shannon

We have decided to hold off on booking the tours I mentioned in a previous posting in hopes of finding smaller less touristy tours.<BR>(NON grayline run ones)<BR>However my honey is opposed to renting a car in Sydney. SO we need a company that will pick us up from our hotel (Sydney Hilton) and take us to the Blue Mtns for some beautiful scenery while avoiding the BIG BUS type tours.<BR><BR>The concierge at the Hilton recommended the same ATT Kings/Grayline type tours I had already come across--he must be getting kickbacks!<BR><BR>ANY recommendations? Also would appreciate contact information or websites!<BR><BR>THANKS for all the help! 30 days til the wedding and then HONEYMOON in OZ!!! I am getting soooo excited ;-)

John in Miami

Hi Shannon,<BR><BR>We were in Sydney in early August and used a company called Dal Myles. We did an all day 4WD tour that took us to the Featherdale Wildlife Park, Three Sisters, Govetts Leap, Katoomba railway and more. We had lunch at an inn at Mt. Victoria and stopped at a local park where our guide (Peter - ask for him, he is great!) taught us how to throw a boomerang. <BR><BR>They picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel in the CBD. It's a long day - roughly 7:00 AM to 6:30 PM - but absolutely worth it. Our guide not only pointed things out along the way but he was very informative about the history of the area. <BR><BR>We were in a big 4WD landcruiser that held 12 or 14. We met some really nice people in our group from Scotland, Korea and the UK. <BR><BR>The website for the company is http://www.dalmylestours.com/n4wheeldrive.htm. And no, I don't work for them or anything like that &lt;smile&gt;<BR><BR>Have fun - we loved Oz and are already planning our next trip back!<BR><BR>John in Miami

Alan

Hi, Shannon!<BR>I definitely think that this idea is better than Grayline, and I am sure you will find several companies that do this. I will, presently, do a search of my Blue Mountains Phone book to see if I can add a few company names to your list. But, meanwhile... can I suggest an even better--and cheaper-- way? The main objection I have to your current plan is that to get OUT of the city and INTO the Mountains by car/bus etc is a slow process unless you leave very very early (which most buses won't do). I mean, forty-five minutes after you leave your hotel you are still in the sunburbs, and you haven't seen a thing except traffic lights and rear bumpers, and your day is ticking away. AND you are paying for this! It is really very easy to get to the Mountains fast by air-conditioned train. The trains leave Sydney terminal every hour, just after the hour, and you can be at the top of the Mountains -- Katoomba -- in two hours (if you're going to Euroka at Glenbrook, which is in the lower Mountains, that's only an hour from Sydney). It should be very easy to pick up a 4wd tour from Katoomba or Wentworth Falls or one of the places where the train stops, and, since you are not paying for the luxury of being collected from your hotel, you will save money and see more because the small tour operators at the Mountains end will specialise just in the Mountains and its special spots, not worrying about long drives to and from Sydney. In the evening (unless you decide to spend a night in one of the beautiful guest houses in Katoomba or Jenolan) you return by the same way. The only "special tip" I would give you about all of this is: don't do it over Saturday/Sunday. The trains are usually quite good on weekdays, but Sydney trains are often a disaster at weekends, as there are regular line shut-downs, called at a few days' notice, which see trains replaced by buses which take much longer and leave, it would seem, whenever the driver feels like it.

Alan

Hi, again, Shannon!<BR>Here are just a few names and phone numbers for your consideration:<BR>Fantastic Aussie Tours (based in Katoomba) 02-4782 1866.<BR>Cox's River Escapes (based in Leura, adjacent to Katoomba) 02 4784 1621.<BR>Aussie Bush Horse Trails (based in Megalong Valley, via Katoomba... maybe a bit hard to get to!) 02 4787 9171<BR>Misty Mountains 4wd Tours (Based in Wentworth Falls, two train stops on the Sydney side of the Blue Mountains.... and there's a pleasant, old, and relatively cheap hotel called the Grand View right at the railway station, too):<BR>02 4757 2278. <BR>Blue Mountains Eco-Tours (not sure where they're based; Sydney, I think, so they might, like Dal Myles, pick you up from your hotel) 02 9630 0587<BR>Oz Trails (also based somewhere in Sydney) 02 9387 8390.<BR>Without knowing anything about any of these except their names, I think you could do a lot worse than to ring the Wentworth Falls-based place and ask them how much for two days' worth of trips... one to Jenolan Caves, and one around Katoomba, Blackheath, and maybe down to Euroka Clearing at Glenbrook. If they were to pick you up from the railway station on Day I and the Grand View Hotel on Day 2, this ought to save you packets of time AND money (do jednolan on Day 2, since (as I said earlier) an early start there pays rich rewards). Just to finish, the Grand View Hotel at Wentworth Falls can be phoned on 02 4757 1001. There are nicer places to stay in the Mountains, as I am sure other posters will tell you, but this one has the benefits of proximity to the station and a below-Katoomba-prices nightly tariff. Good luck!

Craig

Hi Shannon,<BR><BR>I am an Aussie tour operator from Kangaroo Island and would recommend a tour company called Australian Wild Escapes - good quality outfit. Run by the Charlesworth family who are great people.<BR><BR>Cheers<BR><BR>Craig