Getting There By Air:Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport (SYD) Tel: (02) 9667 9111. Fax: (02) 9667 1592.
Website:
www.sydneyairport.com.au Situated on the northern shoreline of Botany Bay, Sydney Airport is Australia’s premier gateway, handling 24.3 million passengers per year, arriving on flights from 53 international, domestic and regional airlines.
Major airlines: Qantas (tel: (02) 9691 3636
or 131 313, Australia only; website:
www.qantas.com.au) is the national
airline. Other major airlines include:
Air Canada, China Airlines, Air New Zealand, Alitalia, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Garuda, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Lauda Air, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Thai Airways, United Airlines and
Virgin Blue.
Approximate flight times to Sydney: From London is 20 hours 10 minutes; from New York is 20 hours 25 minutes; from Los Angeles is 14 hours 40 minutes and from Toronto is 19 hours 30 minutes.
Airport facilities: Sydney Airport’s international terminal (T1) is well equipped with restaurants, cafés, bars and a food hall, as well as information desks, lockers, a health care center, money changing facilities, ATMs, prayer room, showers and two smoking lounges. There are hotel reservation facilities and car hire from
Avis, Budget, Hertz and
Thrifty.
Business facilities: Sydney Airport Executive Services (tel: (02) 9667 6534; fax: (02) 8338 4922; e-mail:
bookings@syd.com.au; website:
www.execservices.com.au) hires out meeting rooms in terminal one and terminal two, as well as VIP rooms in terminal one and a conference area in terminal two. Equipment and catering are supplied on request. Post, fax and photocopying facilities are available at the
Australia Post Shop (tel: (02) 9669 1564), while Internet kiosks can be found throughout the international terminal. There are also seven airline lounges.
Arrival/departure tax: Departure, security and baggage screening taxes amounting to A$120.33 are included in the price of the ticket.
Transport to the city: The
CityRail Airport Link (tel: 131 500; website:
www.cityrail.nsw.gov.au) operates every 10 minutes to and from Central Station, daily 0510–2345 (journey time – 10 minutes). Fares are A$17.30 return or A$11.80 one way. Taxis to the city center cost A$22-30.
Getting There By Water:Passenger services dock at
Darling Harbour Passenger Terminal, located a short walk from the city center, while cruise ships berth at the
Sydney Cove Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay. There are no facilities at the terminals, although the nearby Rocks and Darling Harbour both have restaurants, ATMs and other conveniences. Information is available from the
Department of Shipping (tel: (02) 9296 4999; website:
www.sydneyports.com.au).
Ferry services: There is probably no more dramatic way for one to arrive in Sydney than by water. However, services to Australia are limited. From Europe, the USA and Hong Kong,
P&O (tel: 132 469, Australia only; fax: (02) 8424 9161; e-mail:
information@pocruises.com.au; website:
www.pocruises.com.au) and
Cunard (tel: (02) 9250 6666; website:
www.cunardline.com.au) include Sydney on their itineraries.
Transport to the city: There are frequent bus, ferry and CityRail connections from both Circular Quay and Darling Harbour.
Getting There By Road:Driving regulations are not uniform across Australia’s states and territories, so visitors should be aware that the laws in Sydney might differ from states outside New South Wales.
Driving in Australia is on the left and the speed limit outside built-up areas is generally 100kph (62mph) or 110kph (68mph) on freeways. In built-up areas, the speed limit is 60kph (37mph) unless otherwise indicated. Wearing of seatbelts is compulsory in the front and rear. Roads are usually known by their names (for example, the Hume Highway) although motorways are also identified by a corresponding number.
The legal driving age in New South Wales is 16 years. Overseas driving licenses are acceptable, although an International Driving Permit is preferred. Licenses must be carried when driving. Visitors are required to take out minimum third-party insurance for driving both their own cars and hire cars. The maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio is 0.05%, which is enforced with random breath tests and curbed by severe penalties.
Visitors who plan to drive in the more remote outback areas should contact one of Australia’s motoring organizations beforehand, to obtain maps and advice on road and weather conditions, supply points and spare parts to be carried, as these regions are occasionally affected by excessively wet or dry weather. The
Australian Automobile Association (tel: (02) 6247 7311; e-mail:
aaa@aaa.asn.au; website:
www.aaa.asn.au) provides further information. The
National Roads and Motorists’ Association – NMRA (tel: 131 122; website:
www.mynrma.com.au) also provides information and motoring services.
