Melbourne Airport, which most locals call Tullamarine, lies around 23 kilometres north-west of the city centre, and there’s no train out there yet. The easiest way from Melbourne Airport to the city centre is therefore SkyBus, an express bus that runs directly to Southern Cross Station at the western end of the city every few minutes for most of the day and night. The journey takes around half an hour without traffic, and a single ticket costs 25.90 dollars (around £19).
Here you’ll find all the options with prices, journey times and where to find them at the airport: SkyBus, the cheap route by public bus and train, taxi, Uber, private transfer and car hire. I’ll also tell you what’s happening with the planned airport rail link, and how to get into the city if you land at Avalon Airport instead. 1 Australian dollar is worth roughly 52p.
Planning your trip to Melbourne at the last minute? 🇦🇺
Here are some of the best things to do, hotels and other tips for your trip to Melbourne.
🎡 Top Activities & Tours:
1. Discover the coast on a full-day trip along the Great Ocean Road with the Twelve Apostles
2. Get into the centre easily with a private transfer from Melbourne Airport (from around 57 dollars)
🛌 Best Hotels:
1. Grand Hyatt Melbourne is a five-star classic on Collins Street, close to the theatres and Chinatown
2. Rydges Melbourne has a heated outdoor pool in the heart of the theatre district and high guest ratings
3. ibis Melbourne Central is the cheapest option in the centre, close to Queen Victoria Market
Contents
Quick overview
- SkyBus to Southern Cross: 25.90 dollars (around £14) for a single ticket, around 30 minutes without traffic, departures every 10 to 15 minutes from early morning until after midnight.
- Bus 901 and train: around 5.70 dollars (around £3) with myki or contactless payment, about an hour to the city centre with a change at Broadmeadows Station.
- Taxi: around 65 to 80 dollars (around £35 to £40) to the city centre on the meter, around 30 minutes without traffic.
- Uber and DiDi: dedicated pick-up points at every terminal, and you can see the price in the app before you book.
- Private transfer: from around 57 dollars (around £30) per person, must be booked in advance.
- Car hire: the rental desks are on the ground floor of the car park opposite Terminal 2. Unnecessary in the city, but ideal for the Great Ocean Road.
How to find transport from Melbourne Airport to the city centre
Melbourne Airport has four terminals lined up side by side, so you can walk between them in a few minutes. Terminal 1 is used by Qantas, Terminal 2 is the international terminal, Terminal 3 is used by Virgin Australia, and Terminal 4 is used by the low-cost airlines, including Jetstar and Rex. Always check your boarding pass, because the terminal determines where you need to go once you’ve collected your luggage.
SkyBus to the city centre stops at the kerb outside baggage reclaim in Terminal 1 and Terminal 4, and outside Terminal 3. If you arrive on an international flight at Terminal 2, follow the signs for SkyBus and walk a couple of minutes to the stop at Terminal 1 or Terminal 3. The taxi ranks are on the ground floor outside Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 and at Terminal 4. The public buses leave from the Ground Transport Hub at Terminal 4, and you’ll find the hire cars on the ground floor of the T123 car park opposite Terminal 2. The airport has an overview of the pick-up points for Uber and the other rideshare services on its own website.
1. SkyBus to Southern Cross Station
The SkyBus Melbourne City Express is the option most people choose, and it’s also the one I recommend if you’re staying in the city centre. The bus runs non-stop from the airport to the bus terminal at Southern Cross Station on Spencer Street, with room for your suitcases and free Wi-Fi on board. You don’t need to book a specific departure, as your ticket is valid for the next bus that leaves.
According to the airport, the bus runs every 10 minutes at peak times and every 15 minutes the rest of the day. It operates from early morning until just after midnight and takes a break of a couple of hours in the middle of the night, so check the timetable if you’re landing very late. Without traffic, the journey takes around half an hour, but during the morning and late-afternoon rush hours you can easily expect up to 45 minutes.
Prices and tickets
An adult single costs 25.90 dollars (around £14) and a return costs 43.40 dollars (around £23), so you save a little if you’re also taking the bus back. Children aged 4 to 16 pay 6.60 dollars (around £3.50), but child tickets must be bought together with an adult ticket. The prices include road tolls and GST and are listed on SkyBus’ own fares page. Tickets are valid for 12 months from purchase.
You can buy your ticket on the SkyBus website, in the SkyBus app or from the ticket machines on the kerb outside the terminals, and you simply show it to the driver on your phone. The machines only take cards. The main pitfall is that the myki card for public transport isn’t valid on SkyBus, so you’ll need a separate SkyBus ticket.
