I asked previously about traveling from Melbourne to Sydney via the coast, taking several days, without driving ourselves. Alternate idea for the extra 4 days:
We are flying into Melbourne (well, through Sydney) and spending 4 days there. 4 days at the end in Sydney, where we fly home from. The 4 days in the middle- we're thinking of an overnight trip to the Blue Mountains, and an overnight trip to the Hunter Valley.
Questions- I take it we'd fly from Melbourne to Sydney, then go straight to the Blue Mountains. Sounds like there are guest houses/b and b's to stay in for a night. Which of those towns would be a good place to stay? I guess it must be one that we could get to from Sydney on a bus or tour bus.
Then back to Sydney on the way to the Hunter Valley? Or can one get directly there without going back through Sydney?
I've been looking at maps and reading the Fodors guidebook, but it's hard to tell how, or the best way, to actually move between these places. Thanks in advance for advice!. This is happening at the end of July, by the way.
Questions about itinerary between Melbourne/Sydney- coming up soon!
Recent Activity
View all Australia & the Pacific activity »
- 1 6 hour wait at sydney for flight to brisbane. Any ideas to pass the time?
- 2 Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine itinerary help
- 3 Help with 4 weeks on South Island!
- 4 Hotels in Australia
- 5 Australia 18 day trip advice
- 6 Sydney airport to Circular Quay least expensive option
- 7 BEWARE: Avoid Wicked Travel
- 8 3 weeks in NZ self drive
- 9 Careful before booking any short-term accommodation on NSW Coast
- 10 Micronesia- when to visit
- 11 Seeking hike companion for Stewart Island (southernmost NZ)
- 12 Melbourne Airport / Rental Car Question
- 13 Please Help my New Zealand 10 days trip Itinerary...
- 14 10 Days in NZ South Island - Feedback?
- 15 Help me plan my April - May trip to Australia
- 16 1st trip to New Zealand
- 17 Melbourne--in the summer is air conditioning a must ?
- 18 Hotel suggestions near Brisbane airport?
- 19 South Island of New Zealand end of May?
- 20 Foodies, help! Melbourne Chinese Restaurant recommendations
- 21 Experience with GrabOne
- 22 Lone Traveler!
- 23 Know a good Charter Co. in French Polynesia?
- 24 Shared charter boat in French Polynesia
- 25 Tauck Tour
You can get the train to the Blue Mountains. I'm surprised that's not covered in your guidebook.
http://www.bluemts.com.au/tourist/about/HowToGetHere.asp
Leura is a nice place to stay or Mount Victoria. Katoomba is the biggest town with a range of places to stay. There are lots of bed and breakfast places as well as pubs like this one at Mount Victoria. http://www.hotelimperial.com.au/
yes, now I see the train mentioned, was not looking in the right place at first.
Any thoughts on how long to stay? Two nights give us that full day, so that's appealing. Is there enough to keep busy with for 2 nights? Especially with whatever time we'll be spending on the trolley/bus getting around...
Changed my mind, I think, about the Hunter Valley- being from California, we can visit vineyards here! So maybe 3 nights in the Blue Mountains? Don't know if that's too much.
I think you could find yourself busy enough for 3 nights in the Blue Mountains - bushwalking, small museums, quaint coffeeshops (I am thinking of Bygone Beautys in Leura - and don't crucify me for the spelling / punctuation, it's theirs, not mine), antiques - and if you've had enough of the Mountains you can take a tour further on to Jenolan Caves, which is the other side of the Mountains. They're definitely worth a visit and great if it's bad weather in the Mountains and visibility is poor. Or just relaxing in a nice environment - many B&Bs have open fireplaces so you can snuggle up. You'll be there in time for Yulefest, which is celebrated by many local restaurants - http://www.katoomba-nsw.com/Yulefest.html
Lavandula
I agree with Lavandula - and would add that you could take a drive to the Central West - Orange is great - if you wanted to take a wider arc. http://www.visitnsw.com/town/Orange.aspx