Blue Mountains Tours With a Wildlife Park: Featherdale or Sydney Zoo, Six Days Compared
In short
Six Blue Mountains day tours from Sydney fold in a wildlife park. Three include Featherdale Wildlife Park at Doonside, two include Sydney Zoo at Bungarribee, and the best-selling all-inclusive day lets you pick either with 24 hours' notice. Featherdale keeps Australian native animals only; Sydney Zoo adds exotic species. Neither lets you hold a koala: New South Wales law forbids it.
All six are among the Blue Mountains tours from Sydney, and the park is the one line on each listing that is easy to misread. Some name the park, some only say wildlife, and one private day makes a park stop that its fare does not pay for.
Six Blue Mountains tours with a wildlife park, side by side
| Tour | Wildlife park | From | Rating | Scenic World | Lunch | Group max | Way home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depart Syd: Blue Mountains Best All Inclusive with Local Guide | Your choice of Featherdale or Sydney Zoo | From $209 | 4.9 (9,717) | Included | Included | 20 | Ferry to Circular Quay |
| Small Group Blue Mountains, Wildlife & Scenic World Day Tour | Sydney Zoo | From $136 | 4.6 (998) | Included | Not included | 35 | Coach |
| Blue Mountains Tour: Deluxe Small Group, ScenicWorld, Featherdale | Featherdale | From $168 | 4.9 (255) | Included | Not included | 20 | Ferry fare not included |
| Exclusive Blue Mountains Wildlife and Bushwalk Tour From Sydney | Featherdale | From $146 | 4.7 (1,128) | Not included | Not included | 23 | Coach to central Sydney |
| Blue Mountains Day Tour With Bushwalks, Waterfalls & Featherdale | Featherdale | From $146 | 4.8 (360) | Not included | Not included | 23 | Coach |
| Blue Mountains PRIVATE Day Tour from Sydney plus Wildlife Park | Sydney Zoo | From $385 | 4.9 (208) | Not included | Not included | Private, min 3 | River cruise to near the Opera House |
Every one of the six refunds in full if you cancel up to 24 hours before it starts. Prices are per person.
Check dates for the all-inclusive day
Featherdale or Sydney Zoo: what is the difference?
Both sit on the western edge of Sydney, on the way to the mountains rather than in them, and both are a short detour off the Great Western Highway. The difference is what lives there. Featherdale is a native-animal park: more than 2,000 Australian animals from over 260 species, including more than 60 threatened species, with around 50 koalas across six habitat areas on seven acres. Sydney Zoo opened in December 2019 and is a zoo in the full sense, with over 4,000 animals from more than 150 species across five precincts, exotic as well as native.
| At a glance | Featherdale Wildlife Park | Sydney Zoo |
|---|---|---|
| Where | 217 Kildare Road, Doonside | Bungarribee, off the Great Western Highway, 40 minutes from the city centre |
| Open | 8am to 5pm every day | 9am to 4pm every day |
| Animals | 2,000+ Australian natives, 260+ species | 4,000+ animals, 150+ species, native and exotic |
| Koalas | Around 50, across six habitat areas | Yes, with a paid Koala Encounter |
| Hold a koala? | No | No |
| Also there | Three walk-through kangaroo and wallaby habitats | Australia's largest Reptile and Nocturnal House, an aquarium |
| Gate price | A$49 an adult, A$29 a child aged 3 to 15, under 3 free | On the zoo's own ticket page |
If the point of the day is Australian animals, Featherdale is the more concentrated visit. If the group includes someone who would rather see a lion or a reptile house, Sydney Zoo covers more ground, on wide, flat paths with no hills or steps.
Can you hold a koala at either park?
No, and no tour can arrange it. Featherdale's own answer is plain: it is against the law in New South Wales to hold a koala without the appropriate accreditation. What each park sells instead is close contact under a keeper's eye.
- Featherdale: the Personal Koala Experience lets you pat a koala under a zookeeper's guidance and comes with a souvenir photo package, at extra cost. Keeper-led encounters also run through the day, including Koala Kindy at 9:15am and 9:45am.
