Jenolan Caves

Is seeing the Jenolan Caves worth it? If so, which cave would you recommend? Though we would be limited by the cave tour that was available between noon and 330pm before the bus heads back to Katoomba.

My spouse is balking at the 1 ½ hour bus ride from Katoomba for a 1 hour cave tour and then 1 ½ hour bus ride back to Katoomba.

Is seeing the Jenolan Caves worth it? If so, which cave would you recommend? Though we would be limited by the cave tour that was available between noon and 330pm before the bus heads back to Katoomba.

 

My spouse is balking at the 1 ½ hour bus ride from Katoomba for a 1 hour cave tour and then 1 ½ hour bus ride back to Katoomba.

Personally, and as one who suffers claustrophobia, YES.

Is seeing the Jenolan Caves worth it? If so, which cave would you recommend? Though we would be limited by the cave tour that was available between noon and 330pm before the bus heads back to Katoomba.

 

My spouse is balking at the 1 ½ hour bus ride from Katoomba for a 1 hour cave tour and then 1 ½ hour bus ride back to Katoomba.

I agree with your spouse. 3 hour bus ride is not worth it for an hour cave tour. There are so many lovely walks you can do at Katoomba/Leura in those three hours.

We drove there last Saturday. We did the Lucas and the Chiefly caves. Caves are caves are caves to me.

I would recommend doing multiple caves and making a proper day out of it. Each cave trek isn't that long, it is being in a group of up to 60 people that makes it an hour+ experience. They seem to start the groups in 15 minute intervals so the group can't go too fast or too slow. If you could do each cave by yourself and read what each section is about from a sign I reckon you could do each cave in 20 to 30 minutes.

We did the caves on our first trip to Australia (not a cruise) as a very long day trip from Sydney. Yes the bus trip is a long one, but the caves are stunning and this was definitely a highlight of the trip. The Grayline Bus tour we took included a choice of cave tours. I honestly don't remember the names of the caves we visited. There was plenty of time for us to see another cave and do a short hike around the area, which is really beautiful.

Jenolan is one of my favourite places in the world.

If you can possibly make a longer day of it, I would thoroughly recommend it. Otherwise you will get put on a Lucas Cave tour along with 60-70 other tourists. I love the Lucas, but the larger groups are tedious.

If you can make it a longer day, I would recommend looking into booking the Ribbon Cave or the Jubilee Cave. They're limited to 8 people per tour because of the size of those caves. They're both extensions of other caves so you'll get to see the Orient Cave as part of the Ribbon Cave tour, and likewise the Diamond Cave for the Jubilee. Because of the size of the groups, the experience is much better, and those caves feature the nicest decorations you'll find out of all the show caves that Jenolan features.

The Chifley is the shortest and IMO least interesting cave tour. I love any of the caves that enter via the Binoomea cut; the Orient, the Temple of Baal and the Ribbon. the Lucas, Pool of Cerberus and River are good too.

Is it worth the trip from Katoomba for just the 1.5 hour Lucas tour? Not sure about that. I would want to do at least 2 caves.. Though if you simply have no choice, I'd consider it.