Dubbo travel guide

Dubbo is a city in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia.

Understand

View of Dubbo from the suburb of West Dubbo (Photo: Tim Keegan, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Get in

By car

Dubbo is approximately a 4-hour drive west of Lithgow on the Great Western and Mitchell Highways, and a 4-hour drive west of Sydney.

Dubbo is accessible from Newcastle (via the New England and Golden Highways). Approximately 2-hour drive.

Dubbo is roughly half-way between Melbourne and Brisbane on the direct inland route, bypassing Sydney.

By train

NSW TrainLink operates an XPT train service between Sydney and Dubbo daily, generally departing Sydney in the morning and arriving between 2–3PM. There is an additional coach connection to Lithgow (connecting with the unbooked train service there) and a thrice-weekly coach connection to Cootamundra (connecting to the Sydney to Melbourne XPT). There are also regular coaches connecting to Broken Hill, Bourke and Lightning Ridge.

Dubbo is one of the few places in regional NSW to which it is practical to take the train without requiring transport at the other end. There is accommodation within easy walking distance of the station, from where you can explore the centre of town and the attractions there. The zoo is only a 5 km taxi or bus ride, where you can hire a bike, car or walk around the zoo.

By plane

• Dubbo City Regional Airport (DBO IATA) (on the Mitchell Highway to the north-west of town). You can get a taxi into town, or pre-book a rental car to pickup at the airport.
• Regional Express operates flights to Dubbo from Sydney and Broken Hill.
• Qantaslink flies between Sydney and Dubbo.

Get around

By bike

There is an off-road cycleway (Tracker Riley Cycleway) from the centre of Dubbo and the Macquarie River out to the Western Plains Zoo. It is an easy cycle, and then you can use your bike to cycle around the zoo as well.

By taxi

The zoo is only a short distance from town, and it is quite economical to catch a taxi there. You can rent a bicycle at the zoo to get around when you get there.

By bus

Dubbo Buslines does the trip from the centre of town to the zoo eight times a day on weekdays, and five times on Saturdays and Sundays. On weekdays, there is almost a frequent service between Orana Mall and the town centre – with five bus routes doing the trip. Limited service on Saturdays and Sundays.

There is also a scheduled bus service on weekdays to the neighbouring towns of Narromine and Wellington.

See

• Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Obley Road, ☏ +61 2 6882 5888. Daily 9AM-5PM. This large open range zoo, one of the finest zoos in New South Wales, has both exotic and native animals, including elephants, giraffes, and the rare black rhinos which are the focus of a breeding program at the zoo. It is the biggest attraction of tourists to the city. The zoo is quite large, and it is both useful and fun to hire a bicycle to get around. There are variety of styles, child seats, baskets and trailers for hire at the entrance, or a cycleway loop stretches all the way from town. Admission is $45 adults, $22 children 4-15, $30 concessions and free for children under 4. Tickets are valid for entry on two consecutive days.
• Dundullimal Homestead, 23L Obley Rd, ☏ +61 2 6884 9984. Tue-Sat 11AM - 3PM. Dubbo’s oldest building, a farmhouse built around 1840, that is open to the public. $9.50.
• Old Dubbo Gaol, 90 Macquarie St, ☏ +61 2 6801 4460. An official gaol from 1859 to 1966, it is now a museum and tourist attraction. There are both guided and self-guided tours.
• Dubbo Observatory, 17L Camp Rd. An observatory 15 km away from Dubbo where you can see the Milky Way and take some Astrography shots.
• Dubbo Visitor Experience (Royal Flying Doctor Service Visitor Experience), 21 Judy Jakins Dr, Dubbo, toll-free: 1800 847 487, dubboenquiries@rfdsse.org.au. Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM Sat 9AM-4PM Sun 9AM-3PM.

