Blue Mountains Day Tour Including Parramatta River Cruise
Recommended by 92% of travelers
Sydney, Australia
- 10 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Visiting the Blue Mountains independently can be tiring to do independently, with long distances between viewpoints. This full-day tour from Sydney simplifies the journey, connecting the region’s highlights while a driver tackles the roads. Take in sweeping views from Kings Tableland, walk to scenic spots such as Wentworth Falls or Leura Cascades, and visit the towns of Leura and Katoomba to see the Three Sisters. The day ends with a relaxing cruise along the Parramatta River back to Circular Quay.
- Hotel pickup is included for added convenience
- Check off plenty without having to plan an itinerary
- Get an insider's perspective on the area from a local guide
- Explore beyond Sydney without tackling public transport
What's Included
- Air-conditioned vehicleReturn transportation in a deluxe mini coach - maximum 28 people
- Harbour Cruise (on a Sydney Ferry)
- Pick up from pre-scheduled pickup points
- Experienced Tour Guide
- Entrance fee - Entrance fees to Sydney Zoo & Scenic World can be paid in advance or on day of the tour
- Admission Fee - National Park Entrance Fee
- Personal Expenses
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
PLEASE CHOOSE ONE OF THE TEN PICK UP POINTS LISTED BELOW AND LET US KNOW WHEN MAKING THE BOOKING , PLEASE INFORM US OF WHICH PICK UP POINT YOU CHOSE. Stop1: 6:45am PARK ROYAL Hotel, Darling Harbour – 150 Day Street (Darling Harbour area) Stop2: 6:55am PIER ONE, Sydney Harbour – 11 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay (The Rocks area) Stop3: 7:00am FOUR SEASONS Hotel (Level 3, rear entrance) – opposite 111 Harrington Street (Rocks area). Stop4: 7:10am SIR STAMFORD Hotel, Circular Quay – 93 Macquarie Street Stop5: 7:15am OVOLO Hotel, Woolloomooloo – 6 Cowper Wharf Roadway Stop6: 7:20am HOLIDAY INN Hotel, Potts Point (Kings Cross area) – 203 Victoria Street Stop7: 7:35am VIBE Hotel, Sydney – 111 Goulburn Street (hyde Park area) Stop8: 7:45 Central Station - Outside the Services NSW building, on Pitt Street cor Barlow Street near Rawson Place (across the road from Central Station), at 7:45 am ** best if travelling from outside Sydney city centre by train, or by bus/Tram. Stop9: 7:50am HOLIDAY INN Hotel, Darling Harbour – 68 Harbour Street (Haymarket/Chinatown area) Stop10: 7:55am IBIS Hotel, Darling Harbour – 70 Murray Street (Darling Harbour area)
Drop-off point
- Circular Quay, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
The River Cruise ends at Circular Quay around 6:00-6:15pm
Itinerary
1
Sydney Zoo
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
Blue Mountains (Pass By)
2
Evans Lookout
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Bridal Veil Falls
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Leura
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Katoomba (Pass By)
5
Olympian Rock
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Blue Mountains (Pass By)
6
The Three Sisters
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7
Govetts Leap
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
8
Blue Mountains National Park
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
9
Scenic World Blue Mountains
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
Sydney Olympic Park (Pass By)
10
Sydney Harbour
50 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Sydney Harbour Bridge (Pass By)
Sydney Opera House (Pass By)
Circular Quay (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 28 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
We booked this trip last minute and I’m so glad we did! We were picked up on time, got LOTS of incredible information about the history of the country, the geography, and hit all locations without having to wait in lines! We got the best deals for admission to the Sydney Zoo and Scenic World and didn’t have the hassle of dealing with ticket lines or purchasing on our own.
Les was an incredible guide. He took us to lookouts in the mountains that were not crowded and had incredible views. Scenic World was only valuable for the accessibility to the rainforest floor. Les’s knowledge of it was impressive. Taking the ferry back to Sydney was the icing on the cake.
Reviews
4.7
based on 1,778 reviews
Review summary
Last 12 months
301 reviews
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Travelers praise the friendly, knowledgeable driver and guide whose engaging commentary enhances the informative tour. The well-organized itinerary balances thorough planning and adaptability, allowing ample time for scenic views, zoo visits, cable car rides, and hikes. Most appreciate the pacing and value, though some find the day long and suggest more inclusive pricing. Overall, the tour provides a comfortable, scenic experience with minor pacing concerns.
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Our bus driver Matthew was great! Fun jokes and took us to some amazing spots. I was very happy to have him as our driver.
Long but amazing excursion. We loved the nature, learned a lot about the Aboriginals, had a fantastic guide (Matthew) and really enjoyed the bushwalk and his knowledge. There are many steps and some elevations so no strollers or not recommended for people that have difficulties walking but there is an option to stay on the bus.
