Travel

Katoomba lies due west of Sydney, about two hours away by train or bus. If travelling by car from Sydney, the most direct route is to take the Great Western Highway out of the city. This goes right past Katoomba; more than half the distance is motorway, with a minor toll payable in cash or by e-tag. The exit is clearly marked and once there the Carrington Hotel is easily identified by its tall heritage chimney, which dominates the town. Maps of Katoomba and the surrounding region can be found at the Blue Mountains Tourism website, together with more detailed driving directions. (The less direct Bells Line of Road route is much more scenic but takes around 45 minutes longer and involves tollways which need an e-tag.)

Numerous airlines fly to Sydney from all major Australian centres, and also from overseas. The airport is around 8 kilometres SSW of the Sydney CBD; there are separate domestic and international terminals about 1 kilometre away from one another. More details can be found on the Sydney Airport website

For those arriving by plane, the simplest and most flexible option for getting to Katoomba is to take the train. Follow the signs to the train station in the domestic or international terminal (see to and from the airport ). It is possible to buy a through ticket to Katoomba (current cost A$24.40). This fare includes a substantial component associated with the use of the Airport stations, and groups of two or more may find it cheaper to take a taxi to Central and go on from there (current fare A$12.20). Take the Airport line to Central Station, and change trains to the Blue Mountains line on a different platform. The journey from Central to Katoomba takes around 2 hours, with good views once the mountains are reached. More details, eg the layout of Central Station, can be found on the Sydney CityRail website, which also has a good trip planner with platform numbers (see map of Central Station ). (When using the trip planner, from the airport you will be travelling from Airport Domestic Station or Airport International Station and going to Katoomba Station.) At the moment the 6-month trackwork schedule indicates that the trains should be running normally over the period of the conference. We will be monitoring this and will update the website if there is any change.