Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley

1. Day 1: Arrive in Sydney and cross the Harbour Bridge on foot

   Sydney Airport to your hotel, then the Metro to Victoria Cross, Kirribilli, the Harbour Bridge and The Rocks

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Sydney
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Sydney Airport (SYD), where a driver meets you in arrivals for the half-hour drive to a central hotel near Hyde Park; if your room is not ready, leave your bags and rest in a cafe or the park. At 3 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the lobby for a short briefing, then we walk to Gadigal station, named for the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, on whose land Sydney stands. The Metro takes us under the harbour to Victoria Cross in North Sydney in a few minutes. From there we walk down through Kirribilli, past the houses facing the Opera House across the water, and up onto the Harbour Bridge's eastern footway. The crossing takes about 20 minutes, with the Opera House and Circular Quay below on the left as we walk south, and brings us down into The Rocks, the oldest part of colonial Sydney. We finish at a welcome dinner nearby, and the guide sees everyone back to the hotel.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Sydney Airport (SYD)
   • The Metro from Gadigal to Victoria Cross
   • Guided walk through Kirribilli and across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to The Rocks
   • Welcome dinner

   Easier option: Skip the bridge walk and meet the group at the welcome dinner; your guide arranges a taxi.

   Free time: Free until the 3 pm briefing

   Activity: About 3 km on foot, with steps up to the bridge footpath at Kirribilli. The airport pick-up covers flights landing by about 1 pm; send us later flights and we arrange the transfer so you join at dinner.

   

2. Day 2: The Opera House and the ferry to Watsons Bay

   The Metro to Martin Place, Macquarie Street and the Opera House, then the ferry from Circular Quay to Watsons Bay

   • By train
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Sydney
   Day 2 details

   We take the Metro from Gadigal one stop to Martin Place and walk down Macquarie Street, past the colonial sandstone of the Hyde Park Barracks and the Parliament of New South Wales, to the Sydney Opera House, listed by UNESCO in 2007. Our guided tour is booked for the first slot of the morning, before the building fills: about an hour inside the concert halls and foyers, with the story of Jørn Utzon's design and the long fight to finish it. Then we walk around the forecourt to Circular Quay and board the public ferry to Watsons Bay, about 25 minutes along the eastern harbour shore. Lunch is your choice by the water. Afterwards your guide walks anyone who wants the South Head Heritage Trail out to Hornby Lighthouse at the harbour entrance, with the Pacific on one side and the city skyline on the other. Ferries back run through the afternoon, and the rest of the day and the evening are free.

   Included

   • The Metro from Gadigal to Martin Place
   • Guided walk down Macquarie Street
   • Sydney Opera House guided tour, first morning slot
   • The ferry from Circular Quay to Watsons Bay and back
   • The South Head Heritage Trail to Hornby Lighthouse with your guide

   Optional experiences

   • Sydney Harbour BridgeClimb in the afternoon (price shown at booking)

   Easier option: Stay in Watsons Bay over a long lunch while the group walks to the lighthouse.

   More active option: Walk back from Watsons Bay along the harbour to Rose Bay, about 5 km, and take the ferry from there.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: The Opera House tour climbs about 200 steps in all. The South Head trail is about 2 km return on paths and boardwalk.

   

3. Day 3: Bondi to Coogee, then up to the Blue Mountains

   Bondi Beach to Coogee on foot, then by road to Leura and Katoomba, Scenic World and Echo Point

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Katoomba
   Day 3 details

   This is the full day of the trip, and it starts early. Our vehicle takes us to Bondi at 7:45 am, and by 8 am we are on the coastal walk south, ahead of the sun and the crowds: about 6 km over sandstone headlands, down into Tamarama, Bronte and Clovelly and past the ocean pools, ending at Coogee by about 10:30, with a chance to swim on the way. Then we drive west for about two hours into the Blue Mountains, part of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, on the land of the Darug and Gundungurra peoples. Lunch is a sit-down meal in Leura. In the afternoon we use our Scenic World pass: the Railway down its 52-degree incline into the Jamison Valley, the rainforest boardwalk and the Cableway and Skyway. After about 4:30 pm, when the coaches have gone, we stand at Echo Point for the Three Sisters in the late light; your guide may swap the two by the queues and the weather. The evening is free in Katoomba.

   Included

   • Bondi to Coogee coastal walk with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Leura
   • Scenic World Unlimited Discovery Pass: Railway, Walkway, Cableway and Skyway
   • Echo Point and the Three Sisters in the late afternoon

   Easier option: Walk only from Bondi to Bronte, about 2.5 km, and meet the group at Coogee by van.