From Southern Cross on into the city
Southern Cross Station is the city’s main station for regional trains and long-distance coaches, and it sits on the western edge of the CBD, Melbourne’s city centre. If you’re staying in the CBD, you can often walk to your hotel in 5 to 15 minutes. Otherwise, the trams are the easiest way to continue, and here’s some really good news: the station is in the Free Tram Zone, where trams are free throughout the CBD and Docklands. You only have to pay if your journey takes you outside the zone, for example to St Kilda, Fitzroy or South Yarra.
If you’d like to go straight from the bus to bed, Great Southern Hotel Melbourne is right opposite the station on Spencer Street, and you can see prices for Great Southern Hotel Melbourne here. A slightly cosier alternative a few minutes’ walk away is Batman’s Hill on Collins on Collins Street.
If you’re unsure which area to choose, read my guide to where to stay in Melbourne, where I go through the neighbourhoods and hotels in several price ranges. If you’re staying by the water in St Kilda, SkyBus also runs a separate route out there, the Peninsula Express, which stops at Terminal 1 and Terminal 4.
2. Public bus and train with myki
The cheapest way into the city is a combination of public bus and train, but it takes around twice as long as SkyBus and involves a change. On the other hand, it costs only a fraction of the price, and if there are several of you, the difference really adds up. All the public buses leave from the Ground Transport Hub at Terminal 4.
Bus 901 and the train from Broadmeadows: Bus 901 runs from the airport to Broadmeadows Station, where you change to the Craigieburn line, which runs into Southern Cross and Flinders Street and around the City Loop beneath the centre. According to Transport Victoria, the bus runs every 15 minutes at busy times on weekdays and otherwise roughly every half hour, including at weekends. Allow around an hour in total, and a bit longer if you just miss a train, as the bus and train aren’t coordinated.
Bus 478, 479 or 482 and tram 59: These buses run from Terminal 4 to the shopping centre in Airport West, where tram 59 starts and runs all the way into Elizabeth Street in the city centre. It’s the slowest option, but it’s a good one if you’re staying along the tram line north of the centre.
Myki or contactless payment
Public transport in Melbourne uses the myki travel card, and the card itself costs around 6 dollars (around £3) before you add any credit. Adults paying full fare can instead simply hold a contactless bank card, phone or smartwatch up to the reader on buses, trains and trams, so you don’t need to buy a myki card for a short trip. Remember to touch on when you board and to touch off again when you leave the train.
A full-fare 2-hour fare costs around 5.70 dollars (around £3) and covers both the bus and the train into the centre. You’ll never pay more than around 11.40 dollars (around £6) on a weekday, and the cap is lower at weekends. Fares are usually adjusted at the start of the year, and Transport Victoria has a full overview of buses to and from the airports, where you can check the routes.
3. Taxi from Melbourne Airport
The taxi ranks are on the ground floor outside Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 and in the Ground Transport Hub at Terminal 4. Only use the official ranks, and say no thanks if anyone offers you a ride inside the arrivals hall. The journey to the city centre takes around 30 minutes without traffic, but there can be long queues on the motorway into the city at rush hour.
Taxis run on the meter, and to the city centre you should expect to pay around 65 to 80 dollars (around £35 to £40). The price includes an airport rank pick-up fee of 4.78 dollars (around £2.50), and the toll on the CityLink motorway is added on top. The tariff is higher in the evening and at night than during the day, and if there are five or more of you needing a large car, there’s a surcharge. A taxi is worth it if you’re three or four adults, as it won’t cost much more than four SkyBus tickets, and it takes you right to the door.
4. Uber and other rideshare services
Uber, DiDi and several other rideshare services operate from Melbourne Airport, and there are designated pick-up points at all terminals. At Terminal 1, turn left out of the terminal to the Uber pick-up area, and at Terminal 2 the cars stop at the kerb right in front of the terminal. At Terminal 4, turn right and head into the ground floor of the car park. The other services pick you up in lane 3 on the forecourt at Terminals 1, 2 and 3, or on level 1 of the car park at Terminal 4.
You’ll see the price in the app before you book, and it’s often slightly lower than a taxi. The airport charges a small access fee of around 5 dollars (around £2.50), which the companies may add to the fare, and prices rise when lots of flights land at the same time. Only book your car once you’ve collected your luggage, as you can’t pre-book an Uber for an airport pick-up.
5. Private transfer
A private transfer is a pre-booked car with a driver who waits for you in the arrivals hall and takes you straight to your hotel. On GetYourGuide, prices start from around 57 dollars (around £45) per person, and there are also cars with a fixed price for the whole group. It’s not the cheapest option, but it gives you peace of mind if you’re landing after a long flight from Europe, travelling with children or carrying a lot of luggage.
Book a private transfer from Melbourne Airport here.
The transfer must be booked at least 10 hours in advance, so it’s not something you can sort out once you’re standing in the arrivals hall. Add your flight number when you book so the driver can keep track of any delays, and check how many people and suitcases the price covers.
