Four stunning NSW escapes – accessible by NSW TrainLink – to add to your spring hit list

If your camera roll could use a little colour, head to Grafton this spring. Whether it’s a pit stop or your destination of choice, come jacaranda season, the regional city puts on one of NSW’s prettiest natural displays. Its famous trees transform streets into tunnels of purple, with more than 2,000 jacaranda trees in bloom from mid-October to late November.

Time your visit for the Grafton Jacaranda Festival, and you can make a proper weekend of it. It's one of those gloriously photogenic spring trips that feels like an occasion before you've even arrived.

Why settle for one flower field when you can make an entire trip of it? Spring brings wildflower season to pockets all over NSW, making this the time to swap your usual weekend plans for walking shoes and a camera. To witness it for yourself, you can hop on NSW TrainLink to hunt down the blooms. There’s a NSW flower trail north of Sydney that stretches from Bouddi National Park on the Central Coast and Werakata National Park in the Hunter Valley to Kattang Nature Reserve near Port Macquarie. 

Or, opt to travel further afield by train to Canberra, before connecting to coach through the Snowy Mountains to Jindabyne. Sit back, unwind and soak up the scenery before heading out to chase the alpine blooms. 

Come for the tulips, stay for lunch. Bowral makes a particularly pretty spring escape, with the annual Tulip Time Festival providing the colour, and a seriously good food scene giving you plenty of reasons to linger.

Once you've wandered through the blooms, make an afternoon of it by exploring the regional food scene, including French fare, tucking into Italian, or heading just outside town for farm-to-table dishes, set on a sprawling regenerative farm.

If you want to stretch the trip into a full weekend, you can also venture further through the Southern Highlands for cellar doors, country pubs and plenty of excellent local produce.

And getting there is part of the fun. Let NSW TrainLink do the driving. ​

Life’s a journey…. So why not enjoy the ride? ​NSW TrainLink provides an alternative that’s affordable, and less stressful than rushing to an airport and trying to fit your luggage into an overhead locker, so you can pull out the book you've been meaning to read or listen to that podcast that’s been on your list for far too long.

Flowers aren't your thing? Go in the opposite direction – literally. You can travel to Broken Hill with two NSW TrainLink options: Choose the weekly Outback Xplorer for a direct, easy and scenic journey from Sydney, or take the Dubbo XPT and connect to the Broken Hill coach to experience vast outback landscapes that'll have you wondering whether you're still in NSW.

Spend your days discovering the city's rich heritage at the Royal Flying Doctor Outback Heritage Experience, venture into the rugged landscape of Mutawintji National Park, then finish with sunset at the Living Desert Sculptures. 

NSW TrainLink's new-generation coaches offer greater comfort, connectivity, reliability, safety and accessibility on the journey to this iconic outback destination. 

And really, isn't that what a short break should feel like? Less worrying about how you're getting there and more excitement about what you'll do when you arrive?

For travellers dreaming of their next regional adventure, you can experience the convenience of NSW TrainLink by booking online – and saving 5 per cent – at NSW TrainLink.