Quarantine
Part of New South Wales is covered by the Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone (http://fruitfly.net.au/). This zone also covers parts of South Australia and Victoria, but the area covered in New South Wales encompasses most of the Riverina area in the southwest of the state, stretching north as far as Broken Hill and as far east as the town of Narrandera. Don't take fruit or vegetables into the Riverina area, including the cities of Broken Hill and Griffith and the town of Hay. Fines apply of up to $20,000. A tougher restriction zone, the Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area applies to some areas around the Victorian border near Mildura.
Motorists using highways to access New South Wales which pass through the area, including the Sturt Highway from Victoria and Barrier Highway from South Australia, and all plane travellers to the area should not take any fruit or vegetables with them. If you accidentally enter the zone with fruit or vegetables, there are amnesty bins at the entrances to the zone and at airports. Although there are not the permanent checkpoints in New South Wales like those used in other states, roadblocks and spot checks at airports can and do get set up from time to time, and if you are carrying prohibited produce, you will be fined.
By Rail
Sydney is one of the major hubs of rail services in Australia, and trains run from every mainland capital city in Australia except Darwin directly to Sydney. Connecting services from Darwin are available in Adelaide. The interstate rail providers are as follows:
Countrylink
(http://www.countrylink.info), run by the New South Wales Government, runs several interstate services. Trains run twice daily from Melbourne, two or three times daily from Canberra and once a day from Brisbane. These trains are much slower than flying, and slower than a coach, but are a relaxed way to see the Australian countryside.Great Southern Railways
(http://www.gsr.com.au/) run interstate services which are more of a tourist train than a passenger service, but still provide a chance to see the spectacular countryside. The world-famous Indian Pacific connects Perth, Adelaide and Sydney via Broken Hill. Passengers from Darwin and the Northern Territory can change services from The Ghan in Adelaide.Both providers stop at intermediate stations on their way to and from Sydney, where it may be possible to change to bus services if you are not travelling direct to Sydney. Countrylink pricing is generally competitive with plane or bus travel. GSR offers a premium service, and will is only cost effective if you consider the train trip as more than a utilitarian means of transport.
By road
Travellers arriving overland will usually pass through the near border towns of Broken Hill from South Australia, Albury-Wodonga or Eden from Victoria and Tweed Heads from Queensland.New South Wales is linked by sealed highways to the three surrounding states. The main routes used by motorists into New South Wales are as follows:
From Queensland:via the Pacific Highway, entering at Tweed Heads/Coolangatta, at the south end of the Gold Coastvia the New England Highway, entering at Wallangarra/Jennings, approximately 250km south-west of Brisbane
From South Australia:via the Barrier Highway, entering at Cockburn, approximately 50km west of Broken Hill
From Victoria:via the Hume Highway, entering at Alburyvia the Princes Highway, entering just south of the town of Eden.via the Sturt Highway often used by motorists coming directly from Adelaide, entering just north of Mildura.
By plane
Most air travellers to New South Wales arrive at Kingsford Smith International Airport (http://www.sydneyairport....), 8km from the Sydney central business district, which is Australia's largest international and domestic airport. It is the only international airport in New South Wales. It is likely to offer the cheapest flights into the state.
Seven other airports in New South Wales have interstate flights:
Flights from Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Canberra and Norfolk Island operate to Newcastle Airport (http://www.newcastleairpo...).
Flights from Melbourne and Canberra operate to Albury Airport (http://www.alburycity.nsw...).
Flights from Melbourne and Brisbane operate to Coffs Harbour Airport (http://www.coffsharbour.n...).
Flights from Melbourne operate to Ballina Byron Airport (http://www.ballina.info/a...).
Flights from Brisbane operate to Port Macquarie Airport (http://www.hastings.nsw.g...)
Flights from Brisbane operate to Tamworth Airport (http://www.tamworth.nsw.g...)
Flights from Adelaide operate to Broken Hill Airport (http://www.brokenhill.nsw...).
Note that flights from some of these destinations do not operate every day.
International and domestic visitors to the Northern Rivers including Byron Bay should consider the Gold Coast Airport (http://www.goldcoastairpo...), which is only minutes from the New South Wales northern border, and has many domestic and some international flights. Similarly, interstate travellers visiting the south of New South Wales may choose to fly through Canberra Airport (http://www.canberraairpor...), to access the Snowy Mountains, South Coast or Riverina areas.
By Sea
Sydney Harbour
is one of the major stops for cruise ships during the summer season. Vessels from all around the world including Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean all offer cruises to New South Wales. descend on Sydney every year and dock at various ports within Sydney, including the International Passenger Terminal.Newcastle Harbour
also receives some cruise ships, mainly from P&O Cruises to the Pacific.If you wish to sail your own boat, for detailed information about sailing into NSW coastal ports contact the New South Wales Maritime Authority (http://www.maritime.nsw.g...). Ports with customs officers are also available at Eden on the South Coast and Yamba on the North Coast.