Bombala Voyage Tips and guide

Bombala is a pretty and historic town in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales. If planning a trip between Sydney and Melbourne, the route through Bombala gives an interesting mix of coastal and mountain scenery, in addition to allowing for a visit to Australia's capital city. This may be a pleasant touring alternative to the all-freeway Hume Highway, or the coastal Princes Highway.

The modern town of Bombala was first established in the 1840s, with it getting its name from a nearby property called Bombalo. It remained a quiet town mostly since. In 1903, Bombala was proposed as a contender for the national capital, but ultimately lost the bid to what is now Canberra.

Bombala was first finally properly connected with the rest of New South Wales when the Bombala Line opened in 1921. Although the line closed in 1986 after road transport to Bombala took precedent, this railway later became the backbone for current rail transport to Canberra. Today, many remnants of the line still remain well-intact and can be seen from the Monaro Highway.

Historically, Bombala's prime economy has been centred around the timber and grazing; however, this has been changing significantly as the town nowadays shifts into an economy of tourism.

The Monaro Highway passes straight through Bombala, connecting from Canberra and Cooma in the north, to the Princes Hwy in the south across the Victorian border.

-36.9111149.24031 Bombala Coach Stop is on Forbes Street, near the roundabout with Maybe Street. All long-distance coaches will stop here if passing by.

NSW Trainlink has coach connections to Bombala from Canberra (from Kingston) via Cooma and Jindabyne three times a week, which costs roughly $26 per adult. This will, however, change from 2026 where coaches will instead run via Nimmitabel and connect with the Eden coach at Cooma.

V/Line's Capital Link, which connects with the train from Melbourne at Bairnsdale and continues to Canberra, runs through Bombala twice a week, but increases to thrice a week during the Victorian school holidays. The V/line coach is more direct as the NSW Trainlink coach runs via Jindabyne and Dalgety,

36°54′39″S 149°14′22″E

Map of Bombala

There is no public transport or taxi service in Bombala. Most people arrive by car, and you'll be quite limited in the area without one. The town centre is walkable, but that's about as far as it goes.

The town of Bombala was settled in the 1840s, and was one of the major towns of the region.

• -36.91095149.20371 Bombala Platypus Reserve, Delegate Road, ☏ +61 2 6458 4622. The town calls itself Platypus country and has a platypus reserve around 3 km south of the township on Delegate Road. You will need to be there around dawn or dusk in order to see the platypus.  
• Coolangubra State Forest. 
• -36.9078149.23812 Historic Bombala Railway Station, cnr High & Dickinson St. 24/7. Bombala was the terminus for the railway line from Sydney, which has now been progressively closed all the way back to Canberra. Most of the old station buildings and rail infrastructure is still there, though somewhat overgrown, but you can walk on the platform. (updated Jul 2024)

• -36.9114149.23981 Kitchen Eightyate, 118 Maybe St, ☏ +61 466 478 188. M–F 6AM–2PM; Sa Su 8:30–11:30AM. (updated Nov 2025)
• -36.9114149.23922 Rush Hour Restaurant, 125 Maybe St, ☏ +61 2 6458 4610. (updated Jul 2021)

• -36.9122149.23791 Heritage Guest House Bombala, 121 Maybe Street, ☏ +61 2-64584464. Check-in: Late, check-out: 10AM. The old bank building has been turned in to a hotel/b&b with five cosy rooms. $95-120.  
• -36.910649149.2402022 Imperial Hotel, 99 Maybe St, ☏ +61 2 6458 3211. Cheap old-style pub accommodation with shared bathrooms. Pub serves ludicrously large meals. $45s/$80d. (updated Apr 2018)

The small down of Delegate is 30 minutes drive away. You can continue on the road south from there, for a 100 km winding and scenic trip to join the Princes Highway. Great trip for those who love driving corners. Not so great for travelling with those with a propensity for car sickness.

SE Forest National Park holds one of the area's last patches of pristine wet fern rainforests – it does require some travel on gravel roads, though.