Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

66
CHAPTER 2 . PLANNING AN AFFORDABLE TRIP TO AUSTRALIA
who traveled the Outback in the 19th
century) travels between Sydney, Melbourne,
Adelaide, and Alice Springs
twice a week, with connections from
Sydney and Perth on the Indian
Pacific and from Melbourne on the
Overland. With the opening of a new
rail line linking Alice Springs and Darwin,
expected in early 2004, the iconic
train will operate one weekly return
service between Adelaide and Darwin
and twice weekly return services
between Adelaide and Alice Springs.
Both The Ghan and the Indian
Pacific have a choice of economy seats
and second- or first-class sleepers.
Great Southern Railway’s third train,
the Overland, links Adelaide and Melbourne
twice a week. Countrylink
runs daily trains from Sydney to Melbourne,
Canberra, and Brisbane, and
to a number of New South Wales
country towns.
Queensland Rail’s Traveltrain operates
two trains on the Brisbane–Cairns
route: The Sunlander runs twice a
week to Cairns, offering a choice of the
premium, all-inclusive Queenslander
Class; single-, double-, or triple-berth
sleepers; or economy seats. Two services
also run to Townsville without
Queenslander Class. The high-speed
Tilt Train operates three weekly services
on the same route offering a
shorter journey time—by about 8
hours—and business-class style seating.
Tilt Trains also service Rockhampton
daily. Traveltrain also
operates trains to Outback towns. All
Traveltrain and most Countrylink
long-distance trains stop at most
towns en route, so they’re useful for
exploring the eastern states. Great
Southern Railway, Countrylink, and
Queensland Rail Traveltrain offer rail
packages that include accommodations
and sightseeing.
RAIL PASSES National, East Coast,
New South Wales, Queensland, and
Great Southern Railway rail passes are
available from Rail Australia (see
above) at its overseas agents. National
passes must be bought before you
arrive and are available only to holders
of non-Australian passports. East
Coast (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane,
Cairns) and Queensland passes can be
purchased before or after you arrive in
Australia. Passes are not valid for firstclass
travel, but upgrades are available.
The national Austrail Flexi Pass is
good for economy seats and secondclass
sleepers on all long-distance trains
(except WAGR services in Western
Australia) and is even good for suburban
city train networks. It allows you to
travel for any 8, 15, 22, or 29 days,
consecutive or not, within a 6-month
period. An 8-day Flexipass is A$560
(US$364), with the price going up to
A$1,570 (US$1,021) for a 29-day
Flexipass. Note: You cannot use the 8-
day pass on the Indian Pacific or The
Ghan, meaning not on the Adelaide–
Perth or on the Sydney–, Melbourne–,
or Adelaide–Alice Springs routes.
BY BUS
Bus travel in Australia is a big step up
from the low-rent affair it can be in
the United States. Terminals are centrally
located and well lit, the coaches
are clean and air-conditioned, you sit
in adjustable seats, videos are shown
on board, and the drivers are polite
and sometimes even point out places
of interest along the way. All buses
have restrooms. Unlike Australia’s
train service, there are few places the
extensive bus network won’t take you.
Buses are all nonsmoking.
Australia has two national coach
operators: Greyhound Pioneer Australia
(& 13 20 30 in Australia, or 07/
4690 9888; www.greyhound.com.au;
no relation to Greyhound in the U.S.)
and McCafferty’s (& 13 14 99 in
Australia, or 07/4690 9888; www.
mccaffertys.com.au). McCafferty’s
owns Greyhound Pioneer, hence the
same telephone number, above. While
the coach lines operate as separate