Coffs Harbour sits roughly halfway between Sydney and Brisbane on the Pacific Highway and the North Coast railway line.
Driving from Sydney takes around six hours non-stop; from Brisbane, four. Most travellers break the drive here as part of a longer coastal road trip, and the town's road infrastructure is built around that.
Coffs Harbour Airport (CFS), seven kilometres south of the centre, has direct flights to Sydney (an hour) and Melbourne, plus seasonal services to Newcastle and Brisbane. QantasLink, Virgin Australia and Rex all fly the routes; tickets from Sydney can be cheaper than the train on weekdays.
The XPT train from Sydney's Central Station takes about nine hours and is the slow but pleasant way; it carries on north to Brisbane. Greyhound and Premier coaches run multiple daily services along the highway.