We were planning to take a morning train from Sydney to Melbourne but someone suggested taking the bus instead. I mostly wanted to see a bit of the countryside while traveling rather than flying over it. I'd like to hear some thoughts pros/cons - also which bus line (I understand there are two).
Thank you, Karen
The train follows a vastly more scenic route than the bus, which follows the highway. However, there is (or used to be, I haven't checked) an alternative coastal route used by buses between the two cities. This is (was) a very, very long journey but gorgeous.
Have you considered breaking the journey in Canberra, whether by bus or train?
emmeff not 100% correct re routes as both bus and train really follow more or less the same route (esp the express Firefly bus service); Greyhound run a similar route to the train and Firefly with exception they make a detour into Canberra. If you look on the Rome2Rio site you will see the similarity of routes. Habing said that I'd rather go by train at least you can get up and walk around.
Regarding the longer route suggested by emmeff this still possible although much more expensive and may require staying overnite enroute to meet up with ongoing buses. basically you can get a bus from Melbourne to Bega; then another bus upto Wollongong, then train to Sydney. This requires using different bus lines and not sure if you can do whole trip in daylight. But as emmeff says a very gorgeous journey if you can do all in day light.
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Hi Karen, the train and most buses ( Greyhound and Firefly? ) follow what could be described as an inland route and of the two I would opt for a train any time if the timetable suited re seeing the countryside, you having more leg room in a train and much more room to get up in and have a stroll to flex the legs.
The inland scenery once past the Blue Mountains is not so inspiring - lots of rolling hills or plains etc.
Another option you may want to consider if you have some extra time is go via the coast, you able to get a regional train that heads south from Sydney to a place called Bomaderry, it being on the northern side of the Shoalhaven River and the town being serviced is Nowra on the southern side.
From Bomaderry/Nowra you can travel by bus down through NSW south coast towns and around into Victoria via Lakes Entrance to Bairnsdale and then from there by train on to Melbourne, the first section of that trip a real rattler of a ride and again for the trip all the way through what we call Gippsland it is not such an interesting journey.
You may need to do a bus exchange at somewhere like Batemans Bay, Narooma orMerimbula all pleasant seaside towns and timetable may mean a stop overnight.
You can find details of a few options on http://www.railmaps.com.au/stationdetails.php?StationSelect=1780
The timetable for Batemans Bay to Bairnsdale/Melbourne is shown on https://railmaps.com.au/routedetails.php?RouteSelect=335&traveldate=2017-08-08&tstyle=
I think gcn you will find that emmeff is referring to the more inland route of the train between from Yass out to Cootamundra and then largely following the Olympic Way down through Wagga and then more or less following the road route from just north of Albury again.
The countryside is not so different from the Hume but there is the variation in the route.
You can do a mix if you like. I'm taking a train to Canberra, then bus to Pambula and Bairsdale, where there is a train to Melbourne. Its neither the fastest, cheapest nor most convenient way of doing it, but more interesting .
Thank you all for taking the time to respond (of course, I have no ideas what the place names are - haven't looked them up yet :-). It sounds like the coastal road would be interesting - however, we'll be at the beginning of multi-country/continent trip, with luggage. I'm trying to do the easiest (other than flying) way and will still see countryside we haven't seen. For that reason, we'll probably still do the train, though I know it bypasses Canberra. We're headed for a 10 days (mostly car rental at that point) in Victoria with GOR, Grampians, Ballarat, then flying to Perth to see friends and explore a bit before going to Singapore and eventually Cape Town. I will check out all the suggestions - thanks so much.
Just to let you in on a little not so well known by visitors secret, the south coast of NSW is one of the least visited but best areas of Australia without the development and traffic that accompanies other areas.
Seeing as you are planning on getting a car down in Melbourne to do the GOR/Grampians/Ballarat , if you have a few days you have allocated to seeing a bit around Sydney, you could easily enough hire a vehicle up there and then drive to Victoria using some of the coast, southern tablelands, Alpine Way etc. bypass Melbourne on approach for the Mornington Peninsula and take the vehicle ferry from Sorrento across to Queenscliff to start out on the GOR etc. and then have a couple of days in Melbourne before flying to Perth.
A few sites that can help you with planning are:
www. travelmate.com.au - good for mapping routes
http://www.grandpacificdrive.com.au/ - gives you info on the Royal National Park ( second oldest on the planet ) and first part of drive south of Sydney.
There was some major upgrade work between Kiama and Nowra earlier this year, the kind that will be going on for a while yet so if you head from Kiama ( Blowhole ), you can then head up through Jamberoo ( treetop walk ) to Robertson ( where Babe was made ) and over to Fitzroy Falls before driving down to Kangeroo Valley and on to Nowra.
http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/visitor-centres/fitzroy-falls-visitor-centre
http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/jervis-bay-and-shoalhaven/kangaroo-valley
http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/jervis-bay-and-shoalhaven/jervis-bay
You have quite a number of smaller towns along the south coast and around into Victoria so getting accommodation without booking ahead is never usually a problem ( depending of course on when your visit is ).
http://www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org/
http://www.searoad.com.au/timetable/
Depending on the time of year and just how much time you have available, you could also do a bit of the alpine area of the south east.
The bus is cheaper but the train is a more enjoyable journey for all the reasons previously stated. In all honesty, I wouldn't try to go via the South Coast route, just because you have so much else planned and you really need a) time, and b) your own car to do travel in this part of the country any justice.
It's also the kind of place where you want to get out of the vehicle and amongst all the things that make it such an amazing part of the world. If you catch the bus, you'd just be passing through and spending way more time than necessary in getting from Sydney to Melbourne.