A Guide To Making The Best Of Public Transportation In Sydney Australia!

If you are planning a trip Down Under with some time in Sydney, you need to build your plans around this cities great public transportation. Like most large cities, buses are plentiful but Sydney also boasts a metro rail system and an express system called “Light Rail” that connects most major parts of the metropolitan area. In addition the system is integrated with a regional railroad network along with a fantastic harbor ferry system. The metro and light rail boasts frequent service using cars that are modern, clean and comfortable. Riding on the entire system is based on the Opal Card which is a  “tap on – tap off” system.

See Below For Complete Rates And Details On Using The Opal System

From the neighborhoods around the Central Station there are any number of metro stops that will get you to the Convention Center, Exhibit stops, Darling Harbour, Bondi Junction, Circular Quay and the Fish Market all in less than a half hour. In addition, the extensive Sydney harbor region is crisscrossed with dozens of ferries which all converge at Circular Quay located between The Rocks and the famous Sydney Opera House.

Even without a destination, taking a ferry is a great way to see the sights around the harbor and the city skyline. Ferries from the Quay take you out to Watson’s Bay (be sure and have fish ‘n chips at Doyle’s on the Beach), Manley Beach (a popular ocean front beach town noted for good surfing) and across to Luna Park, Sydney’s classic amusement park.

In addition downtown Sydney is a very walkable city. The focus of the downtown area (CBD) is Circular Quay and The Rocks. Facing the water at Circular Quay, the Opera House is to your right with a number of restaurants and shops nearby and the ferries straight ahead. Off to the left is The Rocks, the location of the original English settlement at the harbor with a number of popular shops, restaurants, galleries and two great museums. Some of the museums offer free or reduced entry admissions so be sure to check this out if you are in the area.

A short walk From The Rocks is the approach to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is worth the climb up to its walkway just for the views. If you are really adventurous and aren’t afraid of heights you can even book a climbing tour up the suspension cables to the very top of Sydney Harbour Bridge. A dozen blocks west and south is the Kings Street Wharf and Darling Harbour area with a great waterside walk lined with restaurants and tourist attractions including a wildlife center, an extension of the Sydney zoo and the Sydney Aquarium.

A metro rail trip out to the town of Bondi with a bus connection at the station to the famous Bondi Beach takes about forty minutes from the Central station area. Light Rail will connect to Central Station and will also take you to the incredible Sydney Fish Market.

Before leaving Sydney make sure you take a ferry or two and if staying for a couple of days, consider an evening at Luna Park.

Often getting around a large city as a tourist can become costly but not in Sydney if you get an Opal Card. Opal cards are available at Central, Circular Quay, major stations or over the counter from Opal retailers that include most convenience stores and newsagents. There is no charge for an Opal card, but there is a minimum top up value of A$20. Be sure you click the map below to save or print a copy before you going to Sydney.

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The above map is perfect to save on a device or to print a copy to take along.

Everything You Need To Know About The Opal Card

The most convenient way to pay for travel on Sydney’s Metro is to get an Opal Card. It is a reloadable card that can be used to tap on and off at any station, metro, trains, buses, ferries and light rail in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, the Hunter and the Illawarra. You can purchase an Opal card online, at any train station or convenience store.

The first big change is that you don’t really need the Opal card any more. While the Opal card is still convenient and can be really useful, you don’t really need to buy one. The card readers have been updated to use a number of contactless credit or debit cards that include Visa, Mastercard, and American Express along with Google and Apple Pay and you do not need to register your card or create an account. You will need to use the same card for daily travel in order to take advantage of the caps.

There is no charge for an Opal card, however a minimum top up value of $20 for an adult card, or $10 for a child or concession card, applies at retailers or when using top up machines. Top up amounts of $10 for adult and $5 for child or concession are available when topping up online.

Please Note: Charges are placed against your card once at the end of each day. If you’re visiting Australia and use your tap credit cards it may be more expensive than the Opal Card depending on your cards transaction fees and exchange rate policy.

The discounts built into the system don’t require you to do anything to take advantage of them. The system automatically calculates the charges as you use the system and applies the daily cap before making charges at the end of the day. All you have to do is ride, making sure to always use the same credit card or an Opal Card to take maximum advantage of the system.

Opal is a ‘pay-as-you-go’ system, so you only pay when you use a train or bus or ferry, including private ferry operators like Manly Fast Ferry. There are rewards for frequent travel and daily caps on fares that can save regular users and even visitors on short trips.

UNDERSTANDING OPAL TRAVEL DISCOUNTS

The biggest benefit of Opal is the benefits you can gain by using the same opal card or credit card for every trip. The system has built-in maximum daily charges called caps.

Daily Travel Cap – A maximum A$17.80 per day for adults and A$8.90 a day for a child to travel anywhere in the network.

Weekend Travel Cap – A maximum of A$8.90 for adults and $A4.45 for kids for unlimited travel on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and some public holidays.

Weekly Travel Cap – A maximum of A$50.00 a week for adults and A$25 for kids when traveling on all modes of Opal enabled transport calculated from Monday through Sunday

Transfer discount – You receive a $2 discount for every transfer between metro/train, ferry, bus or light rail as part of one journey within 60 minutes from the last tap off.

For payment the system will also allow you to use a digital wallet from Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Google Pay provided an American Express (AMEX), MasterCard, Visa or debit card is added to your Pay account.