After completing my Canberra trip, I was ready to fly to New Zealand. It had already been a long wait. I was quite sad about leaving a beautiful city like Canberra. But I was also happy that I will be returning to Melbourne later. My flight to Auckland, New Zealand was from the Sydney airport. So I had to return to Sydney. Finally, I said goodbye to the capital city. I took the Murrays Bus (official page) to return to Sydney from Canberra. In this post I will write a review of the Murrays Bus based on my trip.
Why Murrays Bus?
I had already taken a train from my Sydney to Canberra. I wanted to experience the bus services in Australia. The reviews for the Murrays bus were positive. Moreover, the bus directly dropped me at the Sydney International Airport.
Source, destination, and timings
- Source – Jolimont Centre, 65-67 Northbourne Ave, Canberra (Departure- 0:01am).
- Destination – Sydney International Airport (Arrival- 3:15am).
The bus fare
The bus fare, including GST, is AU $37.00. They do have discounts for certain categories of passengers (e.g. students), and you can check that out in the Murrays FAQ. I didn’t get any discount as the student discount required an Australian student ID card (I had an ID card issued in Singapore).
Punctuality
The Murrays bus service is very much punctual. We departed and arrived at the aforementioned time. The journey took approximately three hours. There was no stoppage between source and destination.
Crowd in the bus
The bus was not at all crowded. Nearly 50 % of the seats were empty. Most of the passengers looked non-white folks (may be just a coincidence). All the passengers got down at the airport. It’s fair to say that if you are flying out from Sydney (like what I did); a bus route may be preferred.
Toilet in the bus
This was the first time for me to see a toilet facility in an intercity bus (I mean in any country). The toilet seat had a Western commode, it was clean and hygienic. I wonder which country in Asia has such facility. I am yet to see such facilities in Asia.
The Highway
The highways in Australia are well maintained, and safe. There are 2 to 3 lanes on each side of the highway separated by a median strip. The gaping potholes are non-existent on the highway. You can easily sleep in the air-conditioned bus. Overall, the journey is smooth, pleasant, and comfortable.
The Professional Driver
The professionalism of the bus driver is another impressive characteristic of the Murrays bus. For example, similar to the Air Hostesses’, before the trip started, he gave us a briefing about the trip – including the arrival, and departure time, bus facilities, etc. I would describe the driver’s service as polite and friendly yet very professional.
The photography session
I took a few photos and videos while the bus was heading to Sydney. I was initially sitting in the middle of the bus. Soon I realised that the front seat was empty. I quickly changed my seat and came to the front seat. Now I was sitting very close to the driver. In fact, the driver sensed my photography, and often reminded me to click photos.
Electric sockets for battery charge
Each of the bus seats has an accompanying electric socket for USB changing. So you will never run out of phone battery in the bus.
Arrival at Airport Departure Terminal
The bus brought us directly to the airport. Officially, the bus has two stops in Sydney:
- The Sydney central train station (which is slightly far from the airport)
- The Sydney international airport – the bus goes to each of the terminals (if required). So you can request the driver to stop at your desired airport terminal. I was dropped at the Terminal 1 of the Sydney international airport (my flight to Auckland was from T1). There were passengers who got down at Terminal 2, and Terminal 3.
In summary – a bus journey in Australia is a memorable experience. I would highly recommend you at least one trip (that too with the Murrays bus).
That’s all about my trip with the Murrays bus. Do check my other posts about Australia. Do check out my Canberra reviews (Part 1, Part 2), Sydney travel reviews (Part 1 and Part 2). You can also find my articles about the other countries, or the complete navigation list. You can also find more about me.
Comments and suggestions are always welcome. 🙂
Rock on!