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Lisbon & Sintra Highlights


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We were on land trip.

 

We took the morning train to Sintra. Then we took the bus from Sintra and got off at Cab da Roca, the western most point in continental Europe. Took the next bus, about 45 minutes, from there to Cascais. Toured Cascais in the late afternoon early evening. Then trained back to Lisbon (very frequent commuter trains for this short trip) and dinner at an outdoor cafe. Perfect end to a great day.

 

This trip is very easily done on your own, and at your own pace. We considered keeping our car for an extra day and driving. Public transportation turned out to be very good...far better than the hassle of driving.

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We were on land trip.

 

We took the morning train to Sintra. Then we took the bus from Sintra and got off at Cab da Roca, the western most point in continental Europe. Took the next bus, about 45 minutes, from there to Cascais. Toured Cascais in the late afternoon early evening. Then trained back to Lisbon (very frequent commuter trains for this short trip) and dinner at an outdoor cafe. Perfect end to a great day.

 

This trip is very easily done on your own, and at your own pace. We considered keeping our car for an extra day and driving. Public transportation turned out to be very good...far better than the hassle of driving.

 

This sounds like a great option if you're staying in Lisbon overnight, and no stress to return to a cruise ship by a certain time. For those on a one-day Lisbon cruise stop, and want to cram in as much sightseeing as possible in a very limited time frame, especially in the height of tourist season, Ron's solution is very convincing. Our cruise next June requires us to be back on the ship by 5 pm. And you can see in Ron's video show much you can accomplish in a very short time with a private tour, avoiding parking issues, long lines, etc. So we went with the private tour option also.

 

Sam

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  • 4 weeks later...
Click on http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=49923009&postcount=369 for a video showing the highlights of Lisbon & Sintra during our shore excursion of this beautiful and interesting city.

 

Appreciate this super wonderful video with so much history, charm, architecture, character, style, etc., for Lisbon and nearby. Nice music used!! Am considering a June 2017 sailing from Lisbon to Rouen in France. We've always wanted to visit Lisbon and Portugal. This allows pre-cruise time there, plus lots of great stops along the Atlantic coast of that country, plus Spain and France.

 

Also have liked the many added comments from Hank and other experienced travelers. Keep up the great sharing.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 161,551 views for this posting.

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This sounds like a great option if you're staying in Lisbon overnight, and no stress to return to a cruise ship by a certain time. For those on a one-day Lisbon cruise stop, and want to cram in as much sightseeing as possible in a very limited time frame, especially in the height of tourist season, Ron's solution is very convincing. Our cruise next June requires us to be back on the ship by 5 pm. And you can see in Ron's video show much you can accomplish in a very short time with a private tour, avoiding parking issues, long lines, etc. So we went with the private tour option also.

 

Sam

 

You are absolutely correct, For those trying to cram the most into a short time, a private guide/driver is generally the best option. However, imagine being on a cruise that stops at 23 European Ports and using a private guide/driver in each port. The cost of the tours may actually exceed the cost of the cruise :). There are trade-offs.

 

The other down side to cramming a lot into a port day is the "If its Tuesday it Must be Belgium" (google it) syndrome. You may well see lots of things...but you will not have time to stop and smell the Roses. Again, it is a trade off.

 

Hank

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If you are staying overnight in Lisbon and can form a group of 6 to 8 pax pre or post-cruise, we suggest using a private tour guide. We were in Lisbon recently and we used Daniel Travel for a private tour for 8 pax. We visited Evora and Sintra in one day. Daniel is very knowledgeable, professional, accommodating and an excellent guide. He has a 1-year new & spacious Mercedez Benz van that seats 8 pax comfortably with free wifi (an awesome bonus) and a large luggage space at the back of his van. He uses a mike when he makes commentary. We stayed at Hotel Expo Astoria in Lisbon which is a reasonably priced and well located hotel near Pombal Square. http://www.danieltravel.pt/

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  • 3 weeks later...
T

Regarding the term Black Horse Square - it has been known to the British cruising community under that name for many years. We fully appreciate that it is not shown as that when marked on maps etc and indeed its proper name is as you say. I hope you are not inferring that I made that up - just that it is known to many tourists as Black Horse Square. Apologies if that offended you.

