Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Feature Tours
runs the
airport-city shuttle
(
&
1800/999 819
in Australia,
or 08/9479 4131), which meets all international and interstate flights. It does
not specifically meet intrastate flights. There is no need to book. City transfers
from the international terminal cost A$11 (US$7.15) adults one-way; domestic
terminal-city transfers are A$9 (US$5.85) one-way. Transfers between the
domestic and international terminals are A$5.50 (US$3.55) for adults. The
Fremantle Airport Shuttle
(
&
1300/668 687
in Australia, or 08/9335 1614)
operates regular services each day from the airport to hotels, or anywhere else in
Fremantle you want to go; you must book in advance. The fare is A$20 (US$13)
per person, but gets cheaper the bigger your group is—down to A$10
(US$6.50) per person for five or more people traveling together.
Public bus nos. 37 and 39 run to the city from the domestic terminal. No
buses run from the international terminal. A taxi to the city is about A$28
(US$18) from the international terminal and A$21 (US$14) from the domestic
terminal, including a A$1 (US65¢) fee for picking up a taxi at the airport.
By Train
The 3-day journey to Perth from Sydney via Broken Hill, Adelaide,
and Kalgoorlie aboard the
Indian Pacific
, operated by Great Southern Rail-
way (
&
13 21 47
in Australia; www.trainways.com.au), is an experience itself.
The train runs twice a week each direction. The one-way fare ranges from
A$1,506 (US$979) in first class with meals and en-suite bathroom, to A$1,250
(US$813) in comfy second class (meals cost extra, and bathrooms are shared),
down to A$513 (US$333) for the sit-up-all-the-way coach class (not a good
idea). Connections are available from Melbourne on the
Overland
train. See
“Getting Around Australia,” in chapter 2, for contact details in Australia and
abroad. The
Prospector
train makes the 7
3
⁄
4
-hour trip from Kalgoorlie daily; call
WA G R
(
&
13 10 53
in Western Australia, or 08/9326 2000).
All long-distance trains pull into the East Perth Terminal, Summers Street off
Lord Street, East Perth. A taxi to the city center costs about A$10 (US$6.50).
By Bus Greyhound Pioneer
(
&
13 20 30
in Australia) runs daily from Syd-
ney (58 hr.) to Adelaide and once a week from Adelaide to Perth, trip time about
34 hours. It also has service daily from Darwin via Kununurra and Broome (trip
time: about 59 hr.). Traveling from Alice Springs requires a connection in Ade-
laide and takes about 53 hours. The Sydney-Perth fare is A$397 (US$258), Ade-
laide-Perth is A$264 (US$172), Darwin-Perth is A$550 (US$358), and Alice
Springs-Perth is A$441 (US$287).
By Car
There are only two road routes from interstate—the 2,389km (1,481-
mile) route from Broome in the north, and the 2,708km (1,679-mile) odyssey
from Adelaide, which includes hundreds of miles along some of the world's
straightest roads on the treeless Nullarbor Plain. Arm yourself with an up-to-
date road map before setting off. It's not a bad idea to contact the South Aus-
tralian or Western Australian state auto clubs (listed under “Getting Around
Australia,” in chapter 2) for advice on crossing the lonely Nullarbor. Both routes
cross mostly featureless and semidesert, sheep ranches or wheat fields most of the
way, with very few towns en route. For that reason, I don't recommend either!
VISITOR INFORMATION
The
Western Australian Visitor Centre,
Albert
Facey House, 469 Wellington St. on the corner of Forrest Place, Perth (
&
1300/
361 351
in Australia, or 08/9483 1111; www.westernaustralia.net), is the offi-
cial visitor information source for Perth and the state. It's open Monday through
Thursday from 8:30am to 6pm (5:30pm in winter May-July), Friday from
8:30am to 7pm (6pm in winter), Saturday from 8:30am to 12:30pm year-round,
