A Blue Mountains tour from Sydney covers the Three Sisters, Scenic World and a koala in one day. We compared 12 tours from $142 with free cancellation; the top tour rates 4.8 from 2,885 reviews. The Jamison Valley blue haze comes from the eucalyptus forest.
From, per person
12 tours compared$142
Today's lowest price across all 12 tours
Average rating
All 12 tours47
9,859 verified reviews across 12 tours
Your day
Shortest to longest8–11h
Shortest: Blue Mountains Small Group
Longest: Blue Mountains Steam Train
Everything you can book here
Twelve listings. Five are classic coach days that reach Echo Point, Scenic World and a wildlife park with a full bus. Four are small-group days in a minibus of ten to twenty, which stop at lookouts the coaches skip. Four are private days with your own driver, which cost five to seven times as much and go wherever you ask.
★ 4.8 · 2 885 reviews
★ 4.8 · 1 688 reviews
★ 4.6 · 4 696 reviews
★ 4.8 · 158 reviews
★ 4.9 · 305 reviews
★ 4.8 · 63 reviews
★ 4.7 · 19 reviews
★ 5 · 20 reviews
★ 5 · 15 reviews
★ 4.5 · 8 reviews
★ 5 · 2 reviews
Three questions
Twelve listings, and they come down to three decisions: how much you want to spend, how big a group you can stand, and whether the Scenic World rides matter. Pick what matters and the page picks the tour.
See it before you pay for it
The Three Sisters from Echo Point, the Jamison Valley from the glass floor of the Scenic Skyway, and a 52-degree railway dropping into rainforest — all within a few kilometres of Katoomba, 100 km west of Sydney. Most days add a koala and a mob of kangaroos at a wildlife park on the way.
Side by side
Everything here is one of three things. A coach day, which is what most people mean by a Blue Mountains tour from Sydney: Echo Point, Scenic World, a wildlife park, forty-odd people. A small-group day in a minibus, which adds a bushwalk and a quieter lookout. Or a private day with a driver, which costs five to seven times as much and follows your list rather than the operator’s.
Swipe the table sideways →
| MOST BOOKEDBlue Mountains Adventure: Scenic World, Zoo & Koala Photo | Blue Mountains Small Group All Inclusive Multi Award Winner! | Sydney: Blue Mountains Small Group: Walks, Wildlife & Dinner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $150 | $142 | $211 |
| Duration | 10.5 hours | 10 hours | 8 hours |
| Cost per hour | $14.29 | $14.20 | $26.38 |
| Group size | Coach | Small group | Small group |
| Departs from | Central Sydney hotels | Central Sydney hotels | Central Sydney hotels |
| What you see | Echo Point, all three Scenic World rides, Sydney Zoo and a koala photo | Echo Point, the Scenic World rides, and a ferry home down the river | Lookouts, a rainforest walk, wild kangaroos at dusk and dinner |
| Scenic World rides | Yes, all three | Yes, all three | Walks instead |
| Rating | 4.8 · 2,885 | 4.8 · 1,688 | 4.9 · 305 |
| Best for | Doing it once and seeing everything | The best value on the page | Walkers who want a quieter day |
| Book this one→ | Check dates | Check dates |
Free cancellation up to 24 h · Reserve now, pay later
Verdict
Echo Point and the Three Sisters, all three Scenic World rides and a koala photo at the zoo on the way, with hotel pickup in Sydney: the three things people come for, in one day. The one reason to book something else is the group size: the small-group day at $142 carries 1,688 ratings, includes the rides, and comes home by ferry.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
One listing on this page carries 4,696 ratings and one carries none at all. That does not make the new one bad — but an unrated listing tells you nothing, and a 5.0 from two people tells you very little. Read both numbers before you decide.
Two-minute check
Twelve listings and a lot of near-identical titles. Three answers narrow it to one: what you want to spend, how big a group you can stand, and whether the Scenic World rides matter.
How much time do you have?Every day here is a full day, but they end at different hours
What are you willing to spend?Per person unless it says private
Coach, small group or private?Four listings are private days
You'll get a straight yes or no, the flight that fits your day, and the specific thing that would trip you up at check-in.
