BEST DAY TOURS FROM LISBON, LISBON
Are you planning a trip to beautiful Lisbon, Portugal, and are wondering about the best day trips from Lisbon? Well, then you´ll find some suggestions – beautiful places near Lisbon that are easy to visit and make perfect day tours.
Portugal, particularly the Lisbon region, offers a pulsating urban city, nice beaches, and stunning landscapes. The diversity will turn your holidays most likely in everything but boring.
Cannot get enough of Portugal? Then read about the most beautiful places in Portugal.
Booking Tours
My friend and I did all the tours with a private guide – which probably was not all very legal. If you like to stick to the rules, which of course is the better option, you can book tours via GetYourGuide. I have started loving them after booking some tours and if you do not know them yet you should try them out if you want to join organized tours and buy tickets in advance.
Let´s start with the most beautiful places near Lisbon.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links – this means I will earn a small commission when you buy a product/book a tour via my links (at no extra cost to you). More about it here.
A Day Trip to Sintra
A day trip to Sintra is probably the most popular day trip to take from Lisbon.
This colorful castle, and one of the most famous places near Lisbon is probably the Palacio da Pena in Sintra (Pena Palace). This place seems like painted and with its bright colors it is one of the best places to visit.
On my trip, we did not plan in enough time for exploring the castle (you should plan in at least a few hours) so we just get to see it from outside.
Though, I really loved my trip to Sintra I am still bummed I did not get to see the inside ion the palace but there is more to do and see in Sintra.
We drove up the mountains in Sintra – to be more exact we went to the Santuario da Peninha. The view from there is great, and the place is certainly a good place to enjoy some alone time in a gorgeous scenery but the castle is also perfect for views and history (and the colors are insane)!
More things to see in Sintra: Quinta Regaleira (a beautiful garden which will take a few hours to discover).
So, if you visit the castle and the garden and go for the views in the mountains, you could easily spend a full day here in Sintra.
A Day Trip to Adraga Beach
Adraga Beach is surely one of the highlights in the district of Sintra (about 40 kilometers from Lisbon).
Luckily, the interesting rock formation can´t be overlooked and might be the most stunning detail making the beach very special. We were told, that the beach could be full of little stones and rocks and thus not worth a visit.
However, the beach presented itself clean and rock-free with hardly any people (end of the season in October). Good news: A restaurant offers you the chance to grab some food and drinks. It is not the best price-performance ratio, but the view on the beach makes up for it though.
As a dog owner I noticed the sign that says: Dogs are welcome at that beach.
Check out prices for hotels in that area here.
A Day Trip to Praia do Guincho
Praia do Guincho is a great beach for surfing and thus extremely popular among surfers. But it also invites you to walk, ideally barefoot, along the beautiful sand dunes while looking at the pretty rough waves.
Want to stay longer? Then why not booking one of the accommodations next to the beach. And if you are tired of the too much nature, then you´ll just have to walk a few miles (haha) and you´ll reach lovely Cascais (pics below).
A Day Trip to Cascais
Cascais one of the sweetest towns I have been to. It is also in the region of Sintra and it is an extremely cute town with pretty colorful and little streets.
A small beach section, where you can relax at the sandy beach, jump into the water or watch artists forming interesting creatures made of sand, and the marina make this town one of my favorites places in Lisbon region.
If you want to see a little bit more of the ocean and enjoy nice walks, I actually highly recommend walking from Cascais to Estoril (only a few miles). You will be rewarded with stunning views along the coast (pics below).
Check out prices for accommodation in Cascais
A Day Trip to Azenhas do Mar
Azenhas do Mar another gem in Lisbon region (Sintra) which has won my heart.
It is hard to get there by public transport and is thus mostly visited by Portuguese. If I weren´t a veggie and ate seafood, I surely would have lunch/dinner in this restaurant at the beach which also seems to be the perfect place to eat while looking at the ocean or watching the sunset? If you want to splash in the water but refuse to do so in the cold seawater you could still jump in the little pool upstairs.
Just an amazing piece of heaven, though other pictures I saw showed a pool just in front of the ocean while looking at my pictures you´ll see only sand and a direct access to the ocean.
However, I like both alternatives and would definitely like to come back (pics below).
A Day Trip to Estoril
Estoril is another cute town between Cascais to Lisbon with a beach. This is perfect to combine a trip to Cascais and Estoril due to their proximity. Within a few minutes you are in Estoril (by train) and since it is not big you can head to Cascais afterwards.
Planning your own Portugal trip? I am jealous but also happy for you. Here are some more places to visit near Lisbon.
Head over to travel blogger AUTHENTIC CHICA to find out more about Lisbon.