- Sydney Zoo: the Koala Encounter lets up to four people hand-feed a koala and pose for a photo, at A$100 a person on top of zoo admission, for ages four and up, at 11:15am and 2:30pm.
- On a tour: the Sydney Zoo coach day includes a digital photo with a koala in its fare.
Each park day, one by one
In the same order as the table, with what each fare carries and who it suits.
1. The all-inclusive day that lets you choose the park
From $209 a person, 4.9 from 9,717 reviews, ten hours, twenty guests at most. The fare carries lunch, a Scenic World pass covering the Railway, Skyway, Cableway and rainforest boardwalk, entry to Featherdale or Sydney Zoo, and a ferry back to Circular Quay instead of the evening traffic. It suits a first visit where nothing should be left to pay on the day. If you are weighing the pass itself, is Scenic World worth it works through the rides one by one.
2. The coach day with Sydney Zoo, Scenic World and a koala photo
From $136 a person, 4.6 from 998 reviews, eleven hours, up to 35 on the coach. It includes Sydney Zoo entry, a digital photo with a koala, the Scenic World Unlimited Discovery Pass, Leura, and the Gordon Falls and Cahill's lookouts, with water, snacks and gratuities. All meals are extra. It suits the widest range of animals at the lowest fare of the six, and a group happy to share a full-size coach.
3. The deluxe small-group day with Scenic World and Featherdale
From $168 a person, 4.9 from 255 reviews, ten hours, twenty guests at most, with pickup from six central Sydney hotels between 7:00 and 7:30am. Entry to Scenic World and Featherdale is included, and the walking is relaxed only, with no hiking at all. Lunch and the Parramatta River ferry fare are not in the price. It suits anyone for whom stairs decide the booking.
Small Group Blue Mountains, Wildlife & Scenic World Day Tour
A Scenic World Discovery Pass, Sydney Zoo and the lookouts, with no hiking at all.
From $136 per person
Check Availability
Blue Mountains Tour: Deluxe Small Group, ScenicWorld, Featherdale
Pickup from one of six named hotels, a Scenic World pass, and relaxed walks only.
From $168 per person
Check Availability4. The bushwalk-and-wildlife day with Featherdale
From $146 a person, 4.7 from 1,128 reviews, ten hours, 23 guests at most. Featherdale admission comes with guided bushwalking of up to an hour, including Wentworth Falls, a Three Sisters stop at Echo Point and a guide who brings in Aboriginal cultural insight. The itinerary moves with the weather, and lunch is extra. It suits walkers who still want the koalas.
5. The waterfalls day with Featherdale and free time in Leura
From $146 a person, 4.8 from 360 reviews, ten hours, 23 guests at most. Featherdale entry, guided bushwalks, the Three Sisters at Echo Point and free time of your own in Leura or Katoomba. Lunch is extra. It suits someone who wants time off the schedule to find lunch in the village.
6. The private day with Sydney Zoo and a river cruise home
From $385 a person, 4.9 from 208 reviews, ten hours, a minimum booking of three, and the mini coach is yours alone. Sydney Zoo entry is included, the guide covers Aboriginal culture, and the day ends by river cruise near the Opera House. Food and drinks are extra. It suits a family or small group that wants the zoo without a timetable set by strangers.
Which tour lets you choose between the two parks?
Only one: the all-inclusive day. It takes you to Featherdale or Sydney Zoo, whichever you ask for, as long as you give 24 hours' notice. The choice comes with the standard fare only. The same day sold without lunch excludes the wildlife preference, so the cheaper version cannot promise either park.
Is a wildlife park worth part of a Blue Mountains day?
If seeing a koala is part of the reason for the trip, yes. Both parks sit on the western edge of Sydney, on the road to the mountains, so a park adds a stop rather than a separate journey. It still takes time: Featherdale suggests about two hours to see its collection properly, and a day that stops there has less of it up on the escarpment.
