AU Australia: how to get around

Australia drives on the left. Overseas visitors who are used to driving on the right should take care when they first drive, and again when they are driving on country roads with little traffic. Generally, overseas licenses are valid for driving in Australia for three months after arrival. If the licence is not in English, an International Driving Permit (IDP) is required in addition to your licence. Licensing regulations and road rules vary slightly from state to state.

The default speed limit in most of Australia is 50 km/h in built-up areas, and 100 km/h on rural roads, unless signed otherwise except in the NT where urban defaults are 60 km/h, and in WA and the NT, rural defaults are 110 km/h. Many major rural roads have a posted speed limit of 110 km/h especially in the Outback. Average speed is seldom above 80 km/h due to the poor road conditions and limited overtaking opportunities. On some national highways that traverse mountain ranges and travel through small towns, even averaging 60 km/h can be a challenge. Speed limits are strictly enforced in Australia, and even creeping ever so slightly above the speed limit could earn you a ticket with a hefty fine.

While major highways are well serviced, anyone leaving well-maintained roads in inland Australia should take advice from local authorities, check weather and road conditions, and carry sufficient spare fuel, spare parts, spare tyres, matches, food and water. Some remote roads might see one car per month or less. Cellular coverage is non-existent outside of national highways and towns and you should take some precautions in case of emergency. Heat and dehydration at any time of year can kill. If stranded, stay with your vehicle and do what you can to improve your visibility from the air. Do not take this advice lightly; every year locals and tourists die from dehydration after their car breaks down in a remote area. If you do have to abandon your car (say you break down and then get a lift), call the local police station, to avoid a search being started for you.

Major cities around Australia have multiple outlets providing a wide range of rental vehicles from major international rental companies. Major international providers include Enterprise, Alamo, National, Avis, Budget, Hertz, Thrifty, Sixt and Europcar. Most car rental companies prohibit you from taking their cars onto ferries, or across the borders with the Northern Territory and Western Australia, unless you have made special arrangements in advance.

In smaller towns car rental can be difficult to find. One-way fees often apply from smaller regional outlets. Australia also hosts many national brands including Redspot, East Coast, Jucy & Nobirds. Smaller cars may be manual (stick-shift), whereas anything larger will mostly be automatic.

If you do not hold an Australian driving licence, some rental vehicle companies will require you to take a free driver knowledge test, aimed at tourists, that covers the basic road rules, or will take you on a short drive to assess whether you are competent behind the wheel.

A campervan is a vehicle, usually a minivan, converted into a motorhome (recreational vehicle), most often catering to the vast number of young European and American backpackers traversing the country. The East Coast from Sydney to Cairns is especially abundant with these vehicles. Driving in Australia has more information on renting or buying a campervan.

It is sometimes possible to book a campervan needing relocation from one town to another for a nominal fee of as low as $1 per day. Sometimes, $100 for petrol may be included as well. Websites to search for these deals include Coseats, DriveNow, TransferCar and imoova.

Carpooling is a popular and affordable way to get around Australia, especially for backpackers and budget-conscious travellers. It allows you to share fuel costs and connect with others heading in the same direction. Several platforms are commonly used across the country, including Rooride, Coseats, Liftshare, CarpoolWorld and GrabThatRide. Availability may vary depending on the region, so it’s worth checking multiple platforms when planning your trip.

Larger towns and cities have taxi services and can be hailed on the street in most CBDs. Uber and Didi are available in major cities. There are several smartphone taxi booking applications such as myDriver that make finding a licensed taxi simple.

Outside of cities, towns may have a limited taxi service, with smaller or remote towns sometimes having no service at all.

Due to the large distances involved, flying is a well-patronised form of travel in Australia. Services along the main business travel corridor (Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane) are run almost like a bus service, with flights leaving every 15 minutes during the day.

The best fares are almost always available on the most competitive routes, whereas routes to remote destinations with fewer flights tend to be more expensive. Qantas actually do often offer competitive prices, so don't ignore that option just because they are a full-service carrier. There are only a handful of main airlines in Australia, so it won't take long to compare their prices on domestic routes:

• Qantas, the full-service national carrier, flying to all major cities and some larger regional towns (see QantasLink);
• Virgin Australia, a nationwide full-service airline, flying to major cities and a few larger regional towns;
• Jetstar, Qantas's discount arm with limited service and assigned seating.

Several airlines service regional destinations. Expect higher fares and fewer discounts.

