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How to get to Bondi Beach

Contents: Travelling to the Beach From Bondi to the City General Bus Info General Train Info Other Bus Adventures City to Surf by Bike Transport Trivia

It is not difficult to find Bondi Beach as long as you know where Sydney is. Sydney is in New South Wales. If you are coming to Bondi Beach, leave your car behind if you can. Public transport in Sydney is pretty dismal but parking can be even more of a problem at the beach. Be warned of parking meters in all main streets close to the beach. Buses run to the beach at 10 minute intervals or better all day from Bondi Junction. Services are less frequent after about 7:30 pm at night, with buses every 15 minutes until midnight and, as a last resort, a bus runs every hour all night. On Friday and Saturday nights there are buses every half hour all night. The railway station at Bondi Junction is about 2 kilometres back from the beach. The train service is supposed to run every 10 minutes on weekdays, and every 15 minutes at weekends. All, repeat all, buses from the beach to the city go via the railway station at Bondi Junction. For more timetable and route information on Sydney buses visit "Sydney Buses" at www.sydneybuses.info. For ferry information visit "Sydney Ferries" at www.sydneyferries.info. For train information visit "CityRail" at www.cityrail.info. For issues that relate to public transport visit Action for Public Transport. If you have local transport trivia please share it with us. Hint: Print this section now for a reliable pocket guide to the buses and trains.

Travelling to Bondi Beach from the City

Bus: All buses from the city start from Circular Quay and the ride to Bondi Beach takes 45 minutes. The starting point is in Alfred Street, close to ferry wharf number 2 (opposite Customs House and the AMP buildings). The bus may be numbered 380 or 382 or 333 with the destination showing North Bondi, Dover Heights, Watsons Bay or Bondi Beach. Collectively this is called "the 380 bus" and all buses go to Bondi Beach. Buses go along Elizabeth Street next to Hyde Park, turning at Liverpool street, up to Taylor Square, thence to Paddington and Bondi Junction via Oxford Street. The 389 bus also starts from Circular Quay at the same bus stop, and reaches North Bondi via the back streets of Paddington. It does not got along the waterfront at Bondi Beach, instead it goes along Glenayr Avenue, about two blocks back from the beach.

Train: The stations in order are Central, Town Hall, Martin Place, Kings Cross, Edgecliff and Bondi Junction. The train ride takes 10 minutes from Town Hall to Bondi Junction. Then change into a 380, 381, 382 or 333 bus for a 15 minute ride to the beach.

Travelling from Bondi to the City

Bus: Catch any bus marked 380 or 333 but make sure it's marked Circular Quay not Bondi Junction. The trip to Circular Quay takes 45 minutes on the 380 bus, and about six minutes less on the 333. All 381 and most 382 buses terminate at Bondi Junction.

Train: Catch any bus (Bondi Junction or Circular Quay) and change to join the train at the Bondi Junction interchange. Follow the crowds. This is generally quicker on weekdays especially in peak hour, but not as scenic as staying on the bus for the full trip to the city.

