Greater Blue Mountain Road Trip Itinerary

Whether you’re after a coastal drive, the sight of a winding road cutting through a barren landscape or the beauty of mountains rolling along the skyline, there are more than enough iconic drives to keep you exploring – here is your go-to guide to driving the Greater Blue Mountains.

The combination of ease of access and natural wonders has seen the Blue Mountains occupy a special place in the heart of Sydneysiders for more than a century. Like a giant backyard, it’s the place they go to immerse themselves in nature, to suck in lungfuls of fresh mountain air and to experience nose-nipping winter cold. The best way to experience its compelling attractions is on a road trip. You can dip in and do day trips or easily spend a few days exploring.

Depart Sydney for mountain highs

Leura

Heading out of Sydney, your ascent into the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains National Park along the Great Western Highway passes by or through a string of quaint villages and towns. Stop for morning tea in Leura, with its pretty main street (known as The Mall) lined with cafes and shops, including Moontree , filled with lovely scented candles and artworks by local artists, the well-stocked Megalong Books, and Josophan’s Fine Chocolate, which makes its sweet treats by hand, including truffles and rocky road.

Katoomba

It’s less than five minutes drive from Leura to Katoomba, the bustling heart of the Blue Mountains and home to two of its most famous attractions: Echo Point and The Three Sisters, recognised as a place of cultural significance to the Aboriginal people of the area. Stretch your legs (and work off your Josophan’s purchases) by heading off on the impossibly scenic Three Sisters walk that takes in Lady Game lookout, the Giant Stairway and Honeymoon Bridge, which links to the first rock formation (or sister), or book a walking tour with Tread Lightly Eco Tours .

The main attraction in Katoomba has to be Echo Point and The Three Sisters. (Image: DNSW)

Honeymoon Bridge Blue Mountains — The views from Honeymoon Bridge on the Three Sisters walk. (Image: DNSW)

Another non-negotiable Katoomba icon is a ride on Scenic World ’s vertiginous Scenic Railway as it plummets through the lush vegetation to the Jamison Valley below.

Scenic World’s Scenic Railway — Don’t miss a ride on Scenic World’s vertiginous Scenic Railway above Jamison Valley. (Image: DNSW)

Stop for a drink or high tea

You can recover from all the heights and hiking with lunch and a glass of something cool at Bar NSW at The Lookout at Echo Point, or book in for a grand high tea (accompanied by equally grand views of the Megalong Valley) at the historic Hydro Majestic in nearby Medlow Bath.

Hydro Majestic high tea — Book high tea at the historic Hydro Majestic in nearby Medlow Bath. (Image: DNSW)

Katoomba to Oberon: for green valleys and caves

Blackheath

If visiting in November you will find the streets of Blackheath lined with colour during the annual rhododendron festival, and the queue outside Anonymous Cafe twice as long as patrons wait for what many consider the best coffee in the Mountains; book Parkside at Blackheath, a gracious 1930s mountain cottage that has been meticulously transformed into a chic place to stay to make a weekend out of it. Passing through the charming town of Blackheath, the Great Western Highway continues on to Mount Victoria, where the road commences to weave its way this way and that down the escarpment at Victoria Pass. Keep one eye on the road and the other on the breathtaking views as you descend.

Spend the night in Hartley

Once the landscape finally evens out, you’ll find yourself driving through wide open countryside dotted with grazing horses and cows (at dawn and twilight the grassy flats are populated with kangaroos, a sight that just never grows old). Stop at Hartley Historic Site , one of the best collections of historic buildings in the country. Visit the art gallery in town and stay overnight in one of the unique heritage properties, such as St Bernard’s Presbytery .

Stop at Hartley Historic Site, one of the best collections of historic buildings in the country. (Image: DNSW)

Jenolan Caves

When you see the turn off for Oberon coming up on your left, take it. The drive to Jenolan Caves along Jenolan Caves Road takes less than an hour but be sure to book ahead due to Covid-19 restrictions. Billed as ‘Australia’s Most Spectacular Caves’, school excursions here were a rite of passage for generations of NSW kids, and the stalagmites, stalactites and fossils still fascinate. Stay at heritage-listed Caves House for more time to explore. Go on a guided tour of the jaw-dropping caves and bushwalk to spot rare native animals including brush-tailed rock wallabies.

Oberon

Another 30 minutes in the car delivers you to the lovely rural community of Oberon, where the headlining attraction is Mayfield Garden, the largest cool-climate garden in the world. You can spend hours wandering through meticulously manicured gardens, grottoes, woodland plantings, and past fountains, ponds and even a Chinese pagoda. The menu at the on-site cafe uses produce grown in the gardens themselves or supplied by local partners, while the pièce de résistance is the Mayfield Garden Glampsite, which operates during the autumn and comes with the bonus of exclusive early-morning and evening access to the garden.

