Getting to Newcastle
May 30, 2011, 1:05 pm
#16
Join Date: May 1998
Location: australia
Posts: 5,769
I'd fly to SYD and rent a car and drive up to Newcastle:
1) You don't have to worry about missed connections
2) Unless you hit a particularly nasty peak hour or a crash that closes the F3 you'll be in Newcastle within 2 hours of getting off the plane.
3) You'll be able to drive directly to where you want to go
4) You'll have a car for 24 hours to see the Newcastle sights (or should that be sight
)
5) My experience is that one-way fees are not charged by the majority of car rental companies for a SYD pick-up/Newcastle drop-off
6) Depending on the company you choose you will earn FF miles - best one for me is 800 Lanpass miles with Avis
7)Rental with petrol should be under $80
8) As you are heading north you avoid the Harbour Bridge/Tunnel tolls
although if you take the fastest route to the Harbour tunnel you get pinged with the Eastern distributor toll.
9)If you stay off the freeway and take the old Pacific Highway and enter Newcastle through Swansea/Belmont its a very scenic drive if a little longer. Alternatively, detour up through Cessnock and the Hunter Valley.
1) You don't have to worry about missed connections
2) Unless you hit a particularly nasty peak hour or a crash that closes the F3 you'll be in Newcastle within 2 hours of getting off the plane.
3) You'll be able to drive directly to where you want to go
4) You'll have a car for 24 hours to see the Newcastle sights (or should that be sight
)5) My experience is that one-way fees are not charged by the majority of car rental companies for a SYD pick-up/Newcastle drop-off
6) Depending on the company you choose you will earn FF miles - best one for me is 800 Lanpass miles with Avis
7)Rental with petrol should be under $80
8) As you are heading north you avoid the Harbour Bridge/Tunnel tolls
although if you take the fastest route to the Harbour tunnel you get pinged with the Eastern distributor toll.9)If you stay off the freeway and take the old Pacific Highway and enter Newcastle through Swansea/Belmont its a very scenic drive if a little longer. Alternatively, detour up through Cessnock and the Hunter Valley.
May 30, 2011, 1:54 pm
#17
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP/LTG | UA P
Posts: 13,538
I'd only consider driving if there was plenty of free time in Newcastle afterwards - to recover. It will be quite a stressful time getting from SYD to the start of the F3 if you are unfamiliar with the roads, directions and traffic behaviour especially in the morning or evening peak periods. Likewise driving the F3 will not be a joy if the weather is crappy - as it was yesterday ( northbound closed in evening peak due to multi car crash ). 
Only drive in middle of the day or take the train or air options otherwise.
Only drive in middle of the day or take the train or air options otherwise.
Jun 10, 2011, 7:00 pm
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: QF, NZ, MH, Hilton
Posts: 83
Thanks for the advice everyone, I'd been into NTL twice before, once a KUL-SIN-BNE-NTL, and the other time direct from MEL (and both times drove out to SYD)
It boiled down to two choices...
AKL-BNE-NTL with transfer hassle at BNE, last flight of the day on each leg, and long taxi in from NTL
AKL-SYD-train , airport train to central, train to Broadmeadow, and short taxi.
Took the train option, had 30 minutes to spare at Central, attendant on turnstiles let me out and in to get food and toilet break. Had a forward facing seat on its own with about 3 metres of legroom so plenty of room for my bag and could get the laptop out, and entertainment provided from two passengers suffering severe cases of short-man syndrome who had a discussion on the etiquette and length and time of phone conversations on trains.
Only hassle was waiting on wrong side of Broadmeadow for my taxi...
The float plane looks an interesting option for next time.. I'll save it for an evening flight back to Sydney. The prospect of walking from Rose Bay and walking to my brothers house and telling him I walked from the "airport" is too good to pass up.
It boiled down to two choices...
AKL-BNE-NTL with transfer hassle at BNE, last flight of the day on each leg, and long taxi in from NTL
AKL-SYD-train , airport train to central, train to Broadmeadow, and short taxi.
Took the train option, had 30 minutes to spare at Central, attendant on turnstiles let me out and in to get food and toilet break. Had a forward facing seat on its own with about 3 metres of legroom so plenty of room for my bag and could get the laptop out, and entertainment provided from two passengers suffering severe cases of short-man syndrome who had a discussion on the etiquette and length and time of phone conversations on trains.
Only hassle was waiting on wrong side of Broadmeadow for my taxi...
The float plane looks an interesting option for next time.. I'll save it for an evening flight back to Sydney. The prospect of walking from Rose Bay and walking to my brothers house and telling him I walked from the "airport" is too good to pass up.
Jun 11, 2011, 10:15 pm
#19
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: San Francisco/Sydney
Programs: UA 1K/MM, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Something, IHG Gold, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 8,176
Jun 13, 2011, 4:17 pm
#20
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Sydney, Aus
Programs: QF WP, Starwood Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, Avis President's Club, Amex Platinum
Posts: 2,880
I catch the ferry from Rose Bay (next to the seaplane base) every morning. You see the same people get off the seaplane from Newcastle pretty much every day. I think it's quite a successful service.