Canberra Travel Forum

Hello,

I'm just wondering: how far approximately does it take to get from Canberra to Sydney or Melbourne? I am looking to travel by bus since I can't drive in Australia... :( I'm just wondering how much time I'm looking at, and how expensive it is.

Thanks!

Arial

Hi, To get to Sydney from Canberra you can either catch the Greyhound bus or XPT train. The train will take about 3 1/2 hours and cost $53, the bus will take about 5 hours and cost $36. Not sure about melbourne - it will probably take 7 or so hours to get there.

THe bus web site http://www.greyhound.com.au/default.aspx
The train website http://www.countrylink.info/

From Melbourne you best catch a budget flight-the bus could take over 12 hours with all the stops. With the sydney bus service, Murrays offers discounts if you book 2 weeks in advance. Check their website.

Melbourne from Canberra? 10-12 hours at least. Look into a train if you can, at least you have more room, can get up and walk around and a much smoother ride. Visit www.countrylinkinfo.com for schedules and fares. You could also check out www.railcorp.info

Canberra to Sydney is about 2.5 hours to drive, but thats just to the southern outskirts of the city. A train is about 3 at least to the city centre. Again, you could go by Countrylink rail

Hi

I travelled from Melbourne to Canberra earlier this year with the V/Line "Capital Link" service. This involved a 4 hour train journey from Melbourne to Bairnsdale, and then a 6 hour bus journey from there to Canberra. It cost 62.70 AUD, but it only runs on Mondays and Thursdays. There is a daily service, also run by V/Line, called the "Canberra Link", which goes via Albury. You can find more information here:

http://www.vline.com.au/index.aspx?sid=0

The journey from Canberra to Sydney was far easier. I caught a bus operated by Murrays (http://www.murrays.com.au/), and the journey from Canberra's Jolimont Centre to Sydney's Eddy Street bus terminal took a little over 3 hours. I paid 36 AUD for my ticket, but their website advertises tickets for just 15 AUD if booked via the Internet and at least 2 weeks prior to departure.

^^^ thats a really good point. Log onto jetstar.com.au - keep checking the red-eye and daily specials. You could get a flight for on the cheap. Virgin is supposed to be good for deals, but lately everytime I log on there, I havent been so lucky...

All good advice so far, but just a slight dampener - unfortunately Jetstar doesn't fly to Canberra. Your airline choice is Qantas (more flights, higher fares) or Virgin Blue. If you book a week or so ahead there should be some discounts, more so with Virgin than Qantas which tends to be more 'full fare/business'.