Stay at Mayfield Garden Glampsite, if you’re visiting during autumn. (Image: DNSW)

Oberon to Bilpin: for crunch time in apple country

The town of Lithgow is the gateway for the Bells Line of Road, which climbs the ridge on the outskirts of town through the thick bush that cascades down into the Grose Valley. The landscape here is still scarred by the Black Summer bushfires of 2019/20, but there are signs of regeneration in the green leaves sprouting at odd angles from charred trunks and branches.

Bilpin is the epicentre of apple country, and the perfect place to fill up a basket. (Image: DNSW)

Stay the night in a garden cottage

Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens at Mount Tomah were thankfully spared from the worst ravages of the fires. Its 28 hectares of curated cool-climate gardens give way to 244 hectares of wilderness within the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Greater Blue Mountains. An insider’s secret is that you can actually stay for the night within the gardens at the delightfully named Camellia Cottage.

Bilpin

The sleepy hamlet of Bilpin is the epicentre of apple country, and the perfect place to fill up a basket and take some local produce home. You can pick your own apples straight from the tree at one of the many family-owned-and-run orchards in the area, including Bilpin Springs Orchard or Shields Orchard, or sip the products made from them: Hillbilly Cider offers up sweet ciders and delicious wood-fire pizza or drop in to Bilpin Cider for its Picnic on the Farm baskets (definitely order ahead), which can be enjoyed sitting on the grass behind the cellar door.

Hillbilly Cider offers up sweet ciders and delicious wood-fired pizza. (Image: DNSW)

Kurrajong & Richmond

Leaving Bilpin loaded up with apples, you are heading into the lush, green Hawkesbury region, which is earning quite a reputation for the quality of its produce and alcohol. Stop off at Kurrajong Village to browse the eccentric old wares at the Kurrajong Antique Centre, or make time to stroll around the historic centre of Richmond, one of the five original Macquarie Towns established by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810.

Views out over North Richmond and the Hawkesbury River. (Image: DNSW)

The Hawkesbury region: for a foodie trail

Now it’s time to indulge in a foodie trail through the towns that thrive on the banks of the Hawkesbury River. Download a Harvest Farm Gate Trail map and follow its path through the likes of Richmond, Windsor, Wilberforce and South Maroota stopping to buy everything from farm-fresh fruit to chestnuts to award-winning meats.

Ebenezer & Grose Vale

Visit Tizzana Winery in the tiny village of Ebenezer (where you should stop in at Ebenezer Church with its cemetery filled with heritage gravestones), which looks like it has been transported straight from Tuscany and produces dry whites and reds from its vines. For something a little stronger, head to Karu Distillery , in Grose Vale for tastings of a weekend.

Sackville

And, as if to prove its foodie credentials, the Hawkesbury has its own local star chef in residence. Martin Boetz’s Cooks Shed is a 20-minute drive from Windsor at Sackville, where the award-winning chef holds dining events out of a stylishly rustic corrugated iron shed.

Walk it off at Dharug National Park

Before leaving the area and heading back to Sydney, spend some time in Dharug National Park, where you can walk or ride along the historic Old Great North Road, built by hundreds of convicts between 1826 and 1836. Or stay a little longer by booking a night (or two) floating on a houseboat on the river , sipping your Ironbark Gin and enjoying the quiet.

Make sure you stay up to date with the road conditions before you set off with the latest travel alerts at Visit NSW.

Hawkesbury houseboat. — End your trip with a night or more on a houseboat. (Image: DNSW)

Download our beautifully illustrated map of NSW’s best road trips (pictured below) or find the giant wall map inside issue 90 of Australian Traveller magazine.

Map of the best road trips in NSW — Illustration: Mike Rossi

Thredbo in summer is a nature lover’s dream of show-stopping alpine beauty, cool mountain air and magical moonlit adventure.

For many of us, Thredbo calls to mind shimmering slopes and snow-dusted gums, but come summer, this Alpine resort transforms into a playground of an entirely different kind. A cool mountain retreat despite the season, Thredbo summer hikes are astonishingly beautiful, criss-crossing over dramatic peaks, pristine glacial lakes and abundant flora and fauna.

From approachable tracks for novice walkers to more challenging hikes across the Main Range and even journeys under moonlight, Thredbo puts on an unforgettable show of natural splendour all summer. Lace up your walking boots and take the chairlift from Thredbo village to embark on a self-guided exploration or a tour of the Snowy Mountains’ most compelling landscapes.

These eight unforgettable hiking experiences are only available in summer and offer an alpine adventure like you’ve never experienced before.

