Taking a Train into the Blue Mountains...
Taking a Train into the Blue Mountains...
Or Sydney to Scenic World in a day!
The Journey
A day trip into the Blue Mountains from Sydney by public transport is totally possible and makes for a lovely day out. We jumped on a train from Sydney Central Station, they leave every 30 mins, you can just use a contactless card or phone at the barriers and you’re good to go! Actually this wasn’t that obvious, they should make a bigger deal about this, for many countries UK/US etc you would need to buy a ticket for this length of journey, which is a real hassle, so well done transport NSW! Just stop banging on about Opal, it’s confusing!
Must admit I loved the trains, 2 deckers with quiet carriages front and rear. I recommend grabbing an upper deck on a quiet carriage unless you are a very chatty person ;-) .
The journey takes a couple of hours and is a great way to see some of the countryside that surrounds Sydney.
Katoomba
Katoomba seems like a nice place, we mostly skipped it and walked directly to Scenic World, but I wouldn’t mind going back and checking it out, I’m sure it is a nice place to wander around. The walk to Scenic World took us about 40 minutes, there are a few cafes along the way in Katoomba so stop here if you need some refreshments and obviously put some sunblock on!
Scenic World
I actually think Scenic World is more geared towards families, not walkers or nature loving couples. However if you can handle the queues and the bustle it can offer some impressive views. I was actually quite shocked at how busy it was, weirdly reminding me of commuting on the London Underground but with longer queues and more waiting. I’m not great at either queuing or waiting but could definitely see that if I’d managed to come at a quieter time, I would have had a fun time.
As it was I enjoyed all three ‘rides’ once I got on them. The Scenic Skyway offered the best overall views of the Katoomba Falls and the Three Sisters. The Scenic Railway was just a steep fun ride that descends into the valley through a tunnel. The Scenic Cableway was our route back out of the valley and was a nice way to take a final view of the wonderful scenery all around us.
From the Skyway East station there is a nice walk called the Prince Henry Cliff walk. Unfortunately after just starting out on this walk, the heavens opened and we had to abandon it. To be honest, to do these walks justice you would need to start your day quite early, which would probably also avoid the queues so definitely something to keep in mind.
Once you descend into the Jamison valley there are nice elevated boardwalks that make for easy walking. What surprised me most was the number of dinosaurs down in the valley. Again, I guess a nod to families with kids that get bored with ‘oh another tree’ and so throwing in some animatronics makes sense. From how much the kids got excited by these prehistoric monsters, they do seem to know their demographic.
After a few dinosaurs and some aimless walking around, it was time for for another long queue for the Scenic Cableway out of Jurassic valley. Luckily some more great views from the cable car saved the day…
Journey Back
We were running late on the way back so we ran much of the way back to the station. I don’t recommend this! Give yourself plenty of time, the road is steep in places so running up them wasn’t much fun.
Summary
Being able to get to the Blue Mountains so easily and cheaply from Sydney is fantastic. I’m eager to do this again but next time I will definitely just do one of the many hiking routes that start in Katoomba. I’ll leave Scenic World to the kids and the dinosaurs, they seem quite happy.
Let us know in the comments about your experience of Sydney!
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Anna & Morgan
The Wandering Hustlers is a travelogue made by Morgan and Anna - two digital nomads, wandering the world.