Metro
Only some lines of the underground go around the center (City,
Darling Harbour, Chinatown, Pyrmont, etc.). A CityHopper
ticket costs $AU6.80 and allows you to travel as much
as you want during the whole day. An aerial train, the
monorail goes to Darling Harbour from the city. The view from it is great
but there is no air-conditioning so in the summer it is not the most comfortable
way to travel.
Train
The various suburbs of Sydney are very well connected by train. There are discount
periods when you can benefit from a reduction in your ticket. You can find prices,
schedules, and a link for bookings at:
www.countrylink.info.
www.cityrail.info
Bus
The journeys by bus are cheap and return tickets are very economical. The price of a ticket varies according to the distance of the route from $AU1.60 to $AU4.80.
Buses leaving for suburbs have a number beginning with 300, for southern and western suburbs it is 400 or 500, for the northern suburbs and its beaches, it is 100 or 200.
In Sydney, the buses are white and blue. Make sure you always carry some sort
of a travel map of the city because the road signs are very basic (the name
of the bus stop is not indicated!) and you risk getting lost from the beginning!
Worth noting: there is a systemof bunches of 10 tickets (TravelTen)
which allow you to make a saving. You will find schedules, plans and prices on: www.sydneybuses.info
Airport
You can go to the airport from the centre of Sydney by shuttles (between AUD
$9 and AUD $12), by train (AUD $13 for one-way
ticket, AUD $19 for a return ticket) or in taxi (approximately
AUD $25). The travel time is approximately 20
min.
To go to the airport of Melbourne (Tullamarine) from the city centre you can
take the bus (AUD $7) or the taxi (AUD
$20) but there are no trains.
Cars and taxis
It is rather easy to find a taxi in Sydney day and night (except at about 3 pm because it is the hour of the general handover and it becomes very difficult to catch a taxi.). The price during the day is about $AU2.75 at first then $AU1.55 per kilometre. In Sydney taxis are white.
The main companies of taxi are :
Be careful: as in England, Australians drive on the left-hand side. To
rent a car there are many companies in Sydney (Avis, Hertz), but it is very
common to buy a second-hand car from someone who might return to his/her country.
It is advisable to have an international driving licence!
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