Getting there

Planes

You can fly direct to Canberra Airport (www.canberraairport.com.au) from any of Australia's state capitals | except Darwin | as well as from Newcastle | Townsville and the Gold Coast. Qantas (www.qantas.com.au) | Virgin Blue (www.virginblue.com.au) and Tiger Airways (www.tigerairways.com) all cover the route. A taxi to the city centre costs about AU$20. The Airliner bus (www.airliner.com.au) runs between the airport and the city bus interchange half-hourly during the week and hourly on the weekend.

Trains

Arrive in Canberra at Kingston station, about six kilometres from the city centre. Direct services on CountryLink (132 232; www.countrylink.info) arrive from Sydney daily, although from Melbourne there’s a train/bus connection.

Automobiles

Canberra is about 300 kilometres south west of Sydney | and an easy three-and-a-half-hour drive. Major car hire companies can be found in both cities. Smith members get a discount with Hertz (www.hertz.com).