6. Car hire from Melbourne Airport
Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Redspot and Sixt all have desks at the airport, and according to the airport’s car hire page, the desks are on the ground floor of the T123 car park opposite Terminal 2. You can compare prices on car hire at Booking.com before you travel. Like in the UK, they drive on the left in Australia.
The CityLink motorway into the city is a toll road without barriers, where the toll is recorded electronically and the hire company charges you afterwards, often with an admin fee on top. Ask at the desk how they handle tolls so you don’t get any surprises. You don’t need a car in Melbourne itself, as the trams go everywhere and parking in the CBD is expensive. A car does, however, make a lot of sense for the Great Ocean Road, the Yarra Valley and Phillip Island, so my advice is to take SkyBus into the city and only pick up the car on the day you drive out of Melbourne.
Is there a train to the airport on the way?
Melbourne has talked about a rail link to the airport for decades, and there is now a plan for Melbourne Airport Rail. Trains will run from the airport to Sunshine Station in the west of the city and from there on through the Metro Tunnel under the centre. The first works, including the rebuilding of Sunshine Station, have started, but there’s no date for when airport trains will begin running.
Until then, SkyBus and the buses are the only public transport links, so don’t trust older articles or maps showing an airport train. You can follow the project on the State of Victoria’s Melbourne Airport Rail page.
Avalon Airport: Melbourne’s second airport
Some tickets to Melbourne don’t land at Tullamarine at all, but at Avalon Airport, around 55 kilometres south-west of the centre, close to the city of Geelong. From here, Jetstar flies to places including Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, the Gold Coast and Bali, according to Avalon Airport. The airport is small and easy to find your way around, but it’s a long way from the city, so always check which airport is on your ticket.
The easiest way into the city is the SkyBus Avalon City Express, which runs to Southern Cross Station and is timed to meet all the major flight arrivals. A single ticket costs 29 dollars (around £22), and according to SkyBus’ Avalon route page, the journey can take around 90 minutes depending on traffic. If you’re heading to Geelong or the Great Ocean Road, bus 18 runs from the airport to Lara Station with myki, where you change to the train towards Geelong.
Many people combine Melbourne with a trip to Bali, and if you’re flying on there from Avalon, you can read my guide to where to stay in Bali.
Getting back to the airport
SkyBus to Melbourne Airport leaves from bay 75 in the coach terminal at Southern Cross Station, and the bus to Avalon leaves from bay 74 right next to it. The ticket machines are by the Bourke Street entrance. On the way to the airport, SkyBus stops at Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, so if you’re flying with Jetstar from Terminal 4, get off at Terminal 3 and walk the last bit. If you’re flying internationally from Terminal 2, get off at Terminal 1 or Terminal 3, which are both right next door.
Allow plenty of time at rush hour, as SkyBus sits in the same traffic as everyone else, and the motorway towards the airport can be very slow in the afternoon. If you have a very early flight, check the first departure the evening before, or spend your last night by the airport. PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport is right opposite the terminals and has an indoor pool, and you can see prices at PARKROYAL Melbourne Airport here.
If you’re travelling on to Sydney, flying is by far the quickest option, and in my guide to where to stay in Sydney, you’ll find the best areas and hotels in the city. If you’re flying on across the Tasman Sea, I also have a guide to where to stay in New Zealand.
Which option should you choose?
Here’s my recommendation based on where you’re going and how you’re travelling:
CBD, Southbank and Docklands: Take SkyBus to Southern Cross for 25.90 dollars (around £19), then walk or take a free tram in the Free Tram Zone to your hotel.
Fitzroy, South Yarra and Carlton: SkyBus to Southern Cross, then a tram or train onwards using contactless payment or myki.
St Kilda: SkyBus Peninsula Express runs directly from Terminal 1 and Terminal 4, so you don’t have to change in the centre.
On a tight budget: Bus 901 to Broadmeadows and the train into the city for around 5.70 dollars (around £4). Allow about an hour.
3 to 4 adults with lots of luggage: A taxi or an Uber doesn’t cost much more than four SkyBus tickets and takes you right to the door.
If you land in the middle of the night: SkyBus stops for a couple of hours at night, so take a taxi or an Uber, or book a private transfer in advance.
Great Ocean Road and trips out of the city: Pick up your hire car at the airport if you’re driving straight out of the city, otherwise on the day you leave Melbourne, so you avoid paying for parking in the CBD.
Travel ressources & websites I use all the time 👇
• Booking.com has the best offers on hotels and unique places to stay
• GetYourGuide is the best place to book tours & activities with free cancellation
• Welcome Pickups is the best & safest place to pre-book airport transfers
Psst 👀 Have you subscribed to my Youtube channel and my Instagram where I provide more useful travel tips?