Cheapest€127.58
- Virgin Australia VA750606:012h 24m08:25Sydney SYDMackay MKY
Door to door 5h 34mCO2 361.9 kgChanges 0Fixed, no changes
Traveling from Sydney to Mackay costs €127.58 at the cheapest and takes 5h 28m door to door at the fastest, across 1 mode and 1 operator. The route covers 1,471 km. Cheapest is by Flight, fastest is by Flight.
At a glance
- Distance
- 1,471 km
- Fastest
- 5h 28m
- Average
- 5h 36m
- Services per day
- 5
- Cheapest
- €127.58
- CO2 per passenger
- 361.9 kg
Every way to make this journey
Journey times below are door to door, so they include getting to the terminal and away from it at the other end. Fares are the cheapest we currently sell on September 29, 2026.
| Mode | Door to door | Moving | At the ends | From | CO2 | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight | 5h 34m | 2h 24m | 3h 10m | €163.57 | 361.9 kg | 4 |
- 5h 34mFastest, by Flight
- €163.57Cheapest, by Flight
- 361.9 kgLowest CO2, by Flight
- 1,471 kmDistance traveled
The cheapest and the fastest on September 29, 2026
Two journeys we can sell today, with the service number each operator files them under.
Lowest CO2€178.54
- NSW TrainLink NS535607:305h 22m12:52North Sydney railway stationSouth Brisbane railway station
- Queensland Rail QR716814:205h 53m20:13South Brisbane railway stationMackay railway station
Changes at Brisbane, with 88 minutes between services and a walk of about 5 minutes.
Door to door 13h 27mCO2 50.7 kgChanges 1Refundable
Today's real departures
Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.
No live timetable for this trip yet.
Live from the operators' own published timetables, through the open transit feeds they publish. Times and services are real. Fares are modeled until our booking connectors are live.
Prices over the next three weeks
Live from our own engine, refreshed on every request. The cheapest days for each way of traveling are marked.
| Cheapest fare by mode and day for Sydney to Mackay | FriSep 11 | SatSep 12 | SunSep 13 | MonSep 14 | TueSep 15 | WedSep 16 | ThuSep 17 | FriSep 18 | SatSep 19 | SunSep 20 | MonSep 21 | TueSep 22 | WedSep 23 | ThuSep 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight | €388.95 | €356.50 | €333.49 | €247.94 | €244.99 | €274.49 | €293.37 | €213.72 | €238.50 | €184.81 | €163.57 | €167.70 | €169.47 | €227.29 |
| Train | €543.74 | €448.04 | €419.99 | €278.09 | €306.14 | €329.79 | €393.59 | €317.69 | €338.59 | €278.64 | €238.49 | €220.34 | €240.69 | €327.04 |
Cheapest day: 2026-09-29 · €127.58
That is the traveling done. What happens after you walk out into Mackay is not something we sell.
Rooms within reach of Mackay railway station
Hotels and apartments near downtown, most of them with free cancellation, on a map that shows what is walkable.
Search Mackay on AgodaOr compare on Booking.com
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Sydney to Mackay
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €141.7490 days
- €117.5560 days
- €150.0045 days
- €171.8330 days
- €168.8821 days
- €227.2914 days
- €293.377 days
- €333.493 days
- €388.951 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €117.55.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time is 231 percent. The most expensive point is €388.95, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 60 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 60 days ahead. You are inside that window.
Which departure day costs least
Median cheapest fare for each weekday, taken across the next three weeks of real prices.
- €184.81Sun
- €163.57Mon
- €167.70Tue
- €169.47Wed
- €227.29Thu
- €213.72Fri
- €238.50Sat
How the fare moves month by month
The same journey priced on the fifteenth of each of the next six months.
