Blue Mountains Sydney

The Blue Mountains in Australia is a national park with eucalyptus trees

The Blue Mountains is a 1.5 (by car) to 2 (by train) hours drive from downtown Sydney. But changing and waiting for transportation turns the drive into a real 3 to 3.5 hours, instead of 2... It is the essential oils of the eucalyptus trees that give such a refraction of light that the forest seems really blue!!!

Blue Mountains how to get there from Sydney

•     The excursion is an expensive and completely unreasonable option for a trip to the mountains! Economically unprofitable: a train ride to the Blue Mountains for two with all the ropes will cost no more than 250 dollar,  an excursion on the other hand will cost from 500 dollar and much more...
•     Rent a car for 2 days and accommodation in Kathumba for 1 day is ideal, but not cheap) Rental car in Sydney from 120dollar per day, plus the cost of gasoline and places will need to pay for parking. Cable cars will cost about 100 dollar extra.
•     Budget option is economical (250 dollar for two people), but rather tedious and there is not much to see. Time to visit the whole daylight hours from 5 am!

Instructions on how to visit the Blue Mountains from Sydney on your own and on a budget in 1 day

•     A site to explore before you go https://www.explorerbus.com.au/map-walking-guides/. Here you can buy a Hop on Hop off ticket for 100 c.u. The price includes unlimited bus, 2 cable cars, the railroad, and the Scenic Trail pass. Note that the bus Hop on Hop off goes in a circle between all the stations. Thus, at one stop it is exactly in 1 hour. If you went to the sightseeing platform and looked at it for 10 minutes you will have to wait another 50 minutes for the next bus. The first bus leaves from the Katoomba train station at 9 o'clock, then there are 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 last buses. If you bought this tour through the website, you need to pick it up. To do this at Katoomba station, go to the Scenic World office, where they will give you a guide book and assign you a number to move on the bus and cable cars. Then you have to walk to the 686 bus stop, across the intersection from the tourist office. From here the Hop on Hop off bus starts.
•     From Sydney Central Station to Katoomba Station, it is a 2-hour train ride. The fare is about 6 c.u. The train leaves from platform 6 and goes in the direction of Lithgow. The train is very comfortable with padded seats and toilet, everything is clean and there are few people at all. Pay by Opal card or bank card. From there you can take bus 686 at the Katoomba railway station. The bus goes in a circle between the viewpoints and the cable cars. The ride is 5-10 minutes between each stop and the bus runs every 10 minutes! The fare is 2 c.u. for 1 ride. Entrance tickets for the Sky way cable car cost about 25 c.u., or for the entire complex of cable cars of 2 kinds + railroad + walking trail - about 50 c.u. If you take into account that the whole day you will use the bus Hop on Hop off no more than 3-4 times, then it turns out that it is more economical to use the bus 686 than Hop on Hop off...
•     A budget way to visit the Blue Mountains from Sydney is to take the train to Katoomba, take the 686 bus, and buy your Scenic World tickets locally. Leave Sydney as early as possible 5-6am! Note, the 686 bus route does not capture locations after stop 20..., so if you do want to visit Gordon Falls and Laura Cascades, it is better to take a Hop on Hop off ticket .

The hiking trails here can vary depending on whether a particular section of the trail is open or not. Stops 1 through 6 are just the town. Route 6-7 can be hiked. There will be a couple of lookouts along the way (Honeymoon Point) with limited mountain views and the trail is pretty overgrown with almost no views. Walking 40 minutes just for the sake of walking... not a good solution)

Echo Point lookout (Three Sisters) or stop #7 is the main first location. This is accessible by bus. The view is of the Blue Mountains, in particular the Three Sisters. To the Three Sisters location, you can walk from here and back again if you want to. Between stops 7-8 views no, this is the road to the amusement park Scenic World. Visiting time is 30-60 minutes if with a visit to the Three Sisters location. There is not much to do at the Echo Point lookout itself. Despite the fact that the views are super beautiful, but the number of people discourages a long stay here(

The ost. 8 is an amusement park with scenic views. From stop 8 to stop. 11 you will be taken by the Scenic Skyway cable car. Payment will be made at stop. 11. Along the way there will be a scenic view of Katumba Falls. From the top of the stop. 11 it is recommended to take the Scenic Railway tourist train down. At the bottom there are 3 trails through the rain forest - for 10, 30 and 50 minutes. You can safely choose the longest one, as the trail is easy and equipped with benches. The Scenic Walkway will go under the crowns of the jungle and with birds singing! Time will fly by and you will reach the Scenic Cableway, which will take you up to the stop. 11. Here we recommend that you return to stop 8 again by the Scenic Skyway (included in the price). This will all take about 2 hours. After that, between stop 8 and stop 11. 11, you can walk the trail on foot, as it is quite scenic.

Scenic World is the #1 attraction in the Blue Mountains

•     Scenic Skyway - the cable car between stops #8 and #11 - view of Katoomba Falls
•     Scenic Railway - recreational railroad, down to the walking trail below.
•     Scenic Cableway - ropeway, climbing up to stop #11 from the Scenic Walkway Rainforest Trail.

From the stop. From stop 11 to stop 14, there is a road that you can take by bus to Cahill's Lookout. There is a road you can take by bus to Cahill's Lookout from stop 11 to 14. From stop. From stop 14 to stop 24 there is again a road that is best traveled by bus. The stops. Stops 24, 25, and 26 are beautiful locations, but the best view is Gordon Falls lookout. Between 24 and 26 you can walk; if it's closed at the bottom, all you have to do is go up and down the stairs one more time. But all of the lookouts are close to each other and to the road. Lookout Gordon Falls is no different from Echo Point for the beauty of views) But the number of people is significantly different) to look at Gordon come only a few, which makes you want to sit and relax) Time for a walk about 1 hour (stop. 24-25 - Gordon Falls - Elysian Rock Lookout - Olympian Rock Lookout). You can also go to Leura Cascades - that will take about 1 more hour.

It is ideal to visit the Blue Mountains by car and travel between locations by car, with occasional walks to the viewpoints themselves. If you are by car though, don't limit yourself to the Katumba section for the Blue Mountains! Blue Mountains National Park is much larger and there are many more beautiful locations, such as Lincoln's Rock and Rocket Point Lookout, as well as Wentworth Falls.