Brisbane Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

Brisbane’s main terminus and booking office for all long-distance buses and trains is the Roma Street Transit Centre (Roma St, Brisbane), about 500m west of the city centre. The centre has an accommodation booking service and a backpackers employment service.

You’ll find booking desks for the bus companies on the third level of the centre. Greyhound Australia (13 14 99, 3236 3035; www.greyhound.com.au) is the main company on the Sydney–Brisbane run ($116, 16 hours), but Premier Motor Service (13 34 10; www.premierms.com.au) often has cheaper deals on this route. You can also travel between Brisbane and Melbourne ($170, 24 to 28 hours) or Adelaide ($250, 40 hours), although competitive airfares may enable you to fly for the same price or less.

Car & motorcycle

There are five major routes into and out of the Brisbane metropolitan area, numbered from M1 to M5. The major north–south route, the M1, connects the Pacific Hwy in the south with the Bruce Hwy in the north, but things get a bit confusing as you enter the city.

Coming from the Gold Coast, the Pacific Hwy splits into two at Eight Mile Plains. From here, the South East Freeway (M3) runs right into the centre, skirting along the riverfront on the western side of the CBD, before emerging on the far side as the Gympie Arterial Rd.

If you’re just passing through, take the Gateway Motorway (M1) at Eight Mile Plains, which bypasses the city centre to the east and crosses the Brisbane River at the Gateway Bridge ($3 toll). From either direction, the Eagle Farm exit on the northern side of the bridge provides a quick route to Fortitude Valley and the city centre. Just north is the turn-off to Brisbane airport. The Gateway Motorway and Gympie Arterial Rd meet in Bald Hills, just south of the Pine River, and merge to form the Bruce Hwy.

Heading inland, the Ipswich Motorway (M2) branches off the M1 south of the centre, and crosses the M3 before snaking off southwest to Ipswich and the Darling Downs. For a quick route from the city, pick up Milton Rd at the northwestern tip of the CBD and follow it out to the M5, which runs south to meet the Ipswich Motorway at Wacol (this is also the way to Mt Coot-tha Reserve).

Hire

All of the major companies – Hertz (13 30 39), Avis (13 63 33), Budget (1300 362 848), Europcar (1300 131 390) and Thrifty (1300 367 227) – have offices at the Brisbane airport terminals and throughout the city.

There are also several smaller companies in Brisbane, which advertise cheaper deals:

Abel Rent A Car (1800 131 429, 3236 1225; www.abel.com.au; ground fl, Roma St Transit Centre, Brisbane)

Ace Rental Cars (1800 620 408, 3862 2158; www.acerentals.com.au; 35 Sandgate Rd, Albion)

Integra Network Car & Truck Rentals (1800 067 414, 3620 3200; www.abcintegra.com.au; 398 St Pauls Tce, Fortitude Valley)

Train

The Roma St Transit Centre is Brisbane’s main station for long-distance trains. For any information and reservations, call into the Queensland Rail Travel Centre (13 16 17; www.qr.com.au; 3235 1323; Ground fl, Central Station, 305 Edward St, Brisbane; 7am-5pm Mon-Fri; Roma St Transit Centre; 3235 1331; Roma St, Brisbane; 7am-5pm Mon-Fri). It is also possible to make reservations online or over the phone.

CountryLink (13 22 32; www.countrylink.nsw.gov.au; economy/1st class/sleeper $125/165/255) has a daily XPT (express passenger train) service between Sydney and Brisbane. The northbound service runs overnight, and the southbound service runs during the day. Each takes 14 hours.

Services within Queensland:

Spirit of the Outback Brisbane to Longreach via Rockhampton twice weekly (economy seat/economy sleeper/1st-class sleeper $185/240/370, 26 hours).

Sunlander Brisbane to Cairns via Townsville (economy seat/economy sleeper/1st-class sleeper/Queenslander class $205/265/410/725, 30 hours). The exclusive Queenslander class includes restaurant meals and historical commentary.

Tilt Train Brisbane to Cairns (business seat only $305, 25 hours) and Brisbane to Rockhampton (economy seat/business seat $100/150, eight hours).

Westlander Brisbane to Charleville via Roma (economy seat/economy sleeper/1st-class sleeper $100/160/240, 17 hours).

Concessions are available for children under 16 years, students with a valid ISIC card and senior citizens.

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Air

Brisbane’s main airport is about 16km northeast of the city centre at Eagle Farm and has separate international and domestic terminals about 2km apart, linked by the Airtrain (3215 5000; www.airtrain.com.au; per person $4; every 15min, 6am-7.30pm). It’s well serviced and there are frequent flights to Asia, Europe, Pacific Islands, North America, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Domestic airlines servicing Brisbane include Qantas (13 13 13; www.qantas.com.au; 247 Adelaide St, Brisbane; 8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat), Virgin Blue (13 67 89; www.virginblue.com.au), Jetstar (13 15 38; www.jetstar.com.au), Macair (1800 622 247; www.macair.com.au) and Sunshine Express (13 13 13; www.sunshineexpress.com.au).

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