Five, all Atlantic and all cold. Praia Grande and Praia das Maçãs are on bus 1254 from Portela de Sintra station, 25 and 29 minutes, and Maçãs also by the 45-minute tram for €5. Azenhas do Mar and its rock pool are on the same bus, 35 minutes. Praia da Ursa below Cabo da Roca and Praia da Adraga are the wild two, and no bus reaches the sand. The jeep tours reach Adraga and Azenhas in an afternoon.
The sea here is for surfers and strong swimmers, not for floating, and the fog sits on the coast on summer mornings. Bus, tram and the walk down to Ursa are below the tours.
Tours that add the beaches
The jeep days from Sintra reach the beach the buses do not, Praia da Adraga, with Azenhas do Mar and the cape on the way. The full comparison is in the chips above.
Flamingo Experiences · 5.0/5 · 30 reviews
The off-road one: Regaleira, the forest tracks, two beaches, Cascais
No tickets in the price; Regaleira ticket at the gate. Snacks, water, ginja, a Polaroid, blankets and sunscreen on board. Lunch extra.
From €79 per adult · “Sintra Jeep Safari”
Cintra Local Experience · 5.0/5 · 15 reviews
A private classic 4x4 from Sintra to Cascais, fifteen reviews
No tickets in the price; monuments from the viewpoints, entry optional. Sintra sweets and water on board. Lunch extra.
From €75 per adult · “Private Jeep Tour of Sintra, Coast, Beaches and Cascais”
Mr. Local Tours · 5.0/5 · 144 reviews
A classic jeep or a vintage car, private, from the station
No tickets in the price; monuments from the viewpoints. Private jeep or vintage car with a local driver-guide. Lunch extra.
From €60 per adult · “Meeting Point in Sintra”
All 4 compared: Jeep and 4x4 tours in Sintra →Bookings go through Viator at the same price; we earn a commission.
Why we would book one
- Adraga has no bus; Flamingo and Cintra Local take the forest tracks down to it, and Mr. Local and Cintra Local stop at Azenhas do Mar.
- The beaches are an afternoon, and the jeep pairs them with the cape on one clock; Cintra Local adds lunch in Colares.
- From €60 per person in a private jeep, €79 shared; the bus and tram version below is about €10 in train and tram, plus the bus fares, and three timetables.
On your own: which beach, and how to get there
From Sintra, without a car. Ride times from the Carris Metropolitana timetable; the tram from the municipal notice of May 2026; the walk to Ursa from our own feet.
| Beach | How to get there | What you find |
|---|---|---|
| Bus 1254 from Portela de Sintra, 25 minutes | The long sand and the surf beach. Bus 1254 leaves Portela roughly every 35 minutes on a weekday, 06:15 to 21:30; Portela is one train stop before Sintra. | |
| Bus 1254, 29 minutes, or the tram, 45 minutes, €5 | The village beach with cafés. The tram runs spring to summer from Sintra between 10:20 and 17:45, back from the beach 11:15 to 18:45; tickets on board, €2.50 for ages 7 to 18 and 65 and over, ages 6 and under free. | |
| Bus 1254, 35 minutes, to the campsite stop above the village | A white village on the cliff and a rock pool at the foot of it that holds water at low tide, with a fish restaurant at water level. Free; the village is somebody’s home. | |
| No bus to the sand: bus 1624 to Almoçageme and a walk down, or a jeep tour | Rock stacks, cliffs and a beach restaurant. Flamingo gives it 20 minutes and Cintra Local 30, with a short off-road stretch. | |
| Bus 1253 to Cabo da Roca, then an unmarked scramble down | The beach below the cape’s northern headland: one of the best on this coast and one of the hardest to reach, no facilities, a steep path. Not for children or after rain. | |
| Bus 1253 from Sintra station, about 41 minutes | Not a beach: a cliff 140 metres above the sea, free, with the walk north along the edge. The reference point for the whole coast. |
- Rossio to Sintra, each way
- €2.55
- Tram Sintra to Praia das Maçãs, adult
- €5
- Beaches and the cape
- €0
- Train and tram, one way each
- €7.55
The Carris Metropolitana buses are paid on board; the fare is not on this page. Add the return train, €2.55.
If the beach you want is Adraga, or you want the cape and Azenhas in the same afternoon, the jeeps above do it on one clock; the bus does Praia Grande and Maçãs well.
Bus 1254 and 1253 times from the Carris Metropolitana open API, read Sep 18, 2026. Tram hours and fares from the Câmara Municipal de Sintra notice as reported by Time Out Lisboa on May 22, 2026, and the municipal tram page, checked Sep 18, 2026. Train fare from CP, checked Aug 29, 2026. The beaches themselves from our own visits.
What to change if
- You want to swim, not surf
- Azenhas do Mar’s rock pool at low tide, or Praia das Maçãs on a calm day, and check the beach’s bathing conditions on the day before you go in. The Atlantic here has a shore break and cold water; Praia Grande is for boards.
- You are with children
- Praia das Maçãs by tram: the ride is the outing, the beach has cafés and sand, and the last bus back to Portela leaves the beach at about 21:00 on weekdays and before 20:00 at weekends. Not Ursa.
- You have a car
- Then Adraga and the cape at five in the afternoon, when the car park at the cape empties. Azenhas has almost no parking; leave the car by the main road.
- It is foggy on the coast
- Common on summer mornings and it clears from the coast earlier than from the hill. Do the beach in the afternoon and the town in the morning.
Questions
Which is the best beach near Sintra?
Praia da Ursa for the view and the effort, Praia Grande for surfing and space, Praia das Maçãs for a family afternoon with cafés, Azenhas do Mar for the village and the rock pool. Adraga for the cliffs and a restaurant on the sand.
How do I get to the beaches from Lisbon?
Train from Rossio towards Sintra and off at Portela de Sintra, the stop before Sintra, then bus 1254 to Praia Grande, Maçãs or Azenhas, 25 to 35 minutes. Or train to Sintra and the tram to Maçãs in summer. For Ursa, the 1253 from Sintra station to the cape.
Is the sea warm?
No. This is the open Atlantic: the coast station’s average August high is 21.9°C. Surfers wear wetsuits all year; swimmers pick the rock pool or a calm day at Maçãs.
Does the tram run all year?
No: spring and summer, from Sintra between 10:20 and 17:45 by the municipal notice of May 2026, and it stops when the overhead line needs work. Check the municipality’s page for the current season before you plan the day around it.