New South Wales Getting there & around

Getting there & around

Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport (02-9667 9111; www.sydneyairport.com.au) is the obvious point of arrival for most international visitors to Australia. By car and motorcycle, you’ll probably reach NSW via the Hume Hwy if you’re coming from the south or via the Pacific Hwy if you’re coming from the north. The Princes Hwy heads south from the capital along the state’s southern coast.

Bus & tram

Bus

More towns in NSW are serviced by bus than any other public transport. If you want to make stops on the way from A to B, look for cheap stopover deals rather than buying separate tickets. In remote areas, school buses may be the only option. The drivers will usually pick you up, but they’re not obliged to.

The two main companies servicing the NSW coast are Greyhound (13 14 99; www.greyhound.com.au) and Premier Motor Service (13 34 10; www.premierms.com.au). Fares and stops for both companies are interchangeable, although Greyhound is often ever so slightly more expensive. Greyhound fares can be purchased online and are roughly 5% cheaper than over-the-counter tickets.

CountryLink replaced many of its trains with buses after closing numerous train lines in recent years.

Smaller regional operators running key routes or covering a lot of ground:

Busways (02-4368 2277; www.131500.com.au)

Murrays Coaches (13 22 51; www.murrays.com.au) Runs between Sydney and Canberra.

Port Stephens Coaches (02-4982 2940; www.pscoaches.com.au) Runs between Sydney and Port Stephens and Newcastle.

Transborder (02-6241 0033; www.transborder.com.au)

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Air

Virgin Blue (13 67 89; www.virginblue.com.au), Jetstar (13 15 38; www.jetstar.com.au) and Qantas (13 13 13; www.qantas.com.au) fly all over Australia; fares are cheaper if booked online.

Regional Express (Rex; 13 17 13; www.regionalexpress.com.au) flies to rural destinations throughout NSW.

It’s easy to fly between NSW’s main cities, including Sydney, Newcastle, Ballina, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Tamworth.

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Train

CountryLink (13 22 32; www.countrylink.nsw.gov.au), the state rail service, will take you to many sizable towns in NSW, in conjunction with connecting buses. You need to book in advance, either by phone, online, or in person at one of Sydney’s CountryLink Travel Centres – Central Station, Circular Quay (Wharf 6), Wynyard Station or Town Hall Station. CountryLink offers 1st- and economy-class tickets, as well as a quota of discount tickets; return fares are double the single fare. Australian students travel for about half the economy fare.

CityRail (13 15 00; www.cityrail.info), the Sydney metropolitan service, runs frequent commuter-style trains south through Wollongong to Bomaderry; west through the Blue Mountains to Katoomba and Lithgow; north to Newcastle; and southwest through the Southern Highlands to Goulburn.

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