Getting in Sydney

Most visitors to Sydney arrive at Kingsford Smith airport. Airfares to Australia are expensive - it’s a long way from anywhere and flights are often heavily booked. On the upside, you can get to Australia from just about anywhere. Both of Australia’s domestic airlines offer discount flight passes which can be used once you’re in the country - if you’ve only got a short time here, it’s worth flying, because Australia’s a mighty big place.

All the major bus lines run services into and out of Sydney. Most lines offer discounts for students, and Greyhound has a good bus pass deal. There are also a number of specialised bus tours running out of Sydney. Interstate and regional trains run from Central Station, and will take you to all the other state capitals, as well as cities and towns throughout NSW. Major roads from Sydney go north to Newcastle, west to the Blue Mountains, south to Melbourne and Canberra and down the south coast to Wollongong.

Driving

Much work has been done to the Pacific Highway making for a more enjoyable drive from the north and the Hume Highway and the Federal Highway to the south are excellent roads. Driving from Canberra takes just over 3 hours and from Melbourne it takes just under 10 hours. Whenever driving long distances, driver fatigue should be avoided by sharing the driving and taking rest breaks every 2 hours.

Cars are available for rent throughout Sydney and the suburbs with a concentration of rental agencies along along William Street near Kings Cross.

Busses

Busses arrive in Sydney regularly at the Bus Depot located at Central Station and can offer a convenient, budget way of getting to Sydney from other centres within Australia. Most bus companies have ticketing offices located at the Bus Depot at Central Station.

Trains

interstate and intercity trains arrive regularly at Central Station. A note to international visitors, in Australia, for one reason or another, the train tracks in NSW are a different size to those in Queensland, as such there is no train service from Queensland (without changing to a bus as you approach the border).

Planes

Sydney’s main airport is located 15 minutes south of the CBD at Botany Bay. A secondary airport for light commercial and private use is located at Bankstown (40 mins from CBD).

Airport transfers are readily available from the airport and there is a regular train service straight to the city.