The Best Day Trips from Lisbon (and How to Do Them)

One of Lisbon’s best features is how much is within an hour or two: palaces, beaches, medieval towns, wine country and wild islands. These are the day trips our members recommend most, with the easiest way to do each one.

Quick answer: only one day spare? Go to Sintra. Two days? Add Cascais, or Óbidos and Nazaré. Love nature? Arrábida or the Berlengas islands in summer.

Day trips at a glance

Trip	Getting there	Travel time	Best for
Sintra	Train from Rossio	About 40 min	Palaces, first-timers
Cascais & Estoril	Train from Cais do Sodré	About 40 min	Beaches, families
Óbidos	Bus or car	About 1 hr	Medieval town
Nazaré	Bus or car	About 1.5–2 hrs	Giant waves, fishing town
Fátima & Batalha	Bus, car or tour	About 1.5 hrs	Pilgrimage, monastery
Évora	Train or car	About 1.5 hrs	Roman temple, Alentejo
Arrábida & Setúbal	Car or tour	About 45–60 min	Beaches, nature
Berlengas	Car or bus to Peniche + boat	About 1.5 hrs + boat	Wild islands (summer)
Ericeira	Bus or car	About 50 min	Surfing, seafood

1. Sintra: the must-do

Pena Palace, the Moorish Castle, Quinta da Regaleira and misty forests. Sintra is the classic Lisbon day trip for good reason. Take the train from Rossio, go early, and book Pena’s timed tickets in advance. Prefer it all arranged? A small-group tour of Sintra and Cascais covers transport and timing.

• Getting there: CP trains leave Rossio station frequently through the day, and other Sintra trains start at Oriente and stop at Entrecampos and Sete Rios. The ride takes about 40 minutes and is covered by the 24-hour Carris/Metro/CP pass. From Sintra station, local buses and tuk-tuks run up to the palaces.
• Tickets: Pena tickets are for a set date and time (the Essential Visit is €20), so pick your slot first and plan the rest of the day around it. Private cars can’t drive up to Pena.
• A realistic day: Pena in the morning, the Moorish Castle walls next door, then down to the old town for lunch and Quinta da Regaleira in the afternoon. Three sights is plenty.
• Eat: try a travesseiro (almond puff pastry) and a queijada (small cheese tart), Sintra’s two famous sweets.

Read our 20 essential Sintra tips and best Sintra day tours.

2. Cascais and the coast

Easy, relaxed and great with kids: the coastal train from Cais do Sodré runs along the river and the sea to Cascais, with beaches all the way. Walk or cycle out to Boca do Inferno. Got a car? Continue to the wild beach at Guincho and Cabo da Roca, the most westerly point of mainland Europe. You can combine Sintra and Cascais in one long day with a Pena, Cabo da Roca and Cascais tour.

Sit on the left of the train heading out for sea views. Get off at São João do Estoril or Estoril for the flat seafront promenade that runs to Cascais (about 3km from São João). The clifftop at Cabo da Roca is free; only the lighthouse visit is paid. The lighthouse opened to visitors on 23 July 2026, with an Essential Visit for €5 and a Panoramic Visit with the climb for €10. See things to do in Cascais.

3. Óbidos

A tiny walled town of whitewashed houses and flower-covered lanes. Try ginjinha (cherry liqueur) in a chocolate cup. It’s about an hour away by bus or car. See our full Óbidos guide.

Buses leave from Campo Grande in Lisbon and drop you just outside the town gate, which is much easier than the train (the Oeste line has been closed for storm repairs since January 2026). Two to three hours is enough to walk the main street and climb onto the walls (there’s no railing, so take care with kids).

4. Nazaré, Fátima and Batalha

Nazaré is famous for the world’s biggest surfed waves (in winter) and a lovely beach in summer. It’s often combined with the sanctuary at Fátima, the Gothic monastery at Batalha and Óbidos. That’s a lot to do by public transport in one day, so a small-group tour makes it much easier.

• Nazaré: the big-wave season usually runs from about October to March, best seen from the fort and lighthouse above Praia do Norte. Take the funicular from the beach up to the Sítio clifftop for the view. It has had long maintenance closures (with a replacement bus), so check before you go.
• Fátima: the sanctuary is free to visit. The 12–13 May and 12–13 October pilgrimages draw huge crowds, so avoid those dates unless you’re going for them. See the Fátima day trip.
• Batalha: a UNESCO-listed monastery with the “Unfinished Chapels”, open to the sky. Allow about an hour. The church is free; the cloisters and chapels cost €15.
• By bus: Rede Expressos coaches from Sete Rios reach Fátima in about 1.5 hours and Nazaré in about 2 hours. Fátima has no train station in town (the nearest is about 20km away), so the bus is the easy option. Doing two of the towns in a day is fine; three is a squeeze.

