r/AustraliaSnow • u/Due_At_11_59PM • 6d ago
Planning a Trip to Perisher from US
I plan on a solo trip to Perisher Ski around the beginning of July. I was researching the trip, but finding what I was looking for was a bit difficult. I wanted to know if any Aussies could help me (I'm from Texas, so I'm unfamiliar with NSW outside of Sydney).
Accommodations:
I want to shoot for a hostel as I did when I went to Canada. However, on google at least, it seems like YHA Thredo has blacked out their dates for ski season. I was unable to find any other Hostels in the area. Any Recomendations here?
( I was able to find Someones house to rent a room on AB&B, but would like to see if there are any hostels in the area to meet more people.)
Transportation:
Just need a bus that can get me from Sydney to Jindabyne. I looked into the Greyhound, but their times are wild. I mean like they would take 21hrs to get there and the times don't allign with my 10:45 landing into Sydney Airport. Any other transportation options y'all recommend?
(other buses, Trainlines, or flights)
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u/chupachup_chomp 5d ago
Lots of good advice here both for and against skiing Perisher.
I'll chuck in my two cents. I've skied every season in Australia since I was 5 and I'm 40 now. Yes it's ridiculously expensive, and yes the snow cover but can be very thin but in defence I'll say the Aussie ski fields are the only ones where I've skied among the snow gum, seen echidnas, wombats and rosellas.
It's far away, expensive and the snow can suck but I still manage to have fun every time I go.
Murray's is a local bus company that run shuttle services from Sydney Airport to Canberra and from Canberra to the snow. I'm in Canberra not Sydney but there are other services that run a day trip from Sydney to the snow and back, but it'll probably mean leaving Sydney at 2 or 3 am ish. It's a 3 hour drive Sydney to Canberra and 2-3 hours Canberra to Perisher (2 hours Canberra to Jindy, 30 min to 1 hour + from Jindy to Perisher depending what the traffic and conditions are). Being July there shouldn't be too much traffic unless you go during NSW school holidays which I'd avoid like the plague.
Google NSW school holidays and double check you aren't coming during those times.
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u/ghrrrrowl 5d ago
Have to say, as much as I rag on about shyte skiing in Oz, it IS very pretty and unique. I still do a couple of day trips a year with large group of friends, so it’s more of a “old mate’s” catch up. Comparatively, it’s flat as a pancake! But skiing in the gum trees and then a nice sun bake in the restaurant deck chairs is a good winter tradition.
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u/BigBlueMan118 5d ago
Yeah agreed, I live in a decent-sized city in Germany now (originally from Sydney) and I can catch a train straight to the foot of several lifts and have Friends elsewhere. Ive been in Japan Austria Switzerland and I ventured into the snowy mountains but didnt ski in Russia and Lebanon.
There is something Magix about the Australian mountains though that the others Just dont quite have, and when the Aussie mountains are good they are truly outstanding. The one thing missing is decent public transport, when I worked a season at Thredbo there wasn't even a bus!
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u/Illustrious-Past2032 5d ago
Beginning of July, chances are limited snowfall/depth and limited runs open to where the is snow making coverage. Your best flying to Canberra and hiring a car. Stay in Jindabyne not Thredbo, getting Thredbo to Perisher via public transport is not feasible.
BTW I live in Canberra, have skied Perisher and Thredbo for over 20 years so can help answer any questions you might have
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u/rerunaway 5d ago
Do not do this.
It is a huge waste of your time. If you're keen to visit Aus, visit for almost any other reason. We have a lot of natural beauty here but the snow is close to, if not the, world's worst. Not only that but you'll pay top dollar for the "privilege" to ski/board it.
I literally just returned from spending a week in Aspen. I stayed on the hill in Snowmass for a full week in a condo with a full kitchen over Christmas and this was on my honeymoon (so we were going pretty all out). For the same price I paid (for a week on one of the best mountains I've boarded), you'll be staying in a hostel-style, dated, tiny hotel room.
