Blue Diamond Tours vs Anderson Tours?

[lhall85917]

Any advice on comparisons between the two? Blue Diamond is slightly higher, has a smaller group size, but doesn't include cable car tickets at Scenic World; however they are rated #1 on TripAdvisor. We originally booked Anderson's but now aren't sure. Both seem to include basically the same itineraries but in a different order.

[Northern Aurora]

The DH and I took a tour to the Blue Mountains with Blue Diamond on December 2nd. While I can't compare Blue Diamond to the other company, I can say that we were very pleased with Blue Diamond. While we had originally looked at two other companies we booked Blue Diamond on the recommendation of the concierge at our hotel (the Sir Stamford at Circular Quay). We could not have been happier with Blue Diamond and have no qualms in recommending them.

 

Blue Diamond is a small company with two Mercedes Benz busses. There were eight people on our tour. Alena was able to re-arrange our schedule since that morning there was some mist at the mountains. We stopped at Featherdale first, and then onto the Blue Mountains where the weather had cleared. She also took us to an undeveloped spot where we were the only people! No other tour groups were there! The tour also included a morning stop at a bakery for delicious scones and later a full lunch.

 

The tram tickets at Scenic World are not included in the basic fare, but are indeed added on if you choose to do it. All of the people in our group did the tram, but any one with a fear of heights would have problems. In that case, they could just ride around the other side in the bus.

[shorefolks]

We used Anderson. While we saw a lot, we felt the tour could have been run much better. The driver showed us a lot, but he talked incessantly- to the point where you started to tune him out regardless of how interested you were. He took way too much time doing a boomerang demo at a park. When he ended, we discovered that he had left the AC on while the engine was off, thus killing the battery. Tour members ended up pushing the bus to jump start it. Finally, the tour ends up with a river boat ride to Circular Quay, which the bus driver does not go on, obviously. Because of all the delays during the day, we almost did not make the last boat back and, indeed, ended up taking a boat to another stop and hopping onto a ferry to get to Circular Quay.

 

We did see a lot, but it was just too sloppily managed for us.

[sandyfitz]

We also used Anderson and we do not have any complains I can recommend them.

[boingy300]

We just got back and had done a tour with Blue Diamond. Rob our guide (and owner) was incredibly organized and kept us moving. It was Chinese New Year so the lifts (cableway) were congested and the railway is closed for a few months- adding to the congestion at the cable way. Rob got us in ahead of the crowds. This isn't a tour if you want to spend a lot of time in one place, but it's very good if you are limited on time and want to see a lot. Pet a kaola, get a picture move on kind of a pace. There wasn't anything I didn't get to see and would consider future tours of the area with him if he expands. I'll try to organize some pics- still sorting them out. My email is oslerfamily@gmail.com if anyone has specific questions. I would add that I liked the ize of the group vs. the busload with greyline, but other than seeing the buses pull up together I can't comment on any other tours.

Karen

[pattyj 1204]

Thanks for the information. My husband wants to see the Mountains, and I know he likes smaller sized groups. This just might work for us. I'll do some research and check the prices. He likes to take pictures, is there time for that?? I'd love to see your pictures Boingy300. Pat

[boingy300]

I actually took a lot of pictures of the tour. If he wants > 30 min/stop then I'd recommend just going to the Blue Mountains for the day. This stop, I felt gave us a reasonable amount of time to capture nice photos, while still covering a good deal. We also got to go to the Olympic area and return via boat to the harbor.

Let's see if this works:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/113196241918682540720/albums/5848999426719564097

Karen

[pattyj 1204]

Boingy300, Thanks so much for the slideshow. Beautiful pictures. I know that Gordy (my husband) will be looking at them tomorrow. He was in Australia for business about 10 years ago and said it was someplace that he really wanted to see. Time and excessive heat prevented it at that time. maybe we'll have better luck this time. Thanks again. Pat