 

Sorry for the quite late reply.

 

I didn't know that the British community named the statue in such way - i'm not offended.

 

But i do have a problem though, i'm afraid massive tourism will end up transforming things into some type of other kind of reality according to their wishes, without understanding anything from the actual reality.

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If you like History and a certain mystic climate, Sintra is your place.

 

If you prefer the beach, then Cascais and Estoril.

 

By the way, there are actually two trains each hour directly from Lisbon to Sintra, from Rossio train station.

 

Of course there are several other lines to Sintra from Lisbon elsewhere. That is, you don't need to go specifically to Rossio to reach Sintra, because it's an urban connection to Lisbon - in each working day there are 5 to 8 hourly trains connecting both places.

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Hank, thank you for your posts.

 

Very helpful indeed.

Do I understand it correctly that if I have to choose between Sintra and Cascais\Estoril, Sintra should be the priority?

 

Yes, that would be our preference and recommendation. That being said, we have actually been able to go to all 3 places in a single day.....but its not something we generally recommend.

 

I want to add one mild caution about the train to Sintra. Last year we happened to be in Lisbon on a cruise and decided to take the train over to Sintra. When we got to the train station (in Lisbon) there was a very long queue for the ticket office (only 2 windows were open) which caused us to miss our train (we had to wait an hour for the next train). Not an awful problem, but it could be an issue if one is trying to cram too much into a short time. On numerous other visits to the same train station we never had this kind of queue issue. There is always the unexpected....so plan accordingly.

 

Hank

Edited by Hlitner
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You waited an hour because that's the weekend-holiday schedules. :)

 

Like i said before, you don't need to go to Rossio to travel to Sintra.

 

You didn't even have to wait for an hour at Rossio. That's a mistake.

 

If you end up in Santa Apolónia, take a train to the Oriente train Station, to make things more easy to understand. There, there are trains to Sintra every 20 minutes. Even at holidays and weekends. :)

Edited by Dom Peres
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  • 4 weeks later...

My wife & I will be in Lisbon this coming April for our second visit. The last time we did the excursion from the cruise line and this time we have decided to do the Hop on Hop Off Tour around the city and I am wondering if anyone has ever experienced it in Lisbon before? If so, can you share your experience with us? Thanks!!:)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Looking for specific advice to plan a DIY port day in Lisbon having visited it previously. Want to train to Sintra, how do we get to train station from port and once in Sintra, can we just wander or should we hire a cab to visit the Palace?

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  • 3 weeks later...
Hi Sam,

 

I sent you a private email. Thanks for the comments on the video. Everything on the video was seen in a one-day tour. We did not go into Pena Palace, but Carla can customize your tour as you desire.

 

Enjoy,

Ron

 

 

Hi,

 

I would love to get more information on who ran your tour, if you don't mind sharing the information with me, and how to contact the company. Thanks.

 

Christine

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  • 1 year later...

Hi All,

 

Reading that DIY walking recommends taking the tram#28 or a tuk tuk or a taxi to the top as it is very hilly and steep.

 

Some have said that lines to get on the tram can be very long. It would be the cheapest option but if one was to choose the tuk tuk or taxi, which would be the 2nd cheapest option? Are prices comparable?

 

Thanks for any help or info.

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Hi' date='

 

I would love to get more information on who ran your tour, if you don't mind sharing the information with me, and how to contact the company. Thanks.

 

Christine[/quote']

 

 

The tour in my video was conducted by Carla Carita, MyWay Tours www.mywaytours.pt. Email address carlacarita@gmail.com. I have used Carla several times as a guide in Lisbon. She is great.

bYw4xTODSRs

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Hi' date='

 

I would love to get more information on who ran your tour, if you don't mind sharing the information with me, and how to contact the company. Thanks.

 

Christine[/quote']

If you want to comparison shop, look at TOPTENTOURS with Alex. We've used them several times and were very pleased.

http://www.toptentours.eu

Berni

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