- €244.99Sep
- €164.75Oct
- €152.95Nov
- €159.44Dec
- €132.30Jan
- €122.86Feb
The route
What the journey actually looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 20% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 80% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 1,471 km against 1,428 km in a straight line, a detour of 3 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Townsville, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay. The gap between arriving and leaving is 83 minutes, of which about 14 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 12 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
- First and last departure
- The first service of the day leaves Sydney at 06:01 and the last at 07:30, across 4 departures. The return direction keeps its own timetable, so the times back are not these times reversed.
Where you leave from and where you arrive
The stations, airports and ports each mode on this corridor actually uses.
Sydney
Rail
- North Sydney railway station
- Rookwood railway station, Sydney
- APM Siding
Bus
- Parramatta EA
- UTS Shuttle Bus
Air
- SYD
Ferry
- North Sydney
- Cabarita
Mackay
Rail
- Mackay railway station
Air
- MKY
Who runs this route
Speed, flexibility and what is on board. Nothing here is a rating, because we have not earned one.
| Operator | From | Fastest | Typical speed | Flexibility | On board |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin Australia | €127.58 | 5h 28m | 740 km/h | Fixed fare | Not published |
What the fare is made of
Every part of the total, so the number at checkout is the number here.
| Part | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Operator fare | €100.50 | 79% |
| Taxes | €18.09 | 14% |
| Supplier fees | €7.00 | 5% |
| Our service fee | €1.99 | 2% |
| Total you pay | €127.58 | 100% |
Check-in is at three and you will be in Mackay well before then. Lockers are not something we run.
Somewhere to drop the bags in Mackay?
Priced by the bag and by the day, booked before you get there, and insured while it sits.
Check Mackay on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Sydney to Mackay
The questions people actually ask about this trip, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Sydney to Mackay?
The fastest journey from Sydney to Mackay takes 5h 28m door to door, of which 2h 24m is spent moving, on the Flight. Most services take around 5h 36m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Sydney to Mackay?
The cheapest fare from Sydney to Mackay is €127.58, checked on September 29, 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €184.81. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Sydney to Mackay?
The cheapest way from Sydney to Mackay is by Flight, at €163.57 for one passenger on September 29, 2026. That journey takes 5h 34m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
When should I book Sydney to Mackay?
Fares from Sydney to Mackay bottom out around 60 days before departure, at €117.55. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive lead time is 231 percent, measured on September 29, 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Sydney to Mackay?
Monday is the cheapest day to depart from Sydney to Mackay, at €163.57. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, checked on September 29, 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Sydney to Mackay?
February is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Sydney to Mackay, at €122.86 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs service from Sydney to Mackay?
1 operators sell services from Sydney to Mackay across 1 modes: Virgin Australia. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Sydney to Mackay?
20 percent of the services we sell from Sydney to Mackay are direct. The rest connect at Townsville, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Hervey Bay, with about 83 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
Which station or terminal do services from Sydney to Mackay use?
Services from Sydney to Mackay by Flight leave from Sydney SYD and arrive at Mackay MKY. Allow about 3h 10m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Sydney to Mackay?
0 of the 1 operators we sell from Sydney to Mackay allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Observed service A carrier record shows this named operator serving this named pair, and we carry that through unchanged.
Schedules, seat counts and fares are generated by our own model until the supplier contracts are signed. Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance are real. We would rather say that on every page than let a modeled number pass for a filed one.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Sydney to Mackay on September 10, 2026: 1471 km of route against 1428 km in a straight line, 5 services a day, 1 operators, a cheapest fare of €127.58, and 5h 28m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Plenty of what is worth seeing sits outside Mackay and elsewhere in Australia. None of it is ours to sell.
What to book in Mackay before you go
Day trips that leave Mackay in the morning and cover a good part of Australia by evening.
See Mackay on KlookOr browse GetYourGuide
Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
Other ways to make this journey
Arriving in Mackay
Leaving Mackay
- 10Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 4Operators
Plan a trip from here
Ask Ori for the same corridor under a different constraint, or for a longer trip that starts on it.