General Bus Information

All single-ride fares can be paid direct to the bus driver but you will soon notice that all the locals have pre-paid tickets. These are purchased at most newsagents; the drivers do not sell multi-trip tickets except the all day pensioner special which costs the princely sum of $2.50, and the DayTripper ticket. Exception: You must have a pre-pay ticket for the 333 bus as the drivers do not sell tickets on the bus. Bus fares are calculated according to the number of sections you travel. It's not a single price system, and is a bit complex for tourists but briefly from Bondi Beach it's $1.80 to Bondi Junction (up to 2 sections), $3.00 for Paddington and Darlinghurst (up to 5 Sections) and $4.00 right down to Circular Quay. Ask the driver or read the leaflets. If in doubt, pay the more expensive fare and stay on the bus longer. The TravelTen ticket gives 10 bus rides for the price of 8 - for Bondi to the City you need the Red one costing $32.00. For Bondi Beach to Bondi Junction you need the Blue one costing $14.40. There is also a brown TravelTen costing $24.00 for travel up to five sections. There is a BusTripper ticket giving unlimited rides for one day for $12.10 but these tickets do not cover train fares and are hard to find (bigger agents only). A weekly ticket called a "Red Travelpass" gives unlimited rides on buses, trains (and some ferries including the Zoo) covering Bondi to the City for $35.00 for seven days. Recommended. Hint: If you are planning a ferry trip to Manly during the week, buy the Green TravelPass instead for $43.00, as the return ferry ticket alone costs $12.80 and is not covered by a Red Travelpass. There is also a DayTripper ticket covering unlimited bus, rail and ferries for one day for $16.00 - this is ideal if you suddenly decide on a ferry ride to Manly. Further, there are premium tickets for tourists. These cover extras such as trains to the Blue Mountains and the tourist buses Bondi Explorer and Sydney Explorer. For example, the three day SydneyPass costs $110 for an Adult but it covers everything. For enquiries ring 131500. Timetables are displayed on posts at many bus stops. There is a wider range of tickets and more restrictions than we can cover here. Advice for tourists: if you are here for more than three days, buy a Red Bus/Rail Weekly at the nearest newsagent immediately, before catching any bus or train. There are concession fares and tickets for genuine students on their way to classes, and for pensioners. As a tourist, don't bother with these, as the ticket inspectors are very strict on concessions - you might as well have no ticket at all. The difference between the bus numbers 380, 381 and 382 is quite small. The 381 bus makes a slight detour to the south off Bondi Road via Denham and Fletcher Streets just up from the beach. The 381 terminates at Bondi Junction station and does not go to the city. The 380 and the 382 stay on Bondi Road thus saving about two minutes. The 382 is like a 380 but terminates at Bondi Junction like a 381. The 333 is a bus which only stops at about every third stop; such stops are clearly marked. These buses run every 10 minutes during the daytime and save about 9 minutes on a trip from Bondi Beach to Circular Quay. You must buy your ticket in advance as the driver does not sell tickets on the bus. This latest fashion, the "bendy bus", has replaced the L82 service. There is also the Bondi Explorer. This Bus is worth checking out, especially if you want to get an overview of the Eastern Suburbs or visit Coogee Beach. Perfect if you want to do several major tourist sites in one day. This bus runs every half hour for most of the day, it arrives at the Bondi Beach stop in Campbell Parade (on the beach side of the street) at 26 and 56 minutes past the hour; just pay the bus driver $39.00 for an all day pass and head for Coogee.

