📍How To Get To Hervey Bay, Australia. (2025.) Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
NEED HELP ON HOW TO GET TO HERVEY BAY, AUSTRALIA?
Hervey Bay: the Whale Watching Capital of Australia. With a prestigious title like that and being the gateway to K’gari, the world’s largest sand island (formerly known as Fraser Island)and home to the largest remaining purebred wild dingo population on the planet, this stunning regional city is well worth visiting.
From seeing humpback whales, dolphins, and dingos in their natural environment to swimming in sheltered beaches on the mainland and exploring pristine lakes and landscapes on the island’s untouched terrain, it is an outstanding outdoor adventure playground that no nature lover should miss. But what are the options for how to get to Hervey Bay? From commercial aircraft to vehicle hire, luxury trains and regional touring buses, here are several different ways to plan your arrival!
Planning Your Trip? These Are My Favourite Go-To Resources!
- 🎟 Activities & Experiences: Viator – My first stop for unique tours and experiences anywhere in the world.
- 🏨 Accommodation: Expedia – Hotels +members get 10% off!
- 🗺 Fully-Organised Trips: Tour Radar. Multi-day tours with leading companies. Use my code BelindaA50 for $50 off tours over $1,250!
Where Is Hervey Bay?
Hervey Bay is a gorgeous oceanside city in the Fraser Coast region of Queensland. It lies 40km west of K’gari (Fraser Island), 31km north-northeast of the heritage city of Maryborough, 110km southeast of the rum capital of Australia, Bundaberg and 120km north of the former gold mining town, Gympie. From the state capital, Brisbane, it is about 284km north.
➡️Flying To Hervey Bay.
Flying is the fastest and easiest way to get to Hervey Bay. National carriers Qantas, and its budget airline, Jetstar, fly directly from the east coast cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne multiple times per week. And if you catch one of Jetstar’s famous low fares, you can travel there and back extremely cheaply.
You can also use sites like Skyscanner and I Want That Flight & and Webjet to compare different airlines and flight routes.
👇Ready For Adventure? Search For Flights! 👇
➡️Driving To Hervey Bay.
As a road trip enthusiast and fan of slow travel, I think one of the best ways to get to the whale-watching capital of Australia is by private car or a hired vehicle as you can make the trip not just about the destination but the journey too.
Just on the Bruce Highway if you’re coming from Brisbane for example, you’ve got the old gold mining city of Gympie and the heritage city of Marybough as two destinations before getting to Hervey Bay, if you’re beelining it. But if you’re not, there’s some phenomenal side trip destinations, such as Noosa, the Glass House Mountains, Rainbow Beach and Great Sandy National Park to explore.
Meanwhile, if you’re approaching from the north, there’s Rockhampton on the highway, and the industrial harbour port of Gladstone and the rum capital of Australia as outstanding side trips. Plus each of them are gateways to gorgeous islands, including of the magnificent southern Great Barrier Reef, such as Heron, Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot Island, so there’s definently no shortage of outstanding experiences to be had.
And if you have more people, sometimes it ends up being cheaper to commute people from A to B, plus there’s much more time to bond over new adventures.
➡️Interstate & Luxury Trains.
For something different, luxury regional trains are also an excellent option for travelling to Hervey Bay. Experience travelling inland along Queensland’s iconic coastline and enjoy far more legroom and a higher degree of sea reclination with Queensland’s Rail as you journey the old-fashioned way of the Tilt Trail or the Spirit Of Australia from one of the many stops.
The former travels between Brisbane and Rockhampton, while the latter connects the vibrant River City to the exciting Adventure Capital of Australia, Cairns, with both reliving the romanticism of railway travel with all the modern creature comforts and amenities.
Daytime travel is the more scenic option, with the beautiful countryside to enjoy as you whizz past, while overnight runs give you the option to rest in a sleeper bed to make the journey even more relaxing while wasting less time getting from A to Maryborough West.
Yeah, um, the trains don’t go directly to Hervey Bay, but there is a RailBus Coach Connection that’ll take you from the Maryborough West station the rest of the way to the city.
You can even pre-extend the train trip by travelling on the XPT, which connects Sydney and Melbourne and many other destinations to Brisbane by rail.
➡️Touring Buses To Hervey Bay.
Another great way to reach Hervey Bay is with a regional bus service such as Greyhound. They have an extensive nationwide network that includes all the major cities and a long list of regional destinations nationwide. This is especially useful if you are travelling to and from places that have no alternative modes of commercial transportation or, if they do, are very expensive.
Better yet, Greyhound also has various which make getting to and from some of the most remote parts of the country much more affordable for tourists and frequent travellers or those who don’t or are unable to drive or rent a car, making it even more value for money.
How To Get Around Bundaberg.
Car Hire.
Having a personal vehicle or hired car to travel around Hervey Bay is the best option as it allows you to come and go as you please and maximise your time visiting the attractions you want to see without set schedules.
It’ll also allow you to visit all the other places of interest that aren’t serviced by public transport or are too expensive for ride-sharing services, such as going to Maryborough, Bundaberg Gympie, or Rainbow Beach.
While you can get away with a 2WD, if you want to head across the pond and explore K’gari (Fraser Island) by yourself and not join a tour, you’ll definitely need a 4WD that’s permitted to drive there as there are no formal roads on the island, unless you’re willing to hike from A to B.
Some other places on the mainland also need an offroad vehicle to visit the best parts of it, such as the furthest reaches of the coloured sands and many of the interior tracks in the Cooloola section of Great Sandy National Park (Rainbow Beach) and the campgrounds and a few walking trails at Burrum Coast National Park (Woodgate.)
Ridesharing Services.
If you’re not staying long or aren’t travelling far, a great alternative to driving a car yourself is to use a ridesharing service such as Taxis or Ubers to help you get from place to place. But they do add up pretty quickly, so I’d try to use them sparingly.
Public Transport.
The Fraser Coast region has a small network of buses routes that service Hervey Bay and Maryborough which will allow you to travel to numerous attractions between the cities, which is an affordable way to travel, especially since fares are 50c across the much of Queensland’s public transport network, however, the schedules mean that it’s not the best use of time for travellers.
Conclusion: Best Way To Get To Hervey Bay, Australia.
The best way to get to Hervey Bay for most tourists will be by commercial flights, especially since Jetstar often have excellent prices for travelling to the whale watching capital of Australia during their famous and frequent sales.