Emergency breakdown service: NRMA Emergency Breakdown 131 111
Routes to the city: The main routes into Sydney are the Hume Highway (heading northeast from Melbourne), the Pacific Highway (south from Brisbane), the scenic Princes Highway (north from Melbourne via the coast) and the Sturt Highway (linking Adelaide on the west coast to Sydney on the east coast).
Approximate driving times to Sydney: From Melbourne – 11 hours; Brisbane – 13 hours 30 minutes; Adelaide – 18 hours.
Coach services: Operators include
Greyhound Pioneer (tel: 132 030, Australia only
or (07) 4690 9888
or (02) 9212 3433; e-mail:
info@greyhound.com.au; website:
www.greyhound.com.au) and McCafferty’s (tel: 131 499, Australia only
or (07) 4690 9888
or (02) 9212 3433; e-mail:
info@mccaffertys.com.au; website:
www.mccaffertys.com.au), offering routes to many destinations throughout the country, including Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide and Melbourne. Buses depart from
Sydney Coach Terminal, Eddy Avenue, outside Central Station (tel: (02) 9281 9366).
Getting There By Rail:The New South Wales rail network is run by
Countrylink (tel: 132 232, Australia only; fax: (02) 9379 1264; e-mail:
bookings@countrylink.nsw.gov.au; website:
www.countrylink.nsw.gov.au). Countrylink provides high-speed XPT trains and XPlorer trains for shorter distances. These trains are new, modern and comfortable, featuring air conditioning, wheelchair access, buffet, toilets and satellite telephones. Seats are modeled on the French TGV and there is one sleeping car per journey, with cabins equipped with private bathrooms. Rail travel tends to be expensive, although a number of passes are available to overseas visitors.
Sydney’s
Central Station, on Eddy Avenue, just south of the city center, is a grand old building lined with newsagents, coffee shops and restaurants, as well as transport and tourist information offices.
Rail services: Popular inter-state destinations include Melbourne (journey time – 10 hours), Brisbane (journey time – 12.5 hours), Adelaide (journey time – 26 hours) and Perth (journey time – 64 hours).
Transport to the city: Central Station directly connects to the CityRail line.
Getting Around:Public Transport Sydney’s mass transit system, incorporating
bus,
ferry and various
rail services, is well developed, efficient and cheap. The
Transport Infoline (tel: 131 500 (Australia only); website:
www.131500.com.au) provides route, timetable and fare information for all buses, ferries and trains.
State Transit (tel: 131 500 (info line)
or (02) 9245 57777; e-mail:
info@sydneybuses.nsw.gov.au; website:
www.sydneybuses.nsw.gov.au) operates Sydney’s
buses. Buses run daily 0600-2400 and night buses operate on selected routes thereafter. Fare starts at A$1.60 for inner-city journeys and is available for purchase from the driver.
Sydney Ferries (website:
www.sydneyferries.nsw.gov.au) runs the commuter
ferry network that crisscrosses Sydney Harbour. Ferries ply between Circular Quay and approximately 30 destinations, daily 0600-2400. Fares start at A$4.50 and tickets are available for purchase at ticket offices and machines located at the ferry stops or, if there is no office or machine, on board.
CityRail (website:
www.cityrail.info) operates the network of
trains designed primarily for rapid transit between the suburbs and the city. The stops are not necessarily very convenient for tourists, who tend to remain within the city center. Trains generally operate daily 0430-0100 with varying times on the different routes and a limited service or no service on some routes on the weekend. Fares start at A$2.20 and tickets are available for purchase from the railway stations.
Connex Sydney (tel: (02) 9285 5600; fax: (02) 9267 4846; e-mail:
info@connexsydney.com.au; website:
www.metrolightrail.com.au) operates the
monorail and
light rail services. The
monorail shuttles between the city center, Darling Harbour and the Chinatown areas, operating every 3 to 5 minutes Monday to Thursday 0700-2200, Friday and Saturday 0700-2400 and Sunday 0800-2200. Fares are A$4. The
light rail service operates 24 hours between Central Station and Star City and Sunday to Thursday 0600-2300 and Friday and Saturday 0600-2400 between Central Station and Lilyfield. Fares start at A$2.80 and tickets are available for purchase on the trains.
