New South Wales Travel Guide

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International Travel

Getting There By Air

Sydney is an international gateway to Australia, and 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 (OT) (www.aeropelican.com.au), Air Link Airlines (DR) (www.airlinkairlines.com.au), Jetstar (JQ) (www.jetstar.com.au), Qantas (QF) (www.qantas.com.au), Rex - Regional Express (ZL) (www.regionalexpress.com.au), Tiger Airways (TR) (www.tigerairways.com.au) and Virgin Blue (DJ) (www.virginblue.com.au).

Main Airports

Sydney Airport (SYD) (www.sydneyairport.com) is Sydney's international airport; it is 8km (5 miles) from the city center. To/from the airport: Trains (journey time - 15 minutes) and taxis (journey time - 20 to 30 minutes) are available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, bank/bureau de change, restaurant/bar, tourist information kiosk, car hire and taxi stand.

Getting There By Water

Main ports: Sydney (www.sydneyports.com.au) 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 nearby attractions to sightseeing tours to Aboriginal communities, the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley wine region, to night-time cabaret showboats.

Sydney Ferries (tel: 131 500; www.sydneyferries.info) operates across over 30 destinations with travel passes available.

Getting There By Rail

Sydney has through-trains to all other state capitals. The XPT service connects Sydney to Brisbane and Melbourne. 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 (tel: 131 500; www.cityrail.nsw.gov.au) and Countrylink (tel: 132 232; www.countrylink.info). The main train interchanges are located at Central Station and Town Hall.

Getting There By Road

Sydney 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 65 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.

Coach: The state is well served by Greyhound (tel: 1300 473 946; www.greyhound.com.au) and regional bus lines.