So traveling around Melbourne city can be one of those things that people dread because of the heavy traffic. But here are some of the best times to travel to get to Melbourne airport stress-free. Please note you should give yourself at least 45 mins before your flight for domestic and 2 and half hours for international to arrive at the airport. If you have extra luggage, add an extra half hour.
At peak hour traffic, from Melbourne CBD to Tullamarine Airport can take 1 hour to even 1 and half hours!
The peak hours are Monday through Friday 3:00 PM to 7.00 PM with 4.00 pm-6.00 PM being the worst. Now what makes getting to the airport harder is that most taxis end their shifts and have to bring the taxi back by 4:00 PM-5:00 PM for the shift change, so not only will it take long to get to the airport, but it will take equally long to find a taxi. And think an on the ride-sharing app is a solution? It is but at a premium pricing as that’s usually the surge time when demand is at its highest with tariffs going as high as 3 times the regular rate!
So to avoid all this:
Travel early! Get out of city no later than 2 PM and you can reach to the airport between 30- 45 minutes.
Travel late, if you’re taking a redeye, then you’re in blessing, airport travel times decrease after 8:00 PM.
Travel on the weekends. Saturday and Sunday are pleasing travel days, you may hit a snag due to road works here and there, but nothing compared to Melbourne rush hours.
Travel during the AM rush? Yes, but remember, even though it is a chaotic time to travel into Melbourne, getting out is not as hard as you may think, so 7:00 AM-9:00 AM is not a bad time after all. ALERT: Try to avoid this if you’re coming from the airport and want to get into Melbourne, your best bet is to leave Tullamarine by 7 AM otherwise it’s city traffic. I’m looking at your redeye flyers.
What about the PM rush, is this a good time from the Tullamarine airport to Melbourne? But if there are accidents and weather problems, then this could also take a while.
Book a chauffeur car service. You will get a guaranteed trip with enough travel time and at a competitive price no matter what the time of day. Most chauffeur companies are 24/7 so even a 4 AM pickup is not a problem for most chauffeured transportation companies. Just do your homework, check google reviews, and get referred to a company that is known to be reliable at all times. and consult with the limo service on pickup times. As to pickups from the airport, most services track flights automatically. In our case, we also track traffic to make it to/from the Melbourne airport with the least amount of traffic possible.
Tip: If you’re riding with Melbourne Chauffeurs Services, ask your driver for complimentary mineral water and make the commute a productive one 🙂