Blue Mountains DayTours & Sightseeing Bus Excursions

Blue Mountains Bus Tours

Private Day Tours and Sightseeing from Sydney

Blue Mountains Day Tour

Sydney Charter Bus Australia runs private Blue Mountains day tours by minibus and coach for groups of 12 to 62 passengers. Your group travels together on its own timetable, from any pick-up point you choose across Greater Sydney, such as a CBD hotel, an office in Macquarie Park, a school in Parramatta or a club in Penrith. We never mix groups or add other passengers to your vehicle.

Katoomba is around 1.5 to 2 hours from Sydney by road, so the mountains suit a relaxed express day of about 6 hours or a fuller day of 8 to 12 hours with lookouts, gardens, village stops and a wildlife park on the way. Tell us who is travelling and what they enjoy, and we will help shape an itinerary that fits.

Get a Blue Mountains Tour Quote

Travel Time

Katoomba is around 1.5 to 2 hours from the Sydney CBD by coach via the M4 Motorway and Great Western Highway, depending on traffic and your pick-up point. Allow extra in peak and on long weekends. A comfort stop can be built in on the way.

Main Attraction

The Three Sisters at Echo Point, Katoomba, stand above the Jamison Valley and are the highlight of almost every tour. The lookout has toilets and drinking water, and the Three Sisters walk begins close by.

Traditional Custodians

The Blue Mountains are the Country of the Darug and Gundungurra peoples. Groups wanting to learn about Aboriginal culture and Country can add a specialist cultural guide to the day.

Our Touring Buses

All our coaches and minibuses are NSW Government accredited (NSW Bus Operator Accreditation No. 39461) and, as buses, can use the bus lanes across Sydney
Day Tour

Blue Mountains

  • Echo Point and the Three Sisters
  • Scenic World
  • Wentworth Falls
  • Leura Village
  • Govetts Leap, Blackheath
  • Entry Fees *
  • Lunch (own expense) *
  • Professional Tour Guide (optional) *
Get a Quote

World Heritage Area

The Greater Blue Mountains Area was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000. It covers more than one million hectares across eight adjoining reserves and is home to 96 eucalypt species, around 13% of all eucalypt species.

Scenic World

Ride the Scenic Railway down its 52 degree incline, then the Cableway, Skyway and rainforest Walkway. Open 10am to 4pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends, NSW school holidays and public holidays. Allow 2 to 3 hours.

Mountain Weather

The upper mountains are usually cooler than Sydney and mist can roll in quickly. Pack a warm layer, comfortable walking shoes and a water bottle in every season.

Safety & Comfort

All our coaches and minibuses have seatbelts and air-conditioning. Drivers take a 20 minute break after no more than 3 hours of driving.

Who Our Blue Mountains Tours Suit

Corporate teams and clients. Off-site days, client hosting and incentive trips, with a long lunch in Leura or Katoomba and time back in Sydney for the evening. See our corporate coach hire page.

Schools. Geography and science excursions to a World Heritage landscape, with Scenic World and the Echo Point lookouts as the core. School drivers hold a Working with Children Check. Read more about school excursion bus hire.

Seniors, Probus and social clubs. Gentle itineraries built around lookouts with short walks, gardens, regular comfort stops and an unhurried lunch.

International visitors. Inbound and family groups who want the classic sights in one day, ideally paired with a multilingual guide.

Wedding guests. Guest transport to and from mountain venues and accommodation, so nobody needs to drive on narrow roads after the reception. See wedding bus hire.

Sporting and community groups. Club outings, bushwalking groups and end of season trips, picked up from your club or meeting point in suburbs such as Penrith, Blacktown and Parramatta.

Sample Blue Mountains Itineraries

Suggested timings only. Every tour is planned around your pick-up point, group and day of travel.

Express Tour (about 6 hours)

  • 8.30am: depart Sydney
  • 10.15am: Echo Point and the Three Sisters
  • 11.00am: Scenic World rides and Walkway
  • 1.00pm: lunch in Katoomba (own expense)
  • 2.00pm: depart for Sydney, arriving around 3.30pm to 4.00pm

Full Day Tour (about 10 to 11 hours)

  • 8.00am: depart Sydney
  • 8.45am: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Doonside (opens 8am daily)
  • 11.15am: Wentworth Falls lookouts
  • 12.00pm: Echo Point and the Three Sisters
  • 1.00pm: lunch in Leura or Katoomba (own expense)
  • 2.15pm: Scenic World
  • 4.00pm: Cahill’s Lookout or Leura Mall
  • 4.45pm: depart, back in Sydney around 6.30pm

