The first thing you’ll notice about Canberra is that it’s a spacious city – we have plenty of room to move.

Whether you prefer public transport, driving, cycling, or walking, it’s easy to get around.

Getting to Canberra

By plane

Fly into Canberra on daily domestic services from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne or fly directly from Perth, Darwin, Cairns, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle, Hobart, and Adelaide.

Travel globally to Canberra Airport with flights direct from Nadi, Fiji, with Fiji Airways.

By road

Drive just 3 hours to reach Canberra from Sydney or 8 hours from Melbourne.

Bus and coach services operate to and from Canberra from the Snowy Mountains, the South Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and beyond. 

By rail

There is a direct rail service from Sydney Central Station to Canberra Railway Station in Kingston. The trip takes a leisurely four-and-a-half hours. 

If you have time up your sleeve, you can travel from Canberra to Melbourne by train via Goulburn. The trip takes approximately 11 hours.

Getting around Canberra

Canberra’s uncrowded roads is one of the things we love most – even ‘peak hour’ is more like a peak 20 minutes. That means less hours spent commuting and more doing the things you enjoy.

And, yes, we have lots of roundabouts. They actually help keep the traffic flowing – you’ll grow to love them, we promise.

If driving is not for you, there are plenty of ways to get around.

Bus

Transport Canberra’s bus network covers the city and all suburbs.

Rapid services are Canberra’s main bus lines that run between town centres and other key destinations. They run at least every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm on weekdays and frequently at other times. They run at least every 15 minutes between 7am and 7pm on weekdays and frequently at other times.

Light Rail

Transport Canberra’s light rail service operates between Gungahlin and the City up to every 5 minutes during peak periods and every 15 minutes during off-peak periods. Find out more details on light rail frequency on the CMET website.

Plan your journey

You can use the Transport Canberra real time journey planner to plan your trip. There will also soon be a new Transport Canberra app that will provide access to real-time information to help plan your journey across travel modes and check accessibility options. 

Fares

Travel on buses and light rail is currently free until a new ticketing system, MyWay+, launches in November 2024.

Once MyWay+ is live, passengers will be able to tap on and off bus or light rail services using their debit or credit cards, smartphones, smartwatches, in-app tickets, or a MyWay+ travel card.

Paper tickets will continue to be available for purchase from ticket vending machines. Find the location of ticket vending machines here.

Walking, cycling and scooting

Canberra is a great city for walking and cycling, with an extensive network of shared paths and nature trails, a comfortable climate and terrain. In fact, we have the largest network of cycle paths in Australia!

Check out the cycling and walking maps or  Transport Canberra’s real time journey planner to plan your next trip.

You can even combine bus and bike travel with Bike and Ride. Over 90% of Transport Canberra buses are equipped with two bike racks and each light rail vehicle has four bike racks on board too.

Don’t own a bicycle? Hire a shared bike or e-scooter!

Taxis and Rideshare

If you’ve moved from a cosmopolitan city and are used to hailing down cabs – don’t.

In Canberra, most cabs you see on the street are either booked or on the way to a booking and they won’t stop. Don’t take it personally!

To catch a taxi in Canberra, book over the phone or online, use the local taxi apps, or jump in one sitting at any of the designated cab ranks around the city.

Companies include Canberra Elite Taxis, ACT Cabs, Silver Service and Ezy Cabs.

Canberra has plenty of rideshare options, including Uber, Shebah and Ola. Use your preferred app to order a car to pick you up. Payment is cashless.