skiingsailor

Will be in Sydney for awhile visiting our son and wife. We like to take side trips to give them their space and not overstay our visit. Planning a trip to Canberra. I'm thinking that if we take the train it would be fun and good views - do you agree? Is bus ride with Murrays good also? Figured one way train, one way bus. Once in Canberra we will depend on walking and buses. Also, how far is it to MT. Kosciuszko from Canberra? Would we be able to take a train or bus there? Our trip is in February. Thanks.

Neil_Oz

Despite having lived in Canberra for 23 years I've never taken the train! The scenery may be better than the road trip but pleasant more than spectacular. If nothng else it should be relaxing, as the trip takes about 4:20 hours. Why not? You'll need to book in advance, though - www.countrylink.info

The (small) station at Kingston is about 15 minutes from the city centre ("Civic&quot, but as you'll find from previous threads (use the 'search' box above) Kingston itself is not a bad place to base yourself.

The bus trip is OK - quicker (3+ hrs) and I think cheaper. The bus will deposit you in the Civic and leaves Sydney from Eddy Avenue, alongside Central Station. Book ahead (I think there are discounts for advance bookings).

There's no train to Thredbo, which is the ski resort town below Mt Kosciuszko, but there are buses (see links below). The trip takes 3:20 hrs, so I'd plan to overnight there. You can take the chairlift most of the way up the mountain and there's a walking track to the summit. It's not a huge mountain by European or North American standards, but the area is very pleasant in summer.

www.thredbo.com.au/about/getting.asp?tr=2
www.transborder.com.au

For accommodation in Canberra try www.wotif.com, and for things to do see www.canberratourism.com.au

Do give yourself at least two clear days to see Canberra's major attractions. The Egyptian antiquities exhibition from the Louvre is at the National Gallery until 25 February.

skiingsailor

Thanks so much! I had no idea the Egyptian antiquities exhibit was there during Februay - a bonus. I do think we'll try the train one way and bus the other - I'll post the results upon return.

fuzzylogic

Hi - if you book a few weeks in advance you can get a single trip with Murray Coaches from Canberra for the princely sum of $26. A BARGAIN!!!

Ok, that was last year, but hopefully still something similar.

longhorn55

It's been about 4 years since I took the train between Sydney and Canberra, but I really enjoyed it--a relaxing way to get between the two cities. Having said that, at that time the train (Countrylink) was notorious for having delays on this route. We were delayed once by about an hour but we had friends who were delayed by several hours. I don't know if it was a problem with the tracks or what and I don't know if it's still a problem, but "forewarned is forearmed". (Unless you are on a very tight schedule, I would still take the train, at least one way.)
As for going to Mt. Kosciuszko--try to go! A trip to Thredbo is definitely worth at least one or two nights, particularly if you enjoy hiking. We've done the hike up to the top of Mt. Kosciuszko twice and it was really nice. It's fun to ride the chairlift up to the beginning of the trail. Most of the route is over a raised metal walkway to protect the wildflowers. As you approach the summit, you leave the walkway for a regular trail. This is the only steep part, but it's not strenuous. The scenery on the entire hike is beautiful and once you get to the top, you can say that you climbed to the top of Australia's highest peak. (Of course, your friends back home don't have to know that it was only 2200 meters (7300 feet)!
There are several other good hiking trails in the area and the alpine slide is a LOT of fun. Sure, my husband and I were the only "over-40's" on it, but who cares?

skiingsailor

Thanks for all the info. Now, I need help trying to figure out where to stay in Canberra. I like B&B's and have found two I like - one in Yarramula and one in Lyons, but will that be too far for walking to see sites? We won't have a car. Are buses available? We plan to go to the National Gallery and the National Museum of Australia. I would also like to visit the Botanical Gardens. It seems we are all over the place. oh, and Parliment House. Ideas for best location??? Thanks, again.

johhj_au

Several years ago I caught the train from sydney to canberra. I don't know if you are familiar with the theory of relativity but that train proved the the theory of time dilation.....after about 5 hours i firmly believed we would never get there.

Neil_Oz

Lyons is in the 'burbs and sounds not even remotely suitable for your purposes. To me it sounds like an unlikely place for a B&B.

Yes, there are buses, but Canberra's highly dispersed layout doesn't lend itself to frequent services except on certain heavily trafficked routes linking the main bus interchange locations. And of course services are less frequent outside of peak commuting hours. Unfortunately, the city was designed around cars.

You'd have to be guided by the Yarralumla B&B owners as to the nearness and frequency of bus services. Yarralumla is "inner south" and the main embassy quarter, but this B&B may not be n the most convenient part of the suburb.

While I'm not familiar with the bus routes or frequencies I guess they could get you to a convenient part of the "Parliamentary Triangle" area, which contains Parliament House, Old Parliament House (which houses the National Portrait Gallery), the National Gallery and National Library. For buses to the National Botanical Gardens and Australian War Memorial I would think you'd need to make your way into Civic, which is only a short hop over the lake from the PT area.

(To orient you - the Parliamentary Triangle, with Parliament House at its apex, is defined by Commonwealth Avenue, Kings Avenue and the Lake Burley Griffin shoreline. Commonwealth Avenue and its bridge link Parliament House and Civic.

Bear in mind that Yarralumla itself has only a small (one block) shopping centre containing very limited eating options, although one is the very decent Sukothai restaurant. IMO you would be much better off basing yourself in an apartment in Kingston, which is close to most of the places you want to see, has more eating options and is also close to the lively Manuka shopping/eating area. You could also consider Olims Hotel on the corner of Ainslie and Limestone Avenues, a 10-minute walk from both Civic and the War Memorial. Wotif has rooms going for $115.

If you're up for a splurge the 5* Hyatt Hotel, which was based around the old art deco Hotel Canberra, is conveniently situated on Commonwealth Avenue near Parliament House and the lake. (Wotif: $200-340.) Or there's the Brassey and the Kurrajong, which I'm told have some atmosphere.

skiingsailor

Neil, You have been most helpful. It is certainly overwhelming looking at the map and the huge listing on wotif. Thanks for simplifying - I now feel I can make a good decision!