📍How To Get To Hervey Bay, Australia. Planes, Trains & Automobiles. (2025.)

NEED HELP ON HOW TO GET TO HERVEY BAY, AUSTRALIA?

With it having the title of the whale watching capital of Australia and being the gateway to K’gari, the world’s largest sand island and home to the largest remaining purebred wild dingo population on the planet, those are just the headliners for why Hervey Bay is the renowned city it is.

From seeing these marine and land-based animals 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 lovers 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 the best ways to get to this unforgettable destination.

Hervey Bay is a gorgeous oceanside city in the Fraser Coast region of Queensland. It lies 40km west of K’gari, 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.

There are several ways to get to Hervey Bay. These include commercial flights, car hire, regional trains and buses.

➡️ Flights.

Flying is the fastest and easiest way to get to Hervey Bay. National carrier 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.

➡️ Car.

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 hire vehicle as you can make the trip not just about the destination, but the journey too. And when you’ve got surrounding destinations like Rainbow Beach, Gympie, Bundaberg, Burrum Coast National Park, Maryborough and Wongi State Forest, it’s a pretty inviting deal if you ask me.

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.

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.

Car Hire.

Having a personal vehicle or hire 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 as there are no formal roads on the island, unlike 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 Queensland for the 6month period starting August 2024, however, the schedules mean that it’s not the best use of time for travellers.

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