Sydney Airport to the City: Train, Bus and Taxi Options, Fees and Fares Explained (Sydney, NSW)

Sydney Airport says the trip to the city takes 13 minutes by train, about 20 minutes by taxi and about 25 minutes by car in light traffic. A station access fee of $18.61 for an adult is charged on top of the train fare whenever you use the Domestic or International airport station, as of October 2026.

Sydney has two airport stations, Domestic and International, both underneath the terminals. Buses and taxis are the other options, and which one suits you depends on where in Sydney you are heading and what time you land. This guide sets out what Transport for NSW and Sydney Airport publish about each.

How do I get to the city by train?

Both airport stations are on the T8 Airport & South Line. Transport for NSW says services run frequently to and from the Domestic and International airports every day between 5am and midnight. Sydney Airport says the airport is 13 minutes by train from the city and that trains run approximately every 10 minutes.

Finding the station

• International (Terminal 1): from Arrivals, exit at Exit A, turn right and head to the end. You can also use the lift or escalator near Check-In desk A.
• Domestic (Terminals 2 and 3): take the lift or escalator near baggage carousel 1 in both terminals.

Sydney Airport describes the International station entrance as being on the arrivals level, past Arrivals Hall A, and the Domestic station as reached from the arrivals level of the T2 and T3 terminals.

What is the airport station access fee?

When you use the Domestic or International stations, a station access fee is charged in addition to the train fare. Transport for NSW says the fee is charged by the Airport Link Company, which privately owns the airport stations. It is taken automatically from your Opal card or contactless payment, and it is added to the price of an Opal single trip ticket when you buy it.

Ticket type	Station access fee	Weekly cap	Single trip ticket fee
Adult	$18.61	$37.75	$19.00
Child/Youth	$16.64	$33.83	$16.90
Concession and Senior/Pensioner	$16.64	$33.83	n/a

The fee is the same for Opal cards and contactless payments but higher on an Opal single ticket. Transport for NSW says train fares themselves are cheaper with an Opal card or contactless payment than with a single ticket. Once you reach the weekly cap for your fare type, you pay no more station access fees for the rest of that week, which runs Monday to Sunday.

Two rules apply to the fee. Station access fees are not included in the Opal daily or weekly travel cap, and the Opal 60 minute transfer does not apply at the airport stations, so tapping off and on again within an hour counts as two journeys and two station access fees.

Fees to Mascot and Green Square

If you travel between the airport stations and other Airport Link stations, the station access fee is a flat amount: $12.74 between an airport station and Green Square, $10.34 between an airport station and Mascot Station, and $5.20 between the Domestic and International stations. Each of those is charged in addition to the train fare. Transport for NSW’s Trip Planner calculates Opal fares and includes the station access fee where it applies.

How do I pay?

Transport for NSW says you can pay a bus or train fare with an Opal card, a contactless debit or credit card or digital wallet, or an Opal single ticket. Adult fares on a contactless card need no set-up: tap on at the start of the trip and tap off at the end, using the same card, because only one card can be used per passenger.

• Adult and Child/Youth Opal cards are available at the airport stations. A minimum top-up of $35 applies if you buy or top up at an airport train station.
• Concession and Gold Senior/Pensioner Opal cards are not sold at the airport. You need to apply online before you travel and allow 7 to 10 days for the card to arrive by post.
• Most concession fares can be linked to a contactless card through a Transport Connect account, which must be done the day before you travel.

Sydney Airport adds that you can buy an Opal card from the station or WH Smith.

Which buses serve the airport?

Transport for NSW lists several bus routes linking the airport with surrounding suburbs, including Bondi Junction, Coogee, Maroubra, Eastgardens, Mascot, Rockdale, Bexley North, Campsie and Burwood. These routes run from early morning until around midnight, seven days a week.

Route	Where it goes	When
350	Domestic Terminal to Bondi Junction via Mascot, Maroubra and Coogee	At least every 10 minutes during the day, seven days a week
420	Burwood to Mascot Station via Campsie and Rockdale, serving the International and Domestic terminals	Between 4am and midnight at the International Terminal
N20	Riverwood to the City via the International Terminal	Late night, between midnight and 4am

Route 420 is also the bus option for moving between the two terminals, along with the T8 train, which carries the $5.20 station access fee noted above.

What does a taxi cost?

There are taxi ranks outside each terminal, and Transport for NSW says supervisors are available at peak times. Two official sources give different figures for the trip to the CBD, so check the price with the driver.

• The Point to Point Transport Commissioner’s fixed fare trial page says that from Monday 3 November 2025, a one-way trip from a Sydney Airport taxi rank (T1 International or T2/T3 Domestic) to the Sydney CBD trial area costs $60 for a standard or wheelchair accessible taxi, or $80 for a maxi taxi with five or more passengers or when one is requested. The trial runs for 18 months and applies to single, unbroken journeys. The fare includes all taxes, fees, levies and tolls. The only extras allowed are a card surcharge of up to 5% and a cleaning fee of no more than $120. The page gives the CBD trial area as the part of the City of Sydney bounded by the Harbour from Murray Street at Pyrmont Bay in the west and the Royal Botanic Gardens in the north and east, with further street boundaries listed on the page.
• Sydney Airport says the CBD is about a 20 minute ride away and costs about $45 to $55 one way. For rideshare, it says to arrange with your driver to meet at the priority pick-up area.

Transport for NSW adds that a meter must be used for all other taxi trips.

What other options are there?

Sydney Airport lists the DART Express Shuttle, which runs direct transfers between the airport and Sydney CBD locations including Central, Hyde Park, Kings Cross, Darling Harbour and The Rocks. It operates daily from Terminal 1, and you can book online or at the DART kiosk in T1 Arrivals A. The airport also lists car rental desks at the arrivals level of T1 and the T2/T3 domestic terminals, and undercover bicycle racks at both ends of T1 and next to the public pick-up area in the domestic precinct.

Driving from the airport to the city takes about 25 minutes in light traffic, according to Sydney Airport. The airport is about 8km from the CBD. International Terminal 1 is open from 3am to 11pm and Domestic Terminals 2 and 3 from 4am to 11pm, as listed on the airport’s website.

How do the options compare?

Option	Published time or price	Source
Train	13 minutes to the city, about every 10 minutes; $18.61 adult station access fee plus the train fare	Sydney Airport; Transport for NSW
Taxi	About 20 minutes, about $45 to $55; or $60 flat fare to the CBD trial area during the trial	Sydney Airport; Point to Point Transport Commissioner
Car	About 25 minutes in light traffic	Sydney Airport
Bus	Routes 350, 420 and N20; check fares in the Trip Planner	Transport for NSW

Western Sydney International Airport is a separate airport, and Transport for NSW lists its own getting-there page.

Sources

• Transport for NSW — Getting to and from Sydney Airport (fees, fares, buses, taxi; checked 18 October 2026)
• Point to Point Transport Commissioner — Fixed Fare Trial (taxi flat fare, trial area; read 18 October 2026)
• Transport for NSW — Airport travel
• Sydney Airport — Transport options (train time, taxi estimate, shuttle; checked 18 October 2026)

Featured image: Sydney Domestic Airport station (photo: Nick-D / CC BY-SA 4.0) (text added)

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Transport for NSW, the Point to Point Transport Commissioner, Sydney Airport or the Airport Link Company. Fares, fees and timetables can change; check the official pages above and the Trip Planner before you travel.