Closing times matter too. Sydney Zoo closes at 4pm and Featherdale at 5pm, so neither can be the last stop on a day that stays out for the sunset. On price, the fares with both a park and Scenic World sit in the middle and upper part of the range; what a Blue Mountains tour costs sets out what each inclusion adds to the fare.
Would you rather see animals in the wild?
Then leave the parks out. Two days go looking for animals in the open instead, and both are among the Blue Mountains sunset tours. Nobody can promise a wild animal will show, and neither listing does.
- The late-start wild kangaroo and sunset day, From $155 a person, 4.9 from 140 reviews, ten guests at most. Guided walks at Govetts Leap, Sublime Point, Wentworth Falls and the Megalong Valley, a pie lunch, and cheese and wine at twilight.
- The sunset waterfalls wildlife day, From $113 a person, 4.7 from 1,067 reviews. Guided bushwalks and chances to spot Australian wildlife in its natural habitat, with no park on the itinerary.
Private days with a park
Two of the Blue Mountains private tours involve a park, and they handle it differently. The private Sydney Zoo day includes the zoo in its fare and comes home by river cruise. The Escape the Crowds private tour, From $330 a person and seven guests at most, can make Featherdale an optional first stop, but its admission is not in the fare, and neither is Scenic World's. Budget the gate price on top if you want it.
Tours that leave the park out
Most walking days and all the sunset days carry no park. The clearest case is the waterfall walk day with lunch, From $86 a person and 4.8 from 2,939 reviews: it lists Sydney Zoo and Scenic World among its exclusions by name. It is a well-reviewed day in the mountains, and the wrong one to book for koalas.
Can you visit Featherdale on your own instead?
Yes, and it is easy by public transport. Take the North Shore and Western line to Blacktown, then the 729 bus from stand E, a ten-minute ride to the park gates. Featherdale is open 8am to 5pm every day, including public holidays, and entry is A$49 an adult, A$29 a child aged 3 to 15, and free under 3.
Which one should you book?
- You want to choose the park and pay nothing on the day: the all-inclusive day.
- You want the most animal variety plus Scenic World: the Sydney Zoo coach day.
- You want Australian animals and no stairs: the deluxe Featherdale day.
- You would rather walk: the bushwalk-and-wildlife day or the waterfalls day, both with Featherdale.
- You want your own vehicle: the private Sydney Zoo day.
- You want animals in the wild: the late-start kangaroo day.
If a wildlife park is only one of several things you are weighing, which Blue Mountains tour from Sydney sorts the four kinds of day first. Travelling with children, read the Blue Mountains with kids for minimum ages and pace.
Frequently asked questions
Park questions first; fees, weather and what to bring are in the Blue Mountains tour FAQs.
Which Blue Mountains tours include Featherdale Wildlife Park?
Which Blue Mountains tours include Sydney Zoo?
Can you hold a koala in Sydney?
Is Featherdale or Sydney Zoo better for Australian animals?
Is Sydney Zoo the zoo on Sydney Harbour?
Can you cancel a Blue Mountains tour with a wildlife park?
Pick the park first, then the day around it — Blue Mountains Tours lists every fare with its inclusions.
Four park days worth a look
Depart Syd: Blue Mountains Best All Inclusive with Local Guide
Scenic World, a wildlife park, lunch and the ferry home, all inside one fare.
From $209 per person
Check AvailabilitySmall Group Blue Mountains, Wildlife & Scenic World Day Tour
A Scenic World Discovery Pass, Sydney Zoo and the lookouts, with no hiking at all.
From $136 per person
Check AvailabilityBlue Mountains Tour: Deluxe Small Group, ScenicWorld, Featherdale
Pickup from one of six named hotels, a Scenic World pass, and relaxed walks only.
From $168 per person
Check Availability
Exclusive Blue Mountains Wildlife and Bushwalk Tour From Sydney
Featherdale entry and an hour of guided bushwalking, with pickup in central Sydney.
From $146 per person
Check Availability