5. Évora

The Alentejo’s UNESCO-listed capital: a Roman temple, a chapel lined with human bones, and some of Portugal’s best food and wine. Direct trains take about an hour and a half.

Intercidades trains run a handful of times a day from Oriente, Entrecampos and Sete Rios, so book ahead at weekends. Everything inside the old walls is walkable. Lunch is the highlight: try porco preto (black pork), migas and a glass of Alentejo red. Summer afternoons can top 35°C, so spring and autumn are best. Évora is European Capital of Culture in 2027, with the year opening on 6 February 2027, so expect more events and busier weekends. See the Évora day trip.

6. Arrábida and Setúbal

South of the river: turquoise coves below green hills in the Arrábida Natural Park, plus fried cuttlefish (choco frito) in Setúbal. Best by car. In summer, access to some beaches is restricted and shuttle buses run, so check before you go.

Under the “Arrábida Sem Carros” scheme, car access to beaches such as Figueirinha, Portinho da Arrábida, Creiro and Galapos is restricted from 7am to 8pm in the bathing season (4 June to 15 September in 2026). Leave the car at the free car parks at the Alegro shopping centre in Setúbal or in Azeitão and take the Carris Metropolitana buses (4474 from Alegro, 4470 via Azeitão), with a 4477 shuttle between Creiro and Galapos. The coast road between the Figueirinha tunnel and Galapos has been closed since a rockfall in February 2023, so you can’t drive along the shore from Setúbal to Creiro. Dates change each year, so check the Setúbal council website. Add a wine tasting in Azeitão on the way back. More in our Arrábida beaches guide.

7. Berlengas islands

A protected archipelago off Peniche with clear water, sea caves and a fort on its own rock. Boats run mostly from spring to early autumn and fill up fast. See our Berlengas guide or book a day trip from Lisbon.

Visits to Berlenga Grande are capped at 550 people at any one time, and you must register and pay a small daily visitor fee (about €3) online before you go. The crossing from Peniche takes about 30–45 minutes and can be rough, so take seasickness tablets if you need them. Bring water and sun protection: there’s very little shade.

8. Ericeira

A whitewashed fishing town and World Surfing Reserve, great for seafood lunches and surf lessons. Buses run from Campo Grande in Lisbon.

Ribeira d’Ilhas, just north of town, is the famous surf beach, while Praia dos Pescadores in the centre is calmer. Combine Ericeira with the huge Mafra Palace, about 15 minutes inland. The palace is closed on Tuesdays, and its basilica has been shut for restoration since January 2025 (the works were due to finish in mid-2026), so check before you go. See the Ericeira day trip.

When to go

• Spring (April to June): the best all-round time, with green hills and fewer crowds.
• Summer: great for the beaches, Arrábida and the Berlengas, but Sintra is very busy. Go on a weekday and start early.
• Autumn: warm seas into October and the start of the big-wave season in Nazaré.
• Winter: Sintra is often misty and wet, but Évora and Óbidos are quiet and pleasant. The Berlengas boats don’t usually run.

Car, train or tour?

• Train: perfect for Sintra, Cascais and Évora. Cheap and easy.
• Car: best for Arrábida, Ericeira and combining places. Don’t drive up to Sintra’s palaces, as parking is very limited. See our car rental guide.
• Tour or private driver: best for “three towns in one day” trips. Several drivers on our local guides page do custom day trips.
• Tolls: the A8 towards Óbidos and Nazaré, the A1 north towards Fátima and the A2 south towards Setúbal and Évora are tolled. Hire cars usually come with an electronic toll device.

FAQ

What is the best day trip from Lisbon?

Sintra, for its palaces, gardens and castle. It’s about 40 minutes by train from Rossio, so it’s easy without a car. Book Pena’s timed tickets first.

Can you get to Óbidos by train?

Not at the moment. The Oeste line has had no trains since the January 2026 storm, so take the express bus from Campo Grande, which takes about an hour.

Which day trips work without a car?

Sintra, Cascais and Évora are easy by train, and Óbidos, Ericeira, Fátima and Nazaré by bus. Arrábida and the Berlengas are simpler with a car or a tour.

Can you do Sintra and Cascais in one day?

Yes, but it’s a long day. Pick one or two Sintra sights, then head to Cabo da Roca and Cascais for the sunset. See Sintra and Cascais in one day.

Planning your Lisbon days too? See our 3-day Lisbon itinerary.

From our sister blog: 11 day trips from Lisbon, including secret spots on Sunset Travellers.

See also: day trips from Lisbon by train, Ericeira, Sesimbra, Fátima, Tomar, Comporta, Sintra vs Cascais, Sintra and Cascais in one day, the Évora day trip, a Porto day trip and the Festa dos Tabuleiros.

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