Opal cards

Public transport in Sydney is cashless, and you need an Opal Card. That will change in the next few years, so check your facts after 2026.

If you are arriving by air, you can get a train into the city, and you will find machines that dispense Opal cards as you approach the turnstiles. You cannot use cash to pay for travel, but you can use the Opal card on all ferries, trains out as far as Kiama, Newcastle of the Blue Mountains, and all buses.

In most cases, you need to "tap on" and "tap off", so the system knows how much to charge you. An exception is the Manly Ferry, where you need only to tap on, because everybody is chased ashore at the other end.

There is an Opal One Day Travel Pass is valid in the Opal network on trains, buses, ferries and light rail services. This includes public transport in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Hunter, Illawarra and Southern Highlands. It is not valid on private ferries such as the Manly Fast Ferry, they say. There are some annoying rules.

You may be better off forgetting the one-day pass and using an  ordinary Opal Card which has a daily cap. This is $18.70 a day (Mondays to Thursdays), $9.35 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays and  $50 a week.


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