Do

• Dubbo Kart Club, ☏ +61 2 6884 5321, +61 428 480 714 (mobile). Has hire karts available and hosts Local, State, National and International karting events.
• Orana Dragon Boat, ☏ +61 408 636 273, muchomumbo@gmail.com. Orana Dragon Boat is crewed by eighteen paddlers, a sweep who steers the boat from the back and a drummer who calls time in the front. Their boat is housed near Sandy Beach and usually paddle in the straight stretch of the Macquarie River between Sandy Beach and the Weir.
• Dubbo History Walking Tour. +61 404 238 209. dubbopubhistory@hotmail.com. Discover Dubbo, 'the hub of the west' on a 2-hour self guided walking tour. Explore its oldest hotels & pubs and hear the stories behind the first settlers.

Buy

• Farmer’s Markets There are farmers' markets every month in Dubbo. They are on the first and third Saturday of every month, near the Tourist Information Centre. Fresh produce, poultry, coffee, jams, preserves, olive oil, sourdough bread, etc.

Eat

• Amazing Thai, 36 Cobra St, toll-free: +61 2 6882 8889.
• Dahab Cafe, 197 Brisbane St., ☏ +61 2 6884 5320.
• Ming Hing, 248 Macquarie St., ☏ +61 2 6871 2107. A BYO Chinese restaurant.

Drink

There are a number of pubs and bars in Dubbo, with the Commercial Hotel, the Pastoral Hotel, Milestone, Western Star, Macquarie Inn and Dubbo RSL attracting quite a few locals and tourists on weekends.

• Milestone Hotel, 195 Macquarie St, ☏ +61 2 6884 8230. Built in 1881, it became a mixed-use premises until returning to its original purpose as a pub and hotel in 2005. One of the favourites among the locals.

Sleep

Dubbo is a popular stopping off point, and has a large range of accommodation. Except at the busiest times of year, it's possible to get motel accommodation on a drive up basis on the main roads into town.

• Cascades Motor Inn, 147 Cobra Street, ☏ +61 2 6882 3888. All rooms equipped with queen-sized bed, telephone, television, A/C, Wi-Fi. Rates start at $112.
• Aberdeen Motor Inn, 25 Cobra St, ☏ +61 2 6884 1700, info@aberdeendubbo.com.au. Rooms, suites and family apartments.
• Blue Gum Inn, 109 Cobra Street, ☏ +61 2 6882 0900. Has several kids rooms 2a and 3 kids.
• Blue Diamond Motor Inn is walking distance to the station, if you are arriving by train and want a nearby place to stay.
• Discovery Parks, 154 Whylandra St, ☏ +61 2 6884 8633, dubbo@discoveryparks.com.au. Clean, quiet and spacious.
• Fountain View Motel, 113-115 Cobra St (opposite Elston Park), ☏ +61 2 6882 9777. Affordable accommodation.
• Quality Dubbo International, 165 Whylandra St, ☏ +61 2 68824777. 60 rooms including suites, kitchen suite, family rooms, interconnecting rooms, and special designed rooms for guests with a disability. These rooms all have remote control television units, tea and coffee facilities, iron and ironing board, Free wireless broadband Internet, independent air conditioning units and Foxtel TV. All of the rooms have an electronic coded door locking system.
• Australian Heritage Motor Inn, ☏ +61 2 6884 1188, bookings@australianheritagemotorinn.com.au. A 4-star rated accommodation standard with 23 suite motels and 4 cottage style units. Cnr Brisbane and Cobra Streets. Rates start at $128.
• Cattlemans Country Motel. Has an unimaginable number of rooms.
• Endeavour Court Motor Inn, 94-98 Bourke St (850 metres from the train station), ☏ +61 6881 1000, reservations@endeavourcourtmotel.com.au. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM.

Go next

Only an hour and a half away (or 128 km ESE) from Dubbo, Mudgee offers a fantastic historical heritage and a host of great small wineries.

Wellington Caves and phosphate mines make a good day trip. Wellington is a pretty town, and well worth a visit itself.

If you're coming from Sydney, your halfway towards the outback, and you can keep travelling out towards Cobar and Broken Hill

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