Travel to Brisbane
Flying to Brisbane
Although there are no direct flights to Brisbane from the UK, many airlines offer connecting tickets, among them Philippine Airlines, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand. Qantas and Virgin Australia operate direct flights from the USA. The best time to find cheap deals is usually between mid-April and mid-June.
Flight times
From London - 21 to 24 hours (including stopover); Los Angeles - 14 hours; New York - 20 hours (including stopover); Toronto - 20 hours (including stopover); Sydney - 1 hour 30 minutes.
Travel by road
Brisbane is developing a well maintained and integrated road network and has clearly signed routes and attractions. Many roads in the central business district are one way and during peak hours traffic can bottleneck around the city centre.
Vehicles drive on the left-hand side of the road and the minimum driving age is 16. Speed limits are 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas unless indicated otherwise, increasing to 100kph (62mph) or 110kph (68mph) on highways. If you currently hold a UK driving licence and are a tourist, there is no need for an additional permit when driving in Brisbane. If your licence isn't in English, you may require an International Driving Permit; check with your car hire company.
Brisbane’s long-term plan to improve travel across the city has been cited as the biggest urban road project in Australia. This project spearheaded the completion of the Go-Between Bridge (which connects south Brisbane and West End with Paddington, Milton and the City) and the Clem7 tunnel (connecting Woolloongabba in the south to Bowen Hills in the north).
The construction of Legacy Way tunnel and the AirportlinkM7 have been designed to further relieve congestion across areas including the city’s northern suburbs.
Emergency breakdown services
Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) (tel: 131 111, in Australia only).
Routes
There are five major roads into and out of the Brisbane metropolitan area, numbered M1 to M5. The main north-south road is the M1, which connects the Pacific Highway in the south with the A1 Bruce Highway in the north. The M2 Ipswich Motorway connects Ipswich and surrounding western Brisbane areas. When travelling from the south from Sydney and the Gold Coast, the Pacific Highway becomes the South East Freeway (M3) and runs right into the city centre.
Coaches
Brisbane Transit Centre, located in Roma Street, next to Roma Street railway station is where the coach terminal is located, with services travelling across Queensland and also interstate to Sydney and Melbourne. Greyhound Australia is the major coach operator (tel: +617 4690 9850; www.greyhound.com.au).
Time to city
From Beaudesert - 1 hour; Noosa - 2 hours; Surfers Paradise - 1 hour; Coolangatta - 1 hour 15 minutes; Sydney - 10 hours; Melbourne - 18 hours 30 minutes.
Travel by Rail
Services
Roma Street, 171 Roma Street, is the main station for long-distance trains while Central Station on Ann Street, opposite Anzac Square, is the station for the local rail network. The Queensland Rail Travel Centre (tel: +61 7 3235 1323) in Central Station can provide information and reservations about long-distance services.
Express services also run which stop only at major stations in areas including the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
Long-distance passenger services operate from Roma Street around the state, with a choice of traditional trains with overnight sleeping berths or modern Tilt Trains. Services operate to and from Cairns, Bundaberg/Rockhampton, Longreach and Charleville.
Operators
Queensland Rail (tel: +61 07 3072 2222 or 131 617, in Australia only; www.queenslandrail.com.au) operates the City network of suburban lines and interurban lines extending out to Gympie, Varsity Lakes, Cleveland and Rosewood. These services are coordinated by Translink (tel: +61 7 3851 8700 or 131 230, in Australia only; www.translink.com.au). The SEEQ card is an electronic travel card for visitors to Queensland enabling travel on Translink bus, train or ferry services, across three or five consecutive days.
NSW Trainline runs a daily express passenger train (XPT) between Sydney and Brisbane (tel: +61 2 4907 7501 or 132 232, in Australia only; www.nswtrainlink.info).
Journey times
From Rockhampton - 7 to 8 hours; Sydney - 14 hours; Gold Coast - 1 hour 15 minutes.