The tour generally was good and saw a lot of places and learned about Sydney. Only draw back was a 3 years old screaming child. This tour is not suitable for small children. I think this should be mentioned in the guide as they get tired on a whole day tour and other members of the tour might suffer their tendrum.
Value for money and a full day of entertainment. On time hotel pickup and lots of variety throughout the tour.
My favorite part was the Sydney Zoo.
It’s very exciting tour, our driver and tour guide is a very friendly and knowledgeable regarding this tour
Fantastic day out. Les our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and gave us so much interesting information.
What an awesome experience, we loved all aspects of it and do much packed into my day. Your driver was first class with his service and commented. Highly recommend your and value for money
The tour was really interesting. We really enjoyed the Sydney Zoo but a lot of the animals weren't out as it was quite early. Really loved Scenic World the cable cars were amazing and the rail ride. Also loved seeing the waterfalls. Leura was very quaint for lunch. Also really enjoyed the ferry ride from Parramatta back to Sydney. Overall a really good day with lots of things to see and do. Given the day we were really lucky to see the blue of the blue mountains and see the three sisters.
On other bus tours that I have been on (and I have done hundreds) the tour guide usually tries to break the ice with the customers by introducing each other eg where your from, etc. But he didn't do this and the tour customers didn't seem to gel as well. It was the only let down that the tourists didn't interact with each other.
Les the tour guide was amazing with all the tidbits of knowledge about the Blue Mountain tour. There were anecdotes, "dad type jokes", birding, flora and fauna info, timing of when to see what to minimize crowds for photo ops and experiences. Highly recommend this tour!
Extremely Rude, Aggressive, and Unprofessional Tour Guide
We booked a tour on October 13, 2026, with a tour guide named Bruce, driving a vehicle with license plate TV142B. Unfortunately, what should have been an enjoyable experience turned into an extremely unpleasant and upsetting incident due to the guide’s unacceptable behavior.
Bruce spoke in an incredibly rude and disrespectful manner to one of our companions, a man over 65 years old, simply because he dared to speak while Bruce was explaining what we were about to see. Bruce demanded that nobody speak while he was talking. While we understand that a tour guide needs the passengers’ attention when providing information, there is absolutely no excuse for the arrogant, disrespectful, and aggressive way in which he chose to communicate this.
It is important to explain that our friend does not speak much English and needed us to translate some of the information for him. My husband therefore politely asked Bruce how we were supposed to communicate if we needed to say something important. This was a perfectly reasonable question, asked in a polite manner.
Instead of responding calmly and professionally, Bruce completely lost his temper and began verbally attacking my husband. He shouted at him to be quiet, called him a coward, challenged him to take the argument outside, and ordered him to get off the bus.
My husband replied that we had paid for the tour and, therefore, would not get off the bus simply because the guide was behaving aggressively towards us.
What made the situation even more disturbing was Bruce’s statement, “Let’s squash it outside,” which we understood as a threat and an attempt to provoke a physical confrontation. The fact that a tour guide would speak to paying customers in this manner is shocking and completely unacceptable.
We were not being disruptive or deliberately disrespectful. We simply needed to translate some information for our friend and asked a reasonable question about how we could communicate when necessary. A professional tour guide should be capable of handling such a minor situation with patience, courtesy, and basic respect. If he wanted everyone to remain quiet during his explanations, he could easily have asked us politely. There was absolutely no need for insults, intimidation, or threats.
Bruce was rude and aggressive, verbally abused us, called my husband a coward, and challenged him to a physical confrontation outside. This behavior was completely unacceptable.
Being a tour guide means working with people from different backgrounds, ages, and levels of English proficiency. Patience, communication skills, and professionalism are essential qualities for this job. Bruce demonstrated none of these qualities during our experience.
We paid for this tour expecting a pleasant and informative experience, not to be verbally abused by the person responsible for it. No customer should have to tolerate being insulted, ordered off a vehicle, or intimidated by someone who is supposed to be providing a service.
I strongly urge the tour company to take this incident seriously and investigate Bruce’s conduct. This behavior should not be tolerated, and I sincerely hope that appropriate action will be taken to prevent other customers from experiencing the same treatment.
This was an extremely disappointing experience, and I would not recommend a tour with Bruce to anyone. His behavior was aggressive, disrespectful, and completely unprofessional. Paying customers deserve basic courtesy and respect, and unfortunately, we received neither.
Great experience. Blue mountain tour is a “must see”. Our tour guide Bruce is superb and very knowledgeable about the history of the places we visited and his commentary during our tour are very interesting. I also enjoyed the river cruise. I highly recommend this tour.
