The city of Albury, in New South Wales (Australia), may not be as well known to the world as other cities in the country, but it is a place worth visiting. If you’re traveling through this part of Australia, Albury should be a mandatory stopover on your way to Canberra, as it’s midway between Melbourne and the country’s capital. It’s an attractive place with lots to do and see, so spending a few days in Albury is recommended. In the same city there are beautiful parks and botanical gardens, as well as historical buildings and museums. If you like nature, the city has easy access to lakes, forests and mountains where you can go hiking. If you enjoyed this area, head to Canberra, the capital. Reminiscent of Washington DC, this planned city has monuments, parks, gardens, memorials and museums, enough to keep you entertained for a few days or even weeks.
Options for traveling from Albury to Canberra
On the map it doesn’t seem like a great distance from Albury to Canberra. But we must not forget that Australia is a large country and appearances can be deceiving. The distance in a straight line is 220 kilometers, but such a short route can only be traveled by air. By road, the distance is up to 340 kilometers. The dual carriageway curves slightly to the west and north before reaching Canberra due to the mountains of a national park along the route. Unfortunately flying is not an option as there are no direct flights from Albury to Canberra. Albury has an airport, but for now only operates flights to and from Sydney and Melbourne. You could fly from Albury to Sydney and take a second flight to Canberra from there, but the journey would be very long and quite expensive. Another option is to travel from Albury to Canberra by train, although almost all travelers choose the bus as it is a practical and economical option. We tell you the details of all the solutions so that you can make the best decision.
Albury to Canberra by train
Albury train station © ArliftAtoz2205 / Shutterstock.com
An internet search gives the impression that it is possible to take a direct train from Albury to Canberra, but in fact that is not the case. Albury station marks the end of the V-Line service, which runs northbound from Melbourne. In Albury, passengers must get off the train and transfer to a bus going to Canberra. It is possible to continue traveling north by train on NSW TrainLink services, but this line runs from Albury to Sydney, passing through Canberra. If you want to travel by train from Albury to Canberra, you will need to change at Goulburn train station. While it doesn’t seem like much of a problem, Goulburn is quite a ways past Canberra, meaning it reverses on the leg from Goulburn to Canberra. Therefore, the journey is much longer than in a direct train, if one existed. In addition, the price of tickets is quite high, because they have to take several trains.
With the inconvenience of transfers, waiting and the final journey back to the capital, we don’t believe the train journey from Albury to Canberra is the most recommended transport option.
Albury to Canberra by bus
Greyhound Australia bus © ArliftAtoz2205 / Shutterstock.com
The bus journey has nothing to do with the train journey. This is the most common solution for getting from Albury to Canberra as it is easy, cheap and there are many daily services from different companies that run this route.
Greyhound Australia is one of those companies and it’s a great option if you want to travel with a trusted provider. It has a fleet of modern and comfortable buses for a journey of this duration, and they offer multiple daily departures from Albury to Canberra. One of the buses runs the route at night, a good alternative if you want to make the most of the daylight hours. Traveling on a night bus also saves an overnight stay, so the price is even more reasonable.
You can book tickets with Greyhound from Albury to Canberra through the website 12Go.Asia. Here you will find search results for the buses available each day and you can choose from two departure locations in Albury. The first is Albury train station, which is more centrally located. These buses depart at 1:30 AM and arrive in Canberra at 6:00 AM. There is another scheduled departure at 12:30pm arriving in Canberra at 5:00pm. The other departure point is on the outskirts of the town, in a service area of the M31 known as Albury Meal Break. Buses leave here at 2:20 AM and 1:20 PM. The scheduled journey time is shorter, approximately 3 hours 40 minutes, while the journey from central Albury takes 4.5 hours. Making a reservation via 12Go is easy, fast and practical. Confirmation of purchase is received immediately.
As we mentioned in the train travel section, one of the train companies also operates a bus service from Albury to Canberra that allows you to transfer to the train service from Melbourne to Albury. The bus service can be used by any passenger, not just rail passengers. It’s a good alternative if you don’t want to travel with Greyhound or if their buses are full when you go to book.
With V-Line, only one bus per day departs from Albury train station at 11:20am and arrives in Canberra at 3:35pm. In this case, the journey takes about 4 hours and 15 minutes and includes six stops along the way. Travel times are similar to Greyhound, but V-Line tickets are usually cheaper.
While it is possible to fly from Albury to Canberra with a stopover in Sydney, this solution does not save time or money, so it is not highly recommended. The same applies to the train, because there is no direct rail connection. Buses offer an easier and cheaper solution for getting from Albury to Canberra, so we recommend traveling between these two cities by bus.