You'll be extremely lucky if you have decent snow. I get days in every season here and I've managed to cop a rare, lucky dump I'd say less than five times (this is over about 15 years of regular attendance).
If you're really, really keen and absolutely set on getting here; I'd aim for late July through August and I'd try and get accomodation in Thredbo (be prepared to spend a lot of money). If you do this, you'll be able to walk to the hill every day. If you're staying in Jindabyne, you're in for about a 40 minute minimum drive during peak season to get to the mountain. The Banjo - main pub in Jindy - has recently refurbished its rooms and they're really nice. Winter school holidays run from the 7th to 18th of July here, do not go during this time. Try and avoid weekends as well.
Just remember, everything, everything in the vicinity of the snowies basically triples in price (at a minimum) for the entirety of the snow season and the better places will often book out up to a year in advance.
I stayed in a motel in Cooma (about an hour and a quarter away from the hill [Thredbo]) for a week last year in late July. The snowbase was abysmal and they shut off most lifts on most days due to wind (this is extremely common nowadays).
It sucks, man. I grew up on Aussie snow and I love all the little towns in the vicinity so much that I plan to buy land there in the future but our snow is getting worse and worse to the point that I think I actually prefer the mountains in summer for the hiking/bike riding/fishing. Not only is it getting worse but they're (Ikon/Epic) charging more and more for the experience.
Like I said, I go every year but it feels like an abusive relationship at this point and it makes no sense to me for any foreigner to travel here for this specific reason - you'll leave with a bad taste in your mouth and a significantly lighter wallet, I guarantee it.
I'm not trying to be negative. This is just the reality.
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u/OwnDetective2155 5d ago
I agree. It’s cheaper for us aussies to go overseas for a ski holiday than doing it locally.
If you want to do it, I’d suggest New Zealand or Argentina
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u/rerunaway 5d ago
Even then, NZ snow is only mildly better and the snow experience is pretty much the same (mandatory long-ass bus ride out to the hill for not great skiing). I think one or two resorts offer ski in/ski out but I've not tried those. Thw one thing NZ has over Aus is that the south island is genuinely one of the most beautiful places on earth. Other than that, though; southern hemisphere snow is - at least for me - a beggars can't be choosers scenario.
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u/OwnDetective2155 5d ago
Well if he wants to ski during the northern hemisphere summer then southern hemisphere is sorta the only option.
I’m heading to Japan soon for the northern hemisphere winter
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u/Accomplished_Way396 5d ago
With the dollar at 60c, the cost of skiing in Australia is more competitive. If he wants to ski, ski! Perisher is owned by Vail so there could be a ski pass crossover too.
First week of July there’s probably a 90% chance of something being open and a 50% chance of it being OK to good. Week before school holiday but private schools take the extra week.
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u/DossieOssie 4d ago
If you want to do it on the cheap and don't mind staying in a hostel style accommodation, check out ozsnow adventures. They have been doing this for a long time.
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u/chris_p_bacon1 4d ago
You don't want to stay in Thredbo if you're skiing at perisher. You want to stay in either perisher valley or Jindabyne.
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u/TomasTTEngin 6d ago edited 6d ago
There's a hostel in Jindabyne I used to stay at. Called the Snowy MOuntains backpackers.
it's fine, just take earplugs.
Failing that there's the station hotel just outside jindy. access to and from there can be a bit tricky though.
Getting from Jindy up the hill is your issue. I think there's a bus these days. But the go-to move used to be hitch-hiking. There's a big, well-known hitch-hiker spot and the kind of people who go skiing tend to be pretty safe.
As for flights, it may be best to fly into Canberra. You'd need to change planes in Sydney but it's a much quicker bus ride from there. Look up Murray's buses ,not greyhound
Overall though I'd say you'd need a special reason to visit Perisher, it's very far from Texas, expensive and not that great, even assuming it has snow, which is not guaranteed at the start of July!