'''Gosford''' [http://www.gosford.nsw.edu.au/] is a city in the southern part of the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia.
Get in
Many residents of Gosford commute to Sydney daily, hence transport links with Sydney are good. However, they are very crowded in peak times (evenings, 5pm - 7pm leaving Sydney) on weekdays as most of them are commuter oriented. The area is also a popular holiday spot, so travelling north from Sydney at the beginning of any New South Wales holiday period will be difficult.
By car
Gosford is less than one hour's drive north of Sydney's North Shore on the F3 freeway leaving Hornsby. There are a number of exits that will take you into the area: the major ones are the Woy Woy and Gosford exits.
Gosford is also about an hour's drive south of Newcastle on the F3 freeway.
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By bus
If you are already in the Central Coast, you can get to Gosford by the private bus company, Busways [http://www.busways.com.au/]; this services all of the Central Coast. Buses are usually very clean, and some are air-conditioned. A Busways depot is in Gosford, where you can pick up a timetable. Alternatively, you can ask a bus driver for a timetable. Major bus stop have timetables on them, and it should be noted that public holiday bus services follow the Sunday timetable. When you see the bus coming, signal to the driver by looking at the driver and raising your hand and stand away from the road.
By train
Cityrail [http://cityrail.info/] trains leave Sydney's Central, Strathfield, Epping and Hornsby stations half hourly for Gosford and Wyong during the day, and more frequently in peak commute hours. They stop at a number of stations in the Gosford area: the major two at which all trains stop are Woy Woy and Gosford.
Trains from Newcastle to Gosford depart hourly, and trains from Wyong half-hourly.
By boat
The Palm Beach Ferry [http://www.palmbeachferry.com.au/] runs hourly from Palm Beach in Sydney's Northern Beaches during the day, ending at about 6pm. It travels to Wagstaffe in the south of the Gosford area in about 25 minutes, and to Ettalong in about 40 minutes.
Get around
See
Do
The '''Australian Reptile Park''' [http://www.reptilepark.com.au/] is one of the best wildlife parks in Australia and is 3km from Gosford in Somersby. This park is situated amongst bushland and attracts many tourists and locals. It has many Australian animals including crocodiles, snakes, wombats, Tasmanian devils, kangaroos and emus, which are not fenced! There are also daily crocodile and bird shows. To get there by public transport get a taxi from Gosford station. There is no longer any local bus service to the park. Some tour coaches operate.
The '''Australian Rainforest Sanctuary''' at '''the Forest of Tranquility''' [http://www.australianrainforest.com.au/] is a true rainforest in Northen Sydney suburbs, with true humid climate, nice walks, wallabies running around and rare birds occasionally showing up. $12/adult.
Buy
Whilst the actual centre of Gosford doesn't offer a lot of interesting shops, there are two large shopping centres nearby. Buses from Gosford and most areas of the Central Coast travel regularly (albeit not always so frequently) to Erina Fair, which contains many mid-range clothing shops, hairdressers, coffee shops, newsagents, department stores, shoe shops, fast food outlets, restaurants and bookshops. There is also a library, gym, cinema and ice rink on the grounds. A similar shopping centre is found at Tuggerah although it is smaller and has less facilities than at Erina Fair.
Eat
Drink
Sleep
As in many populated coastal areas of Australia, there are many homeowners who rent their houses to holiday makers on a weekly basis. As a guide, a four bedroom house might rent for a short term price of $700-$1500 per week. Local real estate agents usually organise the holiday rentals.
Galaxy Motel - Part of Gosford RSL 02 4323 1711
Get out
Travel to Sydney's Northern Beaches on the Palm Beach ferry and go '''walking''' in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.