Canberra/Gungahlin

There are several highways from New South Wales, Belconnen, Civic and North Canberra.

From Civic, the most common route is to use the A23 Northbourne Avenue and turn onto Flemington Road by following the light rail to Gungahlin. Still, you could also use the A25 Barton Highway, which is more effective if you are heading to the Gold Creek Village.

From Hall, use the A25 Barton Highway southeast and turn left onto any one of the roads pointing towards Gungahlin – there will be signs pointing you to the town centre.

From Tuggeranong, use the unnumbered Tuggeranong Parkway north until the end of the freeway. Once at the end of the freeway, continue onto Gungahlin Drive, which should lead you to the town centre. Otherwise, if you're heading to the Gold Creek Village, take the A25 Barton Highway exit (note the signs still have the old National Route 25 route number and follow the brown signs toward Gold Creek Village.

If you're coming from the airport, take the M23 Majura Parkway north and continue up till the end of the freeway, and once the freeway ends, continue onto Horse Park Drive until you get into the town centre.

There are several bus lines to Gungahlin, but there is only one rapid route (excluding R1 which is used for the light rail): the R8 ( R8  from Belconnen. Other bus routes are usually more minor, localised services.

Gungahlin is linked to Civic through the R1 light rail line ( R1 ); the dynamic route winds through North Canberra and the Dickson Interchange, terminating in Gungahlin's town centre. Frequent services mean you will not have to plan.

Although unpopular in 2023, three of Canberra's long-distance cycling routes are present in Gungahlin.

•  C1  – from Civic, passing through the west of Dickson before making its way through Gungahlin suburbia and the town centre.
•  C7  – from Belconnen. It's mostly straightforward, but you will need to turn left past Barton Highway if you're visiting Gold Creek Village (it will be signposted).
•  C9  – from Canberra Airport, this route largely follows parallel to Majura Parkway (M23) and Horse Park Drive.

This is a "village" of specialty shops, attractions, hotels (for drinks), coffee shops, a native reptile museum, a butterfly enclosure, and garden supplies, in a group of separate buildings in a strip about 1 km long along Barton Highway. Locals and visitors alike use the area, especially on weekends. It was established during the 1990s in order to be under "one brand", and has since been attracting many visitors, both Canberrans and non-Canberrans ever since.

To get here from Civic, take A23 Northbourne Avenue towards A25 Barton Highway (left) then follow about 5 km to a major roundabout; go straight on about 2 km and follow signs to turn right. ACTION bus route 24 also passes by Gold Creek Village from both Belconnen and Gungahlin Town Centres, but these only operate around once every 30 minutes.

Though this system is often only found in rather large cities, Gold Creek also has a system of "one ticket, multiple venues" system, which can be found at the Gold Creek website, which covers the Canberra Reptile Zoo, Cockington Green Gardens, the Canberra Walk-in Aviary and the National Dinosaur Museum.

• 🌍 Aboriginal Dreamings Gallery, 19 O'Hanlon Place, Nicholls, ☏ +61 2 6230 2922, dream@aboriginaldream.com. Sa Su 11AM–4PM, M–F by appointment only. An art centre exhibiting exclusively the finest of all Indigenous Australian art. Since its establishment in 1989, this art gallery has only showcased ethically sourced art – so not Indigenous art that was created by non-Indigenous people marketed as "Indigenous" (which is a common scam in Australia). (updated May 2022)
• 🌍 Canberra Reptile Zoo, O'Hanlon Place, Nicholls, ☏ +61 2 6253 8533. Daily 10AM–5PM. A whole range of Australian reptiles on display, with thematic exhibits related to various climatic conditions. Be sure to check out the "Snake Tales" program to get up close and personal with some of the reptiles. Adults $7.50, children $6, concession $7, family tickets (2 adults & 3 or more children) $29, discounts available for group bookings. 
• 🌍 Canberra Walk-in Aviary, 18 O'Hanlon Pl, Nicholls, ☏ +61 2 6230 2044, micklogan@iinet.net.au. Sep–Apr: 10AM–5PM; May–Aug: 10AM–4PM. A small family-friendly walk-in with plenty of our feathery friends – birds! The walk-in contains over 500 birds from over 60 species, and if you've ever felt like feeding birds, but didn't want to in the wild, you can do just that here. But be aware, the birds are known to take the mealworms off from you (before you feed it to them), but if you're lucky enough from that, they may land on you. (updated Jun 2022)
• 🌍 Cockington Green Gardens, 11 Gold Creek Road, Nicholls, ☏ +61 2 6230 2273, fax: +61 2 6230 2490, info@cockingtongreen.com.au. Daily 9:30AM-5PM. One of Canberra's most well-known attractions, a miniature display village featuring a traditional English village and international display. Train rides and tea room also available. Adults $17.50, children $9.50, family $49, seniors $12.50. 
• 🌍 Ginninderra Village, 11 O'Hanlon Pl, Nicholls. The largest remnant of Ginninderra, a large area of agricultural lands which makes up roughly where modern-day Belconnen and Gungahlin are, later becoming two of Canberra's major urban developments, with the most prominent remnant probably the Ginninderra Schoolhouse. (updated Jun 2022)
• 🌍 National Dinosaur Museum, cnr Gold Creek Road and Barton Highway, Nicholls, ☏ +61 2 6230-2655, fax: +61 2 6230 2357. Sa-Th 10AM-5PM, closed F. The largest collection of dinosaur and prehistoric fossil material in Australia. Adults $16, children $9.90, concession $11, family $45.00 (2 adults 2 children or 1 adult 3 children, extra children $4.00). (updated Mar 2016)

Outside the Gold Creek Village, there is not much to see nor do in Gungahlin, but there are a few venues. These barely get any visitors, and are only really visited by locals from Gungahlin, but there are some points of interests like the Canberra Centenary Trail that is done by many.