• Qantaslink, the regional arm of Qantas;
• Regional Express, covering larger towns and cities on the eastern seaboard and in country South Australia;
• Airnorth, covering the Northern Territory and Timor-Leste;
• Skytrans Airlines, covering regional Queensland;
• Sharp Airlines, covering several regional towns in Victoria and South Australia.

Scheduled aviation only flies to a handful of the thousands of airports around Australia. There are numerous options to charter aircraft that may take you direct to smaller country towns or even offshore islands. The costs can be comparable to scheduled airlines if there are 3 or more people flying in a group. The Australian Private Pilots Licence permits private pilots to carry passengers and to recover the cost of the plane hire and fuel from passengers, but not to advertise for passengers or fly commercially. That said, if you check the web pages of local flying clubs, there are always private pilots willing to fly on a fine weekend if someone is willing to put in for the cost of the plane and fuel.

Trains are rarely a practical means of long-distance transport in Australia: they tend to be slower than driving, more expensive than flying and run less frequently than buses. A historical lack of cooperation between the states, combined with sheer distances and a relatively small population to service, have left Australia with a national rail network that is relatively slow and used mainly for freight. Nevertheless, train travel between cities can be very scenic and present opportunities to see new aspects of the country. It can also be a cost-effective way to get to some smaller towns, which tend to have more expensive flights than those between the state capitals.

Most long-distance rail services that exist link the regional townships with the state capital, such as Bendigo to Melbourne, or Cairns to Brisbane. Both transcontinental routes (Adelaide-Darwin and Sydney-Perth) are luxury services that are primarily aimed at tourists who have a lot of time and money on their hands, so unless you are a rail travel enthusiast, you should consider other options such as flying or driving, as they will usually be cheaper and faster.

Tasmania has no passenger rail services. The Northern Territory has the rail line linking Darwin to Adelaide through Alice Springs only, and the Australian Capital Territory has a single railway station close to the centre of Canberra. Rail service in South Australia is mostly limited to the Adelaide suburban network, though the train to Melbourne makes stops at some country towns between Adelaide and the Victorian border.

Long-distance passenger trains in Australia are operated by a mix of one private operator and four state government operators. There is no centralised ticketing service covering all the long-distance railway operators in Australia, and you will need to buy separate tickets from each operator if your journey involves multiple operators.

• Journey Beyond - A private train operator running luxury tourist train services; The Ghan between Adelaide and Darwin via Alice Springs (only between March and November), The Indian Pacific between Sydney and Perth via Adelaide, and The Overland between Adelaide and Melbourne. The Overland is subsidised by the Victorian and South Australian governments, and hence cheaper than Journey Beyond's other offerings, but it does not have sleeper carriages as the entire trip is completed within a day.
• Transport NSW - Train services in New South Wales radiating out of Sydney, divided into Intercity trains to nearby towns including those in the Blue Mountains, and NSW Trainlink trains to destinations further afield such as Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and more distant regional centres within New South Wales. Also runs coach services to some towns not served by the railway, and combination rail and coach tickets to these towns can be bought on their website.
• V/Line - Train services in Victoria radiating out of Melbourne to regional centres. Also operates coach services to some towns that are not served by the railway. Combined train and coach services are available between Melbourne and Adelaide, as well as Melbourne and Canberra.
• Queensland Rail - Long-distance passenger train services in Queensland, mostly radiating out of Brisbane, including the flagship Spirit of Queensland service between Brisbane and Cairns, but also the Spirit of the Outback from Brisbane to Longreach.
• Transwa - State government run, operating train services from Perth to Kalgoorlie and Bunbury. Transwa also operates coach services to much of the state where rail services operated in the past, especially the southwest of the state.

No rail pass includes all train travel throughout Australia. However, if you are a train buff who intends travelling extensively by rail, there are some passes that may save you money. Plan your trip carefully before investing in a rail pass. Country train services are infrequent and can arrive at regional destinations at unsociable hours.

• Discovery Pass. Use any NSW Trainlink service (trains and coaches). Get anywhere in NSW, and north to Brisbane and south to Melbourne.
• Queensland Rail Coastal Pass.
• Queensland Rail Explorer Pass.

Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Wollongong and Newcastle have suburban rail and bus services integrated into the city public transport, with trams also running in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle, Canberra, and the Gold Coast, and ferries in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Sydney is home to Australia's sole Metro line. The remaining capital cities have bus services only. See those city guides articles for public transport details.

