Private Tour: Sintra ab Lissabon

Suzanna was amazing. She was so knowledgeable and very accommodating! She knew the best places for photos and the best ways to avoid crowds.

The tour and guide, Luis, were amazing. There were just 2 of us. I was an all day trip and tour. Luis was so kind and attentive. Full of information and knew so much avout the area. The tour was more than worth it. Never felt rushed, had great lunch where he recommended which was not crowded, excellent food and time to enjoy ourselves. Would highly recommend this tour and hope you can get Luis. One of the highlights of our trip. Thank you.

The bottom line upfront: do an all-day private tour to Sintra. If you can, do so with Miguel. You won't regret it. The tour started with an early 8am hotel pickup but that's well worth it since you have a chance to beat the immense crowds at Pena Palace. Besides, Miguel has it down to a science to (circum)navigate lines and crowds effectively. Before going to Portugal we read multiple reviews that said that if we visited Sintra, we should skip the palace as it was “boring.” That was the complete opposite of the experience we had with Miguel. We could not have found it more interesting. We toured with our two teenage sons and all of us were totally fascinated by what Miguel shared with us throughout the day. Miguel is a huge history buff and is a veritably bottomless (initiation) well of information about the history of the buildings we visited (Pena, Moorish Castle, la Regaleira), the broader Sintra area, the artifacts we saw, and the subtle yet fascinating symbols of e.g. the Freemasons. It also helped that Miguel was easy and pleasant to be around and that his enthusiasm for all-things-Sintra were practically oozing out of his pores. We loved his genuine enthusiasm for Sintra and his desire to learn more to elevate his craft (for instance he’s been waiting excitedly for an area to reopen after reconstruction and restoration). We would happily go on any tour offered by Miguel/Van Go Tourism