   More active option: Before lunch, walk with your guide from the Leura Cascades picnic area down to the cascades and back (about 1 km return with steps, to be confirmed), while the others go on to the restaurant; the vehicle meets you at the picnic area.

   Free time: Evening free in Katoomba

   Activity: The coastal walk is about 6 km on paths with many steps, and two to three hours on foot. Scenic World involves short walks on boardwalks and standing in cable cars. A full day: if you are tired after the coastal walk, sit Scenic World or Echo Point out at the hotel.

4. Day 4: A cliff walk, then lunch among the Hunter vines

   Katoomba on the Prince Henry Cliff Walk, then by road to Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley

   • Drive about 3.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Hunter Valley
   Day 4 details

   At 8 am, before the day-trippers from Sydney arrive, your guide leads an easy section of the Prince Henry Cliff Walk, the track that runs along the cliff edge between Katoomba and Leura. We go from Echo Point to Katoomba Falls, about 2.5 km on a mostly level path through eucalypt and banksia, with lookouts over the Jamison Valley and Mount Solitary in view, and listen for lyrebirds in the gullies. At about 10 am we leave the mountains and drive about three and a half hours, with a coffee stop, down to the plains and north by the motorway and the Hunter Expressway to Pokolbin, in the Hunter Valley, one of Australia's oldest wine regions, where vines were planted from the 1820s. We sit down to a late lunch at a winery restaurant among the vines, then a guided tasting at the cellar door, where the winemakers pour the region's dry Semillon and medium-bodied Shiraz. The evening is free at our hotel among the vineyards; there is no town to walk to, so dinner is at the hotel or a short transfer to a winery restaurant.

   Included

   • Guided walk on the Prince Henry Cliff Walk, Echo Point to Katoomba Falls
   • Sit-down lunch at a Hunter Valley winery
   • Guided wine tasting at a cellar door

   Easier option: Walk only from Echo Point to the first lookouts and back, about 1 km, and wait at a cafe for the group.

   More active option: Start at 7 am and walk the cliff track the other way, from Echo Point to Leura Cascades, about 3.5 km, and meet the vehicle in Leura.

   Free time: Evening free in the Hunter Valley; dinner not included

   Activity: About an hour on foot on a mostly level cliff-top path with a few steps. Non-drinkers are welcome at the tasting; ask for juice or sparkling water. Pokolbin has no walkable town: dinner (not included) is at the hotel or a short transfer to a nearby winery restaurant, arranged by your guide and shown at booking, so nobody needs a car.

   

5. Day 5: Hunter Valley morning and back to Sydney

   Pokolbin to Sydney Airport or a central Sydney hotel

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 5 details

   The morning starts slowly. After breakfast, anyone who wants can join your guide for a walk along the vineyard roads of Pokolbin, where eastern grey kangaroos often rest in the shade between the rows and the Brokenback Range rises behind the vines. There is time for a coffee or a last cellar door if one is open before we leave. At about 10:30 am we drive south on the M1 for about two and a half hours, crossing the Hawkesbury River, with your guide pointing out the bushland of the Central Coast on the way. We drop you at Sydney Airport (SYD) at about 1 pm, or at a central Sydney hotel if you are staying on; your guide helps with directions for the rest of your stay. Book a domestic flight leaving after about 3:30 pm, an international one after about 5 pm, or add a night in Sydney. If you want to go on to Uluru or the reef, ask us about joining a longer trip.

   Included

   • Morning vineyard walk with your guide
   • Drop-off at Sydney Airport (SYD) or a central Sydney hotel

   Easier option: Rest at the hotel until the 10:30 am departure.

   Free time: Free time in Pokolbin before the drive

   Activity: Book a domestic flight leaving Sydney after about 3:30 pm or an international flight after about 5 pm, or ask us to add a night in Sydney.

Wildlife and weather: Autumn (March to May) and spring (September to November) bring mild days on the coast and clear air in the mountains. Summer is hot and humid in Sydney, with bushfire risk and smoke in the Blue Mountains and busy school holidays. Winter brings cold, clear mountain days and sometimes frost in Katoomba. Kangaroos graze around the Hunter vineyards at dusk all year, and lyrebirds call in the Blue Mountains gullies, loudest in winter.

• Sydney2 nights
• Katoomba1 night
• Hunter Valley1 night