Backpackers in Sydney for Winter

If you prefer the cold to heat, especially if seeking to escape the northern summer, the best time to visit Sydney could be in the Australian winter from 1 June to 31 August.
As one of the world's great backpacker travel destinations, Sydney offers a myriad of winter escape options for backpacking and adventure travel.

New South Wales' temperate winter climate (it really doesn't get that cold if you campare it to where i'm from) ensures the famous Sydney harbour, dynamic food scene and vibrant cityscape is perfect year round - and the ideal destination for a winter break.

Sydney hosts many different festivals and some of Australia's largest social and cultural events over the winter months.

Some of these include the Biennale of Sydney - the international festival of contemporary art held every two years since 1973, the Sydney Film Festival and many other smaller film festivals and Sydney's new winter festival - a magical winter wonderland of real snow from the Snowy Mountains recreating the splendour of alpine winter celebrations.

In Sydney, Backpackers find that winter really isn't harsh and the weather's generally very pleasant. It's great for touring the city on foot and for bushwalking.

Backpackers in Sydney (and Australia in general) find it VERY hard to believe that there are great SKI RESORTS IN AUSTRALIA!!  From Sydney, the ski resorts are really not that far away- see more about the snow below!!

Holiday time

It doesn't make a difference to backpackers in Sydney, as every day is a holiday, but during the winder Australian public holidays include the Queen's Birthday holiday weekend in June and the school holidays in July. Aside from within those periods, cheap accommodation in Sydney will be easy to find.

Winter activities

• The weather's fine for a  tour of Sydney. Visit The Rocks, Sydney Opera House, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australian Museum, Hyde Park, Chinatown or Darling Harbour.
• Go on a Sydney Harbour Cruise. At the very least, take a Sydney ferry and cross the harbour to Manly.
• Spot the whales as they travel north in the whale migration season. A great spot is from Watsons Bay and The Gap National Park, or come to reception to organise a whale watching trip on a boat.
• Go bushwalking, at the Royal National Park, south of Sydney, just a train ride away from Jolly Swagman Backpackers Sydney Hostel
• Sample Sydney cuisine.
• Take a day trip to the Blue Mountains which is out in the west of Sydney and experience the beauty of these majestic mountains.
• If you feel like skiing, drive - or take an organised bus tour - to the Snowy Mountains. Note that accommodation in the ski resorts can be expensive and difficult to find unless you've booked well in advance - just ask Jolly Swagman Backpackers Sydney Hostel staff to sort this for you.
• Australia's mild winters mean that in most parts of Australia, regular outdoor sports can be played all year, and indeed more vigorous sports are more comfortably played in winter. Australian rules football and rugby league, the two most popular spectator sports in Australia, are played primarily in winter.

When it's summer in northern hemisphere countries, get away from the heat and come to the snow, for it'll be winter in Australia.

In New South Wales, in just about half a day by road from Sydney, there's skiing and snowboarding up in the snow, and a roaring fire to come home to.

Travel southwest to Cooma and climb up the Snowy Mountains.

From The Jolly Swagman Backpacckers in Sydney, the closest places for skiing in New South Wales are Thredbo and the Perisher ski resorts - Thredbo being the more familiar and better known, yet Perisher is larger and offers more terrain. Depending on one's preferences, both are great destinations for skiing in New South Wales.   Many Europeans are surprised to find out that we have snow fields in Australia, and most report that they are pleasantly surprised by the quality of the snow and the terrain on offer.

Half a day to the snow
It takes half a day to get to the Snowy, depending on road conditions, and if you're driving and there's snow on the road, you may need to have snow chains fitted to your tyres. Or you can take a charter or tour bus.  The Jolly Hostel in Sydney can organise and recommend the best organised tours for you to take.

You can stay at some lovely resorts ON snow, however if your budget doesn't quite stretch that far (they can be very pricey) you may want to stay at one of the "ski towns" close by, and transfer up and down the mountain each day. You also have the freedom of skiing at the different resorts when you stay at the nearby towns:

COOMA

Some may decide to drop by the Cooma Visitors Centre and find accommodation at Cooma and bus up and down the Snowy instead, leaving early in the morning and coming back at night.  APPROX 75 KMS to the snow fields.

JINDABYNE

The lakeside town of Jindabyne lies 465 kilometers southwest of Sydney just before the snowfields in the Kosciusko national park.APPROX 35 KMS from Snow Fields.

There's a Snowy Region Visitor Centre on Kosciusko Rd in Jindabyne.
If you haven't brought your skiing gear, and don't want to buy skis, boots and skiwear, etc, you can rent them here. They are also available at the ski resorts in Thredbo, Perisher but you'll find it a little more expensive up at the slopes!

Accommodation is available in Jindabyne and one can take to the Perisher slopes through the Ski tube.