Day Trips from Lisbon by Train and Bus

Lisbon is a practical base for day trips, since trains and buses reach several well-known towns within about an hour and a half. Sintra and Cascais are the easiest: commuter trains run from central Lisbon, and each trip takes about 40 minutes. Évora, Óbidos, Mafra, Ericeira, and Setúbal with the Arrábida coast take longer and need more planning around which station to use and whether a car makes sense.

Choose your departure station and check its ticketing rules before you travel. Lisbon has several stations that serve the same destination, and the station you pick changes your journey time. Confirm times and fares on the operator’s own site, since the figures here are 2026 figures and timetables change.

Travel times from Lisbon

Times rise and fall with the time of day and the traffic, so treat the table as a planning guide and check the departure board before you go.

Sintra by train

CP (Comboios de Portugal), the national rail operator, runs the commuter line to Sintra. Two Lisbon stations serve it. Rossio sits in the Baixa district near the city center and suits most visitors. Oriente sits in the east of the city and suits travelers arriving from the airport or from intercity trains. A trip from Rossio takes about 40 minutes, and a trip from Oriente takes about 47 minutes.

Trains run about every 20 minutes during the day, with more trains at peak times. The first train from Rossio leaves around 5:41 a.m. The evening schedule is the least settled part of the timetable. The last train from Sintra back to Rossio is listed near 12:50 a.m., so check the late-evening departures for the Sintra line on cp.pt before you plan a late return.

Seats on the Sintra line cannot be reserved in advance, so you buy a ticket and board. Rossio has long ticket queues, so allow extra time before your train. Rossio offers step-free access with lifts, and Oriente has ramps and wide platforms.

Sintra tickets and palace hours

Single adult fares on the Sintra line run from €2.30 to €2.55 in 2026. Children under 4 ride free, and children aged 4 to 12 pay half price. Confirm the current fare at cp.pt or at the ticket office. Train rides use a rechargeable card. The route accepts the Viva Viagem, Navegante and Zapping cards, so ask the ticket office which card to buy and how to load a ride onto it.

The palace is the real constraint in Sintra. Pena Palace uses timed entry, so the palace visit depends on your arrival time. The adult price for the park and palace together is about €20, and the park alone is about €10. Family tickets cost €60 to €65. Earlier Parques de Sintra hours showed Pena Park open from 09:00 to 19:00 with last entry at 18:00, and Pena Palace open from 09:30 to 18:30. Check the current hours and whether timed entry requires advance booking on the Parques de Sintra site, which is the authority for the park and palace.

Other Sintra sites need more checking. Quinta da Regaleira has been listed open 10:00 to 17:30, so confirm its hours for your day. Check the Moorish Castle’s prices and hours directly before you plan that visit. The Palácio Nacional de Sintra in town charged €13 for adults and €10 for seniors in an older official listing, so confirm the current price. The Pena and Palácio sites close on December 24 and 25 and on December 31 and January 1, so confirm those dates on the official calendar.

Packages are another option. One package combines Sintra, Cascais, Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira in one day trip from $111.26. Another day trip costs €99 and includes return transport in a minibus, a guide and a driver. Packages save planning time and bundle entry tickets, but they fix your schedule. Buying a train ticket and a timed palace slot separately keeps the day flexible.

Cascais by train

The CP Cascais line leaves from Cais do Sodré, the riverside station in central Lisbon. The trip takes about 40 minutes. Between the two ends, the train stops at Caxias, Santo Amaro, Oeiras, Carcavelos, Parede and São Pedro do Estoril. Some trains end early at Caxias, and the timetable marks those runs.

The CP timetable for the Lisbon to Cascais line lists first departures at 05:30, 06:00 and 06:30, and then about every 20 minutes. The first listed train reaches Cascais at 06:10. Check the current version of this timetable on cp.pt before you travel. Trains run about every 20 minutes. The service runs from about 5:30 a.m. until between midnight and 1:00 a.m., so confirm the last departure on cp.pt.

A single ticket costs €2.30 according to Cascais Tourism’s schedule and fare page, which also says a return trip needs two single tickets. A 24-hour ticket costs €6, which saves you nothing on a simple out-and-back trip. The Lisboa Card covers this trip, but check the card’s current terms before you rely on it. The same page warns that waits at ticket counters and machines can reach 20 to 30 minutes, so allow time to buy your ticket before the train.

For a day in Cascais, a half day on the waterfront with a return train in the afternoon is a reasonable plan. For sights, hours and admission prices in Cascais town, check museum and palace hours on the local tourism site before you commit to a visit.

Évora by bus or train

The bus is the simpler way to reach Évora. Rede Expressos is the main operator on the route, and FlixBus and Alsa also serve it. The bus usually leaves from the Sete Rios bus terminal, but some services stop at Gare do Oriente, so check the departure point on your ticket. Some booking sites label Sete Rios as a train station, but it is a bus terminal, and the bus stop is the place to head for.

