The Service:
The East Coast Greyhound bus services are the most backpacker-friendly way to get up or down the country. Depending on the season, multiple buses depart and arrive per day but can book up very quickly! Even if you’re a chilled ‘go-with-the-flow’ kind of traveller, I would say having a rough itinerary before you begin your trip is important.
The most cost and time-efficient option is to BUY A 30 DAY WHIMMIT PASS, which you can do here:
30 Day East Coast Whimit Travel Pass
Things to know about the Pass:
- It will begin on the day of your first BOOKED bus journey.
- East Coast only (Melbourne to Cairns, or vice versa)
- You can buy a 7-day pass, a 15-day pass, a 30-day pass or create your own!
- It is easy to change bookings online – a last-minute change I made was a few hours before.
- Selecting your seat is an option.
- There are toilets on the buses – usually clean :/
- There are usually stops every three hours.
- Top-ups are available.
- Free wifi on board and USB chargers
Bus stop locations (& WhatThreeWords):
Melbourne – Southern Cross Coach Terminal, Bay 55, 205 Spencer St
Sydney – Central Station, Forecourt, Coach Bay 5&6 (prop.divide.gives)
Byron Bay – 51-57 Butler St, Byron Bay Interchange, Bay C (eyebrow.litmus.netbook)
Surfers Paradise (Gold Coast) – 10 Beach Rd, Back Of Building, Bays 8 & 9
Brisbane – Brisbane Coach Terminal, Parkland Cres (grows.then.fruit)
Noosa – Noosa Junction, Platform 2, Stop C, 38 Sunshine Beach Rd (scavengers.headroom.trumpet)
Rainbow Beach – Bus stop, 19 Spectrum St (freelance.employer.machine)
Airlie Beach – Transit Terminal, 26 The Cove Road (poodle.mutually.dubbing)
Townsville – Sealink Terminal, 2 Sir Leslie Thiess Dr
Cairns – Bus stop, Platform 1, Cairns Railway Station, 142 Bunda St
What times I think you should book:
I used the Pass in August 2023 from Sydney up North towards Cairns – so please refer to relevant timetables if you are going at a different time of year or are going North to South instead.
Updated timetables can be found here:
(They are uploaded in chunks; see Sydney to Brisbane, then Brisbane to Cairns, for example)
Melbourne to Sydney: Get an overnight bus. No questions asked.
Sydney to Byron Bay: 22:30 departure.
Allows you to leave bags in accommodation during the day, have a proper dinner before the journey and get to Byron Bay later in the day so the wait time to check into accommodation is shorter.
Byron Bay to Brisbane: 10:00 departure.
You probably won’t want to leave, but you can check out on time and check in to new accommodation right on time. It also allows daylight hours in Brisbane to do any food shopping for the stay.
(I went to Fiji for 9 nights here).
Brisbane to Noosa: 09:30 departure.
Noosa is so beautiful, the early start will be worth it!
Noosa to Rainbow Beach (K’Gari Trip): 16:20 departure.
Rainbow Beach is boring, and realistically, you want to spend as little time here as possible. I did my K’Gari trip with Pippies and booked a pre-departure stay. I arrived at about 19:00 and checked into my dorm, ready for the early start.
Rainbow Beach to Airlie Beach: 19:15 departure.
The K’Gari trip aims to return to Rainbow Beach at 16:00, so making this overnight bus on the same day is easy. Spend less on accommodation, escape boredom and wasted time, and arrive at Airlie the next day!
Airlie Beach to Townsville (Magnetic Island): 09:50 departure.
You will be dropped off right by the Sealink ferry terminal for your transfer to Magnetic Island. Make sure you have cash, as the Maggie buses won’t take cards!
Townsville to Cairns: 14:20 departure.
Make sure you get the ferry on time!