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Country Guide > Australia and South Pacific > Australia > Queensland | |
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Travel - International Air There are several major air carriers serving Brisbane and Queensland, including Air New Zealand, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Garuda Indonesia, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. For more flight details, see Travel in the general Australia section. Domestic carriers include Qantas and Virgin Blue. Airlines such as MacAir Airlines offer charter flights and feeder services to Queensland’s main towns and Barrier Reef island resorts. Sunshine Express Airlines also provides services from Brisbane to assorted towns throughout Queensland. Aproximate flight times Approximate flying time from Brisbane to London is 23 hours 30 minutes International airports Brisbane International (BNE) (website: www.bne.com.au) is 13km (8 miles) northeast of the city centre (travel time – approximately 35 minutes). Flights are available from Europe, Asia, the Far East, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. Airport buses, taxis and trains operate services to the city. Airport facilities include left luggage, first aid, banks, bureaux de change, bars, car hire (Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty), duty free shops, restaurants and tourist information. Cairns (CNS) is 8km (5 miles) from the city. Cairns is an excellent gateway both to the Great Barrier Reef and the tropical north, and hosts flights from Europe, Asia, the Far East, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. Airport shuttle buses (travel time – 30 minutes; costing anything from A$9 to A$40 per person, depending on company and distance being travelled) and taxis (costing approximately A$25 plus A$2 fee) operate services to the city. Trains also serve Brisbane City and the gold Coast seven days per week, running from 0500 to 2100. The extensive internal airline system means that Queensland is connected with nearly all major Australian gateways. Brisbane is connected directly to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin, as well as having links with Cairns, Mount Isa, Townsville and other smaller airstrips within the state. Cairns and Townsville also offer easy connections to the rest of Australia. Rail Queensland has its own railway system, run by QR (website: www.qr.com.au), the main routes being the Sunlander and the Queenslander which connect coastal towns from Brisbane to Cairns. In addition, other services, such as the Inlander, Westlander and Spirit of Outback (from Brisbane to Longreach) open up the Outback to travellers. The Spirit of the Tropics provides more coastal services. The main tourist services are the famous Kuranda Scenic Rail and the Gulflander. The Great South Pacific Express running from Brisbane to Sydney or Cairns is a luxury service operated by Orient Express Trains and Cruises. The Tilt Train provides a faster service from Rockhampton to Brisbane. The main train stations are Central and Roma Street. The Sunshine Railpass allows unlimited travel on Queensland’s rail routes. Passes are valid for 14, 21 and 30 days in first- or economy-class, offering excellent travel facilities for those intending extensive travel throughout the state. The Sunshine Roadrail Pass, for economy class only, offers 10 journeys over a 60-day period or 20 journeys over a 90-day period. For more information about rail travel and passes, visit QR online. Road There is a high standard of highways and road networks offering easy connections between towns and cities. The Bruce Highway runs down the whole east coast from Cairns to Brisbane and continues into New South Wales. An extensive coach network offers an easy and cheap way of getting around. The inland areas can be explored with 4-wheel-drive vehicles, many of the interior roads being unsealed; 4-wheel-drive vehicles and guided self-drive tours are available. The other main highways running into the interior are the Capricorn Highway (Rockhampton–Winton), the Flinders Highway (Townsville–Mount Isa, connecting with the network in the Northern Territory) and the Warrego Highway (Brisbane–Charleville). The Mitchell and Landsborough Highways, which in places have unsealed road surfaces, run roughly north–south, connecting the main east–west highways and terminating at Sydney. The Newell Highway runs inland between Brisbane and Melbourne. For more information about driving in Queensland, visit Queensland Transport online (website: www.queenslandholidays.com.au/transport/motor.cfm). Urban Brisbane’s electrified rail system is easy to use for suburban services, particularly cross-river. There are also cross-river ferries, and a comprehensive bus network with zonal fares and 10-journey pre-purchase fares obtainable through newsagents. Day and other period tickets are also available. The City Sights Bus stops at 18 places of interest around the city during a 90-minute tour for A$22 (adult) and A$16 (children). In Cairns, bus services operate Mon to Sat and there is a touring bus that follows a circular route, Cairns Red Explorer (which does operate on Sundays but only from May to October), that departs from the Transit Centre every hour. Day tickets are A$20 (adult) and A$10 (children). Taxis are also available. |