Blue Mountains Tour from Sydney? Please suggest your companies

[nini]

We will be staying in Sydney pre-cruise in late March 2023.

Any experiences touring the Blue Mountains and the company would be appreciated. I have found that some companies pick up at certain hotels and I do not know what to expect with other companies.

 

Any experiences and suggestions are appreciated.

[Peteymil]

On 6/9/2022 at 8:16 PM, nini said:

We will be staying in Sydney pre-cruise in late March 2023.

Any experiences touring the Blue Mountains and the company would be appreciated. I have found that some companies pick up at certain hotels and I do not know what to expect with other companies.

 

Any experiences and suggestions are appreciated.

Following 

[boone2]

We were there a few years ago on a land tour   We took the train out. Beautiful journey. And at the final stop we took a HoHo bus. Then went for a hike through the forest.  It was a lovely day out   We just looked up all the trains ect. Very easy to do

[nini]

2 hours ago, boone2 said:

We were there a few years ago on a land tour   We took the train out. Beautiful journey. And at the final stop we took a HoHo bus. Then went for a hike through the forest.  It was a lovely day out   We just looked up all the trains ect. Very easy to do

Do you remember what the final stop is? Is it convenient to get the train somewhere close to a hotel? id you book with a tour company or all on your own? Thanks

[nini]

I just found this link. It looks promising:

 

https://sydneyexpert.com/blue-mountains-itinerary-by-train/

[boone2]

I’m sorry I can’t.  We changed our internet provider and I lost all my notes.  We bought a 5 day transport ticket that covered buses, ferries and trains and boy did we use it. I think we took a bus to the station. .  I’m away this weekend. When I get back I’ll go through my diary and see what we did. 
Terry

[nini]

35 minutes ago, boone2 said:

I’m sorry I can’t.  We changed our internet provider and I lost all my notes.  We bought a 5 day transport ticket that covered buses, ferries and trains and boy did we use it. I think we took a bus to the station. .  I’m away this weekend. When I get back I’ll go through my diary and see what we did. 
Terry

Thank you for your help. We will only be there 3 nights and hope to get some sightseeing done in at least the two full days we are there.

[buchhalm]

On 6/12/2022 at 1:46 AM, nini said:

Do you remember what the final stop is? Is it convenient to get the train somewhere close to a hotel? id you book with a tour company or all on your own? Thanks

The stop in question is KATOOMBA. That's the main town (Well, a large village) in the Blue Mountains. 

Be careful however, as this is by no means  "The LAST stop". The train goes on a lot further.

Trains on the so-called Blue Mountains Line go frequently from Sydney's Central Station. The HoHo bus in Katoomba leaves from just outside the station and you can buy tickets from the driver. (No need or benefit  to buy  these tix in advance). The HoHo bus covers pretty much all the major sights and prettiest viewing spots up there, but it does NOT run all that often!! Twice per hour at the most, from memory. Don't expect a big city frequency.

There is a cluster of "adventure" attractions up there at a place called Scenic World (www.scenicworld.com.au) which is pretty good. Cable cars and such things. It is on the HoHo route.

I'll do a bit of digging about train schedules from/to Sydney and HoHo schedule and prices, and report back

[nini]

4 hours ago, buchhalm said:

The stop in question is KATOOMBA. That's the main town (Well, a large village) in the Blue Mountains. 

Be careful however, as this is by no means  "The LAST stop". The train goes on a lot further.

Trains on the so-called Blue Mountains Line go frequently from Sydney's Central Station. The HoHo bus in Katoomba leaves from just outside the station and you can buy tickets from the driver. (No need or benefit  to buy  these tix in advance). The HoHo bus covers pretty much all the major sights and prettiest viewing spots up there, but it does NOT run all that often!! Twice per hour at the most, from memory. Don't expect a big city frequency.

There is a cluster of "adventure" attractions up there at a place called Scenic World (www.scenicworld.com.au) which is pretty good. Cable cars and such things. It is on the HoHo route.

