Australian interstate travel

Hopefully not a hard ask, but are there any aussie anons on this board that know much about interstate travel? Is there a general laundry list of things to be aware of?

Some specific questions:

If you go interstate by train, how long in advance should you book tickets?
Why do some flights between capitals cost less than some trains/ferries?
Are busses a better option than trains?
What occurs at interstate checkpoints and how much time is wasted at them?
If I work for cash/keep a lot of cash on me, how much money can I carry onto a plane before the people at the airport suspect I'm Pablo Escobar?

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    And can you use facebook marketplace or some website to couch surf as a cheaper alternative to hotels/airbnb?

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Not an expert (or avid train rider) but can answer some.

    >If you go interstate by train, how long in advance should you book tickets?

    They are not very busy, so I imagine you could probably book them at the station. I looked up one from brisbane to sydney and I could book the next one in 2 days.

    >Why do some flights between capitals cost less than some trains/ferries?

    Because planes are a much cheaper and faster alternative than trains for the large distances between Australian cities, why would you get 13hr train when you could get a 1hr 30min flight?

    >Are busses a better option than trains?

    Cheaper, but again 15-23hr trip vs 1hr 30min flight

    >What occurs at interstate checkpoints and how much time is wasted at them?

    As far as I know, generally there are no checkpoints (there was during covid), though in more rural areas they might check produce/animals.

    >If I work for cash/keep a lot of cash on me, how much money can I carry onto a plane before the people at the airport suspect I'm Pablo Escobar?

    No clue

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Yeah border crossings only care about fruit/veg.

      >It only takes 3-4 hours.
      Only? 3 or 4 hours to go just north of the Vic border is pretty shit. In France the TGV would take about 1hr & 20 mins to do the same distance. Why is Australia so backward when it comes to train travel?

      there's something about anglos and underfunding trains. which is odd bc i'm sure many anglos like trains

      Australia doesn't have the population density of France, Spain, Japan, China to justify high-speed trains. Australia has 25m people in territory the size of all of europe.

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    In my experience you don't need to book far in advance. Might be different for something touristy in peak season, like the Ghan in winter.
    Flights are heavily used in Australia so they just scale better. Only really applies if you book far enough in advance, plenty of over priced bullshit.
    My personal preference is always trains but it just depends on where you're going, consider the price and duration of the trip.
    There are no interstate check points, we're a federation. There was briefly checkpoints in place during Covid-19 restrictions but that's long over.
    As far as I'm aware they don't check for this on domestic flights, but I guess if you take a briefcase full of 100 dollar notes they might ask questions.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      what level of sussing you out do they even do for domestic flights?
      how incognito is it relative to train?

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        I fly for work all the time. They do no checks on people at all for domestic flights. You don’t even have your ID checked. Happy flying. I also have done insane and stupid amounts of interstate driving. There are no check points.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >what level of sussing you out do they even do for domestic flights?
        You pass through security, hand luggage, wallet, phone, laptop etc will go into a plastic bucket and through the x-ray. You walk through a metal detector. You may get called aside to have the metal detector wand waved over you, sometimes a pat down, but that is rare. A security pajeet may approach you and ask to swab your hands and bag for residue, this takes a minute. Once that is done then you are airside and can wait at the boarding gate, there is usually no further security. At the boarding gate some airlines (namely Jetstar) can be pedantic about measuring the dimensions of your hand luggage and weighing it. If it is a little over they will want you to check it in and they will probably charge you for that.

