Should you visit Porto or Sintra-Cascais National Park?
Which city is more affordable and which is best for your travel style? If you're trying to figure out where to go next, comparing the travel costs between Porto and Sintra-Cascais National Park can help you decide which place is right for you.
Porto
Porto is the second largest city in Portugal. It is also the capital of the Northern Region and a hub for commercial and industrial activity. The city is not as large as you might expect, with a population of only about 300,000 residents, but the metropolitan area has a population of about 2.5 million. This includes nearby cities such as Gaia, Matosinhos, Maia and Gondomar.
Sintra-Cascais National Park
The Sintra-Cascais Natural Park is located on the west coast of Portugal and is often called the place where "the land ends and the sea begins". The UNESCO listed park is famous for being home to Cabo da Roca, a seaside cliff that is actually the westernmost part of Europe. Sintra-Cascais is interesting due to their large diversity in landscape which includes sand dunes, lakes, forests, and ocean cliffs.
Which city is cheaper, Sintra-Cascais National Park or Porto?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.
The average daily cost (per person) in Porto is €100, while the average daily cost in Sintra-Cascais National Park is €114. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each city. Below is a breakdown of travel costs for Porto and Sintra-Cascais National Park in more detail.
Accommodation
Double occupancy rooms typically run around €104 in Porto For nicer amenities and a premiere location, you can expect to pay a bit more.
Sintra-Cascais National Park's average price for two people sharing a typical double-occupancy hotel room is €102. A typical place to stay for one person, per day is €51.
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Accommodation
Hotel or hostel for one person
Porto €52
Sintra-Cascais National Park €51
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Accommodation
Typical double-occupancy room
Porto
€104
Sintra-Cascais National Park
€102
Food
While meal prices in Porto can vary, the average travelers spends about €29 per day on food. Based on the spending habits of previous travelers, when dining out, an average meal in Porto should cost around €12 per person. Breakfast prices are usually a little cheaper than lunch or dinner. The price of food in sit-down restaurants in Porto is often higher than fast food prices or street food prices.
In Sintra-Cascais National Park travelers spend around €33 a day on food. You can save money by choosing casual restaurants or food stalls, or you can spend plenty more by dining in nicer restaurants at every meal.
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Porto
For Porto, here are some samples of tours and activities related to meals and dining experiences:
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Traditional Portuguese sweets cooking class:
$30
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Pastel de Nata cooking class in Porto:
$30
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Food Tour:
$61
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Authentic Porto Food Tour & Market Experience for private groups:
$61
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Half-Day Brunch Food Tour in Porto:
$66
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Craft Beer & Food Tour:
$73
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Withlocals The 10 Tastings: Porto Private Food Tour:
$73
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Half-Day Porto Walking Food Tour and Tasting for Small-Group:
$75
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Withlocals Your Way: Porto 100% Personalised Private Food Tour:
$77
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Dinner with Fado Show and Night Lights Tour:
$79
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Porto by Night Tour With Dinner and Fado Show:
$85
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3-Hour Porto by Night Tour with Fado Show & Dinner:
$85
Local Transportation
To get around in Porto, the average visitor spends €16 per day, per person. This includes the costs of taxi rides and private drivers as well as public transportation, which tends to be much more affordable.
The cost of a taxi ride in Sintra-Cascais National Park is significantly more than public transportation. On average, past travelers have spent €49 per person, per day, on local transportation in Sintra-Cascais National Park.
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Local Transportation
Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
Porto €16
Sintra-Cascais National Park €49
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Porto
Also for Porto, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:
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Porto Shared Transfer: To or from Airport:
$10
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Matosinhos Private Transfer to Oporto Airport:
$11
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Porto Shared Arrival Transfer:
$12
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Porto Shared Departure Transfer:
$12
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Oporto Airport Shared Arrival Transfer:
$12
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Oporto Airport Shared Departure Transfer:
$12
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Oporto Airport Private Departure Transfer:
$12
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Private Transfer to or from the Airport:
$13
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Oporto Airport Private Transfer to Matosinhos:
$13
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Private Airport Transfer: from Porto to Porto Airport (OPO):
$15
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Oporto Airport Private Arrival Transfer:
$15
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Gaia Private Transfer to Oporto Airport:
$15
Is it cheaper to fly into Porto or Sintra-Cascais National Park?
Prices for flights to both Sintra-Cascais National Park and Porto change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.
Entertainment
In Porto, the costs for things to do, activities, admission tickets, and other sightseeing expenses are on average €20 per person, per day.
Entertainment and activities in Sintra-Cascais National Park typically cost an average of €21 per person, per day. This includes fees paid for admission tickets to museums and attractions, day tours, and other sightseeing expenses.
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Entertainment
Entrance tickets, shows, etc.
Porto €20
Sintra-Cascais National Park €21
Tours and Activities in Porto
Also, here are some specific examples of entertainment, tickets, and activities for Porto.
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Sightseeing Walk- The Perfect Introduction to the City:
$1.24
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Torre dos Clerigos Entrance Ticket:
$4.85
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MMIPO - Museu da Misericórdia do Porto Admission Ticket:
$7.46
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Admission Ticket to Casa São Roque Art Center:
$9.95
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World of Discoveries Skip-the-Line Entry Ticket:
$13
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MagicTrain Tour and Port Wine Cellar Visit & Tasting:
$13
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FC Museum & Stadium Tour:
$15
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Lonely Planet Experience: Highlights and Hidden Gems of Porto:
$15
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Skip the Line: Tour FC Porto - Museum and Stadium Ticket:
$15
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SEA LIFE Porto Entrance Ticket:
$15
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Small Group Arrábida Bridge Climb Tour:
$15
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Night Life Tour Porto:
$16
Alcohol
Alcoholic beverages can often be a significant portion of a traveler's budget, and the costs can vary greatly from person to person. In Porto, the average amount that a visitor spends on alcoholic beverages per day is €15.
The average person spends about €10 on alcoholic beverages in Sintra-Cascais National Park per day. The more you spend on alcohol, the more fun you might be having despite your higher budget.
Sample the Local Flavors in Porto
Some specific costs for nightlife related activities in Porto:
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Magic Train Tour and Port Wine Tastings:
$12
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Porto Hop-On Hop-Off Tour with Optional River Cruise and Wine Tasting:
$19
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Porto Pub Crawl with Unlimited beer:
$19
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Private Porto Secrets Walking Tour With free Port Wine Tasting:
$21
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4-hour Guided Porto Pub Crawl including drinks:
$22
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Fun Discovery Walk in Porto's Centre: the most mysterious pub crawl:
$23
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Pub Crawl Porto:
$24
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Authentic Oporto Walking Tour with Wine Tasting:
$30
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Wine Tour:
$30
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Porto Half-Day Tour and Wine Tasting at Caves Croft:
$45
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Wine Tour Porto:
$46
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Port Wine Lodges Tour Including 7 Wine Tastings:
$48
When comparing the travel costs between Porto and Sintra-Cascais National Park, we can see that Sintra-Cascais National Park is more expensive. However, the two cities are actually relatively comparable in price, as the difference is somewhat minimal. Generally, this means that you could travel with generally the same travel style and level of luxury in each place. Since both cities are in Europe, it's no surprise that their costs are relatively close, as many destinations here have somewhat similar travel prices overall.
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