Coach (i.e. long-distance bus) travel in Australia is cheap and convenient, although the distances involved for interstate connections are daunting. Greyhound has the largest route network, while New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia have state-government-run coach networks serving rural towns that are well-integrated with the state railway systems, but may also be booked as standalone services. There are no coach services from the other capital cities to Perth.

• Firefly Express, ☏ 1300 730 740 (local rate)Country code missing, +61 3 8318 0318 (international callers), enquiries@fireflyexpress.com.au. Firefly Express has services connecting Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
• Greyhound, ☏ 1300 473 946 (local rate)Country code missing, info@greyhound.com.au. Greyhound travels daily to over 1100 destinations in Australia. It has a variety of ticketing including all-you-can-ride passes (called "Whimit Passes") that allow you to hop on and off as many times as you like within 15-120 days nationally, or 7-30 days between Melbourne and Cairns ("East Coast Whimit") (updated May 2023)
• Murrays, ☏ +61 13 22 51, reservations@murrays.com.au. Murrays has services connecting Canberra with Sydney, the NSW South Coast and snowfields.
• Premier Motor Services. Premier runs buses all along the east coast, from Eden in southern NSW, to Cairns in Far North Queensland. Despite having fewer destinations than Greyhound, their buses are comparable and their fares are around 10% cheaper than Greyhound. (updated May 2023)

Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth have ferries as part of their public transport system. Some smaller roads in the regional areas still have punts to carry cars across rivers and canals. The islands of the Barrier Reef have some scheduled services, and there are a few cruises that cross the top of Australia as well.

However, large intercity ferry services are not common. Most car rental companies prohibit their cars from being taken onto ferries.

• The Spirit of Tasmania. Australia's only long-distance ferry connects Devonport in Tasmania to Geelong, Victoria and carries cars and passengers on the route across Bass Strait daily. Day and night sailings are available. It is usually more expensive than flying but worth it if you want to take your own vehicle.
• Sealink connects Kangaroo Island, Australia's second largest southern island to Cape Jervis in mainland South Australia with regular car ferries.
• Spencer Gulf Searoad (SeaSA) offers a short cut across the Spencer Gulf between Wallaroo on the Yorke Peninsula and Lucky Bay near Cowell or Franklin Harbor on the Eyre Peninsula. The service has been suspended frequently, but is operating as of November 2024.

Hitchhiking is illegal in all states of Australia except Tasmania and the Northern Territory, although the punishment varies from none (SA & ACT) to a whopping $3200 fine (Qld). It is also illegal to stand on the verge or walk along freeways in all states, effectively making hitchhiking illegal in many practical places in all states.

If forced to hitchhike due to an emergency you may find a motorist willing to take you to the nearest town to obtain help. (Many major inter-city highways and freeways have emergency telephones to request help.)

Nevertheless, it is not uncommon to see people hitching in rural areas. The best time to hitchhike is early morning. The best location is near, but not on, the main exit from the town you are in.

Cycling the long distances between towns in Australia is not common, and most long-distance highways in Australia have poorly developed facilities for cyclists. For example, to cycle between Sydney and Brisbane you would have to allow 2–3 weeks with around 80–100 km per day.

Intrepid travellers do manage to cover the longer distances by bicycle, and have a different experience of Australia. Long distance cyclists can be encountered on the Nullarbor and other isolated highways.

In many areas, disused railway lines have been converted into rail trails. The Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail being the best quality trail with the most to see and do along the route. In Western Australia long-distance cycle trails have been developed for mountain bikers. The Munda Biddi trail is many days through bushland, with huts provided for camping along the route.

On the other hand, cycling within urban areas to commute to work is common in Australia. Australia's major cities usually have dedicated bicycle lanes on major roads outside the CBDs, though they are usually only found on specific streets within the CBDs. In all states, wearing a helmet is mandatory when cycling in public; in the Northern Territory, this only applies to roads (however, off-street cycling facilities are so limited that in practice, this is everywhere).

Wherever you cycle - if you leave the urban sprawl of the capital cities, plan carefully and carry supplies.

See Cycling in New South Wales for details specific to New South Wales.

Walking through some parts of Australia is the only way to experience some particular landscapes. In Tasmania the Central Highland Overland Track and the South Coast Track are good examples of walking/hiking holiday to do items. The Bicentennial National Trail is one of the longest trails in the world, stretching from Cooktown in Northern Queensland, to Healesville in Victoria.