Portugal: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril - day trip - Winter 2015
The last part of my Portugal trip, my friend and I booked a day trip to Sintra through Expedia. We went on December 30, 2015. We woke up early to meet our tour guide at the Hard Rock Cafe entrance before 9:00 am. It seems that for many tours leaving from Lisbon, everyone meets at this Hard Rock Cafe and the tour guide will come over and call out the tour type. Then they will also check you name.
The day seemed clear in Lisbon but since we were going up to the mountain area, there was more moisture. Our tour guide had said that it almost always rains in the area in the mountains. It's rare to not have rain.
Before arriving in the centre town of Sintra, we stopped by a nearby cafe to try the Sintra tart. Our tour guide had stopped here to get some coffee and it was just a break for the rest of us to try out the tart or coffee if we were interested. I bought Starbucks earlier (they have different flavours in Lisbon and I wanted to try), so I only bought the tart. It is a cheese filling. It was good. It's called Queijadas. It's a single serving of cheese cake with caramelized top.
After parking our car, our tour guide took our small group through the Pena Park. It was raining, so we didn't actually get to walk through too much of the park even though our guide had wanted to show us some things. During our walk he did explain the different plants at the park. We arrived at the Pena Palace. The Pena Palace is beautiful. It is a Romanticist castle, and has many different influences including Moorish arch ways. The rooms inside are still decorated to show how it would have been when it was in use during the summer months by the royal family. My tour did not include a guided tour within the Pena Palace, so my friend and I walked through the rooms/halls with an audio guide.
After visiting Pena Palace, we went to the town of Sintra. Sintra is busy! There were many shops and restaurants. Located there is also the Sintra Palace. We weren't given that much time for lunch, so I decided not to visit the Sintra Palace.
After lunch, our tour continued and brought us to Cabo da Roca. This is the most western point of Europe. We took some pictures and noticed how strong the waves were. It's very important to stay within the area. There have been some accidents where tourists wander off and lost their lives. So it's very important to stay on the indicated areas. By the time we arrived in Cabo da Roca, the weather was very nice, and we were able to see the sun. I think it's also because we got out of the mountain area.
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We were driven through the various beaches in southwestern Portugal. Cascais is a very popular beach area in Portugal. During the summer, this area is very crowded and happening. So the tour guide said it's good we came during December, so we could drive through without too many people or traffic. Also since we're part of a tour, even if it was the summer time, we probably wouldn't have time to enjoy the beach.
While returning back to Lisbon, we through near Belem and was able to see Belem from the car. I was excited to see Belem, because we were there the day before and it was a point of reference to Lisbon.
Overall, I'm glad I joined a tour to go to Sintra. This was the last day in Portugal, and the last day of our two week trip. We booked tours so that we could have some days where we didn't have to plan anything, and follow a tour guide while sleeping on a bus.
The only thing I wish I saw in Sintra was Initiation Well at Quinta da Regaleira. I saw so many pictures of the well. The structure looks pretty amazing. I think there would have been other things I would have wanted to see in Sintra as well. If I have a chance to go to Lisbon, I would probably try to find ways to go to Sintra on my own instead of joining a tour.
The day seemed clear in Lisbon but since we were going up to the mountain area, there was more moisture. Our tour guide had said that it almost always rains in the area in the mountains. It's rare to not have rain.
Before arriving in the centre town of Sintra, we stopped by a nearby cafe to try the Sintra tart. Our tour guide had stopped here to get some coffee and it was just a break for the rest of us to try out the tart or coffee if we were interested. I bought Starbucks earlier (they have different flavours in Lisbon and I wanted to try), so I only bought the tart. It is a cheese filling. It was good. It's called Queijadas. It's a single serving of cheese cake with caramelized top.
After parking our car, our tour guide took our small group through the Pena Park. It was raining, so we didn't actually get to walk through too much of the park even though our guide had wanted to show us some things. During our walk he did explain the different plants at the park. We arrived at the Pena Palace. The Pena Palace is beautiful. It is a Romanticist castle, and has many different influences including Moorish arch ways. The rooms inside are still decorated to show how it would have been when it was in use during the summer months by the royal family. My tour did not include a guided tour within the Pena Palace, so my friend and I walked through the rooms/halls with an audio guide.
After visiting Pena Palace, we went to the town of Sintra. Sintra is busy! There were many shops and restaurants. Located there is also the Sintra Palace. We weren't given that much time for lunch, so I decided not to visit the Sintra Palace.
After lunch, our tour continued and brought us to Cabo da Roca. This is the most western point of Europe. We took some pictures and noticed how strong the waves were. It's very important to stay within the area. There have been some accidents where tourists wander off and lost their lives. So it's very important to stay on the indicated areas. By the time we arrived in Cabo da Roca, the weather was very nice, and we were able to see the sun. I think it's also because we got out of the mountain area.
We were driven through the various beaches in southwestern Portugal. Cascais is a very popular beach area in Portugal. During the summer, this area is very crowded and happening. So the tour guide said it's good we came during December, so we could drive through without too many people or traffic. Also since we're part of a tour, even if it was the summer time, we probably wouldn't have time to enjoy the beach.
While returning back to Lisbon, we through near Belem and was able to see Belem from the car. I was excited to see Belem, because we were there the day before and it was a point of reference to Lisbon.
Overall, I'm glad I joined a tour to go to Sintra. This was the last day in Portugal, and the last day of our two week trip. We booked tours so that we could have some days where we didn't have to plan anything, and follow a tour guide while sleeping on a bus.
The only thing I wish I saw in Sintra was Initiation Well at Quinta da Regaleira. I saw so many pictures of the well. The structure looks pretty amazing. I think there would have been other things I would have wanted to see in Sintra as well. If I have a chance to go to Lisbon, I would probably try to find ways to go to Sintra on my own instead of joining a tour.
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