A great day trip out of Sydney. This would be the top tour to do if you want to get out of Sydney and see some of what the Aussies call their outdoor backyard. The zoo and the Blue Mountains were quite enjoyable! Bruce, our wonderful tour guide made this experience even more memorable, such a cool, hardworking, and fun lad! Thank you very much!
Absolutely great. Les, our guide knew so much and made early Australian history seem so alive and vital. He interspersed his facts with just enough jokes and puns to make it lively and interesting. The Blue Mountains did not disappoint, it was a beautiful day and the views were glorious. In spite of a bit of delay at the cablecars, I found worth doing at Scenic World. Sydney Zoo was fun , especially if you are visiting from overseas and want to encounter and get close to our native animals. The Ferry at the end was okay. As it had a few stops to make, I think we were all so tired by then, it would have been easier to just get back into the city by bus. But the experience of the day was terrific and memorable. My overseas visitors
Loved it and talked about it the whole week they were here. Thank you again to Les our guide. Just terrific.
How beautiful the blue mountains are it was one of our best tours best place to visit you have to do tour to see it
The day was going well until it came time to pay for the optional extras—an additional $103 per person on top of the base price of $66—even though the listing never mentioned any such options. We were presented with a fait accompli only after the activities had already taken place. Furthermore, we were forced to pay for the return ferry ride, which had been marketed as a "cruise"... The whole situation was rather unfair. Regards.
We had issues with a entrance ticket, that need to be buy through the guide, and also it not mentioned anything while we purchased tickets
Book this tour—you’ll be very satisfied. Our tour guide, Les, is knowledgeable and fun, and we learned a lot during the trip. The closing cruise ride was also satisfying. Thanks, Les, for making our trip to the Blue Mountains so memorable.
À la cartel experience. Lots of movement.
Buses do break down,
Luckily replacement buses available.
Many sights & sounds of Australia.
Guide was knowledgeable & skillful
Bruce was knowledgeable and friendly. Open to questions and gave a lot of historical and cultural narrative throughout the tour. He also provided quiet time to enjoy the views and surroundings.
Bruce was an awesome guide throughout the entire Blue Mountains trip. Comfortable seats on the bus and air conditioning.
Bruce was our guide and he was wonderful!! The weather was wonderful and we got to see so many things. We even saw a wild wallaby on the way out from one of our scenic stops.
Everyone should take a trip to Blue Mountains. Les made it to a fantastic day. All the information and nature. It is good to take a brake from Sydney.
Bruce did a great job showing us around the blue mountains and talking about the local history. I learned a lot and felt it was one of the highlights of my trip to Sydney!
Well organised, easy to book and good communication with the tour company.
First time visiting the Blue Mountains and they did not disappoint. Could have done without the trip to the zoo in favour of more time exploring the mountain area
Bruce was my tour guide. He was amazing and did a fantastic job explaining al about the Blue Mountains, the Three Sisters, Katoomba Falls. He is also very sociable, punctual and helped with photos. Would recommend him again.
It was an incredible experience. Our guide was outstanding, and the trip was very affordable. I highly recommend it.
Long drive, but nice tour. Les got us to the zoo at 8.30 which meant lots of time to explore by ourselves before the public came in. Les will make a million dad jokes, but he kept the crowd engaged and also shared lots of stats about Sydney and Australia. A lot more than what we got from the Sydney tour bus. If youre from Africa, the mountains might be a bit underwhelming as we have several similar landscapes in Africa, however the cable cars will be a unique, great, and slightly scary, experience. The tour itself is a 3.5 star, however with Les as the tour guide, it definitely bumps it up to 5.
We all had an amazing time!! It is a very long day but totally worth it. The Sydney Zoo was so great and we got there early so had the zoo to ourselves. The three cable car rides in the Blue Mountains were fun, the views and history of the mountains are fascinating. We went to several other lookout points which were all stunning and then the ferry back to Circular Quay was such a great finale, coming into Sydney and going under the Sydney bridge, past the Opera House and then to the wharf in the evening was gorgeous and so memorable!!
Our tour guide Les was incredibly knowledgeable, very entertaining and his personal connection to the area was beneficial.
Best experience worth it 100% would highly recommend les best tour guide iv had have never been on one of these tours befor an I couldn't highly recommend this
I would give second thoughts on booking with this tour company. If you so not tkae optional add ons then the treatment becomes different. I was made really uncomfortable by the tour guide. I felt I was treated differently after the tour started and did not enjoy the tour after this happened. Blue mountains tour is not worth it if you are not getting the optional add ons, especially scenic world. You are basically paying for transportation only. This can be accompliahed by renting a car which is the cheaper option. I will not book with this compnay if they have the tour guide I had. On a positivr note, organizer Dave was excellent with communication and the vehicle arrived on time.
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$70.06
per personWas $73.75(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Blue Mountains Day Tour Including Parramatta River Cruise
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