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >If you go interstate by train, how long in advance should you book tickets?
    I've never travelled interstate by train. Australia is not so great for long distance train travel, we don't have high speed trains like Europe or Asia. So a simple trip from Sydney to Melbourne can take like 11 or 12 hours by train, whereas it takes 90 minutes in the air. For this reason most people fly, only poorgays or very elderly people take the train.
    >Why do some flights between capitals cost less than some trains/ferries?
    Train and coach are usually cheap. But flights are reasonable because plenty of competition, lots of available seats and demand. Of course it also depends on the route and the time of the year.
    >Are busses a better option than trains?
    I've never been interstate on train so I can't make a good comparison. But when I was a poorgay student I did go down to Melbourne via coach and it was an overnight trip, it took about 12 hours. The bus make about two stops along the way at big roadside petrol station/truckstops. So you can get off the bus, stretch your legs, take a piss and buy a snack.
    >What occurs at interstate checkpoints and how much time is wasted at them?
    Nothing. If you fly the only 'checkpoint' as such will be airport security. If you drive then it is pretty much nothing. Sometimes between NSW and QLD they warn you not to bring in fresh fruit from interstate, but I've never actually seen a roadside checkpoint enforcing this.
    >how much money can I carry onto a plane
    When you enter Australia as an international passenger then you will need to declare if you are carrying more than $10,000 in cash, cabin crew will give you an incoming passenger card on your arriving flight and the card will tell you what you need to declare. Once you are in Australia and travelling between states on domestic flights then I'm not aware of any limits on cash.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Not all destinations can be reached by air. I'm in Melbourne and visit family just north of the border several times a year. I don't own a car so traveling by train is the only practical option. It only takes 3-4 hours.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >It only takes 3-4 hours.
        Only? 3 or 4 hours to go just north of the Vic border is pretty shit. In France the TGV would take about 1hr & 20 mins to do the same distance. Why is Australia so backward when it comes to train travel?

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          there's something about anglos and underfunding trains. which is odd bc i'm sure many anglos like trains

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          becuase the population outside the major cities is frick all, and for the large distances between them, air travel is both more economical and quicker.

          The posters train trip distance in france would be servicing multitudes more people, and this is one of the more densely populated parts of australia.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          You have no idea how big this country is and how far away people live from each other.

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    any other pension bros get free train travel?
    might go to broken hill just for a laugh

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Last time I went to broken hill I rolled in down that hill when you enter from the south an hour or two into my fuel light being on, the situation was dire, my spare jerry can was nearly empty. I stopped in the only servo open, a BP, and none of the black people were wearing shoes. I was wearing an expensive watch so I filled up and left asap

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Just drive man I've driven in every state (except NT) and it's worth it for the freedom alone

      They should rename it broken road
      Frick nsw and their shitty management of roads, almost cost me a whole new van smashing into those pot holes

  6. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Australia's big
    like whichever city you fly to, you're more or less stuck in that city unless you fly to another one.
    do yourself a favour and do what all the european backpackers do.
    >buy a $500 2nd-hand rusted rice-burner Datsun or something off of trademe or gumtree
    >chuck camping gear in the back
    >drive up/down the East coast having adventures

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Didn't read comments but trains are expensive because no one uses them. No one uses them because there's no fast trains and air travel just becomes much faster.
    You would be better off getting a bus (Murray's or greyhound) if you want to save as much money as possible.

    Melbourne to Sydney is about 700km and there's not really anything worth seeing in between.
    Really, I wouldn't really bother going anywhere aside from those two cities.
    I grew up in Melbourne and will never go back. I worked in Sydney for a few years and will never go back.
    Mostly because I hate the traffic and Asia travel has made me despise Australia's public transport systems.

    Having said that they're the only two cities I could recommend visiting.
    I've also lived in Darwin for 4 years and Brisbane for 2. Brisbane is just like Sydney but with nothing to do and Darwin has a few things to do but you'll get bored of them in less time than it takes to travel from any other city.
    Tasmania is nice but probably only worth a couple of days.
    Perth is similar to Tasmania/Hobart.
    Canberra is ignored by most Australians but probably has the nicest scenery, coffee and pubs around. But while Melbourne's public transport sucks, Canberra's in basically non-existent.

    Someone suggested buying a shitbox and driving that around the country. It's probably your best option. Some states are torture to get roadworthy certificates though and I think they all make you get one when buying a car.
    Still, it's only a good option if 8, 10 or 40 hour drives sound good to you.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      So where do you live now man?

      Canberra is boring unless you want to go to the war memorial which is top notch. Melbourne is good but nothing iconic about it outside the MCG.

      since the pandemic used cars have gone through the roof not sure the old shitbomb and drive it all around strat is valid anymore.

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