Travel

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• Getting to and from the Airport
• Travelling around Sydney
• Currency Information
• Cultural Information
• Weather Information

Getting to and from the Airport < top>

The ICAD Conference venue is the Manly Pacific Sydney Hotel. It is located at 55 North Steyne, Manly, NSW. It is ~35 km from Sydney International airport and ~16 km from the city centre. Options for getting to and from the airport include:

Manly Airport Bus
Manly Airport Bus operates a shuttle service daily from 7am to 10pm that will pick you up inside the airport and drop you off at your hotel.
You need to book the shuttle ahead of time by emailing to manlyairportbus@hotmail.com or by phoning 0500-505800.
Cost is $28 per person (cheaper for two or more) and the trip takes 30-60 minutes. Airport Meeting Points are
International - Terminal 1: between Exit Gate 1 and McDonalds (inside the terminal)
Domestic - Terminals 2 + 3: inside the terminal at luggage carousel 5

Taxi
Just take a taxi directly from the airport taxi rank to the hotel.
Distance about 32km, Cost ~$60, Time 30-60min (depending on traffic)

Driving
Distance about 32km, time 30-60 min (depending on traffic)
You can find directions from the airport to Manly using the "Smart Trip" service on the travelmate homepage. "Smart Trip" is an excellent tool for planning any road trips within Australia.

Train and Ferry  
(The Scenic Option - recommended if you have time and not much luggage)

Cost ~$20, Time 45-90 min (depending on connection times)

Take the airport link train to Circular Quay Station. From here it is about a 100 metre walk to Circular Quay ferry wharf. You can buy a ferry ticket at the Wharf from either the office or an automatic machine. Normal ferries to Manly leave from Wharf 3 and take about 30 minutes to get to Manly ferry terminal. (The Jet Cat takes only 15 minutes and leaves from Wharf 2 but there are only limited services). From Manly Ferry Wharf it is about 1km walk. When you exit Manly Ferry Terminal go straight ahead up the "Corso". This is a pedestrian style, paved mall that leads towards Manly Beach. When you reach the beach you go left along North Steyne. The ICAD Conference location is the Manly Pacific Sydney Hotel and it is about 150 metres along North Steyne.

The map below shows the information you require to get from the International Airport to the ICAD Conference venue and hotel. If you wish to find out specific train and ferry times you can go to the City Rail This web site also provides an excellent trip planning service.

Travelling around Sydney <top>

Train and Ferry
Manly is about 30 minutes by ferry (15 minutes by jet cat) from Circular Quay. From Circular Quay Wharf you can connect to the other ferry services as well as the train network. This gives you easy access to most places in Sydney. For timetable and pricing information about the rail network including a metro map and times you can visit the City Rail Site at http://www.cityrail.info/. This web site also provides an excellent trip planning service at http://www.cityrail.info/fares/trip_planner.jsp# 
For ferry information you can visit the Sydney Ferries site at www.sydneyferries.info.

Bus - For locations not serviced by Train and Ferry you can take Buses directly from Manly. You can also find out Bus connections using the trip planning service at http://www.cityrail.info/fares/trip_planner.jsp#

Car - Traffic in and out of the City can be quite busy at peak times (7.00am-10.00am , 3pm-7.00pm) and you will need to allow for traffic time if travelling at these times. Parking can also be quite expensive. If you wish to plan a trip I recommend using the "Smart Trip" service on the travelmate homepage at http://www.travelmate.com.au/Home/Home.asp. "Smart Trip" is an excellent tool for planning your road trips throughout Australia.

Cultural Information <top>

Actually Australia is famous for having no culture! Well that's probably not completely true. In fact Australia has an amazing level of cultural diversity. This stems from a mix of ancient indigenous roots and the more recent influx of European cultures. In fact Melbourne has the second largest Greek population in the world. American culture has always had a strong impact on Australia and more recently there has been a blending of many Asian cultural influences as well.

So you'll find lots of great restaurants of all types around Sydney. There are also a number of good museums and galleries in the Sydney metropolis. If you wish to go outback and see the red desert, chase kangaroos or wrestle crocodiles you'll have to travel a little further outside the Sydney Metropolitan region. Of course Taronga Park Zoo is just a short ferry ride away from ICAD and so there's no excuse for not meeting a few kangaroos, koalas, ecidnas and of course the odd platypus or two.

Australians are very fond of outdoors activities and sport so you may wish to try your hand at something more physical. Why not take up surfing. Manly beach is an excellent place to have a surf lesson or two. Watching sport is a bit less strenuous. ICAD is right in the middle of the Australian Rugby League season and you will find a match close by. If you are fond of body contact sports it makes an interesting afternoon of viewing. Perhaps a round of Golf is more to your liking. There are some great public golf courses very close to Manly.

More information on Australia can be found in the Wikipedia.

Weather Information <top>

ICAD is in the middle of the Australian Winter. The winter is generally fairly mild - something like an English summer. It is quite common to have blue skies and mild days. However the nights can be a bit cold and some winter weather patterns can bring cold winds and rain. So we can't promise perfect beach weather. Daily temperatures in the range of 5°C - 20°C can be expected. For more up to date information you can check out the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology.