A day trip to magical Blue Mountain is a must-do activity for all tourists who visit Sydney, with different kinds of tours available to address the needs of travellers from all walks of life. If you dislike crowds like us, you may consider this Blue Mountain Sunset Tour from Autopia. The main highlight includes a late departure at 12pm to avoid peak hour traffic jams as well as tourist crowds in Blue Mountain.
Autopia Blue Mountain Sunset Tour
Cost per pax = AU$140.00
(+) Avoid tourist crowds, relatively small tour group (on average of 18 guests), passionate tour guide
(-) Hot afternoon weather is not ideal for trekking, slightly more pricey than usual tours
Preparation
- Advanced booking through the official website is highly encouraged during peak seasons. We booked our trip 2 days in advance, after checking the weather forecast to ensure that we don't do the tour on a rainy day.
- A good pair of trekking shoes definitely helps! Bring a jacket with you as it gets cold while watching sunset at Lincoln Rock.
- Bring sufficient drinking water and snacks. They will come in handy if you are stuck at traffic jam on the way back to CBD. Depending on the traffic condition, you will be dropped off between 8pm to 10pm.
Tour highlights
Lunch at EurokaYour first stop is the Blue Mountains town of Glenbrook. A quick 20-min stop allows you to clear your bladder after a long ride from city centre while the tour guide picks up your lunch from Con’s Continental Deli. For those who wish to stock up your supplies such as snacks and drinking water, this is a good opportunity. However, kindly note that the items here are priced marginally higher (as expected).
After that, your tour guide/driver will bring you to Euroka clearing nearby to enjoy your gourmet sandwich. Euroka clearing is a popular picnic and camping ground, and one of the best places to admire Blue Mountain wildlife at a closer range. As it was close to 2pm by the time we reached, we owned the place to ourselves, awesome! While we didn't see the iconic wild kangaroos (getting rarer nowadays), good news for the bird lovers that we spotted a wide range of bird species. Our tour guide even taught us to attract these cuties with small pieces of sandwich bread.
Someone was really good at this :D
Walk the National Pass to Wentworth Falls
This is probably the only part of tour that requires certain level of fitness. Nonetheless, you can rest assured that it's not a difficult 40-min round trip walk. The view was breathtaking though the early summer heat was not that friendly. :/
The name "Blue Mountain" could not be more apt - a blue haze blankets the region when viewed from a distance. You tour guide will inform you the sciences behind this optical illusion.
Three Sisters Rock Formation
Magnificent view of 3 sisters from Echo Point Lookout. The origin of this unusual rock formation? Our guide joked that any good story with ending being 3 pretty sisters turned into rocks would do the job. We spent about 1.5 hours wandering around the area. If you are adventurous, you can venture further by exploring one of the multiple walking trails. Otherwise, simply relaxing at a cafe/restaurant makes a good afternoon as well.
The Three Sisters rock formation.
Sunset at Lincoln Rock
It would be a great Instagram spot with sun setting as background, provided that you are not afraid of heights (sorry, but not me). It's really cooling up there so make sure you have your jacket with you.
I was awestruck by the beauty of nature even though the sunset was not perfect due to the haze (I am referring to the real haze from Sydney bush fires, hopefully it doesn't spread anymore and the poor animals stay safe).
What a great end to a fulfilling day :)
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