Things to do in Brisbane without a car
42 spots, costed and mapped.
Public transport across South East Queensland is a flat 50c a trip, whatever the distance, which makes Brisbane a cheap city to get around in without driving. Everything below is reachable on a bus, train, ferry or tram.
We've picked the spots a mate would actually meet you at, not everywhere a bus happens to stop. Each card shows how long you'll need, what it costs and which way to come.
Short outings come first, then the day trips, and at the bottom the two weekends away you can do without a car.
Quick picks
Parks, views and a wander
FreeKangaroo Point Cliffs at Sunset
Panoramic skyline views as the sun drops behind the city
FreeMt Coot-tha Lookout + Botanic Gardens
Brisbane's highest point with panoramic city-to-coast views and 52 hectares of gardens
FreeNew Farm Park + Powerhouse
Jacaranda-lined riverside parkland and a heritage power station turned arts venue
FreeRoma Street Parklands
The world's largest subtropical garden in a city centre, hidden on the edge of Brisbane's CBD
FreeMowbray Park Fig Tree Lights
Five riverside figs lit up after dark, with the Story Bridge behind them
FreeBrisbane Street Art + Laneways
Wander through open-air galleries of world-class murals hidden in Brisbane's laneways
FreePaddington Antiques + Latrobe Terrace
Heritage Queenslander houses, vintage shops, and hilltop cafes in Brisbane's most charming suburb
On and in the water
$CityCat River Cruise
Ride Brisbane's famous ferry end to end for the best sightseeing on the river
$$Riverlife Kayak on the Brisbane River
Kayak past the Story Bridge and city skyline from the base of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs
FreeStreets Beach + South Bank Parklands
Australia's only inner-city man-made beach, surrounded by gardens and galleries
$Spring Hill Baths
Swim in the oldest surviving swimming baths in the southern hemisphere, built in 1886
FreeEnoggera Reservoir
A swimming beach inside a national park, fifteen minutes from the CBD
FreeRedcliffe + Suttons Beach
A bayside village with a long jetty, calm swimming, and the best fish and chips in Brisbane's north
Markets, breweries and food precincts
$Eat Street Northshore
60+ micro-restaurants in shipping containers on the river
FreeWest End Markets
150+ stalls under giant fig trees on the river every Saturday
$Howard Smith Wharves
Riverside drinks and dining tucked under the Story Bridge
$Felons Brewing Co
Brisbane's home brewery in a beer hall right under the Story Bridge
$Green Beacon Brewing + Teneriffe Riverwalk
Craft beer in a converted warehouse, reached via Brisbane's best walk
$XXXX Brewery Tour
Tour Queensland's most iconic brewery and taste beer straight from the source
$Sunnybank Asian Food Crawl
Brisbane's unofficial Chinatown, the best Asian food outside of Asia
Culture and a night out
FreeGallery of Modern Art (GOMA)
Australia's largest modern art gallery, free to wander on the riverfront
$$QPAC + Fish Lane Dinner
World-class theatre, ballet, or live music steps from Brisbane's best laneway dining strip
$Fortitude Valley + Fortitude Music Hall
Brisbane's live music capital, gigs, late-night eats, and laneway bars in the Valley
$Brisbane Comedy Cellar
A 60-seat New York-style comedy room under a West End pub
$$Suncorp Stadium, Live Sport
Catch the Broncos, Reds, or Wallabies at Brisbane's premier stadium in Milton
Something to do
$$Story Bridge Adventure Climb
360-degree views of Brisbane from the top of its most iconic landmark
$$Kangaroo Point Cliffs Abseiling
Abseil 20 metres down the Kangaroo Point Cliffs with the city skyline as your backdrop
$$Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
The world's oldest and largest koala sanctuary, 12km from the CBD
$$Prison Island Brisbane
35 themed challenge cells and a 90-minute team scramble in the Valley
$1UP Arcade
Australia's largest retro arcade, 200+ free-play machines under one roof
$Somerville House Tennis Centre
Rooftop courts above South Brisbane with the best skyline view of any court in town
$$Soak Bathhouse — West End
Rooftop bathhouse with seven mineral pools, sauna, and steam room
Day trips by train and ferry
$North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah)
The world's second-largest sand island, a ferry ride from the city
$Coochiemudlo Island
A ten-minute ferry to an island you can walk right around before lunch
$Southern Moreton Bay Islands Ferry Loop
Four islands in a day on the ferry locals use as a bus
$$Moreton Island, Tangalooma Wrecks
Snorkel a shipwreck reef and sand-toboggan down desert dunes on a pristine sand island
FreeSurfers Paradise
Iconic golden sand, surf breaks, and beachfront dining on Australia's most famous stretch of coastline
$$Australia Zoo
Steve Irwin's legacy, one of the world's most famous wildlife parks, an hour north of Brisbane
$$Dreamworld
Australia's biggest theme park, roller coasters, Tiger Island, and wildlife experiences on the Gold Coast
$$Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast
Australia's biggest waterpark, wave pool, speed slides, and lazy river on the Gold Coast
Weekends away without a car
Getting around
Every TransLink bus, train, ferry and tram is 50c a trip, however far you go. Tap on with a bank card or a go card.
Not every island ferry runs on that fare. Coochiemudlo and the Southern Moreton Bay loop do, but Straddie is about $20 return and the Moreton barge about $80.
The CityCat doubles as a sightseeing cruise for the price of a bus trip, and the full run end to end takes about 90 minutes.
Questions people ask
How much is public transport in Brisbane? +
50 cents a trip on any TransLink bus, train, ferry or tram, no matter how far you travel. Tap on and off with a bank card or a go card.
Can you get to the Gold Coast from Brisbane without a car? +
Yes. The train to Helensvale and then the G:link tram reaches Surfers Paradise, Dreamworld pairs the train to Coomera with a free shuttle, and Wet’n’Wild is the train to Helensvale and the TX7 bus.
Can you visit the bay islands without a car? +
Yes. Coochiemudlo and the Southern Moreton Bay islands are 50c TransLink ferries, and North Stradbroke Island is a train to Cleveland and then a passenger ferry at about $20 return.
What is the best thing to do in Brisbane without a car? +
Ride the CityCat the length of the river, wander GOMA on a wet day, or take the train to Cleveland and the ferry across to Straddie if you have a whole day.
Last updated October 2026