Having signed up for the more popular tour at the tourist center in Federation Square before departing to Tasmania, I was ready to see more of the city. From Town Hall to the Burke Street Mall, various laneways, Chinatown, the State Library and other minor sights. Afterwards, I hopped into the Melbourne Museum, gaining greater context into why the city looked and felt like San Francisco, then I caught a second brief tour down a different set of streets and parks. Having Kris-crossed the city center using the free trams, I headed to Southern Cross Station to purchase a hop-on-hop-off Greyhound ticket to Sydney.

Tip:
If available, hop-on-hop-off buses are pretty good and flexible options when there are no convenient or low cost alternatives such as public transit or trains/subways. Many come with restrictions, but it’s always possible to find a cost optimized route by planning a lot of stops. If you have a lot of time, it’s possible to sequentially make every stop, which maximizes the value of the ticket, though maybe not the overall experience.

La Trobe reading room at the State Library, Melbourne

Published by BE

I write about my travel and money experiences. View all posts by BE