General Train Information

The timetable is easy to remember. On weekdays, a train should leave Bondi Junction every ten minutes on the hour then 10, 20, 30 etc. These time apply until 10:10 pm at night when later trains run every 15 minutes. When coming back to Bondi, trains from the City to Bondi Junction pass through Town Hall Station on the 4 minutes past the hour then 14, 24, 34 etc on weekdays. Allow a couple of minutes earlier at Central and a couple of minutes later at Martin Place. This pattern continues until 9:54 pm thence every 15 minutes until 11:44pm. Generally the Sydney train system finishes around midnight. There are a couple of later trains on Friday and Saturday nights at 12:09 and 12:39. At weekends, the trains run every 15 minutes on 10, 25, 40 and 55 minutes past the hour from Bondi Junction to the city. With this infrequent service, it's much more sensible to stay on the bus at weekends. Train Shambles It's no wonder the media write constantly about Sydney's trains. Vast quantities of money are being spent but rail travel remains unpleasant and the system continues to decline. If you have an appointment, do not rely on the Sydney rail system as breakdowns are common and trains are often cancelled "for today only". There are virtually no seats on the stations and no rubbish bins neither. Passegers are subjected to a constant barrage of loud recorded announcements, often stating the bleeding obvious, over and over. Smelly smokers are tolerated in non-smoking areas, especially at Strathfield and Central. The further you travel west, the more often you will see people hurdling the ticket barriers because they don't have a ticket. I strongly advise tourists coming up from Bondi Beach to catch a bus marked Circular Quay and stay on the bus for a pleasant ride into town. Town Hall: A rabbit warren of a place with six platforms and countless steps and escalators. It's an easy place to lose your sense of direction, so don't be afraid to ask. All the shops have been removed, leaving a station totally devoid of soul, but with good pedestrian flow. You go out one end to reach the cinema district and Chinatown, and out the other end for shopping, The Queen Victoria Building and the centre of town, Either way will lead to Darling Harbour. The shortest way is to go out the cinema end and walk immediately down the Bathurst Street hill; but the more interesting way is to walk right through the Queen Victoria Building until you can ride up the escalator, then walk along the ground floor level until you reach the far end of the building, then turn left, walk down the hill and then across the old Pyrmont Bridge. Central Station: This is the interchange point for country and interstate trains and most of the country and interstate bus services. An obnoxious station for commuters, with lots of confusing and pointless one way passages. Yep, CityRail converted most of the two way pedestrian tunnels to one way and took down all the signs, replacing them with "No Entry". Watch all the people taking short cuts into tunnels marked "No Entry" - what a joke. Change at Central for the airport train service but it is is very expensive and is not recommended for groups of people (a taxi is far cheaper for three) or those with a lot of luggage. Otherwise the airport train service is fast and runs near the terminals, both domestic and international. Extremely poor design at the International Airport with the station at one end, instead of in the middle. Send a message if you need more information on the airport train line. Catch the country trains at Central for the Blue Mountains (a great day trip), also Wollongong, (a view from the train that will take your breath away, and from the Wollongong station it's a downhill 10 minutes walk to the water), Gosford and Newcastle. All these routes are electrified and very scenic. You won't be disappointed. Major towns to the west, north and south of Sydney have trains every hour. For Olympic Park, the usual plan is to change at Central. You will have to ask for advice at Central as there can be three ways of getting to Olympic Park. Always think about what you are told at Central, as I have seen people given completely wrong advice by the staff - and I was actually there for one classic incident where staff on Platform 18 told Parramatta travellers to go to Platform 1. At Platform 1, staff told these people to go to Platform 18. As you would expect, about 60 travellers got very angry and I realised CityRail was in terminal decline and not worth defending. Cronulla: Many trains from Bondi Junction go through to Cronulla, a beach about 30Km to the south right at the other end of the line. On Sunday December 11th, 2005 there was a full scale riot of 5000 people at Cronulla where people were attacked and bashed on the streets and on the trains. Luckily there has been no repetition since, and once again tourists can go to Cronulla, although some caution should be exercised. The second anniversary of this riot has recently passed without incident. Tourists and Backpackers can visit Cronulla, although its reputation as a pleasant surfing beach has been tarnished. To explore Sydney, it's a good outing from Bondi. There is a ferry service every hour from Cronulla across to Bundeena on the south side of Port Hacking. Martin Place: This is the heart of the banking and legal district. It's about 10 minutes walk downhill or a quick bus ride to Circular Quay, The Rocks and the Opera House. Many museums and public buildings are nearby, including the Hyde Park Barracks (ask if your family is on the convicts database). Walk through the yard of Sydney Hospital at the top of Martin Place to reach the Art Gallery. Kings Cross: Up the escalator to the night life, strip joints and the backpacker hotels. Visually stimulating with lots of other people to look at. Also very pleasant in the day time - thousands of people actually live in the Cross and there are many good eateries to choose from. It's busy and a bit sleazy (actually very sleazy) on Friday and Saturday nights, but for many from the suburbs that's the attraction. Circular Quay: There is a modern station at Circular Quay, but it's not on the Eastern Suburbs line - you have to change at Town Hall or Central. It's not worth the effort - the best strategy is to get out at Martin Place and walk down the hill.