• 🌍 Gold Creek Country Club, 50 Curran Dr, Nicholls, ☏ +61 2 6123 0600, keith.lewis@goldccc.com.au. Though the golf course veers into the village, most of the golf course including the entrance is outside the Gold Creek Village, and requires you to drive a little bit from the village. It's an 18-hole course with par 72 layout, and golf courses of its size are rare outside the big cities. (updated Jun 2022)
• 🌍 Gungahlin Enclosed Oval, Warwick St. A multi-use stadium and the home ground for Gungahlin United, Gungahlin Jets, Gungahlin Bulls and Gungahlin Eagles. The venue has a seating capacity of 1,150 people and an overall capacity of 5,000. (updated Jun 2022)
• 🌍 Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary (Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve). A protected area with several trails for walking, running and cycling. The sanctuary functions as a fieldwork site for researchers studying native ecology. (updated Jun 2022)

See Hall for One Tree Hill Lookout. It's a lookout that's in Gungahlin but is most accessible via Hall.

• 🌍 Northside Garden Cafe, Shop 8/39 O'Hanlon Pl, Nicholls, ☏ +61 2 5117 3998, northsidegardencafe@gmail.com. W 8AM–4PM; Th–Su 8AM–3PM, 5–8PM (closed M Tu). Taste some authentic Filipino cuisine from a chef who migrated from the Philippines. The menu is extensive, but the favourites are the pork sisig, the bulalo soup, and the pork adobo. Otherwise, you can always pop in for a coffee. (updated Aug 2023)
• Fast food: There's a KFC and a Maccas available in the Gold Creek Village just near the roundabout at Nicholls Way. There's also another Maccas in Gungahlin Town Centre along with a Domino's and a few other small pizza chains.

• 🌍 Arirang (Arirang Restaurant), 43 Hibberson St, ☏ +61 2 6262 3959. Th–M 11:30AM–3PM, 5–10PM (closed Tu). Has great Korean flavours – Korean stews, soups, pancakes, chicken and BBQ. You guessed it, a classic Australian-Korean restaurant. However, the wait times have been said to be exceptionally long, so take that into consideration. (updated Jun 2022)
• 🌍 Da Nunzio Caffe Bar Ristorante, 76 Phyllis Ashton Cct, ☏ +61 2 6255 6003, admin@danunzio.com.au. W–Su 9:30AM–2PM, 5–9PM (closed M Tu). A waterfront restaurant by Yerrabi Pond with many great Italian specialties and an extensive menu of pasta, pizza and Italian wine. However, their coffee is a little bit below standard if you compare it to the average Australian coffee. (updated Jun 2022)
• 🌍 Jasmine House, cnr Ernest Cavanagh St and Gribble St, ☏ +61 2 6242 4788. M Tu Th–Sa 11:30AM–2:30PM, 5–9:30PM; W Su 5–9:30PM. An Asian (or specifically Chinese) restaurant with lots of good options for a spicy pot (what they seem to call a "hot pot"). However staff hospitality does not have a very good reputation. (updated Jun 2022)
• 🌍 Siren Bar and Restaurant, 30 Anthony Rolfe Ave, ☏ +61 2 6162 0377, enquiries@sirenbar.com.au. M–Th 8:30AM–midnight, F–Su 8AM–midnight. Has an upmarket feel with some outstanding pizza and seafood options. There's a great atmosphere, though some say that the food is a bit overpriced for what you'd get. (updated Jun 2022)
• 🌍 The Taste of Himalayas, 1 Wunderlich St, ☏ +61 466 049 610, nepaleseincanberra@gmail.com. Temporarily closed. Some Nepalese street food from a catering van inside the Yerabi Pond Park. It's temporarily closed as of June 2022, but otherwise lots of good momos and pani puris out there! (updated Jun 2022)

• 🌍 Young & Frisky, The Marketplace, Gungahlin Place West & Efkarpidis St, ☏ +61 2 6171 6257, info@youngandfrisky.com.au. M–Th 4–10PM, F–Su 11AM–10PM. Mostly specialising in a mix of American and Australian cuisines with plenty of food from other cuisines too, but rather a very Australianised or Americanized version instead. However, by far what Young & Frisky is known for is its fried chicken. (updated Mar 2022)

• 🌍 Northern Border Campground (Northern Border Campsite), Canberra Centenary Trail, Sutton, ☏ +61 13 22 81. A rather remote campground along the Canberra Centenary Trail. It's inaccessible via road, so the only way to access it is by hiking, and there is also no direct access to the urban parts of Gungahlin from this campground either. Dogs, horses and campfires are strictly prohibited, and permits are required for large groups. (updated Jun 2022)