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Cruise Lines Adapt to Sintra's Strict Car Ban
31 Jul
Summary
- Sintra enacted new laws restricting car and bus access to monuments.
- Cruise lines like Royal Caribbean are rerouting excursions for tourists.
- New regulations aim to combat over-tourism during peak summer travel.
Sintra, a historic town near Lisbon, has introduced new regulations to manage over-tourism. Effective immediately, private cars and tour buses are restricted from accessing key mountain sites such as Pena Palace and Moorish Castle. These last-minute measures were implemented to address increasing traffic congestion during the peak summer travel season.
Cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and MSC, are adjusting their itineraries and excursion plans for passengers visiting Sintra. Royal Caribbean has notified guests booked for the Liberty of the Seas port stop on July 27 and future September dates about the changes. Excursions will now require passengers to use local buses to reach the historic center before meeting their guides.
Royal Caribbean is covering the cost of these public bus rides, and the tour duration has been extended from four to five hours due to the altered route. This ban affects multiple cruise lines that frequently offer Sintra as a popular excursion option for their passengers docking in Lisbon. The Celebrity Apex is scheduled for a Lisbon stop on August 4.
