🌿How to get from Brisbane to Samford
Can you get there without a car?
🟠 Only part of the way
On a weekday, just about. On a weekend, no. The train reaches Ferny Grove for 50c and the 399 covers the last ten minutes, but that bus runs Monday to Friday only, a couple of trips each way, timed for commuters heading into the city rather than day trippers heading out.
The short answer
- 1🚗Straight out via Samford Road, or the longer way over Mount Nebo
The journey, end to end
- Brisbane
🚗Straight out via Samford Road, or the longer way over Mount Nebo
- Samford
One leg, no changes.
Rolling green hills, a heritage village and rainforest walks half an hour from the CBD, at the point where the suburbs stop and the D'Aguilar Range starts.
What is Samford?
Samford Village sits in a valley north-west of Brisbane, just past where the Ferny Grove line ends. It is small, historic and green, with a country pub, a museum, a Saturday market and a run of cafes that have made it a standing weekend drive for Brisbane families.
The transport story is the interesting part, and it is the reason a day trip here is harder than the distance suggests. A railway used to run from Ferny Grove through Samford and on to Dayboro. It closed decades ago, and the rail trails people now walk and ride through the valley are its remnants. You can still take a train to Ferny Grove; the line just does not go any further, and the bus that replaced it kept commuter hours.
Why go, and what to see
Samford Village heritage strip
The 1912 hotel, the old bank, the museum and the slab hut, all walkable in an hour
The rail trails
Walking and cycling tracks on the old Ferny Grove to Dayboro railway formation, the closest rail trails to Brisbane
The Saturday market
Country produce market in the village, and the reason most people come at the weekend
Cafes and the village pub
A dense little cluster for a village this size, including one in a converted church
Mount Nebo and Mount Glorious
The D'Aguilar Range drive continues on from here, with rainforest walks and lookouts
Every way to get there, compared
Including the ones that aren't public transport, because pretending the car doesn't exist helps nobody.
🔀 Train to Ferny Grove, then the 399 bus (weekdays only)
- 🚆Ferny Grove line to the end of the line, about 35 min from Central, 50c
- 🚌Route 399 to Samford, roughly 10 min, Monday to Friday only
Time
About 50 min when the bus runs
Cost
Flat 50c
Best for
A weekday visit, planned around a very thin timetable
The 399 is a hail-and-ride service run by Brisbane Bus Lines for Translink, with only a couple of trips each way and no weekend service. It is built for Samford residents commuting into Brisbane, which means the useful trips run into Ferny Grove in the morning and back out in the evening: the opposite of what a day tripper needs. Check the current timetable before you rely on it, and have a plan for getting back.
🚗 Drive from Brisbane
Our pick- 🚗Straight out via Samford Road, or the longer way over Mount Nebo
Time
About 30 min
Cost
Fuel
Best for
Weekends, the market, and carrying on into the range
The honest answer for a weekend. It also unlocks the thing that makes Samford worth a whole day rather than an hour: continuing up Mount Nebo and Mount Glorious into the D'Aguilar Range, which no public transport reaches at all.
🔀 Train to Ferny Grove, then a rideshare
- 🚆Ferny Grove line to the terminus for 50c
- 🚗Rideshare or taxi for the last stretch into the village
Time
About 45 min
Cost
50c plus a short fare
Best for
A weekend visit without a car
This is the workaround worth knowing, because it turns a trip that looks impossible on a Saturday into a manageable one. The train does most of the distance for 50 cents and you are only paying for the last ten minutes. Book the return before you settle in at the pub: rideshare coverage out here thins in the evening.
The connecting service, as it actually runs
Straight from the timetable data, not from a brochure. The days it runs and the last service back are the two things that decide whether a day trip works.
🚌 Route 399, Ferny Grove to Samford
Monday to Friday only, no weekend serviceFirst
~6:22 am
Last
~6:30 pm
Weekday trips
4
⚠️ Monday to Friday only, no weekend service, so a weekend visit needs a different plan. This is the thing that strands people.
Scheduled times on a typical weekday, counted one way and timed at Ferny Grove station, so the gaps are the ones you would actually wait. Check the live board before you go.
When to go
Saturday morning for the market, which is also when there is no bus, so plan the return before you go. Winter and spring are the pick for the rail trails and the range walks.
Worth knowing
Do not assume a train to Ferny Grove gets you to Samford. It gets you to the end of the line, and the last ten minutes is a weekday-only bus that mostly runs the wrong way for a visitor. On a weekend it is a car, a rideshare from Ferny Grove, or another day.
Last service home →
Check your cut-off before you go, not after.
Anything disrupted? →
Live delays and closures across the network.
See it on the map →
The route drawn across South East Queensland.
More trips like this
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Getting to Samford: quick answers
Can you get to Samford by public transport from Brisbane?+
On a weekday, yes: the Ferny Grove line to the terminus for 50 cents, then route 399 for the last ten minutes into the village. On a weekend, no. The 399 runs Monday to Friday only and has just a couple of trips each way, timed around Samford residents commuting into Brisbane. For a Saturday market visit you will need a car, or a rideshare from Ferny Grove station.
Is there a train to Samford?+
Not any more. A railway ran from Ferny Grove through Samford to Dayboro and closed decades ago, and the rail trails through the valley follow its old formation. Today the Ferny Grove line stops at Ferny Grove, which is about ten minutes short of the village.
How far is Samford from Brisbane?+
About 22km and roughly 30 minutes by road from the city centre, either straight out along Samford Road or the longer scenic way over Mount Nebo. By public transport it is a 35 minute train to Ferny Grove plus a short bus, when that bus is running.
How do you get from Brisbane to Samford without a car?+
Straight out via Samford Road, or the longer way over Mount Nebo. Allow about About 30 min.
How long does it take to get to Samford from Brisbane?+
About About 30 min, door to platform to door, depending on how the connection lands. The planner on this page works it out from where you actually are rather than from the city centre.
How much does it cost to get to Samford?+
Part of this trip sits outside the flat 50 cent fare. Check the operator for the current price before you go.
What time is the last service back from Samford?+
It changes by day and by line, and it is the thing that catches people out on a long day trip. Check the last service home tool before you head out so you know your cut-off rather than guessing at the end of the day.