International Travel:Getting There by AirSydney is an international gateway to Australia, and international flights from Europe, New Zealand, Asia, Africa and the Americas all serve the city. The main domestic airlines operating in New South Wales are:
Aeropelican Air Services,
Air Link,
Eastern Australian,
Jetstar,
Qantas,
Rex – Regional Express,
Sunshine Express and
Virgin Blue.
Main AirportsSydney (SYD) (website:
www.sydneyairport.com.au) is Sydney’s
international airport; it is 8km (5 miles) from the city center.
To/from the airport: 10 minutes by rail link or 20 to 30 minutes by car.
Facilities: Duty-free shop, bank/bureau de change, restaurant/bar, tourist information kiosk, car hire and taxi stand.
Getting There by WaterMain ports: Sydney is a major international port, and cruise lines call from Europe, the Far East and the USA.
There are also many day- and half-day
cruises from Sydney Harbour (Circular Quay), offering everything from sightseeing tours to nearby attractions such as wildlife and aboriginal communities, the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley wine region, to night-time cabaret showboats.
Getting There by RailSydney has through-trains to all other State capitals. The
Great South Pacific connects Sydney to Brisbane and Cairns. An internal system of railways runs throughout the State, connecting all the most important towns, tourist resorts and running through to Canberra in the south. The two main rail operators are
Cityrail (website:
www.cityrail.nsw.gov.au) and
Countrylink (website:
www.countrylink.info). The main train interchanges are located at Central Station and Town Hall.
Getting There by RoadSydney is the focal point of a network that connects every major city. Road distances from many places, however, are enormous, and a journey by even the fastest coach to Darwin, on the northern coast, takes over 92 hours. The State is well served with an excellent road system, as required by the most heavily populated region of the country. Main highways are the
Barrier Highway, running west to Adelaide, the
Hume Highway running south to Canberra and Melbourne, the
New England Highway running north to Brisbane, the
Pacific Highway running along the coast to Brisbane (one of Australia’s most popular touring routes), the
Princess Highway running south along the coast to Melbourne, and the
Mitchell Highway running northeast to Charleville and connecting with the routes to Mount Isa and Darwin in the north. The State is well served by national coach operators and regional bus lines.
Sydney’s extensive electrified suburban
rail network includes a city-center underground link, lightrail and a monorail link. The monorail runs in a loop, linking Darling Harbour and various tourist attractions. Lightrail services run from Sydney Central through Chinatown, Darling Harbour and other sights to Star City and Wentworth Park.
There are also
bus and
ferry services (website:
www.sydneybuses.nsw.gov.au). Weekly and other period passes are available, as are multi-journey tickets. The
Sydney Explorer Bus stops at over 20 attractions on its route and visitors can join or leave it at any point.
Discount travel tickets: There is a wide variety of saver passes for transportation to a range of tourist attractions. A special
Sydney Pass, valid for three, five or seven days, offers unlimited travel on Sydney’s public transport including sightseeing tours,
Sydney Ferries’ harbor cruises,
Manly Ferry,
JetCat and
RiverCat services, the
Sydney,
Bondi and
Bay Explorer buses and return travel to the airport. Prices start at A$100 for an adult three-day pass. Other passes include
Sydney/Bondi Explorer Ticket,
Sydney Bonus Ticket,
See Sydney and Beyond Pass and
Sydney YES ticket. For more information, contact Tourism New South Wales (see
Top Things To Dosection).
Meter-operated
taxis service all major cities and towns. Taxi ranks can be found at transport terminals, major hotels and shopping centers or they can be hailed in the street.
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