Australia Travel Forum

What is the cities/Place in Australia recommended for Free & Easy with Public Transport cos we cannot drive?? Need help !!

I would venture to say that all of Australi's major cities i.e. Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart have excellent public transport - buses, trains ferries etc. Don't worry about that for a moment, just come and you'll find that you can get around very easily and conveniently in whatever city you choose. I can especially speak for Brisbane and Sydney. In actual fact, I live in Brisbane and when my last car died, I didn't bother replacing it because I was using it less and less because I find public transport a lot easier and of course, cheaper. Have a nice stay in Australia.

Melbourne is a great place to use public transport. Buses, trains, trams and ferries. Day passes and other discounts are available.

http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/

Cheers
Col & Sue

Sydney and Melbourne and probably Brisbane in that order have the best public transport systems as they have the largest populations. Plenty to see in these three cities.

Perth has a free bus service around the city centre, many people living in the city do not use cars.
There are also many coach tours to places of interest outside of the city.

As the others said, the cities all have reasonable public transport within them.

You need to decide which city/s you want to visit and which your airline flies to. If you want to see more than one you should fly between the cities. If you want an outback trip, a farm stay or something, then a tour/package is the answer. You can find them at travel agents in S'pore. And you can do coach tours to places of interest outside the cities - for example to the Blue Mountains outside Sydney.

I agree, the big cities in Australia have fantastic public transport.

I think you get the best value for money in Sydney. A 7 day pass for metro, bus, and ferries costs about $30, and you get out to Parramatta by ferry which takes nearly an hour.

Dear Folks,

Tks for all of your answer.:)

We prefer country side than city, in fact. Understand that country side is more rural. Is it recommended to take day tour to those places from hotel in city? is it too far away to travel between city and country side with a day's time?

Any suggestion ? :)

Well, the countryside is vast, it's what most of Australia is! It's around all the cities and easy enough to get a train or bus or a bus tour for a day. From Sydney for example you can go south to the Royal National Park, west to the Blue Mountains, north to the Central Coast and further on to the Hunter Valley wine area.
Even in the city you can get away from the bustle with a harbour cruise, time in the Botanic Gardens, at Taronga Zoo etc.

There's lots of day tours from Perth. i should think there are from other cities too.

Additionally, you can get to many places around Melbourne by train, and travel is really cheap. If you are interested in wildlife, go to the Healesville Sanctuary, it is the same way to the famous wine region of Yarra Valley.

In Sydney, we once also went to the Blue Mountains by train - absolutely no problem.

tks folk :)

any website that i can get these info?

1. eg how to take bus/train etc to those places that recommended from one cities to another destination?

2. do hotels provide cities map at the reception counter?

3. any recommendation on the itinenary for the romantic getaway?

For Sydney:
A good place to start would be www.sydney.com.au/
Most hotels will give you maps.
Romantic getaway? In a hotel with harbour views, a seaside hotel such as Crowne Plaza on the seafront in my home town of Terrigal just north of Sydney, or maybe a country hotel such as in the Blue Mountains where there are several very nice hotels.

any recommendation on places of interest for kids and cheap hotel (around $100 to $150 per night) in Sydney (or other area)?

Kids will love Taronga Zoo and the wildlife parks like Featherdale. And surely a harbour or river cruise, the Aquarium, most probably a ride in the monorail, and get up Sydney Tower.

For accommodation I would look on www.wotif.com

There are plenty of offers in your price range. On our last visits we stayed in two different hotels near the Railway Station, both under A$ 100 per night. One even had an indoor and outdoor pool.

However, I do not think you will get a romantic place at this rate, as accommodation with harbour view is more expensive. So I think a getaway to the Blue Mountains or a beach, as suggested by the previous poster, would be the best solution.

tks Sissi & the rest of ppl, i will search from wotif :)

Is End sep & beginning Oct a good time to travel?

is this time school holiday (SH) or Public Holidays (PH) in Australia? by the time, how do i get info on SH & PH for different country?

This is a good website for school and public holidays in Australia:

http://www.australiatravelsearch.com.au/trc/hols.html

In the Sydney region it will be warming up in Sept/Oct but you can have some chilly spells. Rainfall is really low. Normally... As you know, the weather has become unpredictable everywhere in the world.