Optional Extras

  • Govetts Leap Lookout, Blackheath
  • Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah (open 9am to 5pm daily, free entry)
  • Everglades House and Gardens, Leura
  • Leura Cascades
  • The Giant Stairway (for fit walkers)
  • Explorers Tree, Katoomba

What the Coach and Driver Provide

  • Pick-up and return to your chosen address anywhere in Greater Sydney
  • A private vehicle for your group, with seatbelts and air-conditioning
  • A professional driver who knows the mountain roads and coach set-down points
  • Luggage hold space for day packs, folded wheelchairs and walkers
  • Flexible stop times within your booked hours

Bottled water is fine on board. Food, hot drinks and alcohol are not permitted, so we plan lunch and coffee stops into the day. Coaches are limited to 100 km/h, and any tolls are charged at cost at Class B heavy vehicle rates. We do not operate wheelchair-accessible coaches (no lift or ramp); see our accessibility policy.

Commentary and Tour Guides

Our drivers concentrate on the road and do not provide commentary, as set out in our Driver Commentary and Tour Guide Policy.

For the stories behind the sandstone cliffs, the early road builders and the Aboriginal history of the mountains, we recommend adding a professional tour guide. A guide manages head counts, collects pre-booked Scenic World tickets, leads the group at each lookout and calls the driver when it is time to board, while the coach waits at a legal holding area. Multilingual guides are ideal for international visitors, and a second guide lets larger groups split between easy and more active walks.

The Blue Mountains Through the Seasons

Spring brings blossom and open gardens, and the Leura Gardens Festival is usually held in spring; check the festival’s official site for dates. Summer means long days and busy school holidays, when Scenic World opens 9am to 5pm and timed tickets are worth booking ahead. Autumn offers cooler walking weather and autumn colour in many mountain gardens. Winter can be crisp and misty, and Katoomba celebrates the Winter Magic Festival on the winter solstice in June.

Tracks and lookouts in the national park can close for maintenance, poor weather or fire danger, so we check conditions before the day. Current alerts and visitor information are on the NSW National Parks Katoomba area page.

Choosing a Vehicle

Smaller vehicles handle tighter village streets and smaller lookout car parks with ease, while full-size coaches suit schools and large corporate groups. Browse the full fleet.

How to Book Your Tour

  1. Send your date, pick-up address, passenger numbers and the sights you have in mind through our online quote form.
  2. We recommend a vehicle and timings and send a quote, priced per vehicle, depot to depot.
  3. Pre-book Scenic World tickets, lunch and any guide. We can help with itinerary planning.
  4. Confirm your booking. Our pre-booking information explains what we need before the day.

See more ideas on our day tours and sightseeing page.

Blue Mountains Day Tour FAQs

How long is a Blue Mountains day tour from Sydney?

An express tour takes about 6 hours and a full day runs 8 to 12 hours. Katoomba is around 1.5 to 2 hours each way by coach, so allow extra in peak traffic and on long weekends.

Can the tour start from our hotel, office or school?

Yes. We pick up and return anywhere in Greater Sydney, and every tour is private to your group. Quotes are priced per vehicle, depot to depot.

Does the driver provide commentary on the way?

No. Our drivers focus on driving safely. For commentary and group management we recommend a professional tour guide, who can also handle Scenic World tickets and head counts.

Can we eat or drink on the coach?

Bottled water is fine. Food, hot drinks and alcohol are not permitted on board, so we build lunch and coffee stops in Leura or Katoomba into your itinerary.

Are your coaches wheelchair accessible?

We do not operate wheelchair-accessible coaches, as they have no lift or ramp. Folded wheelchairs and walkers travel in the luggage hold. See our accessibility policy.

Additional Services
> Restaurant Bookings
> Professional Tour Guides

Sydney Charter Bus

All our coaches and minibuses are NSW Government accredited (NSW Bus Operator Accreditation No. 39461), and as buses they can use Sydney’s bus lanes, which helps keep your group moving in peak traffic.

Additional Services
> Itinerary Planning
> Entry Fees

Plan Your Private Blue Mountains Tour

Direct operator since 2003, 100% Australian owned. NSW Bus Operator Accreditation No. 39461. Office: Macquarie Park. Depots: Botany, Moorebank and Marrickville. Ph: 1300 468 199

Get a Quote Contact Us


Sydney Charter Bus Australia acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we operate and travel. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
› Read our full Acknowledgement of Country →