1. Full Moon Hike to Mt Kosciuszko

There’s something almost mystical about hiking by the light of a full moon. This guided experience begins with a 15-minute chairlift ride, where you’ll admire the Thredbo Valley below, bathed in the fading sun.

Once at the top, you’ll pass rivers, alpine lakes and spot nocturnal wildlife on your way to the Kosciuszko Lookout and Lake Cootapatamba. By the time you reach the summit, sunset is well underway as you watch day give way to night and the alpine landscape magically illuminated by the lunar glow. Enjoy a hot chocolate here before following the path back to Eagles Nest, brightened by the night sky.

This 13-kilometre hike will take place on 3 January, 2 February, and 2 April in 2026.

2. Super Full Moon Hike

Super Full Moon Hike in thredbo — Take in the might of a super full moon.

The only thing that could level up the celestial beauty of a full moon hike would be a super full moon hike . Following the same route, you’ll meet the moon when it is largest and closest to Earth by ascending to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko at an elevation of 2228 metres. From such a height, it almost feels as though you could reach out and touch its glowing surface.

Given the rarity and splendour of the super full moon, limited spots fill up fast for this awe-inspiring hike, so be sure to book the 5 December in advance.

3. Lunar Eclipse Hike

Thredbo Lunar Eclipse Hike — See dazzling celestial displays.

What could be more extraordinary than witnessing a lunar eclipse from Australia’s highest peak? Whether you’re a keen astronomer or simply revel in nature’s beauty, this guided 13-kilometre hike will place you on top of Mount Kosciuszko just as Earth passes between the sun and moon, throwing shade over the lunar surface before transforming it with a deep-red hue.

It’s an epic place to witness one of our galaxy’s most spectacular and rare light shows. Apart from the dazzling celestial display, you’ll also enjoy walking through the moon-bathed landscape, an evening chairlift ride, and a hot chocolate at the summit.

Book now for 3 March.

4. New Moon Hike

New Moon Hike Mt Kosciuszko — Catch the changing skies of a new moon.

A stargazer’s delight, the darkness of a new moon gives the Milky Way full permission to dazzle with its shimmering display. Both astronomers and photographers will relish this opportunity to observe and capture the starry skyscape from the lofty height of Australia’s highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko. Departing Thredbo Village at dusk and leaving its twinkling lights far below, you’ll arrive at the summit in time to see the sun slip away and the stars appear.

Catch this hike during the new moon lunar phase on 20 December, 19 January, 17 February, 19 March or 17 April.

5. Thredbo River Track

Embark on a gentle entry into the Snowy Mountain scenery with an amble along the Thredbo River. This self-guided hike hugs the river and wanders along the valley floor, revealing snow gum forests, swimming holes and little waterfalls that make for revitalising cold plunges in the summer heat.

6. Merritts Nature Track

Merritts Nature Track thredbo summer hikes — Stop at swimming holes along the way.

On warm summer days, venturing into the cooler air of Thredbo’s alpine tracks offers relief from the heat. Particularly if you set course for the four-kilometre Merritts Nature Track , where there are opportunities to take a refreshing dip in swimming holes along the way.

The two-to-three-hour self-guided hike meanders through towering ancient trees (dubbed the ‘Pixie Forest’ by locals), takes in stunning mountain vistas and is soundtracked by the melody of birdsong. Stop for a picnic and discover a hidden natural infinity pool, the location of which is given away by the roar of a cascading waterfall.

7. Mt Kosciuszko Summit Tour

Follow a guide along Mt Kosciuszko's summit. — Follow a guide along Mt Kosciuszko’s summit.

While you can easily steer yourself to Australia’s most iconic peak without a guide, following an expert guide to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko will colour your experience with a deeper knowledge of the landscape and its wild inhabitants. The 13-kilometre return trail puts the alpine scenery on display with 360-degree views from the highest spot in the country.

The walk begins at the top of the Kosciuszko Chairlift and takes around four to six hours to complete, but is gentle enough to be embarked upon by all ages.

8. Snowies Alpine Walk Experience

If you’re looking to truly untether from daily life and embark on a real immersion in Thredbo’s stunning alpine scenery, pack your hiking boots for the newest multi-day walk in the mountains. The Snowies Alpine Walk can be tackled over two or three days and includes nightly accommodation in the iconic Thredbo Alpine Hotel, daily buffet breakfast, packed lunch and dinner vouchers, plus daily transfers to and from trail heads in a brand-new Defender.

The two-day experience covers 24 kilometres, while the three-day experience almost doubles that at 44 kilometres. Along the way, explore barely trod landscapes, vast high-country plains and uplifting mountain horizons.

Discover the full offering of summer hikes in Thredbo at thredbo.com.au.

The great road trips of NSW: Greater Blue Mountains itinerary