Check out here:
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/AboutSydney/VisitorGuidesInformation/weather.asp

If you are looking for a romantic spot, I think you all might enjoy a trip to Katoomba in the world heritage listed Blue Mountains 100kms west of Sydney. If you love the countryside, you could take your children to Scenic World which offers lots to do including cablecar, railway, scenic skyway with a glass floor and walks through the rainforest. It is located a couple of kilometres from Katoomba town centre but you can hop on a shuttle bus to get there. On a fine day the views from the scenic lookouts around Katoomba are simply stunning.

You can get to Katoomba by train from Central Station in Sydney. I've always driven myself but I would imagine the train trip would be quite relaxing (2hrs).

There is a lovely hotel quite near the station called The Carrington. This hotel dates back to 1880 and is beautifully restored with open fires (evenings will still be cold in the mountains in Sep/Oct) bars and dining rooms. I have stayed there and found it quite a romantic location. It is located on Katoomba's main street. It is a popular weekend destination, so week day prices may be better.

Here are some websites if you want to check these places out:

www.cityrail.com.au The Central-Lithgow train passes through Katoomba.

www.scenicworld.com.au

www.thecarrington.com.au

tks folk. I have done comparison & found out that Perth is much more cheaper than sydney in term of air tickets, so may decide to travel perth first if it is suitable to every family members' need.

may i know
(1) if last week of sep (27sep) to 1st week of oct (5 Oct) is good time to travel to Perth ?
(2) any attraction suitable to 3 years old kid in perth?
(3) Is perth easy to access thru public transport like Sydney?

Sept-Oct is a lovely time for Perth, likely to be warm and sunny.
Don't know what transport is like in Sydney, but Perth has a free bus service in the city center.
Attractions for a 3year old?? I'm sure there are, depends what you're looking for. The zoo is lovely, so are the beaches.
There's a few suggestion here:- http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/9a93e/1c8d7f/4/
but they might be more suitable for older children.

tks. your info does help :)

can you suggest that if we should bring along our luggage by public transport when we travel & stay outside perth city for few days? Or we just bring along the clothes needed & deposit the luggage in somewhere of perth city?

with child, it seems not likely convenient to bring along the luggage by public transport.

Is there any good places to shop in Perth?

That's entirely up to you. I don't know of any storage facilities in Perth apart from lockers at the airport.
Have you decided where you are going and how you are getting there?
If you are going on a package trip(ie transport and accommodation included) you may find they have a curtesy 'pick up and drop off' service.

most probably we will visit perth first.

We had done a few research. The cheapest way to travel outside Perth city (eg margaret river, pinnacles, farm stay etc) will be driving. The land package/day tour is relatively expensive cos it charge base on per person.

Hubby is thinking to take refreshment class on driving so we can get a car to move outside perth city & it will save a lot of money. The last time he drive is the time he had his driving test 9 years ago..

Is the road outside perth city easy to drive? heavy traffic & with clear direction board? or take land package will be a better option?

Perth city center has moderately heavy traffic, but nothing compared to bigger cities.
Outside of the city, driving is relatively easy. The main roads are good tar sealed roads kept in good repair, sometimes dual carriage way.
I'm not sure, but I think you would need a 4WD to get to the Pinnacles, and it's a long way for someone unused to driving.
If you want to go south towards Margaret River etc, there are good roads with only moderate to light traffic(it won't be deserted) all the way.

tks.

which website can we download the perth map to margaret river ?

you can do a google directions at

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wl

But if you want a map to carry with you here then best to buy one when you arrive.....most newsagents stock local tourist maps.

Cheers
Col & Sue

Normally you get a map with a rental car, so no need to buy one. And there are not so many roads down to Margaret River that you could get lost ;-)

You also get free regional maps at Tourist Information centres.

You can print out maps and directions at whereis.com

tks for all the info given :)

We decide to go Perth end Sep to beginning of Oct.

Understand it is aussie school holidays. Since it is the peak season in WA, will most of the attraction be crowded ?

I have some problem in deciding the itinerary for day 1. If we reach Perth at 6plus in the morning, anything we can do early in the morning. Shall we rent a car and drive outside to city? Is there any free bus to perth city from Airport?

Normal what time the day turn light in the morning and turn dark at night in Sep? We need to plan our trip to avoid driving in the dark.

Your advice will be much appreciated. Tks 