Quinta da Regaleira Tickets 2026: €20, Time Slots and the Initiation Well Queue
Adult tickets went up to €20 in January 2026. Your slot has a one-hour grace period, the audio guide is only sold at the gate, and the real queue is the one at the well. How to book and when to go.
The ticket to Quinta da Regaleira gets you into the gardens. The queue you will remember is the one at the Initiation Well, the 27-metre spiral staircase that every photo of Sintra seems to be taken from.
So the booking question is not only which slot to pick. It is when you want to reach the top of that staircase, and that changes how you plan the rest of the visit.
In 3 minutes
- €20 adults, €15 youths (6-17) and seniors, €60 family. New prices since January 2026. Under 6 free, ticket still required.
- Timed slots, with a one-hour grace period. Miss your time by 40 minutes and you still get in. Pena does not forgive that.
- Do the well first thing or last thing. Midday is when it backs up.
How much do Quinta da Regaleira tickets cost?
The official prices, valid since January 2026:
- Adults (18-64): €20
- Youths (6-17) and seniors (65+): €15
- Children up to 5: free, but they need a ticket
- Family (2 adults + 2 youths): €60
- Disabled visitor and one companion: €12 each, with proof
The audio guide is €5 on top and comes with a map. You cannot book it in advance: it is only rented at the ticket office on the day, while stocks last.
If you read a guide that quotes €12 or €8, it predates the 2026 change. The jump from the old adult price is the main thing to budget for.
Official ticket or GetYourGuide?
The official ticket is the cheaper one: €20, plus €5 if you want the audio guide, rented at the gate on the day if any are left. It can be moved up to 48 hours before, and it is never refunded.
GetYourGuide sells entry with a smartphone audio guide in seven languages for €27. That is €2 more than the official ticket with the official audio guide, and what the €2 buys is free cancellation up to 24 hours before. For a Sintra day that depends on rain, fog or a train, that is the difference that matters. The audio guide is the provider's own app, not the estate's, and its description still mentions the aquarium, which the estate has closed to the public.
Where to book
Our take: book GetYourGuide if your date could still change, because the official ticket only moves and never refunds; book the official site if your date is fixed and you are happy to try for an audio guide at the gate.
How the time slots work
Slots run every 30 minutes from 10:00 to 17:00. From April to September the gates open at 09:00, but the first bookable slot is still 10:00, so the early hour is not one you can plan around.
The rule that matters: you can enter up to one hour after the time on your ticket. That makes Regaleira the easy half of a Sintra day. If you are coming from Pena, where there is no late tolerance at all, book Pena first, put Regaleira after it, and let the grace period absorb the bus.
Changing your plans is possible on the official ticket office up to 48 hours before your visit. After that the ticket is fixed. There are no refunds, except when the estate closes unexpectedly.
One detail catches people out. After paying on the official site you receive a voucher, and the ticket office notes that the voucher is not an entry ticket: you still have to go back and pick your date and time under the rescheduling option. Do it straight away.
When to go: the well decides
The Initiation Well is a single spiral with one-way tunnels at the bottom, and every visitor wants to walk down it. Visitors who went in 2026 describe waits from 15 minutes to an hour, with tour groups arriving in the late morning.
The two quiet windows are at the edges of the day. Some visitors swear by the first slot and heading straight to the well. Others wait until after 16:00, when the groups have gone. Both work. What does not work is arriving at 11:30 on a sunny Saturday and following the crowd downhill.
Last entry is 17:30 all year. The palace and chapel shut 30 minutes before the gardens, so if you go late, do the buildings first and the well last.
What visitors wish they knew
Bring a light for the tunnels. The passages from the well to the Eastern Grotto are dark and the steps are wet. A phone torch is enough.
Download your ticket before you arrive. Phone signal at the gate is weak.
Eat in town. There is one café inside and it fills up. Sintra's centre is a ten-minute walk away.
Not every corner is open. In October 2026 the Waterfall Path was closed, the aquarium was shut to the public, and only the main floor of the palace is visitable. The ticket covers whatever is open that day.
Getting there from Sintra station or Pena
From Sintra station it is about 1.8 km, 25 minutes on foot, through the historic centre and gently uphill at the end. Bus 435 passes the gate, but it loops around the closed-off centre and is often slower than walking. A 24-hour ticket for buses 434 and 435 costs €10.96.
Pena sits higher up the same hill. If you are doing both, the usual order is Pena in the morning on bus 434, then down to Regaleira in the afternoon, which also puts you at the well after the tour groups.
- Hours
- Jan–Mar and Oct–Dec 10:00–18:30 · Apr–Sep 09:00–19:30 · Last entry 17:30
- Closed
- 1 January, 24, 25 and 31 December
- Tickets
- €20 (18–64) · €15 (6–17, 65+) · Under 6 free · Family €60
- Time slots
- Every 30 min, 10:00–17:00 · Entry up to 1 hour after your slot
- Changes
- Reschedule up to 48h before · No refunds
- Audio guide
- €5 with map · Ticket office only, not bookable
- Book at
- GetYourGuide (€27 with audio guide, free cancellation) · official ticket office (€20)
- Getting there
- 25 min walk from Sintra station · Bus 435
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
Hours and prices can change. Confirm on the Quinta da Regaleira site before you go.
Last verified: October 2026
Frequently asked questions
How much are Quinta da Regaleira tickets in 2026?
Prices changed in January 2026. Adults aged 18 to 64 pay €20, youths aged 6 to 17 and seniors over 65 pay €15, and children up to 5 go free but still need a ticket. A family ticket for two adults and two youths is €60. Disabled visitors pay €12 and one companion pays €12 too, with proof. The audio guide is €5 extra and can only be rented at the ticket office on the day. Blogs that still quote €12 or €8 are working from the old prices.
Do you need to book Quinta da Regaleira tickets in advance?
In spring, summer and on sunny weekends, yes. Entry runs on timed slots every 30 minutes from 10:00 to 17:00, and visitor guides report the late-morning slots selling out days ahead. In winter you can usually buy on the day. Book on the official ticket office, which the estate recommends after warning that many visitors turned up with tickets bought on unofficial sites.
What happens if I arrive late for my Quinta da Regaleira time slot?
You have an hour. The estate allows a grace period of up to one hour after the time printed on the ticket, which is far more forgiving than Pena Palace, where a late arrival is turned away. After that hour the ticket is not valid. Rescheduling is possible on the official ticket office up to 48 hours before your visit, and there are no refunds unless the estate closes unexpectedly.
Is the Initiation Well included in the ticket?
Yes. The standard ticket covers every area open to the public: the gardens, the Initiation Well and its tunnels, the palace and the chapel. Some areas close for works without much warning, and in October 2026 the Waterfall Path was shut. The tunnels run one way only, from the Initiation Well to the Eastern Grotto. Only the main floor of the palace is open.
How long do you need at Quinta da Regaleira?
Plan on two to three hours. The palace interior takes 20 to 30 minutes, and most of the time goes on the gardens, the tunnels and the queue at the well, which visitors have timed at anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour in busy months. Last entry is 17:30 all year, and the palace and chapel close 30 minutes before the gardens.
If you only remember one thing: Regaleira gives you an hour of slack and Pena gives you none, so build the day around Pena's clock. For the hilltop half, read the Pena Palace tickets guide, and back in Lisbon the Jerónimos Monastery runs on timed entry too.