I'll do a bit of digging about train schedules from/to Sydney and HoHo schedule and prices, and report back

 

Thank you! That is very kind and helpful.

[buchhalm]

10 hours ago, nini said:

 

Thank you! That is very kind and helpful.

Ok, Here it goes.

Trains to the Blue Mountains are running on the BMT Blue Mountains Line. Look for Central to Bathurst trains.

From (Sydney) Central to Katoomba it takes around 2 hours (+/- 15 minutes).

Tickets cost around AUD 6.50 to 10.50.

If you are going to use the public transport more often, get an Opal Card. That's our stored value transport card. Available at stations and most newsagents and conveniencestores. 

You have to "tap" on and off for every trip!

You find timetables (They very rarely change) here:

www.transportnsw.info

Www.transportnsw.info/routes/details/intercity-trains/bmt/02BMT

 

www.visitnsw.com for general information 

 

The Blue Mountains HoHo bus is called the Blue Mountains Explorer.

www.explorerbus.com

They have a combination ticket with the attractions at Scenic World.

 

For guided tours from Sydney, look at these companies.

www.grayline.com

www.sydneyadventuretours.com

www.australianluxuryescapes.com

They all have small group tours with no more than 20/25 pax. All show you petty much the same things, including Federdale Wildlife Park (Koalas, Kangaroos etc) and lunch/ morning tea. Tours take 9-11 hours.

It probably is way too early to book for next year, but you get an idea what it is all about.

[nini]

@buchhalm Thank you for all of your research and pointers!

[boone2]

So glad you were able to get the more precise details   I can’t find my notes but buchalm has brought it all back to mind. I love the train journey. A lot of the stations were extremely pretty Victorian buildings   We used the opal card for the trains, buses to Bondi and to take the ferry out to manly.  It’s a great way to see the city   And it’s a great city 

[Nebr.cruiser]

Thank you!  We'll be there next February and all of this information is so valuable.  I realize it's probably too early to be booking anything.

[john2003]

We did the train to Katoomba (?sp) and Hoho bus a few years ago and it worked well.  I thought we got a better price by booking the bus and train on one ticket. May be worth checking but perhaps it was just more convenient.

[Markanddonna]

3 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

This sounds great to us too.  We aren't going until February though.  Did you just find the tour operator and book the tour on the spot rather than ahead of time?  Are there tour companies that offer different tours that you can visit and book for the next day or two?  We have built in 3 days before our cruise to enjoy sights in Sydney, the Blue Mountains and to recover from jet lag.

This was so easy to do and it was an absolutely wonderful day. Every part of the day was great. I checked and the price only increased about $10. We spent the rest of our 2-3 days exploring Sydney and the harbors. I wish we had learned to use the passenger ferries sooner.  They were a great way to get around.

Edited July 28, 2022 by Markanddonna

[Nebr.cruiser]

Thank you so much!  I think we will do the same--I was just wondering if different tours sold out and couldn't be booked more or less on the spot, or a day ahead or so.  I'm a little intimidated about public transportation (though we have learned to use different types around the world) since we live in a rural area with nothing like that available.

[MMDown Under]

Recommended for Blue Mountain Tours and Transfers - fantastic-aussie-tours.com.au 

100% family operated local Blue Mountains business. 

[Kitekat]

Can highly recommend going the independent route which we did pre-covid. 

Tickets for the HoHo bus were available at the tourist info building just outside the station but they had a computer malfunction while we were queuing and so were unable to take a credit card! We walked towards the bus stop to get more cash only to discover a small shop around the corner which also sold tickets and was able to take a card. Also we were told that it was the same price to pay separately for entrance fees as to combine them with the ticket.

By taking an early train (about 06:30) we arrived before the bus tours and were able to enjoy some parts when they were a little quieter.

The HoHo bus drivers are hugely informative and that was how we discovered the millennium path connecting many of the points. Highly recommend walking along parts of it, if you have a good head for heights!!!

[Mrs f.]

Andersonstours.com.au