Public Transport options in Canberra?

[ckck]

Greetings frequent flyer fans

1. Quick question for those who frequent/live in Canberra. I am wondering what public transport options there are from the Canberra airport to the city? I have already searched the forum and found the Airport Express Shuttle bus. Are there any other options?

I will be arriving into Canberra during the day (haven't booked my inward MEL-CBR flight yet but I still have a few hours to do so and still get double SC's).

2. Also I am heading out early in the AM (back to the airport) what is Canberra's traffic like (flight leaves before 0700hours)? I imagine if you phone for a taxi around 0530-0600hours you don't need to wait too long for them to come and pick you up from the city? What is the approx. cost of a taxi fare on a weekday morning?

3. Alternatively are there any half decent hotels near the airport?

4. Any other suggestions/comment/pearls of wisdom for the frequent flyer just passing through would be most welcome.

TIA,

ckck

 

[AIRwin]

I had the same first 2 questions before trips in October and December and can answer them.

1. I found public bus #10 which seems to run near the airport:
Route 10 to Belconnen - ACTION Buses
I was in CBR for a 10 am meeting and took the airport shuttle on arrival as I didn't want to take a chance. I had booked a one way ticket online as I originally planned on taking the public bus after the appointment if I had enough time given I didn't know where the public bus dropped off and it may involve some walking. Alas I didn't want to miss my flight and ended up on the airport shuttle again so I could have saved some $ by booking a return ticket at first.

2. I flew QF795 from CBR to MEL on 15 December after the AFF Christmas train trip. My alarm was set at 05:00 am and the taxi receipt showed a time of 05:16 when I arrived at the airport. I was even waiting for the QP to open at 05:30 before my flight at 06:40. The fare was $24.35 from Novotel.

 

[ckck]

Thanks for the info.

How was the Novotel? Did they offer or did you ask for any plat benefits?

 

[AIRwin]

How was the Novotel? Did they offer or did you ask for any plat benefits?

It was MartinMemo's room which I hijacked while he was out partying and I crashed into bed at 1 am until my 5 am alarm so unfortunately I can't tell you much about Novotel...

 

[serfty]

It seems there are no "Action" buses that go near the airport on weekends, so the airport express is the cheapest option then and on public holidays.

Three one I caught from near the casino/crown plaza/exhibition centre was on time.

 

[ric_melb]

I have stayed at the Novotel a few times and think its now my hotel of choice in Canberra. Very central, so you can walk to restaurants and the main shopping centre. I guess its typically Novotel in style, which you should take as a good thing. Not 5 star but good 4 star.
I had no trouble with taxis. Typically a $25 fare. And very little traffic. They call you a cab early morning and it arrives quickly.
One thing I found is that rooms above the 5th floor (I think) are smaller, as they have useless balconies etc. The lower rooms are really large and I prefer them.
If allocated a smaller room, I have had it changed relatively easily so far.

 

[ckck]

Thank you all for your tips.

 

[OzEire]

Public transport in Canberra is only bus (no train, tram, ferry, etc.). The operator is Action Bus. This is from their website (love that the airport busses are routes 737 and 757) - note very limited services on the Weekend:

Tourist Guide - ACTION Buses

Airport Services
There is no direct ACTION service to the Canberra Airport, however there are multiple buses that service stops close by on weekdays.
Routes 10, 28 and Xpresso peak-hour routes 737, 757 and 786 all service stops in Fairbairn Park – within a 15 minute walk (approximately 500 metres) from the terminals. There are no weekend services to or from Fairbairn Park.

But my best advice is that Google maps do a very good job of providing this information in their native interface. I just typed "Directions from Canberra airport to Novotel" into google, brought up the maps result and selected the public transport option... and it found route 10 from Fairbairn Park to Civic. You can enter your times into Google and it will find the right route number for you.

A taxi will be about $25 each way as mentioned above and takes about 10 mins, the bus costs around $5 each way and takes about 25-40 mins depending on the route.

Enjoy your stay.