I am planning a trip to Sydney and Cairns this summer. Was wondering is it necessary to rent a car or is public transportation good enough. Also, should I rent a car, how is the driving?

Hello verbaslt

Have you checked the distance between Sydney and Cairns????

My check on Multimap gives the following:
total distance: 2413.57 km (1499.72 miles)
est. duration: 1 day(s), 2 hour(s), 2 minutes . . . and that would be non-stop driving!!!

You don't say how long you have to do this trip, but my suggestion would be to drive part way north from Sydney, then fly the rest of the journey.

Many visitors don't realise that even if you travel the Pacific Highway, you are not going to get coastal views for most of the journey - you need to leave the highway and travel across to the towns on the coast.

Bus travel is available between the two cities, but would be a lot slower than driving because of all the stops along the way.

Happy travels, Di

How long do you have veraslt?

As previous post mentions its a hellish long way, and the roads aren't so hot for much of the distance. I now live in Cairns and I used to live in Sydney, have done that trip by road many times, but never in 26 hours (to my horror my 22 yo old son did manage it in 27 hours but with two drivers, took in turns sleeping and still a wonder they weren't killed). Its also perfectly true that that "coastal" Pacific Highway in NSW which becomes the Bruce Hwy in Queensland has very little proximity to the coast, or indeed inland areas of interest. They're nearly all some distance from highways in both states.

I'd say 10 days at least to make the drive worthwhile, some take months.

I assume you are asking if you need a car in the towns of Sydney and Cairns.
The answer to Sydney is a definite "NO". Parking is both difficult and expensive and the public transportation system is great. You'll also probably find yourself walking to a lot of places in Sydney because it's easy and generally pretty interesting as well.
I can't tell you about the need for a car in Cairns as we always base ourselves in Port Douglas when we visit the GBR. If you were going to PD, I'd also say that you don't need to rent a car as the bus system is good and many of the accomodations are within walking distance of town. However, we have found it handy to rent a car for a day when we want to drive out to Mossman Gorge and/or Daintree NP.

Thanks everyone. Yes Longhorn55 I guess I didnt make myself too clear. I plan to fly from Sydney to Cairns. I am speaking of renting a car to get around the cities.

When on vacation I prefer to not have to drive, especially in new places. Thanks

Pat Wolford, you mentioned you lived in Cairns. How is public transportation there?

Sorry verbaslt, people here sometimes ask about driving Cairns-Sydney and I took it that you were one of them.

Except for peak hour public bus transport for those going to and from work, Cairns isn't so well equipped for public transport. Its particularly slow on Sundays.

Tours will all pick up and drop off at accommodation - but there's usually a charge for reef trip transfers when accommodation is out of city, ie, Palm Cove, Trinity Beach, etc. Exceptions are Ocean Spirit to Michaelmas Cay and Frankland Islands. Transfer charges also apply to Kuranda Scenic Rail/Skyrail departure points, although from Cairns city its an easy walk to railway station.


Depending on how long you have, it might be a good idea to rent a car for at least part of the time, particularly for Atherton Tableland and beyond, and rainforest areas west, north and south of city.

We use a local rental company for our visitors, www.sugarland.com.au - they'll bring car to your accommodation within Cairns metropolitan area or Mission Beach.

We always rent a car in Sydney, but we don't stay in the city or inner areas where parking is both expensive and a pain and public transport is good. www.bayswatercarrental.com.au - far cheaper than airport rentals - its at William St, Kings Cross.

look at drivenow.com.au .You can search every car hire company and compare prices and make a selection .I have used them 3 times and had no trouble . Certainly hire a car in Cairns .