Lisbon Shore Excursion: Private Day Trip to Sintra, Cascais and Estoril

<p>We had a truly spectacular day with our guide, Joel, exploring the area of magical Sintra on the first of our two-day port stop in Lisbon on our cruise. Six of us traveled together in a roomy mini-van at lesser cost than the excursion to Sintra offered by our ship and had a far more personal and comfortable experience than the usual ship excursions can offer in their 30-plus group tours. We visited the colorful and lovely Pena Palace, shopped a little in the town's quaint main square, visited a truly fantastic seaside restaurant, braved the winds at Cabo da Roca -- the westernmost point of Europe -- and returned to our ship at the end of a long and satisfying tour via the twin towns of Cascais and Estoril. There are areas of Sintra literally inaccessible by the large tourist buses provided by the cruise lines for their excursions, and so a private Viator day trip is absolutely the best way to really experience this spectacular area outside Lisbon, with its palaces, gardens, castle, fabulous vistas, windswept cliffs and superb food. Can't recommend it enough.</p>

<p>Although Sophia, our guide, was a very nice young woman, the vehicle she was driving was not. Yes, it was a Mercedes 8 passenger and there were only 4 of us, but the van was a manual transmission and kept stalling, which is dangerous on the twisting, winding roads climbing into the hills. This was not a fully guided tour and she did try to provide some commentary, but with no microphone, only the front seat passenger could hear her. Her employer should provide her with better tools. Unfortunately, this detracted from the overall experience. The sights themselves were great. Sintra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Palace of Pena was charming, as was Cascais, where Sophia arranged for us to have a typical Portugese lunch at a lovely, oceanfront restaurant. She did her best, but this tour operator needs improvement.</p>

<p>Sofia was a lovely young woman and she tried very hard to provide an excellent experience. Unfortunately the tour company she worked for did not provide her with the tools necessary. The one year old Mercedes 8 passenger van had almost 100,000 km and was in need of maintenance. The transmission stick was in need of repair and safety was a serious concern for our group. While Sofia was a driver and we did not expect a fully guided tour, she did try to provide some information which has always been our experience even with driver only tours. Unfortunately, only the people in the front seats with her, could hear anything. No microphone and the transmission made too much noise. Very disappointing that you should use a provider of this poor quality.</p>