Australia

Travel to Australia

Australia has 21 major international airports and well over 100 smaller and domestic airports so flying into Australia, wherever your destination shouldn't be a problem. The majority of travellers from the UK will enter Australia through Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydney or Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne.

On arrival in Australia

All the major airports served by flights to the UK offer public transport options, at minimum a bus into the city centre, as well as car hire.

Getting around Australia

Australia's major cities have multi-modal public transport, offering buses and rail networks as well as other forms of transport such as ferries and monorails. The exceptions are Canberra and Darwin where the only public transport available is the bus network.

If you're travelling outside of cities you'll find public transport varies greatly, though generally most major tourist destinations are on a bus route. The Gold Coast is notable for having a fantastic network of trains and buses.

If you're travelling around Australia by far the easiest and fastest way to travel any great distance is by plane. Low cost carriers like Virgin Blue and Jetstar Airways connect the major cities with daily flights.

The only disadvantage of flying is missing out on all the fabulous scenery and a chance to pass through Australia's remote interior. For such a vast country, Australia has a surprisingly integrated railway system, making it possible to travel to most major destinations, albeit via Sydney for the majority of the longer journeys. Only the northern part of Western Australia remains untouched by the rail network.

Australia also has a large coach network, covering the majority of the country, the exception being the interior of Western Australia. Individual journey tickets are available but those planning on seeing a lot of the country by coach should invest in a 'kilometre pass'. Under this system passengers buy a set distance and then use the distances to book specific journeys. The 20,000km pass should be enough to see the whole country!