Never been to snowfields in NSW. Am flying into sydney and have booked 5 nights in thredbo I would love information on the cheapest way to get there. There are 3 adults and a child and one adult is a skier. We had thought cheapest option was to hire a car but didnt know till now about the daily national park fee. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Return coach from Sydney including Nat fee is $195/adult. Greyhound and Murray's Coaches service this route.
You can always drop your family and gear off then drive back down the road and park car at Ski tube and then hitch a ride back to Thredbo.
You would still have to pay the daily entry fee ($27 per day?) to drop your gear/family off, and then again to pick them up, but you would save the 3/4 days in the middle.
That idea doen't work for people who have to hire a car because they still have to pay for everyday the car is in their possession. They also have to pay for two days of Nat park fee. Save just a bit, but lots more to do.
In my opinion I would hire a car. Sure it's a long way and costs would mount for days hired. But you don't have to hire from a main stream company which costs a lot. Plus there's the flexibility to be a tourist and go site seeing if the weather craps out. Go for a drive to Dead horse gap and beyond or back towards Jindy. You can only see the museum at Thredbo so many times...
You wont have to pay to drop people off. Technically you probably SHOULD but you wont need to. Just drive through the pass holders lane and drop everyone off. You dont need to pay the entry if you are "passing through" the park, only if you are parking.
thank you for the replies.. If we could get away with the option of dropping off and then parking at the ski tube then it would be better. we have looked at the bus timetables and thought about the greyhound but the trip back seems to be a massive production to get in to sydney.. doesnt get in till after 11pm which doesnt work out with a flight back to perth and we would have less than 12 hours in a hotel if we flew back the next day. After paying for flights and accommodation for five days we are pretty hard pressed to stay in sydney longer than we need too. My sister has a 10 year old who would probably go spare on a bus for hours.. not to mention my 43 yr old snowboarder.. ( he reckons going to falls creek was much easier.)
Just my opinion, rent the car, cheapest you can that works and pay the daily fee, when its time to leave you don't need the production of getting back to ski tube to get it. I'm not sure if anyone has told you this but I am not aware of any regular tube terminal to thredbo service, you will be hitching, both ways.
Check out arguscarhire.com.au. They'll rent you a car from one of the major operators but at a much lower price. We've used them before and a 4WD in Canada for 10 days was about 40% cheaper than going direct to the same hire place.
I dunno, my understanding is not only do you have to have a valid Kosi park permit or exemption just to drive into the park, but also the booth staff will likely check your window and advise such (during opening hours of the access gate/booths anyway), unless you just drive through quickly/ignoring them. Dunno, would have to check the website fine print or see what other more learned folk say. I spose you could just drive through quickly/ignore them to go and drop-off etc.
If you are just driving through and not stopping you do not need a pass. We do this regularly going to either Melbourne or the Vic resorts. If there is someone in the ticket office they ask us where we are going and give us a free transit pass.
Re: dropping off in the National Park without a park access permit: Having not been into Kosi Nat Park for over 3 years, I confirmed last week that the Alpine Way access is great these days offering an easy Through-Lane for any vehicles that don't wish to stop at all, in addition to 2 other booth lanes which is good. So anyone can just drive into there any time by the looks (which is what we did, to temporarily unload a whole heap of gear in 1 of our cars, before driving it back down to Bullock's Flat for overnight parking). It's just once in there the National Parks staff can check windscreens for permits etc. (and I imagine they do so regularly, tho I didn't see any of them doing it anywhere while I was there), mostly for vehicles parked in day & overnight carparks etc. I guess.
We see the rangers regularly. They wander through the day and overnight car parks while people are skiing. The come by our lodge car park but are pretty good. They give you a chance to buy a pass within a short time. If you arrive from the south or in the middle of the night you cannot buy a pass at that time. They usually tell the lodge manager if he is around.
When we arrive late we leave a note on the dashboard saying "Dear Mr Ranger - please don't book us for not having a pass as the booth was shut when we arrived. We'll buy one in the morning from the newsagent as attach it before we go skiing". Never had a problem.
Getting "booked" doesn't invoke any fine as long as you pay for a pass within a certain period (14 days I believe). Newsagent in Thredbo no longer sells National Parks passes but I think the information centre does. You can also pay at parks office in Jindabyne if travelling back at an appropriate hour. If you get a lodge with lockup garage, no pass required
Agreed, have been 'fined' at other parks and it's really just a request to pay. If paid quickly it's not even any additional cost over and above the relevant fee.
Grew up in Perth, ya just don't appreciate the access to the snow living on the east coast gives you. But then again, I can no longer just duck down to MR for a windsurf can I !!
I can't imagine living in like Park City or something.. or in an actual resort. That would be good for a bit
In January we stayed in a place full of people who were spending the season in Myoko. It's a much better way to get a feel for the culture than simply breezing in and out in a week. All-you-can-eat skiing would be awesome too.
Thank you so much for all your information guys. We have booked a hire care from sydney and managed to get a good deal. Found out few companies cover for snow. The one we went with has a one off fee of $30 and a good rates so between three adults with the daily fee for the national park we are up for $190 each. We have the freedom of a car when if we want to go exploring and my sister doesnt have to pay two bus fares which would have been another at least $100. Its a rav 4 and not too bad on fuel. I went with bayswater hire cars (no birds i think its called over the) because a friend over here works for toyota dealer that sells them the cars. We had a good chat about the fuel economy of the car on a long drive and the size in relation to getting 3 adults a child a snow board bag and assorted luggage in it. Basically we are all set the only other thing was wondering about was cheap eats. We have dinner on two nights and breakfast provided for 5 days..