Other Bus Adventures

Apart from the famed 380, lots of other bus services wind their way through the back streets. Bus drivers, trying to be helpful, will not suggest these runs for fear your trip will take longer or you will become lost. But here are a few worth trying:- The 389 bus. This is a great alternative to the 380. Catch the bus at Circular Quay or in Elizabeth Street just north of Park Street. The 389 bus runs every 10 minutes all day (20 minutes on Sundays and 30 min after 8pm daily) and goes through the historic back streets of Paddington, following the route of an old tram service. You will pass a whole street of coffee shops in East Sydney, past the gates of the Darlinghurst Gaol, through streets lined with terrace houses, thence on to Bondi Junction. The 389 travels along Glenayr Avenue at Bondi Beach which is a long block but a level walk to the beach. Ask the driver to put you off at Hall Street or Curlewis Street. If you are lost, just stay on the bus as it terminates alongside the 380 at North Bondi. Recommended scenic trip for tourists. The 400 Bus. The 400 goes to the Uni. of NSW, The Prince of Wales Hospital, Eastgardens and the Airport. This bus runs every five minutes on weekdays and every 10 minutes on weekends. Service are less frequent after 7pm and finish around 11pm. Catch the 400 bus in Bondi Junction inside the bus interchange, or outside the Tea Gardens Hotel. Many passengers are students and staff going to the University of NSW; you can also get to the Randwick Ritz Cinemas (after a short walk, or go direct on buses 314-316-317) which are located at a suburb known as The Spot. This is a small shopping centre with the famed Ritz Cinema and a lot of relaxed restaurants. Originally on the tram route to Coogee. Every 20 minutes a 400 bus continues on to the Domestic and International airport terminals. For shopperholics and first-release movie buffs, the 400 takes you directly to the Eastgardens Shopping Centre and Cinema Complex. The 378 bus. This goes to Bronte via Bondi Junction, but not to Bondi Beach. However the terminus is right at Bronte near the water. There is a pleasant beach and park at Bronte, lots of coffee shops and a great cliff-top walk back to Bondi. The walk takes between 40 minutes and an hour and is recommended.

City to Surf by Bike

Transport Trivia

The 380 bus travels a road which dates to the early days of the colony. Oxford Street, through Paddington and Bondi Junction, follows the ridges all the way. Look out of the bus window and observe that the land often slopes away on both sides. This was the original road to South Head. Similarly the road from Bondi Junction to Randwick (Bronte Road and Frenchman's Road) also follows the ridge. Many buses including the 400 still follow this route. It was the first ever tram route in Sydney over 100 years ago. Enlightened research points out that most of the main roads in the Eastern Suburbs follow aboriginal walking tracks which sensibly followed the ridges and avoided the swamps.

History The Bondi Junction station opened in 1979 but the idea of an eastern suburbs railway goes back, so it's said, as far as 1865. Plans, modelled mainly on London's underground, had stations at Taylor Square, the Showground and Randwick Racecourse. Other proposed lines would serve all the eastern suburbs beaches. Unfortunately, an extension of the existing line to reach Charing Cross, Randwick and the University of NSW was abandoned in the 1980s. Instead, the government has spent $54 million at Bondi Junction for a loop so that trains can turn around. Back in 1999 there were proposals for a station at Bondi Beach with a surcharge of $2.50 to a private operator, who would have built a private station in a public park and then permitted government trains to use this private station. These plans were quietly buried. The reason there were no shops in the original Bondi Junction station is because the Bondi Junction Chamber of Commerce opposed them. They argued that commuters could come up to Oxford Street and buy anything they wanted. Even the newspaper seller and florist's stall near the ticket barriers have gone, showing that commercial interests are more important than simple convenience for commuters. An underground tunnel to the Westfield shopping was never finished, but is hidden behind the now-closed Countrylink shop. Locals can spot tourists on the trains. At Bondi Junction most trains reverse direction but the tourists don't turn their seats over to face the new direction of travel. Visitors will notice that Bondi buses always travel in pairs, giving 2 buses every 10 minutes, rather than a bus every five minutes as promised in the timetable. I am reliably informed that buses running in pairs along Bondi Road is caused by bus affinity magnetism, a local manifestation of new age psychic attraction.