Walking Sintra to Cascais
- Walk from the wooded hills to the rugged coastline in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park
- Explore the colourful monuments of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sintra
- Cabo da Roca lighthouse, the westernmost point of mainland Europe
- Discover the atmospheric "moon hills" of Sintra and hilltop Peninha Chapel
- Delicious fresh seafood as you finish in the lovely seaside town of Cascais
Gallery
Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive SintraAn included 25 minute transfer will bring you from Lisbon to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Sintra. Stroll around the historic centre, soaking up the atmosphere of this wonderfully vibrant, colourful town and perhaps visit the Palacio Nacional de Sintra, a Gothic palace featuring ornately painted ceilings. In the evening, sit back, relax and enjoy dinner in one of the many cosy restaurants serving delicious Portuguese specialities such as the tasty Bacelhau a bras cod dish.
A beautiful renovated building with elegant decor. Villa Bela Vista is located in the historic centre of Sintra, where rooms come with spectacular views of the National Palace and beyond.
Today is dedicated to discovering the extravagant palaces, manor houses and castle of Sintra. First stop is the amazing Castel dos Mouros (Moors Castle) which sits right on top of the hill and offers amazing views over Sintra. Continue on foot, following a peaceful wooded trail uphill to the Pena Palace, with its impressive multi-coloured turrets, dramatic architecture and exotic gardens. If you have time we also recommend visiting the Quinta Regaleira, a lavish mansion and former home to Portuguese nobility. With it’s enchanting, tropical gardens and lots of hidden caves, tunnels and wells, you can easily spend a couple of hours here.
Please note that entrance fees to the above are not included to keep your day flexible, and we recommend booking in advance to avoid the sometimes long entrance queues. The distance detailed is also only to entrance gates of the attractions - you will actually walk quite a bit further by the time you have walked around all of them!
A beautiful renovated building with elegant decor. Villa Bela Vista is located in the historic centre of Sintra, where rooms come with spectacular views of the National Palace and beyond.
A short transfer this morning will bring you to the fantastic Monserrate Palace, a Neo-Gothic mansion set within landscaped gardens. Take your time to explore the gardens which were built by a series of wealthy British merchants and artists. From here a beautiful coastal path will lead you towards Praia Grande, and its dramatic cliffs, passing Colares, a small town famous for its wine and pastry.
Located in a beautiful spot right by the sea, the Arribas Sintra is a bright, modern hotel. Enjoy their amazing saltwater swimming pool and enjoy an evening meal taking in the beautiful sea views.
Leaving Praia Grande behind, you will now emerge onto coastal paths and follow them over the impressive cliffs, where the ocean stretches as far as your eyes can see. Once again, you will find Adraga beach. Here you can see the Pedra de Alvidrar, also known as the “Rock of Reason”, a huge rock formation which drops almost vertically into the sea, and according to local tradition, was an initiation place for young men to prove how brave they were, by climbing up and down it, risking their lives.
Then, you will approach the Fojo (cave), with its viewing platform providing a perfect spot to stop and take it all in. Before reaching Azoia, you will visit Ulgueira, a beautiful village that has been able to maintain its rural environment and its great beauty. Take some time to explore its typical white bright streets from where the landscape astonishes, and also to know its proud Nossa Senhora da Conceição Church dated from the 16th century or the interesting Festeiros Fountain dated back from 1766.
Ascent/Descent: 490m/283m
This gorgeous hotel features an outdoor swimming pool with an architecture rich in wood and stone details, it is located within a forest area, which includes a vineyard. Each of the 7 rooms is named after a different wine grape.
Enjoy a beverage while looking out at the sea or their garden. The property has panoramic views over areas like Guincho Beach, Cascais and the Atlantic Ocean.
A loop walk today takes you into the heart of the Sintra forest and “Moon Hills” (so called because the ancient Celts worshipped their moon god here). At one of the highest points in the area you will find the hill-top Peninha Chapel with far-reaching views across the countryside. Dedicated to Our Lady of the Rock, it is said that in the past sailor’s wives would come here to keep watch for the return of loved ones.
This gorgeous hotel features an outdoor swimming pool with an architecture rich in wood and stone details, it is located within a forest area, which includes a vineyard. Each of the 7 rooms is named after a different wine grape.
Enjoy a beverage while looking out at the sea or their garden. The property has panoramic views over areas like Guincho Beach, Cascais and the Atlantic Ocean.
Leave Azoia and the “Serra da Sintra” this morning and return to the rugged coastline following winding paths on the GR11 to the 17th century fort “Fortaleza de Guincho” (now a hotel). From here, it is a very easy walk following a path between the road and the ocean passing lighthouses and interesting cliff formations to reach Cascais.
Check out after breakfast and make your way by train back to Lisbon for onward travel connections (40 min).
This trip has a carbon score of 11kg per person per night, meaning it’s one of our best trips! For comparison, a carbon count of 11kg is equivalent to 2 Neapolitan margherita pizzas. Buon appetito!. Here at Macs, we pride ourselves on being a responsible travel company and continue to adopt, develop and innovate ways to positively impact the environment. Find out more information about how we've carbon counted our trips.
Other Information
Is it for me?Easily accessible from Lisbon, this tour offers moderately graded trails through a variety of coastal and inland landscapes on a mixture of paved and forest trails, clifftop paths and quiet country paths. There are some significant elevations gains in the Sintra hills, but nothing too challenging. Stay overnight in boutique hotels and quinta-style guesthouses. Perfect for those who like to mix their walking with lots of historical and cultural highlights.