Numerous money-saving
passes are available, including the
SydneyPass – a three-, five- or seven-day pass costing A$100, A$130 and A$150 respectively. This pass allows unlimited travel on public buses, harbor ferries, the Sydney Explorer bus and the Bondi Explorer bus as well as the three sightseeing cruises operated by the State Transit authority and train travel within the red (city and inner suburban) travel pass zone. A return trip on the
AirportLink train is also included. Passes are available for purchase from
TransitShops at Circular Quay and Wynyard Station and from the
Sydney Visitor Center, 106 George Street, The Rocks. The color-coded
TravelPass, valid for one week or more, allows for unlimited travel on public transport within a designated area. A weekly red bus, ferry and train TravelPass, for example, costs A$32.
A
DayTripper pass is valid for travel on all regular buses, ferries and metropolitan area trains and costs A$15. A
TravelTen bus pass is valid for 10 bus journeys and starts at A$11.80. A
FerryTen ticket is valid for 10 ferry trips and starts at A$28.50.
There are also travel passes for the Sydney Metro. The
Monorail Supervoucher Day Pass gives a full day of unlimited use for A$9, while the
Metro Light Rail Day Pass costs A$8.40 and the
Weekly Unlimited Trips Pass is A$20. A
METROConnect pass is A$28 and allows for unlimited travel on both the light rail and monorail for one week.
All passes are available for purchase from the railway and bus stations, as well as from newspaper stands on bus routes.
TaxisTaxi ranks can be found outside most bus and railway stations, as well as the larger hotels. The initial charge is A$2.65 and a 3km (2 mile) trip costs approximately A$7.25 Fares are subject to surcharges for telephone bookings, crossing the Harbour Bridge and using certain parts of the Eastern Distributor, where toll systems operate. Travel between 2200 and 0600 costs an extra 20%. Taxi drivers do not expect a tip, although fares are generally rounded up to the nearest dollar. Operators include
Taxis Combined Services (tel: (02) 8332 8888; website:
www.taxiscombined.com.au) and
Premier Cabs (tel: 131 017, Australia only; website:
www.premiercabs.com.au).
Limousines Chauffeur-driven limousines are available for trips around Sydney, with an optional commentary. Operators include
First National Limousines (tel: (02) 9948 2728) and
Astra Chauffeured Limousines of Australia (tel: 132 121 (Australia only); website:
www.astralimousines.com.au). Collection from the airport to the city costs from A$66.
Driving in the CityThe construction of a new road network for the 2000 Olympic Games left many Sydney routes vastly improved. The Eastern Distributor tunnel, for instance, has made driving to the airport a breeze. The Cross-City Tunnel, due to open in late 2005, will help reduce city congestion by enabling travel from Kings Cross to Darling Harbour, under the CBD. Nevertheless, Sydney drivers are renowned for speed and intolerance and parking is invariably difficult and/or expensive.
Parking restrictions are clearly signposted and usually specify an hour or two of metered parking during business hours. There are ‘clearway’ zones that apply at certain times of day and vehicles will be towed away and impounded if they are found parked there during the times indicated. It is probably easiest for visitors to park in one of the car parks situated around the city center and take public transport from there. A convenient central car park is the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) Car Park in York Street. Metered parking generally costs A$2.40 per hour, while parking stations in the city can charge up to A$50 per day on weekdays.
Car HireA national driving license printed in English is required for driving in Sydney, although some hire firms prefer an International Driving Permit. The minimum age for hiring a car is often 25 years. Minimum third-party insurance is required. Hire rates for a small car start from approximately A$68 per day.
Major operators include
Avis (tel: (02) 9353 9033
or 136 333 (Australia only); website:
www.avis.com.au),
Budget (tel: (1300) 362 848
or 132 727 (Australia only); website:
www.budget.com.au),
Hertz (tel: (1800) 550 067
or 133 039 (Australia only); website:
www.hertz.com.au) and
Thrifty (tel: (1300) 367 277; website:
www.thrifty.com.au).
Bicycle HireSydney’s many steep hills do not make for a leisurely ride and there are limited (and often dangerous) designated cycle lanes. Manly has better paths for cycling but best of all is the popular Centennial Park. Hire companies include
Woolys Wheels, 82 Oxford Street, Paddington (tel: (02) 9331 2671; website:
www.woolyswheels.com), and
Inner City Cycles, 151 Glebe Point Road (tel: (02) 9660 6605; website:
www.innercitycycles.com.au). Hire rates start from about A$39 for 24 hours.
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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