By bus
All coaches to Canberra terminate at the Jolimont Centre, in the city centre and immediately across the road from the Canberra local bus ACTION interchange. The burgers at the Coach station are worth trying, for their sheer size.
Murrays (http://www.murrays.com.au/), tel 132251, Murrays operate up to 10 daily express services between Sydney Central Station and Canberra with extra services on peak days. They are the main operator on this route. Service takes just over 3 h. They always have $15 fares available on the web, for the early or late services and $18 for some others. Popular services or last-minute booking is around $35. The service is non-stop with some services via Sydney International Airport. Murrays also run a daily service from Canberra to Wollongong and Canberra to Narooma. The coaches are more cramped than the trains. Seats are unassigned, so it helps to be there early and not to have luggage to go under the bus, as that lets you get on first and secure your window seat. Buses often fill to capacity, and can experience delays due to peak traffic into and out of Sydney, although the non-stop nature means that they have been known to run 10-15 minutes early on a good run.
Greyhound Pioneer (http://www.greyhound.com.au/), tel 131499, operate a bus service competing with Murray's. Fares seem to be either $15 or $36, so you might get lucky and get a cheap ride. Note that it may not be possible to get the $15 fares when booking a return journey; if so, you probably need to book each leg separately. They also offer a direct service to Melbourne. Greyhound's coach services usually include video entertainment. The Greyhound services have stops which make the service slower than Murrays'.
NSW Countrylink also run daily buses to and from Eden on the South Coast, via Bega and Cooma.
V/Line (http://www.vline.com.au/), tel 136196. V/Line have two services which connect Canberra to Melbourne. The fastest option is a bus from Canberra to Seymour with a connecting train to Melbourne. This takes around 8 hours. The more scenic option is to travel to Melbourne via Cooma, Sale and Bairnsdale. Likewise, this service connects with a train at Bairnsdale allowing you to continue your journey southwest towards Melbourne.
By plane
Canberra International Airport IATA: CBR, (http://www.canberraairpor...) is well served by flights from other Australian capital cities.
There are flights almost hourly to Sydney and frequent flights to Melbourne. Other capitals may see only a morning and evening flights. A flight from Sydney to Canberra only saves an hour or so over driving from Sydney and for those who are not coming from an area close to Sydney Airport, air travel offers only a marginal time saving.
The following airlines fly to Canberra daily:
Virgin Australia (http://www.virginaustrali...) flies to and from Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Townsville, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart.
Qantas (http://www.qantas.com.au/) flies to and from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin and Perth.
Brindabella Airlines (http://www.brindabellaair...) flies to and from Newcastle, and Albury.
Flying time is 50 minutes from Sydney, 1 hour from Melbourne, 2 hours from Brisbane and Adelaide, and 4 hours from Perth.
There is no public bus service to or from the airport directly. ACTION buses service Brindabella Business Park, which is adjacent and a short walk to the airport terminal, with direct services from there to Belconnen via Civic. The service is somewhat erratic, and the last service is in the early evening, so best to check the timetable (http://action.act.gov.au). Tickets are $4, including a transfer. There is a private bus service provided by the Royale Group (http://www.royalecoach.co...) for $10 one way into the city, with no discount for return.
Taxis are available in front of the terminal towards the Qantas end for around $25 to Civic.
It is possible to use Canberra's offroad cycleway network to access the airport. Follow the cycleway along the north side of the lake. A section of cycleway was recently completed alongside the Molonglo River underneath the Monaro Highway Bridge which veers left and passes underneath the Pialligo Avenue bridges. Turn right, cross the creek beware of the gravel surface at this point, cross over Fairbairn Avenue, use the airport service road through the airport precinct, and make your way to the terminal.
There is a long stay and short stay car park, both within walking distance of the terminal. Expect to pay around $17 per day to park at the long stay. The long stay is cheaper than the short stay only if you park for a day or more.
Canberra airport terminals are new and have aerobridges to access all jet flights. There are remarkably few facilities in the terminals for a modern airport of this size: a cafe outside security, and a bar and cafe inside, serving overpriced drinks and snacks. There is an ATM in the arrivals hall. Bring a good book if you have any amount of time to spend here.
There are no scheduled commercial international flights into Canberra. International visitors can fly to Sydney or Melbourne and transfer to connecting flights. There are coach services to Canberra non-stop and direct from Sydney International Terminal taking around 3 1/2 hours. The last coach leaves Sydney airport just after 5pm, and there is no ground transportation from Sydney to Canberra after this time. The only option is to fly.
By car
The drive from Sydney to Canberra is 290 km and takes around three and a half hours from the Sydney CBD, less from outer suburbs in Sydney. The road is dual-carriageway, mostly freeway-like conditions from the Harbour Bridge all the way to Canberra, mostly with a 110km/h speed limit, via the M5 Motorway, Hume and Federal Highways. There are three sets of on-road services located on the Hume Highway between Sydney and the turn-off to the Federal Highway to Canberra, as well as many well-maintained and often scenic rest stops with toilets and picnic tables ideal for a picnic. Take drinks, as the rest areas have no water, or tank water which is not recommended for drinking. A third option which will enable you to see more of the countryside is to stop at one of the small towns in the Southern Highlands on the way which will have a cafe or two.
It is rare to make the entire trip between Canberra and Sydney without at least one police speed trap. The city of Goulburn, on the way to Canberra, is the training centre for New South Wales police officers and often send new recruits to run speed checks on the freeway. There are also several fixed speed traps, all of which are signposted in advance.
The drive from Melbourne to Canberra is 650 km and takes roughly eight hours on the Hume and Barton Highways, again mostly on dual-carriageway roads.