Pros and cons of Firefly overnight bus from Sydney to Melbourne, Australia
I decided to travel from Sydney to Melbourne by Firefly bus for a number of reasons. Firstly I wanted to save the hassle of flying. Although flight prices between the two cities cost roughly the same, I figured that once I’d calculated in baggage cost and getting to and from both airports, the bus was going to work out cheaper. Another added bonus of getting the Firefly bus was that it departed and arrived from the centre of both cities so it was so much more convenient.
After backpacking down Australia’s east coast for two months and having taken the typical backpacker option of travelling with Greyhound buses on a three-month bus pass, I’d not heard of the Firefly bus before. In fact, it was only when I was researching for the cheapest possible way to get between the two cities that the Firefly bus came up as the cheapest option, Costing just $77 AUD one way compared to $170 AUD for the Greyhound. For the price, I wasn’t expecting much but in all honesty, It was just as good as the Greyhound, if not better.
Pros of Sydney to Melbourne Firefly bus
- Clean
- USB charging point
- An allowance of free wi-fi
- Lot’s of space as fewer people travel via Firefly
- Picked up and dropped off from the city centre
- Baggage included
- Toilets on board
- Reclining seats
- Assigned seats (not sure if this is a pro or a con)
- Overnight journey saves a night’s accommodation cost
- Regular stops for food/ toilets
Cons of Sydney to Melbourne Firefly bus
- Can be delayed due to traffic
- Air Con was very cold
- Some food breaks were really disruptive (at 3 am)
- The journey was quite bumpy so hard to sleep
- Toilet got pretty dirty by the morning
Other things to bear in mind
- You need to prebook the bus online at https://www.fireflyexpress.com.au
- You need to bring a copy of your ticket, either printed or on your phone.
- Firefly advise that you arrive at the bus 30 minutes prior to departure
- The bus leaves from outside Sydney’s Central Station from 488 Pitt Street and drops you off at Melbourne Southern Cross train station. A list of all of the stops and their addresses can be found here.
Overall I was really happy with the Firefly bus from Sydney to Melbourne. It was comfortable, efficient and really affordable. Firefly also offers routes between Melbourne and Adelaide.
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