Airport-Manly transport
 

Can anyone advise the best way to get from Sydney airport to Manly at peak traffic time?<BR>We arrive approx 6pm on a Wednesday - the airport-Manly shuttle bus we have priced on the Internet is A$25 per person, with taxis priced at approx A$60. We would prefer to travel by taxi, but is it likely to cost alot more than this when travelling at peak time?<BR>Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.<BR>Jo.

Hi, Jo!<BR>Yes, I think the taxi would be a slow route indeed at that time of day, and you would be listening with horror to the meter clicking over to close to double what you have been quoted. How many of you are there? Are you prepared to do a bit of bag hauling between different modes of transport to save money?

Hi Alan<BR>Thanks for your post, and for confirming my fears.<BR>We (2 of us, btw) did wonder about getting the train downtown and then either the ferry or a bus from there, but I thought the shuttle might simplify matters and make the journey a bit more straightforward.<BR>Thanks again, Jo.

Hi, again, Jo!<BR>If you are coming from New Zealand, your dollar is already bad enough without the high cost of transport making things worse. There are a couple of bargain-basement ways to get to Manly from the airport, but I guess at 6 p.m. you don't really want to do too much changing and bag-hauling. So my advice for a cheap compromise is this: from the airport take the green-and-gold Airport Express bus (it stops just outside the international terminal, on your right as you exit)to the city (cost: about $9 each, I think, or you can buy a return for about $12 if you plan to go back the same way at the end of your holiday). Ask the driver to put you off as close as possible to the Wynyard bus terminal. From there you can get a bus which will take you across the Bridge to Manly. This is probably a better arrangement than hauling your bags on and off the ferry, which is better in the daytime anyway, and you can ask the bus driver to point you to your hotel when you alight. The second bus -- a normal government blue-and-white one -- will cost you around $4 each. The journey shouldn't take appreciably longer, at that time of day, than the taxi would have, as we have special peak-hour lanes for buses.<BR>If you decide to go by this route, get back onto me and I will find out the bus number and stand which you will need to find at the Wynyard Terminal.

I'd probably get the train to Circular Quay & then hop on the jet cat to Manly (providing where you are staying is within walking distnace of Manly ferry) I'm not sure how much that would come to but I'd imagine its around $20 each. I'd keep off the roads at that time of day as theres no saying how long it could take. Cheers!

i'd agree with helpful. Allan i think that airport express only goes down George...could be a hike up to Wynyard bus station

A bit concerned about the Jet cat in peak hours with bags.... in fact, hauling bags on and off any kind of boat in the dark doesn't sound to me like the easiest thing to do, though I agree that would be the fastest way; the Wynyard Bus Station is only a block behind George, and, if the airport express bus stops at Wynyard Subway (which I would imagine it would) then you don't even have to do that hike, as there are escalators at the end of the (downhill) Wynyard ramp leading straight up to where the buses go.

Hi yet again!<BR>I have done a bit of phoning on this subject to find out schedules and prices, and neither the option that I gave you or Helpful Harry and John's option is quite as good as they first sounded. For starters, the fast boat to Manly stops running at 6:40 p.m..... after that it's just the ferries, and they are not all that frequent. The train from the airport to Circular Quay would cost you $10.60, and then you'd have to haul your bags on and off the ferry, and then pay another $5.40 for that journey. Since the shuttle you were offered is only $9 more total, I really don't think that option is worth another thought.<BR>The green-and-gold bus to Wynyard Station costs $7... $12 will get you a return ticket which can be used weeks later. The bus stops just near the entrance to Wynyard Subway, so there's not a great problem walking down the entrance ramp and then taking the escalator up to the bus stops. The Manly buses depart from Stand C, which is the closest one to the escalator, anyway. The escalator goes right past Coles Express, an always-open supermarket which will probably make a welcome stop for drinks. So far, so good. However, at that time of night, there is no direct bus to Manly... you take the 183 to Balgowlah, and change to a 144. The total jouney takes 40 minutes. There is no walking involved in the change, but it is one more bag-hauling experience. Also, you have to pay for both buses... Sydney doesn't have transfers. Cost is $3.90 for the first bus and $2.60 for the second. So you have a total cost here of $12.50... a 50% saving on the shuttle. I will let you decide whether the saving is worth it. Hope this has been of some help.

Alan, You're a gem! We've been watching this post with keen interest, as we are planning to come down to Sydney soon, hoping to stay in Manly. I'll print out your info. Many thanks.

If you're arriving around 6pm, by the time you clear customs and collect your bags, it'll probably be closer to 7pm by the time you step out of the airport. The traffic back into the city and across the Harbour shouldn't be too bad at that time. I'd save the hassle and get a taxi.

I agree with Matt. You will have missed the worst of the peak traffic.

Thank you everyone for all your suggestions, especially to Alan for checking out those transport options - we now have plenty of info to go on.<BR>Jo.

Wow! I had no idea the jetcat stopped running that early - it certainly never used to as I clearly recall catching it home one night around 9/10pm or so. What tiem of year will you be visitng Jo? If its during daylight saving then it won't be dark till sometime after 7 & so I'd probably still opt for the ferry (albeit the slow one) as its a lovely introduction to Sydney harbour. If you are exhuasted after your flight & just want to get to Manly ASAP I'd splurge on the shuttle bus (I wouldn't be surprised if the taxi was &gt;$60 - traffic out of the airport is usually pretty congested at that time with a lot of business travellers arriving back to Sydney)

I would grab a cab and head to Newtown for a nice "ethnic" meal - ask the cab driver which place would be nice and then after you have eaten get another cab to Manly. Newtown can be got to by back streets from the Airport and is only a 5 minute drive. OR take a train to Central station, leave you bags there for a while and take a walk down to Chinatown for a meal, come back and take a cab to Manly when the traffic is less.