Slower Adventures | Where walking and cycling meet easy-going exploring, our Slower Adventures are the perfect combination. Most days are filled with picturesque journeys with some free time to dive into the destination and experience the people, local food and culture as you go.
Multi Centre Walking | With a mix of loop and point-to-point walks stay 2 or 3 nights in one place which offers the chance to slow down and really explore a destination.
Solo Travellers, Families with Teens
The minimum age for this tour is: 12 Years
This trip is graded ‘moderate’ overall and you should be in good physical fitness to fully enjoy the walking on this tour. The route follows a mixture of gravel trails, forest and clifftop paths and daily ascents are between 270m and 540m. On Day 5 you will walk along clifftop coastal paths which can feel exposed so if you suffer from vertigo, you may wish to miss this day’s walk.
This route is suitable for most regular walkers of average fitness. You should train by walking some daily walks of similar daily distances to your planned itinerary.
Your holiday includes accommodation in boutique hotels and quinta-style guesthouses.
You can add on extra nights in any of the overnight locations. We also offer an upgrade to the Lawrence's Hotel in Sintra. Please select this as part of the booking if you would like this option.
Single Rooms & Solo Walkers
If you require single rooms we would be happy to accommodate you although there is a single room supplement payable. We also welcome solo walkers on this tour, again a supplement is payable.
Meals
A breakfast will be provided by your accommodation every morning. These usually consist of a selection of ham and cheeses, as well as some small pastries including the delicious “pastel de nata”, all accompanied by a cup of Galao (milky coffee). Dinners are not included, however there are options to dine out in all of the towns and villages. The food in Portugal is fantastic, famous for it’s codfish dish Bacelhau a bras amongst many other fresh seafood dishes, and the Sintra region in particular is home to the delicious pastry treat, Queijada de Sintra as well as the mouth-watering Colares wine.
Lunch is not included, but you can find small stores in which to purchase items for a picnic lunch, or some of your accommodations can make a picnic lunch if you ask in advance. In your route notes we give advice on where you can eat/pick up lunch.
The route is way-marked in places and not in others. You will receive a booklet including a description of the route, a small pdf of the map and points of interest. For navigation, you will also have access to the Macs Adventure Smartphone App enabling you to follow the route using your phone's GPS so you will have no problems finding the way. You can simply download the GPX tracks to your phone for offline use and off you go!
- 6 nights in boutique hotels and charming guesthouses
- Breakfast at each accommodation
- Door-to-door baggage transfer as per itinerary
- Transfers as per itinerary and arrival transfer from Lisbon to Sintra
- Detailed Information Pack
- GPX tracks and access to our smartphone app
- 24/7 telephone support from our UK office
- Travel insurance (required)
- Travel to Lisbon before the start, and from Cascais on the final day
- Lunches and Dinners
- Drinks and snacks
- Personal equipment
- Entrance Fees
- Additional nights before, during and after the walk
- Transfer from Cascais to the airport on the final day
Availability
You can start this walking tour on any day of the week from January through to June, and from September through to December, subject to availability.
Time of Year
Sintra offers great weather most of the year round but we do not offer this tour in the months of July and August as it can get very hot then, and doesn't make for enjoyable walking. Average temperatures the rest of the year range from 10-15°C (70°F) in the winter to 25-30 °C (77 °F) in the summer months. The inland regions are always slightly cooler than Cascais due to the higher elevations.
Sintra offers great weather most of the year round but we do not offer this tour in the months of July and August as it can get very hot then, and doesn't make for enjoyable walking. Average temperatures the rest of the year range from 10-15°C (70°F) in the winter to 25-30 °C (77 °F) in the summer months. The inland regions are always slightly cooler than Cascais due to the higher elevations.
Lisbon Airport is easily accessed by direct flights from across the UK, Europe and several cities in the US. Major airlines who fly there include American Airlines, TAP, British Airways, Easyjet and Ryanair amongst others.
If you are travelling to Lisbon from elsewhere in Portugal or Spain, it is also easily accessed by rail. View rail timetables at the Comboios de Portugal website.
It is very easy to get between Cascais and Lisbon Airport. Take the train to Casa do Sodre station in Lisbon (40min) and then catch the bus to the airport (20min).
Your bags will be collected from your accommodation as per your itinerary and moved onto your next overnight accommodation. We ask you to limit your luggage to one bag of up to 20kg per person.
At Macs Adventure, we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase. Your booking includes transfer of 1 bag per person. It is very important that you read the luggage information specific to your tour before departure. If you do not adhere to these limits, there is a great possibility that you will be charged locally both for extra bags or if they are too heavy. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits (usually due to the Health and Safety of their employees), which we must respect.
The reviews for this tour up until November 2019, are based on a previous itinerary. As of November 2019, minor changes and improvements have been made. The routes were all re-checked and route notes re-written in 2019 to alleviate problems with GPS and routefinding. And an additional night has been included at Sao Saturnino Convent as this appears to be a real highlight for many of our customers!
Please be prepared by packing all necessary items, for example, proper rain gear (jacket and pants), sun hat, sunscreen. Your information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard walking gear such as good walking boots or shoes, warm and waterproof clothes for the cooler months and lightweight clothing for summer, and a day pack.
Please be prepared by packing all necessary items. Your information pack has a detailed equipment list, which includes standard walking gear such as good walking boots or shoes, warm and waterproof clothes for the cooler months and lightweight clothing for summer, and a day pack.
It is a requirement of booking this tour with Macs Adventure that you have suitable travel insurance which covers you for the activity and emergency evacuation and hospital care.
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