How to get to Australia’s most iconic cities & destinations

Domestic flights will take you to Sydney from nearly everywhere in Australia. It’s a great city to use as a base for your trip. From Brisbane or Melbourne, it's a short 1.5-hour flight, while flights from Perth take just over four hours.

The closest capital cities to Sydney are Canberra (three-hour drive), Melbourne (nine-hour drive), and Brisbane (10-hour drive). The National Highway system will take you between these cities.

There are flights to Canberra from many capital cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. From Sydney and Melbourne the journey takes just over an hour, while flights from Perth take just under four hours.

From Sydney, Canberra is an easy three-hour drive through the Australian countryside. You can also drive to Canberra from Melbourne, which takes around seven hours.

Flying to Melbourne is easy within Australia, as there are direct flights from all capital cities. From Brisbane, flights take about 2.5 hours, while flights from Perth take about 3.5 hours.

You can drive between Melbourne and Sydney in around nine hours. Adelaide is also close at an eight-hour drive, or a 13-hour drive if you take the iconic Great Ocean Road.

There are direct flights to Adelaide from every capital city in Australia. It takes just two hours from Sydney or three hours from Perth.

There are direct flights to Perth from every capital city in Australia, except Tasmania's Hobart. From Sydney, it takes about five hours, while from Brisbane it takes about 5.5 hours.

There are direct flights to Darwin from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. From Melbourne, it takes about 4.5 hours, while from Perth it takes 3.5 hours.

There are direct flights to Brisbane from every capital city in Australia. From Sydney, it takes 1.5 hours, while from Adelaide it takes 2.5 hours.

Driving to Brisbane is easiest from Sydney; the drive takes 10 hours along the Pacific Highway. Stop along the way at one of the many friendly coastal towns, including the beloved Byron Bay.

Cairns, Townsville, Airlie Beach (Proserpine), and Hamilton Island are gateways to the Great Barrier Reef, all of which are accessible via domestic flights from many of Australia’s capital cities. Flights from Sydney to Cairns take about three hours, while flights from Perth to Cairns take about six hours.

One of the best ways to travel to the reef is by driving; Australia’s east coast provides beautiful scenery for a road trip. If you drive between Cairns and the Gold Coast (about 20 hours), there will be plenty of opportunities to experience the best of the reef along the way.

Plenty of travellers drive to Australia’s Red Centre from Adelaide or Darwin. If you choose this option, be aware that the distances are great at around 16-17 hours each way, so these journeys should be done over a few days on a road trip.