Six kinds of day
Ratings are the operators’ own numbers on GetYourGuide, shown exactly as published. We do not write reviews and we do not average other people’s into a score of our own. The most reviewed listing here carries 4,696 ratings; one private day carries none yet, and we say which is which on every card.
★★★★★
Based on 9,859
verified reviews
Every rated listing on this page, scored by the people who took it on GetYourGuide.
Read all 9,859→Blue Mountains Adventure: Scenic World, Zoo & Koala Photo
From $150 · 2,885 reviews
★★★★★
Echo Point and the Three Sisters, all three Scenic World rides and a stop at Sydney Zoo on the way, with hotel pickup. 2,885 ratings at 4.8.
Blue Mountains Small Group All Inclusive Multi Award Winner!
From $142 · cheapest tour
★★★★★
A small group with the Scenic World rides included and a ferry back down the Parramatta River. 1,688 ratings at 4.8.
From Sydney: Blue Mountains Full-Day Trip
From $149 · 4,696 reviews
★★★★★
Featherdale Wildlife Park, Echo Point and Scenic World in the order most people expect. 4,696 ratings at 4.6 — the strongest evidence on this page.
Blue Mountains Steam Train Tour + 3 Sisters & Scenic World
From $169 · 158 reviews
★★★★★
The Zig Zag steam railway near Lithgow, then Echo Point and the Scenic World rides. Eleven hours, the longest day here. 158 ratings at 4.8.
Sydney: Blue Mountains Small Group: Walks, Wildlife & Dinner
From $211 · 305 reviews
★★★★★
A small group that walks more than it rides: lookouts, a rainforest track, wild kangaroos at dusk and dinner before the drive back. 305 ratings at 4.9.
Sydney: Blue Mountains Private Day Tour with Pickup
From $757 · per vehicle
★★★★★
Hotel pickup in Sydney, your own vehicle and a route built around your list: Wentworth Falls, Leura, Echo Point, Scenic World or none of them. Ten hours.
What it really costs
A coach or small-group day runs from $142 to $255 depending on what is included. Our top pick is $150. A private day with your own driver starts at $757 for the vehicle.
Swipe sideways →
| What you are paying for | Price | What you get | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A coach day from Sydney | $149–$195 | Echo Point, Scenic World and a wildlife park, with a full bus | Free cancellation 24 h |
| A small-group day, ten to twenty people | $142–$255 | The same stops plus a bushwalk and a lookout the coaches skip | Free cancellation 24 h |
| A private day with your own driver | $757–$1,109 | Your list, your pace, hotel pickup; price is per vehicle | Free cancellation 24 h |
The honest answer
For one day out of a Sydney trip, yes, and the reason is logistics rather than scenery. The three things people go for sit in three different places — the Three Sisters at Echo Point, the rides at Scenic World, and a koala at a wildlife park on the way. A tour puts all three into one day from your hotel door.
The day, hour by hour
Coaches and minibuses collect from central Sydney hotels and a meeting point near Circular Quay. Most days are moving by half past seven.
Featherdale at Doonside or Sydney Zoo at Bungarribee, both just off the motorway. Koalas, kangaroos you can hand-feed, and the photo most people came for.
The road climbs from the plains to a plateau above a thousand metres. The blue haze over the valleys is eucalyptus oil in the air, and it is the reason for the name.
The lookout at Katoomba, and the three sandstone pillars above the Jamison Valley. Every tour stops here; the small groups also walk to a quieter platform nearby.
Included on some listings, free time in a mountain town on others. Leura’s main street is the prettier of the two.
The Railway drops through the cliff at 52 degrees, the Skyway crosses the gorge on a glass floor, the Cableway brings you back up. Most tours include all three.
Wentworth Falls, Lincoln’s Rock or a valley viewpoint the driver knows. The small-group days spend their extra hour here.
Down the motorway with the light going, or, on the cheapest listing, a ferry down the Parramatta River into Circular Quay instead of the last hour on the road.
The one thing to know
Everything else on this page is a preference. This one is geography. The Three Sisters are at Echo Point in Katoomba, the rides are at Scenic World a few kilometres away, and the koalas live at a wildlife park on the plains forty minutes back towards Sydney. The train from Central reaches Katoomba in two hours and a local bus does the rest, but the koala is a different day and a different ticket. A tour puts all three between breakfast and dinner, from your hotel door, and it is why every listing on this page exists.
