make private tours. It’s the only way to make things adapted to each of our travellers interests. Warmest Regards and hope to have you back soon. There is still a lot to see… ;-) Joao Dickmann
Our private tour with Paulo was outstanding!!! He tailored it to our preferences…mostly away from typical tourist attractions yet beautiful places steeped in history. His knowledge and passion for Portugal, especially with respect to our shared Jewish heritage, was amazing. We had lunch together at O Prado in Belem where he ordered for us so that we could experience a true Portuguese meal. My daughter who doesn’t eat fish ate everything..all fish and absolutely delicious. Thank you Paulo…you gave us a memory to cherish forever!!
Hello again Leslie, Portugal is known to have the best fish in Europe. Simply made with just their natural flavors . And Paulo knows where to find them.. ;-) Glad you had fun and hope to have you back again. Warmest Regards, Joao Dickmann
My wife and I booked a trip with Joao (John) for Sintra and Cascais and although the weather wasn't perfect (Rainy), the tour was outstanding. The attention to details was what made this experience, if we wanted more time here, we took more time here, if we wanted a cool seafood local restaurant, we were at a local place that made us feel like we were experiencing the real Cascals. John was very detailed oriented with things that we were interested in...just amazing!! the tour locations were bucket list items! Looking forward to our next tour when we return. Obrigado (Thank you) I learned that too Ed
Hello dear Ed, I have to say Obrigado !!!! It was a pleasure spending the day with you in Sintra, Cascais and our other locations, although it was poring buckets. But as i told you, we need water, a lot of it, as Portugal is going through a drought. Warmest Regards and again Obrigado my dear friends, Joao Dickmann
