Private if you are three or more and want a tour for your party only. The cheapest private day with the Pena ticket in our comparison is €87.99 per person, the most-booked shared van with the same ticket €79, so four adults pay about €36 more for the whole day and get pickup at the door. Group if you are one or two and the standard route suits you.
Both are priced per person, not per car; two operators price the car instead, and for six people that comes to about €55 a head. The maths is below the tours.
Tours that do it
The private day with the Pena ticket, the shared van it competes with, and a private day for a route of your own. The full comparisons are in the chips above.
SWINGO by Avenidas · 4.8/5 · 1,086 reviews
Pena inside, the coast, pickup at your door
Pena rooms and park ticket included. Pickup and drop-off in Lisbon. Lunch extra.
From €87.99 per adult · “Tour With Skip-the-Line Access”
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”
Picta Travel · 5.0/5 · 855 reviews
The day you design, guided inside
No tickets in the price; pre-booked on request. Guided visits inside. Lunch extra.
From €110 per adult · “Pick up and drop-off in Lisbon”
All 8 compared: Private Sintra tours →Bookings go through Viator at the same price; we earn a commission.
Why we would book one
- Private buys the clock: pickup at your door, a start time and stops chosen from the operator’s list. The shared van leaves Lisbon at 08:00 and runs its route.
- Per person the gap is small: €8.99 a head between SWINGO’s private day and Inside Lisbon’s van, both with the Pena rooms ticket.
- A guide inside is a separate question: on both sides some go in with you and some stay outside, and each comparison says which.
The maths, per party
Both days from Lisbon, both 8 hours, both with the Pena rooms ticket in the price; lunch extra on both. Prices per person as listed on Viator; the totals are the adult minimum price multiplied, not a quote for your date.
| Party | Shared van of 8 | Private, priced per person |
|---|---|---|
| €79 · Inside Lisbon | €87.99 · SWINGO takes a booking of one. The Host does 6 to 8 hours for €70 with no ticket. | |
| €158 · 2 × €79 | €175.98 · 2 × €87.99, about €18 more for the day, pickup at your door, your own stops. | |
| €316 | €351.96, about €36 more; child seats on request, and the castle or Regaleira as your third stop. | |
| €474 | €527.94, about €54 more, and here the two per-group tours undercut both: €320 with ToursWithMePortugal, €350 with Amiroad, for up to 15 people, tickets extra: with €20 each for Pena that is €440 and €470, still under both. | |
| €632 · the whole van | €703.92. At eight you fill the van; private still chooses the hour and the route. |
- Shared van of 8 with the Pena ticket, per adult
- €79
- Private day with the Pena ticket, per person
- €87.99
- Difference, per person
- €8.99
Cheapest private day in the comparison, tickets extra: Jump in tours from €65.33, The Host Experiences from €70. Most-booked shared day with the rooms ticket: Inside Lisbon, €79.
For a party of three or more that wants its own clock, the private day is the better buy; for one or two on the standard route, the van.
Prices per person from the Viator listings recorded Sep 15, 2026, for the exact options named in our comparisons; per-group prices from the same listings.
What to change if
- You are one person
- The van. Private is priced per person, so a party of one pays €87.99 for a tour that costs a couple €175.98. SWINGO does take single bookings if you want the door-to-door.
- You have kids
- Private: child seats on request, and the Pena shuttle, €4.50 return at the gate, when the legs give out. The with-kids page compares the tours with a children’s rate and seats.
- You want a guide inside
- Lisbon Riders’ van of 8 goes inside Pena with the group for €80; SWINGO’s private day leaves the rooms to you. The guide-inside page names the ones that go in.
- You are six or more
- Look at the per-group prices: ToursWithMePortugal €320 and Amiroad €350 for the car, up to 15 people, tickets extra. For six that is €53 to €58 each.
Questions
How much does a private Sintra tour cost?
In our comparison, from €65.33 per person for a 6-to-8-hour day with tickets extra to €135 with two monuments’ tickets in the price. Per person: a couple pays twice the figure, a family of four four times. Two operators price the car instead, €320 and €350 for up to 15.
Do private tours pick you up at the hotel?
All eight we compared do, at a Lisbon address; some also collect in Cascais and Sintra, and each comparison says where. The shared vans mostly meet at a point in Lisbon; the hotel-pickup page lists the ones that collect you.
Is a small-group tour the same as private?
No. A small group is a shared van of 8 by the listed limit, with a fixed route and a fixed start; private is your party only, usually priced per person, with the route and the hour chosen from the operator’s list. The small-group page compares the vans.
Which is better for a first visit?
The van of 8 with the Pena ticket for one or two people on the standard day. Private when the party is three or more, when someone needs the car at every gate rather than the bus, or when the route is yours: the castle, Monserrate, the coast at five.