The fastest bus takes about 1 hour 20 minutes, and most departures take 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes. The route covers 108 km. Cheapest fares run from €3 to €5, with an average near €9. Bus frequency changes by day, so check the timetable for your travel day. Confirm the first and last departures, about 12:15 a.m. and 11:30 p.m., with Rede Expressos.

To reach Sete Rios from central Lisbon, bus 758 takes about 29 minutes and costs about €3. The blue metro line takes about 15 minutes and costs about €2. Confirm these fares with Carris for the bus and Metro de Lisboa for the metro.

The train takes longer. Departures run from Oriente or Entrecampos, and the journey takes about 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes. Check the route and the station on cp.pt before you plan a train trip to Évora.

Évora rewards a full day of 6 to 8 hours. The city’s Roman Temple, often called the Temple of Diana, sits near the center. The Cathedral of Évora offers a rooftop walk. The Chapel of Bones at the Igreja de São Francisco takes about 30 minutes to see and holds the remains of more than 500 people. Lunch in the Praça do Giraldo suits the midday break, and the University of Évora has lecture rooms covered in azulejo tiles. The historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

If you drive, the route is about 140 km east of Lisbon and takes about 1 hour 30 minutes on the A6. A round trip covers about 280 km. A car gives you more time in the surrounding countryside, but the bus avoids parking and traffic into the city.

Óbidos from Campo Grande

The bus to Óbidos leaves from Campo Grande, next to the metro station, and takes about an hour. Rede Expressos and Rápida Verde both run the route. No direct train serves Óbidos. The return bus fare is €6 to €9, so confirm the fare at the bus counter or on the operator’s site. Driving is listed at 80 km and about 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, which seems long for that distance, so check a map before you plan a driving route.

Most visitors need 1.5 to 2 hours in Óbidos. Adding Nazaré takes most of a day, so pairing the two requires an early start. The walled town centers on the Porta da Vila, a gate with a colorful chapel. The castle grounds are partly free to visit, but one section is open only to hotel guests. The town produces Ginjinha, a sour cherry liqueur, and the Livraria de Santiago, a bookshop inside a 12th-century church, makes an unusual stop. Check opening hours for the castle and churches before you go.

Mafra and Ericeira

The bus from Campo Grande to Mafra takes about an hour and costs €9 round trip. A car is the easiest way to cover Mafra and Ericeira in one day, with drives of about 40 minutes to Mafra and 45 minutes to Ericeira.

Mafra’s National Palace and convent is the main draw in Mafra. Ericeira offers a surfing beach and a white-washed village center. Check the palace’s opening hours and ticket prices with the palace before you go. Keep Ericeira’s beach time in mind, since a half day suits most visitors who want to see both sites.

Setúbal and Arrábida

Setúbal is reached by train across the Tagus River. Fertagus trains leave from Roma-Areeiro, Entrecampos and Sete Rios and reach Setúbal in about 45 minutes to an hour. Check the timetable and fares on the Fertagus site before you travel. Bus 4725 from Sete Rios and bus 4720 from Oriente also reach Setúbal in about an hour.

Driving from Lisbon takes about 45 minutes on the A2 and A12 motorways, and traffic can add time. The coastal road through the Arrábida park adds about 30 minutes to reach Portinho da Arrábida. Allow 4 to 6 hours for Setúbal and Arrábida together. A car gives you the most freedom along the Arrábida coast. Beaches beyond the Arrábida town rely on a summer beach bus, and outside the summer season you need a taxi to reach them.

Setúbal’s Mercado do Livramento is one of the best food markets in Portugal, and choco frito, fried cuttlefish, is the local specialty. The Fortaleza de São Filipe overlooks the bay. Boat tours from the harbor show a resident group of bottlenose dolphins in the Sado estuary. Tours run year-round, and April to October is the best period to go. In the park, Portinho da Arrábida, the Miradouro do Norte viewpoint, the Convento da Arrábida and Praia da Figueirinha offer the main stops. Check prices for the fort, the dolphin tours and the convent before you go.

What to check before you go

• Choose Sintra or Cascais for a short day: Each train takes about 40 minutes from central Lisbon, so little of the day goes to travel.
• Book the palace time before you leave for Sintra: Pena Palace uses timed entry, so set your arrival time around the slot you have.
• Plan Évora as a full day: The bus takes 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes from Sete Rios, and the visit needs 6 to 8 hours.
• Check the departure station before you go: Use Rossio or Oriente for Sintra, Cais do Sodré for Cascais, Sete Rios for Évora and Campo Grande for Óbidos and Mafra.
• Confirm fares and timetables on operator sites: The current figures come from CP, Rede Expressos, Fertagus and Parques de Sintra, and they change by season.