For Pena, yes: it runs on timed entry, the morning slots are the most booked, and the ticket has no exchange, no refund and no grace. For Regaleira, yes in summer: slots every 30 minutes with an hour of grace, sold at the gate too, but the slot you want may be gone by the time you arrive. The Moorish Castle, Monserrate, the National Palace and the Capuchos have no slots and are bought at the gate.
A tour with the ticket in the price removes the question: the operator holds the slot for the group. Below, the tours that do, then the booking order for the day on your own.
Tours that hold the ticket
These three hold the Pena ticket and its slot for the group; the third holds Regaleira’s too. The full comparisons are in the chips above.
Inside Lisbon · 4.8/5 · 4,706 reviews
Sintra & Cascais day trip
Rooms and park tickets included. Guided exterior visit. Lunch extra.
From €79 per adult · “Tickets Park & Pena Palace”
Lisbon Riders · 4.9/5 · 1,086 reviews
Sintra, Cascais & Pena Palace
Rooms and park tickets included. Guided rooms visit. Food and drinks extra.
From €80 per adult · “Ticket Pena Park + Pena Palace”
Portuguese For a Day Tours · 4.9/5 · 721 reviews
Pena and Regaleira, guided inside both
Pena rooms and park ticket and Regaleira ticket included. Guided inside both. Lunch extra.
From €120 per adult · “Sintra Tour with Pena Palace and Regaleira All Tickets Included”
All 8 compared: Pena Palace tours with the ticket included →Bookings go through Viator at the same price; we earn a commission.
Why we would book one
- The operator holds the group’s slot: a sold-out morning at the ticket office does not change your day.
- No ticket office queue at the gate and no reseller: the ticket comes with the seat.
- The price is the ticket plus the day: from €79 per adult with the Pena rooms ticket, €120 with Regaleira’s too.
On your own: the booking order
Site by site, from the two official ticket offices. Book Pena first and build the day around it, Regaleira ahead in summer, and the rest at the gate.
| Site | Book ahead? | Why, and where |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, days ahead in season | Timed entry every 30 minutes from 09:30 to 17:30. The morning slots are the most booked; the ticket is for a date and a time, with no exchange or refund unless the monument closes. €20 at bilheteira.parquesdesintra.pt. | |
| Yes in summer; the day before usually does off-season | Slots every 30 minutes, 09:00 to 16:30 in summer, with an hour of grace after the printed time. Sold at the gate too. €20 at regaleira.byblueticket.pt, the only official online office. | |
| No | No timed slots and it rarely sells out. Online or at the gate; the gate office closes 12:00 to 13:00 and the machine beside it keeps selling. €12. | |
| No | One ticket for park and palace, no slots, no queue to speak of: the monument where you turn up at four and walk in. €12. | |
| No | No timed entry; buy at the gate. The ticket office shuts for lunch 12:00 to 13:00, the machine works. €13. | |
| No | Open 09:00 to 17:30, last ticket 17:00, no slots and no queues. €11. |
- Pena Essential ticket
- €20
- Quinta da Regaleira
- €20
- Moorish Castle
- €12
- Monserrate
- €12
- Sintra National Palace
- €13
- Convento dos Capuchos
- €11
- Six separate adult tickets, before discounts
- €88
Parques de Sintra takes 5% off when you buy two of its sites in one purchase and up to 10% for six; Regaleira is a separate office, outside that discount. Under 6 free everywhere.
If the Pena slot you want is gone, the tours above hold one for the group. The ticket guide says which slots go first and what the park-only ticket gets you.
Slots, hours and prices from Parques de Sintra (Horários e Preços, Descontos aplicáveis) and regaleira.pt, prices, hours and slots checked Aug 29, 2026, the discounts Sep 17, 2026. Which Pena slots sell first: our reading of the official ticket office, Aug 29, 2026.
What to change if
- It is winter
- Pena at the gate usually works, but online is safer and costs the same. Regaleira the evening before. The castle closes in strong wind and the official notices page says so the same day: check before you go up.
- You arrive without a Pena ticket
- The park-only ticket, €12, is usually available at the gate and gets you the park and the outer terraces, not the rooms. Or take the afternoon slot if one is left, and do the castle or Regaleira first.
- You want to skip the line
- A timed ticket skips the ticket office at the gate. The shuttle queue and the wait at the palace door for your slot remain, and only the 20-minute walk avoids the shuttle. “Skip the line” on a tour means the group’s ticket is held.
- You are a family of four
- The family tickets, two adults and two children aged 6 to 17: Pena €65, Regaleira €60, the castle €33, Monserrate €33, the National Palace €35, the Capuchos €29. Under 6 free.
Questions
Where do I buy official tickets?
Two official ticket offices: bilheteira.parquesdesintra.pt for Pena, the castle, Monserrate, the National Palace and the Capuchos; regaleira.byblueticket.pt for Regaleira. Pena has three official tickets there: the €20 Essential for the rooms, the terraces and the park; the €12 park ticket for the park and the outer terraces without the rooms; the €45 Full Tour, which adds the private apartments. Any other site with “official tickets” in its title is a reseller.
Do I need a ticket to see Pena from outside?
To go through the gate, yes: the €12 park ticket covers the park and the outer terraces of the palace without the rooms, and nothing inside the gate is free. The palace on its rock is also in view from the Moorish Castle walls, which have their own €12 ticket.
Can I get a refund if it rains?
Not at Pena: no exchange and no refund unless the monument closes. Pena does close its outer terraces in strong wind, and on those days the ticket still gets you the rooms. Regaleira’s tunnels and Pena’s rooms are the dry hours of a wet day.
Is there a combined ticket?
For the Parques de Sintra sites, a discount rather than a ticket: 5% off two sites in one purchase, 6% for three, up to 10% for six. Pena with the castle is the pairing that makes sense; Regaleira belongs to another foundation and has its own office.
Do the tours really include the ticket?
Yes, for the option named on the card, and the option is the whole point: the same listing sells a rooms ticket, a park-only ticket and no ticket at different prices. Our comparisons name the option, and the card on this page shows what the price covers.