Page 239 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sydney

TR A VEL INFORM A TION  237

Travelling Beyond Sydney Road Travel
Highways in Sydney and New
Sydney is close to several areas of scenic beauty and an South Wales are improving all
excellent wine region. The best way to explore the nearby the time. The biggest challenge
regions of the Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley and the is knowing which route to take
Southern Highways, or national parks on the edge of Sydney out of the city, so hire a car with
a GPS system. Many areas of
is by car and train. The far north-coast New South Wales scenic beauty are within 2 hours’
beach towns and outback and regional centres of western drive of Sydney. Ensure that
New South Wales are between 1 and 1½ hours away by plane. your hire car comes with road-
side break down assistance. For
more on driving, see pp230–31.
Car Hire
The rates of major agencies (see
p231) range from about A$35 a
day for a small car to A$100 a day
for a larger vehicle, plus extra
fees and taxes. These rates
become cheaper over a week’s
rental and usually include
Blue Mountains National Park insurance. Be sure to read the
fine print on hire agree ments.
Domestic Flights New South Wales, along with Bayswater Car Rental has
Qantas and its subsidiary connec tions to Brisbane and among the best rates in Sydney,
QantasLink, Jetstar and Virgin Melbourne. On its way out west, but check comparison sites
Australia are the main domestic the train travels through the such as www.skyscanner.com,
airlines. Regional carriers REX – Blue Mountains, and trains www.carhire.com.au and www.
Regional Express Airlines – and to Melbourne stop at some vroomvroomvroom.com.au.
QantasLink operate from T2 in Southern Highlands towns. Some companies only rent cars
Sydney Airport (see pp228–9). Tickets are available at Central to those over 21 years of age. If
Fares can be quite low on Railway Station (see p233) and you do not have a credit card,
competitive routes, and the suburban stations in Sydney, or you will need to leave a deposit.
cheapest rates can often be over the phone or online. Using
found online. Domestic flights a pre-paid Opal card is less DIRECTORY
depart from Sydney Airport’s expensive. Trains depart from
terminals 2 and 3; the latter is the main concourse of Central Using Sydney Buses
used exclusively by Qantas. Railway Station, upstairs from Sydney Buses
the suburban train platforms.
Tel 131 500.
Country and Inter-Urban ∑ sydneybuses.info
Trains Long-Distance Bus Travel ∑ transportnsw.info
Sydney Trains (see p232) include Long-distance bus travel can be
InterCity trains that travel beyond cost effective, but many journeys Long-Distance Bus
Greater Sydney to the Blue are long: for example, a coach to Travel
Mount ains, the South Coast Coffs Harbour (considered the
(via five stations near the Royal mid-way stop between Sydney Firefly Express
National Park), the Southern and Brisbane) takes over 7 hours. Tel 1300 730 740 or (03) 8318
Highlands and Newcastle, and Greyhound Australia covers 0318. ∑ fireflyexpress.com.au
the Central Coast. All depart from the nation, while other Greyhound Australia
Central Railway Station (see p229). operators, such as Firefly Tel 1300 473 946.
While the network also Express and Murrays Coaches, ∑ greyhound.com.au
includes the Hunter regional run services on certain routes.
line, this does not service the Fares on the Sydney– Murrays Coaches
popular wineries near the town Melbourne route are around Tel 132 251.
of Pokolbin. Passengers wanting A$110 one-way and discounts ∑ murrays.com.au
to visit the wineries should take are often available, but it is a long
the train to Morrisett (on the 12- to 14-hour trip. Coaches leave Car Hire
Newcastle and Central Coast line), from Central Railway Station.
then a Rover Coach to Pokolbin. Greyhound’s Volvo fleet, Bayswater Car Rental
The NSW TrainLink network operating between Cairns and Tel 02 9360 3622.
(see p229) covers more than Melbourne (via Sydney), has ∑ bayswatercarrental.com.au
360 regional desti nations in leather seats that recline slightly.

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