Four parts of the day
Three sandstone pillars, and the lookout every tour stops at first.
A 52-degree drop through the cliff — the steepest passenger railway in the world.
A glass-floored cabin 270 metres above the valley floor.
Featherdale or Sydney Zoo, on the way out or the way back, on most days here.
Start here
Here is the fact that decides whether a Blue Mountains tour from Sydney is worth the money, and it is not a view: the three things people go for sit in three different places. The Three Sisters are at Echo Point in Katoomba. The rides are at Scenic World, a few kilometres away. The koalas are at a wildlife park on the plains, forty minutes back towards the city.
The train reaches one of them. Sydney to Katoomba is about two hours each way, and from the station a local bus gets you to Echo Point and Scenic World. The koala needs a different day, a different train and a different ticket. A tour does all three between breakfast and dinner.
The escarpment is a World Heritage area for a reason. A million hectares of sandstone plateau cut by valleys 600 metres deep, and the blue haze that names the range is eucalyptus oil in the air. From Echo Point you look across the Jamison Valley to Mount Solitary with nothing built in between.
Scenic World is the part children remember. The Scenic Railway drops through a cleft in the cliff at 52 degrees, which makes it the steepest passenger railway in the world; the Skyway crosses the gorge with a glass floor 270 metres up; the Cableway brings you back. Most tours here include all three rides in the price.
A small group changes the day more than the price suggests. A minibus of ten to twenty stops at lookouts a coach cannot park at, walks a rainforest track, and on one listing here watches wild kangaroos at dusk before dinner. It costs from $142, which on this page is also the cheapest fare.
The private days are a different product at five to seven times the price. From $757 you get a driver, a vehicle and your own list, and the price is per vehicle rather than per person, which is why families of four book them.
And the last thing, which no listing says plainly: it is a ten-hour day and about three of them are on the road. The mountains are 100 km from the city, and the wildlife park adds a stop. Nobody regrets it afterwards, but plan a quiet evening.
If a coach is not your day
The coach days all do the same thing well: Echo Point, Scenic World, a wildlife park, and home. These three go further — a small group that walks and stays for dinner, a heritage steam train before the lookouts, and a private day that adds Wentworth Falls.
8 h · ★ 4.9 (305)
$211See dates 11 h · ★ 4.8 (158)
$169See dates 10 h · ★ 5 (15)
$889See datesPractical
Four things decide how this goes: which listing you booked, how early the pickup is, what the weather over the escarpment is doing, and whether you want the rides or the walks.
Echo Point, Scenic World and a wildlife park with a full bus.
The rides, Sydney Zoo and a koala photo, with 2,885 ratings at 4.8.
A small group with the rides included and a ferry home.
Bushwalks, kangaroos at dusk and a meal before the drive back.
The Zig Zag Railway, then the Three Sisters and Scenic World.
Your own driver and route; the price is per vehicle.
Three sandstone pillars above the Jamison Valley, seen from Echo Point.
A 52-degree drop through the cliff into rainforest.
A glass-floored cabin 270 metres above the valley.
A 187-metre waterfall on the eastern edge of the plateau.
At Featherdale or Sydney Zoo, and wild at dusk on one listing.
A mountain village of gardens and a main street worth the lunch stop.
Hotel pickups and a meeting point near Circular Quay.
The mountains are 100 km away and the day is full.
It is stated on each listing; we say which.
On others it is free time in Katoomba or Leura.
Even the coach days include steps and a lookout track.
Often by five to ten degrees; bring a layer.
On every listing on this page.
A week ahead in spring, autumn and school holidays.
The classic coach day has 4,696; one private day has none yet.
Most include all three; the walking day trades them for tracks.
Ten to twenty seats, and they go before the coaches do.
Divide by four and they compare differently.
Best time
Tours run all year and the lookouts do not close. Spring and autumn give the clearest air and the mildest days; summer can be hot on the plateau; winter mornings are cold and sometimes misty, and the mist lifts by late morning more often than it stays.
