Traveling Safely to Jindabyne
We want you to travel safely to our home and to our beautiful snowy mountains so we have compiled some local knowledge to help you Along your way.
Destination Jindabyne is approximately 2 hours from Canberra & 45 mins from Cooma. Traffic can be heavy on a Friday evening & Sunday evening during winter months, be patient, wait for overtaking lanes and expect wildlife.
If you’re a snow bunny or here to build a snow man for the first time, please take the time to plan ahead.
Driving from Jindabyne to Thredbo takes approximately 30 mins along the alpine way.
Driving from Jindabyne to Perisher can be undertaken in two ways
Drive along the Kosciuszko rd to Perisher – 30 mins
Drive to ski tube along the Alpine way and then catch the train to Perisher, 20 mins drive, plus train.
Road conditions:
Your 30 min drive can easily blow out to over 1 hr if you don’t plan ahead
- We suggest leaving no later than 7:30am on weekends & school holidays otherwise expect to be in a traffic jam
- Fuel up the day before (no fuel on the mountains, get it in Jindabyne)
- Check the road conditions- allow extra time during bad weather. The local radio snow fm 97.7 has road conditions reports regularly.
Please note both Perisher & Thredbo are located in the Kosciuszko National Park which requires a daily entry fee.
Winter peak (Alpine Way, Kosciuszko Rd and Link Road) From start of June long weekend to end of October long weekend: $29 per vehicle per day (24hrs)
Perisher Information: https://www.perisher.com.au/
Thredbo Information: https://www.thredbo.com.au/
Annual Pass: All Parks Pass – For all parks in NSW (including Kosciuszko NP) $190 (1 year) / $335 (2 years)
The pass can be purchased at the entry gates or at the NPWS information centre. If you have time go to the Jindabyne NPWS information centre the night before and organise to save time in traffic, however make sure you have your license, rego paperwork and are specific about the date you wish to purchase from.
Annual Passes can also be purchased online in advance before you leave home. Please use this link for more information: https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/passes-and-fees/annual-passes
By law to travel in the mountains you must either drive a 4WD / AWD
Or carry chains – which can be hired, we recommend any service stations in Jindabyne or most ski hire shops, they will also show you how to use them. If you carry chains also take clothing you don’t mind getting wet and muddy in – towel etc
Ski tube is located 20 mins from Jindabyne from here you can access the train to Perisher it has some good points and some not so:
The good:
Not located in the National Park so you save $29 per car per day
In bad weather this is a much easier and safer option and usually much quicker.
The not so good:
The price – some tickets can be bought to incorporate the ski tube, however to purchase separately your looking at approximately $40 per person per way – ouch !!!! Make the decision early and incorporate into your day pass and it will only cost you approximately $25 per person extra each.
Skitube Information: https://www.perisher.com.au/plan-your-trip/new-to-perisher/skitube
Skitube Timetable: https://www.perisher.com.au/resort-info/mountain-operations/skitube-timetable
Let Jindabyne public transport take the stress out of driving especially on bad weather days or days when you need a sleep in.
The Snow Bus Link here: https://transportnsw.info/news/2024/snowy-mountains-bus-service
If you encounter snow and we hope you do, leave lots of room between you and the car in front, don’t break hard, drive slowly and use your gears on down hills to control speed. Observe signs, follow instructions from the RMS road controls who will indicate the need to put chains on.
We hope you enjoy everything our pristine environment has to offer and that the information we have provided make your holiday the best one yet
Cheers Jason & Emma Frost