I went on a Blue Mountains tour with Happy Coach Tours today, and it was excellent. It's a small bus - 21 passengers plus the driver/guide - and it felt like a small group, like a personalized tour. Our guide, Jimi, was fantastic. He was friendly and cheerful the whole day. Great energy. They picked us up on time from a variety of locations in the city, and then we drove out to Blue Mountains National Park (air-conditioned bus, bonus!). We did a great hike around Wentworth Falls. Jimi's stories and jokes were hilarious, and he knows quite a bit about the local wildlife. We tried to go to a spot to see wild kangaroos, but recent flooding means the road was closed, so no luck there. Next we went to a picnic spot for lunch (included in the tour, one of the selling points for me), and then over to Katoomba falls and the Three Sisters. Another great hike. After this, we went a little off the main road to a lookout over the opposite side of Jamison Valley and the Three Sisters, an excellent view and no other tour groups were there. We were back in the city just after 5:30 as promised. This was a great tour by a superb tour guide, and very good value in my humble opinion at $70 for a full day of activities and lunch included. read more

After exhaustive research on which tour to take to the Blue Mountains, we decided on The Happy Coach. It was perfect for us! The bus is small and air conditioned (a real plus there), and our fearless leader Rod was interesting, knowledgeable and funny. He lived in the Blue Mountains until he was of high school age, so he's very familiar with the area. Rod explained all about what we were seeing, and gave us insights into the Australian culture. We hiked to Wentworth Falls and saw spectacular views, including wild cockatoos. The hike is not at all difficult for anyone who's in fairly decent shape, It is about an hour and includes some ups and downs and stairs, but I'm 66 and my boyfriend is 75 and it was no problem for us. Then we had a bushwalk to Kings Tableland Lookout, which was very impressive indeed (no other coaches there), and then we enjoyed a simple, nourishing lunch in another beautiful spot before going to see the Three Sisters. Then we headed for home. Rod not only navigated the trails beautifully, but navigated us through Sydney traffic just as well. We had a wonderful time and recommend this tour to anyone who wants to see The Blue Mountains in all their natural splendor, do something other than winetasting, shopping, and cuddling native animals held in captivity. I can never recommend that! It's a long day, and the drive to the Blue Mountains takes about two hours - but it's well worth the trip! read more

My husband and I decided to use Happy Coach tours on our honeymoon this past week - and it was an excellent choice! They have a small coach (and small group size) of about 18-20 people, which was so much better than a large tour. They pick you up at certain spots throughout Sydney, and we chose the Sydney Central YHA. Our crowd was young and lively, which made it so fun. Our tour guide, Rod, was knowledgeable and gave us great tips without overloading us with details. We also got to see some beautiful, secluded spots throughout the day which we really appreciated - the Three Sisters ended up being our least favorite because it was overrun by tourists! Make sure you bring your camera and a sense of adventure, I highly recommend Happy Coach! Thanks again Rod! read more