Sep – Nov
The escarpment is green, the waterfalls are running and the days are mild. The most reliable window for the views from Echo Point, and the busiest at Scenic World.
Mar – May
Cool, still days and the sharpest views across the Jamison Valley. Leura’s gardens turn in April, and the summer heat is gone.
Dec – Feb
Hot on the plateau on some days, with afternoon storms. The walks are best early, and the Skyway is the coolest place to be at two in the afternoon.
Jun – Aug
Frosty mornings and occasional mist that can hide the valley for an hour or two. Fewer people, and Katoomba does its Christmas-in-July season.
Worth knowing
Book the small group if you can stand the price. A minibus of ten to twenty stops where a coach cannot park, and on this page the small-group day is also the cheapest listing.
Go to Echo Point before Scenic World. The tours that do it this way see the Three Sisters in morning light and ride the Railway after lunch, when the queue is shorter.
The Skyway has a glass floor, and it is optional. If heights are a problem, the Cableway crosses lower and slower, and the Walkway at the bottom needs no cabin at all.
The koala photo is at the wildlife park, not in the mountains. Featherdale and Sydney Zoo sit on the plains near the motorway; the tour stops there on the way out or back.
Bring a layer, even in summer. The plateau sits above a thousand metres and runs five to ten degrees cooler than the harbour, and Echo Point is windy.
Read the review count, not just the score. The classic coach day carries 4,696 ratings at 4.6. One private day here carries none at all. A 5.0 from two people is not a recommendation.
Round out the trip
Go deeper
Common questions
From $142 for a small-group day with the Scenic World rides included. Our top pick is $150. A private day with your own driver starts at $757 per vehicle.
About 100 km west of the city centre, or an hour and a half to two hours by road. Katoomba, where Echo Point and Scenic World are, sits on a plateau above a thousand metres.
Eight to eleven hours from pickup to drop-off. Most days run ten hours, with about six of them in the mountains and the rest on the road or at a wildlife park.
On most listings here, yes — the Railway, the Skyway and the Cableway are in the price. The walking-and-dinner day trades them for tracks and lookouts, and we say so on the card.
On most days, yes. The tours stop at Featherdale Wildlife Park or Sydney Zoo on the plains, where you can see koalas up close and hand-feed kangaroos.
Early. Hotel pickups in central Sydney start about seven, and most days are moving by half past seven so the mountains are reached by mid-morning.
Yes. Spring and autumn are the clearest; winter mornings can be misty at Echo Point, and the mist usually lifts by late morning.
Transport from Sydney, a driver-guide, the stops on the listing and usually the Scenic World rides and the wildlife park entry. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every listing here.
Free · no account needed
One PDF: all twelve listings by hours and price, which ones include the Scenic World rides and a wildlife park, the stops in the order they come, and the months when the escarpment is clearest.
The plan is on its way. If it isn't there in a minute, look in Promotions.
Why trust this page
Prices, durations and ratings are read off the live listings rather than copied from other affiliate pages. Stops, pickup points and what each day includes come from the operators’ own descriptions.
Every listing here is sold on scenery and priced on a day. We put the length on every card and the cost per hour in the comparison, because that is the number that separates an eight-hour walking day from an eleven-hour one with a steam train.
One listing here carries 4,696 ratings and one carries none at all. Both can be good; only one has been tested, and we label it that way rather than sorting everything by score.
Twelve listings, ordered as a shop window rather than by price, ranked on what they include and how much evidence stands behind them. We earn a commission when you book, and it does not change what we recommend.
The answer
If you are booking one Blue Mountains tour from Sydney, book the Scenic World, zoo and koala day at $150. It carries 2,885 ratings at 4.8 and puts the Three Sisters, all three rides and a koala photo into one day with hotel pickup. If you would rather a smaller group, the listing at $142 carries 1,688 ratings, includes the rides, and comes home by ferry.
Check dates and availability→ Free cancellation up to 24 hours · Reserve now, pay laterBefore you go
All twelve listings by hours and price, which ones include the rides and a wildlife park, and the months when the escarpment is clearest.
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Blue Mountains Adventure: Scenic World, Zoo & Koala Photo
★ 4.8 · 2 885 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h
