Melbourne Airport Transfers

Are you flying in or out of Melbourne soon?

The city’s two main airports are quite a way from the city centre, and rather than paying for an overpriced taxi or rideshare, let Car Australia take care of your trip instead. We offer premium Melbourne airport transfers that are quick to book, affordable, and driven by a team of professional chauffeurs who know the city intimately.
If you’re looking for a door to door airport transfer in Melbourne that won’t break the bank, book with us today.

Warning—it’s tough driving in Melbourne!

Melbourne is a city with character, filled with meandering lanes, one-way systems, trams, and baffling hook turns. This makes the city a particularly tough place to drive, and hiring a chauffeur much more appealing – Melbourne is best experienced from a passenger’s point of view!

Melbourne’s geographical challenges

Just as Sydney sits atop the world-famous harbour, Melbourne skirts the stunning Port Phillip Bay. And just like in Sydney, being centred on a large waterway has its pros and cons. With the coast boxing you in on one side, and the dense inner city on the other, getting from A to B can include frustrating, time-consuming detours that become especially irksome when you’re trying to get to your destination on time. Melbourne will teach you a life lesson in navigation— maps can be deceiving!

Melbourne’s notoriously dangerous roads

There’s a more urgent reason to hire a private airport transfer in Melbourne—if you’re not used to driving in the city, the roads can be dangerous. The city’s trams have introduced a number of new rules that you’ll need to be familiar with—how to navigate hook turns, which lanes are for trams only, and who has right of way when you’re face-to-face with a 25-ton hulk of rolling metal. Trams are great for Melbourne’s efficiency, and they’re a brilliant spectacle, but they present serious challenges for inexperienced drivers.

By booking Melbourne airport private transfers with Car Australia, you can sit back and let our experienced chauffeur do what they do best.

Melbourne’s slip lanes

Slip lanes are designed to maintain a steady flow of traffic along arterial roads, and Melbourne has plenty of them. Working out where and when to turn onto a slip road can be stressful for new drivers and increase the likelihood of an accident.

Melbourne’s charming CBD

Despite having a population of almost five million people, Melbourne still has a charming CBD. Its famed laneways connect one road to another, twisting and turning through pedestrian zones and roadways to create quirky cul-de-sacs. From a tourist’s perspective, you couldn’t ask for more, but as a driver, you can quickly feel as though you’re moving through a maze. Melbourne might even surpass Sydney’s reputation for navigational challenges.

If you’re visiting Melbourne’s CBD for the first time, don’t take the risk—book a chauffeur- driven vehicle instead. Local knowledge and professional experience are two things that will get you to your destination quicker and more safely.

The elegant and frustrating Westgate Bridge

Westgate Bridge is a tribute to architecture and engineering. Its elegant curve represents the only overwater link from east to west, and it carries traffic from one side of the Yarra to another.

Because it passes over the mouth of the Yarra, where it meets Port Phillip Bay, the Westgate is preferred for commuters from Avalon Airport. But there’s a catch—Westgate Bridge is a towering cable stayed bridge that is susceptible to high winds and can close to commuters if the wind becomes too strong.

For locals, this is one of the biggest complaints about city traffic. But if you’re travelling for business, a closed Westgate Bridge could leave you in an immense traffic jam that painfully diverts you through the north western suburbs, and then back south again. If you’re travelling from Avalon Airport to Melbourne’s CBD, or from Tullamarine to the western suburbs, taking a local Melbourne airport transfer service such as ours will ensure that you have a private chauffeur who is attentive to traffic problems, and chooses the best alternative routes.

Toll hassles on Melbourne’s roads

Melbourne’s airport roads have tolls, and for locals, the easiest way to pay them is with a Citilink Pass. If you are hiring a car in Melbourne, you’ll need to pay any outstanding tolls quickly, or risk a hefty administrative fee.

Melbourne Airport Meeting Points

Domestic Terminal (1)

Qantas

For flights landing on gates 1-12, the Chauffeur Meeting Point is located in front of baggage carousel 1, next to the car rental area.
Flights landing on gates 13-24, the Chauffeur Meeting Point is located in front of baggage carousel 4.

Domestic Terminal (3)

Virgin

Bottom of the Virgin escalators.

Domestic Terminal (4)

Jetstar / Tiger / Regional

Chauffeurs wait at the exit door after passengers collect baggage

International Terminal (2)

Once you have passed through customs you will exit to either Gate A or B.

Gate A –

Directly outside Gate A between the Optus Mobile Store and Hudson’s

Gate B –

Exit gate to the right and walk ahead, meet between Optus Mobile Store and Hudson’s

Buses & Coaches

All vehicles with 8 seats or over.
The chauffeur will wait in the holding bay near the airport until the flight lands. The chauffeur will call the main contact and confirm the pick up bay at the airport. Coach Bay is the Blue Zone, Group & Charter located opposite Virgin and International arrivals. Contact 03 9403 1900 for urgent assistance.

Melbourne airport transfers – vital info

Melbourne is serviced by two main airports: Tullamarine and Avalon. There are also two minor airports reserved for emergencies. Both Tullamarine and Avalon are quite a distance from the city centre, so reliable a reliable airport transfer service is essential.

Airport transfer from Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport

You should book airport transfers from Tullamarine well in advance, as it’s one of Australia’s busiest airports. Taxis are in high demand and booking means you can avoid long queues at the taxi rank.
Commuting from Tullamarine Airport takes around 35 minutes in clear traffic, but the roads between the airport and city are some of Melbourne’s busiest and most congested. It pays to choose an airport transfer option that gives you the flexibility and local knowledge to take the path less travelled if there’s a risk that the busier roads will delay you.

Avalon Airport transfer to Melbourne City

Avalon Airport is located west of Melbourne city, near Geelong. Travel time is around an hour in clear traffic, although Avalon airport transfers pass through one of the busier roads connecting Melbourne to its closest neighbour.
Because of the distance, Melbourne airport private transfers will be more cost effective than a taxi. Avalon is a relatively isolated location, so getting an airport transport service on arrival will prove difficult. It’s best to pre-book your transfers before you travel.

Commuting from Essendon and Moorabbin Airports

Essendon and Moorabbin Airports are no longer used regularly for commercial flights. Thankfully, though, they can take air traffic in an emergency, or when landings are affected by Melbourne’s capricious weather.
Essendon was once Melbourne’s main airport, before being replaced by Tullamarine. Now Tullamarine is your likeliest destination if you’re flying into Melbourne. But it still pays to be prepared; book with a trusted airport transfer company that can collect you wherever you’re flying into.

Public transport vs airport transfer vehicles

It’s the age-old debate: value vs comfort. Luckily, modern airport transfers offer both! There are plenty of ways to assess value, including efficiency, convenience, comfort, and cost. When it comes to the first three criteria, chauffeured transfers are the clear standout.
But what about cost? Despite public opinion, chauffeured transfers aren’t necessarily more expensive, and in some cases, they can work out to be much cheaper than taxis or rideshares. Then there’s family and group travel—if you’re travelling with a family of four, you only need to book one transfer, with the price staying the same. But if you catch a bus, you’ll need to buy four tickets and, suddenly, your trip is a lot more expensive.

Unfortunately, public transport options from Melbourne’s two major airports are tricky. Tullamarine Skybus transfers are run privately, and you’ll need to consider traffic times as well as normal passenger related delays. Avalon Airport bus transfers also include private operators, which can present similar problems.

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