Door-to-door from Thirlmere to the Sydney cruise terminals — Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay and White Bay, priced up front at $275. Nothing is charged when you book; a pickup before 6am adds $20.
One-way fare. Tolls, fuel and GST included. No deposit — you pay the driver after drop-off. Pickups before 6am +$20, after 8pm +$10, after 10pm +$20.
A private transfer from Thirlmere to the Sydney cruise terminals costs $275 one way for one to two passengers. The trip is 95 km and takes about 1 hr 43 min. Tolls, fuel and GST are included, and no deposit is required — you pay the driver after drop-off.
From Thirlmere in the Wollondilly Shire, you are looking at 95 km and roughly 1 hr 43 min of driving to reach the Sydney cruise terminals — Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay and White Bay. You're on the Wollondilly side of the Highlands, which is the closest corner of our service area to Sydney — the run down the Hume is short enough that a mid-morning flight doesn't need a pre-dawn start.
$275 one way, and that is the whole number. Tolls and GST are inside it, the hour of the day does not change it, and nothing is added at the terminal.
There is no money up front at all. No deposit, no card on file, no cancellation charge. You pay the driver when the trip is done.
Sydney has two cruise terminals and your ticket tells you which one. The Overseas Passenger Terminal sits at Circular Quay under the Opera House; White Bay is on the western harbour at Rozelle. The fixed fare from Thirlmere is $275 to either.
| Terminal | Where It Is | Which Ships | Fixed Fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT) | Circular Quay, Sydney CBD | Ships too tall to pass under the Harbour Bridge — most of the large ones | $275 |
| White Bay Cruise Terminal | Rozelle, inner west | Ships that fit under the Harbour Bridge | $275 |
Not sure which one? Send us the ship name and sailing date and we will confirm the terminal with the booking. Drop-off at both is at the terminal set-down zone, a short walk with your bags to check-in.
Thirlmere is one of the closest suburbs we serve to Sydney — 4 of our 54 pickup points sit nearer the city, which is why the fare is at the lower end of our range. The nearest comparison points are Couridjah at 82 km and Bargo at 86 km, so if you have been quoted for one of those you already know roughly where this sits. Within the Wollondilly corridor zone the typical run is 83 km; yours is 12 km longer than that.
Worked as a rate, this run costs about $2.89 per kilometre against a network median of $2.50. We publish every suburb so you can check that logic yourself rather than take our word for it.
There is no scheduled shuttle bus from Thirlmere to the Sydney cruise terminals. What people usually mean by a cruise shuttle here is a private door-to-door transfer, which is what we run: we collect you and your luggage from your address rather than a stop, and the vehicle is yours alone.
Compared with a metered taxi from Thirlmere, the advantage is that you know the number before you get in and there is room for full-size cruise cases. Compared with a shared shuttle, you are not waiting for other passengers or being dropped third on sailing day. The fare is $275 either way.
Split between passengers, the Thirlmere run works out cheaper the more of you travel. Every tier allows one check-in bag and one carry-on each.
| Group Size | One Way | Per Person | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 passengers | $275 | $138 – $275 | $550 |
| 3–4 passengers | $305 | $76 – $102 | $610 |
| 5–6 passengers | $335 | $56 – $67 | $670 |
| 7–8 passengers | $385 | $48 – $55 | $770 |
| 9–11 passengers | $415 | $38 – $46 | $830 |
All fares include tolls, fuel and GST. A return trip is twice the one-way fare.
Cruise lines usually open boarding around four to five hours before departure and close it 60 to 90 minutes before. We work back from your boarding window, the 1 hr 43 min drive from Thirlmere and a fifteen-minute buffer, so you arrive inside the first hour of boarding rather than in the last-minute queue.
| Ship Departs | Boarding Typically Opens | We Collect You At |
|---|---|---|
| 3:00pm | 10:30am | 9:00am |
| 4:00pm | 11:30am | 10:00am |
| 5:00pm | 12:30pm | 11:00am |
| 6:00pm | 1:30pm | 12:00pm |
| 7:00pm | 2:30pm | 1:00pm |
Tell us the ship, the terminal and your boarding window when you book and we confirm the exact pickup in writing. Those pickups are the standard $275, plus $20 for any pickup before 6am. There is no weekend loading.
We will tell you when we are not the cheapest. This is the real picture for the 95 km run out of Thirlmere.
| Option | Typical Cost | Door to Door | Pre-Dawn | Baby Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drive and park near the terminal | $140–$308 a week | Yes | Yes | Your own |
| Metered taxi | $358–$420+ | Yes | If available | Not guaranteed |
| Rideshare | $257–$341 with surge | Yes | Rarely available | No |
| Southern Highlands Transfer | $275 fixed | Yes | Every day (+$20 before 6am) | Free, fitted |
Taxi and rideshare figures are indicative ranges for a run of this distance, not quotes. Ours is the only fixed number on that table.
$275 one way as a fixed fare for one to two passengers, tolls and GST included. A return trip is $550. Larger groups move up a vehicle tier and each tier has its own published price on this page.
There is no cancellation fee, because nothing was charged up front. Let us know as early as you can so we can release the vehicle. For same-day changes, ring rather than email.
Yes, free, and we fit them before we arrive. Tell us the children's ages when you book. We do not charge for seats and we do not expect you to install them at the kerb.
Yes. We serve all 54 suburbs across the Southern Highlands, Wollondilly, Goulburn Mulwaree and Kangaroo Valley, and every one of them has its own published fare rather than a zone estimate.
Every fare allows one check-in bag and one carry-on per passenger. If you are carrying more than that, or something awkward like golf clubs, a pram or a cello, say so when you book and we will send a vehicle with the room. Extra bags are $5 each and bulky items such as golf clubs or skis $10 each.
Around 1:00am. That allows three hours for international check-in, 1 hr 43 min of driving and a fifteen-minute buffer. The fare is the standard $275, plus our $20 early-pickup fee for any pickup before 6am.
Yes. Pre-dawn departures are the bulk of our work, seven days. A 12:57am pickup is a normal booking for us: the $275 fare plus our $20 early-pickup fee (any pickup before 6am).
A 10pm landing gets you home around 12:28am allowing for baggage. It is the $275 fare plus $20 for a pickup after 10pm and $10 for an airport pickup. We track the flight, so if it lands late we are still there.
No quote-by-phone games. Book in two minutes, or call and talk to a real person.
Prefer to talk it through? 0427 143 612 · 7 days, 24 hours
