Melbourne Flights and Travel Guide

Melbourne is Australia’s second largest city and boasts the most diverse population. In fact, Victoria’s capital even has a museum properly named “The Immigration Museum”, which is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who found a home in Melbourne in the 1800s.  Today, Melbourne has a population of more than 3 million people and welcomes millions of travelers a year. Visitors book flights to Melbourne for a taste of the city’s world-famous nightlife, shopping, fashion, and sporting events.

In recent years Melbourne’s popularity has grown to rival Sydney’s and travelers planning a visit should book their Melbourne flights early since there’s always an event taking place and people fly in from all over the world to attend. But the lively buzz doesn’t stop at a single event; it’s there every day of the week coming out of its cool jazz bars, fashionable cafes and über-chic boutiques.

The city attracts more than just sports enthusiasts and culture seekers, nature lovers booking Melbourne flights won’t be disappointed. Outside the city are lush vineyards, outback wilderness, and captivating wildlife beckoning to be discovered.

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Melbourne Climate

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When to Fly to Melbourne

Peak Season:

The first day of summer is technically December 21st, making the holidays a great time to book a cheap flight to Melbourne. Although it doesn't get very hot until January, the period from December to February are filled with glorious sea breezes and ends in a dry, thundery month of March.

If you're heading to Melbourne for one of the cities famous events, consider flights to Melbourne during The Melbourne Fringe Festival, which takes place in the first three weeks in October, and the Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November. Test your skills at cricket from October through March.

Off Season:

Winter, while cold, stays mild with light winds and foggy skies. Travel to Melbourne is less frequent during the frosty season but it's likely cheap flights to Melbourne and discount accommodations can be found during this time.

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Getting Downtown Melbourne

The SkyBus offers a frequent 24-hour shuttle bus service between the airport, the city center and city hotels. Several public bus services also link the airport to different parts of the city and surrounds. Taxis are available from outside both domestic and international terminals.

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Getting Around Melbourne

Options are endless when it comes to transportation. Trains, trams, buses, and taxis will take you where you need to go after your initial flight to Melbourne. Trains are fast and reliable, and the underground City Loop supplements the traditional suburban railroad that stops in 16 different places. Go to the Flinders Street Station to catch any train at all - this hub serves as the heart of the operations, where all trains pass through.

Trams drive on a rail in the center of the road and stop every two or three blocks. Wave a map at the tram stop to signal a driver that you need a ride - not every tram will stop unless a pick-up or drop-off is necessary. While your airline tickets to Melbourne won't take you past the plane, bus tickets are fortunately versatile enough to work for both the tram and train systems as well.

Yellow taxis are available by flagging one or by pre-booking. Usually, a light on the roof of the car will be illuminated if it is available to pick up passengers. Hailing is easiest at central locations like hotels and go by a metered pricing.

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Melbourne Insider Information

• National Gallery of Victoria: This citadel of fine art is divided into two sections: The Saint Kilda Road and the Ian Potter Center. The Saint Kilda Road section was redeveloped, and showcases Picasso's Weeping Woman. The Ian Potter Center holds only Australian art, and is located on the South Bank. Read up on both sections during your flight to Melbourne and plan this leg of your Melbourne travel between Tuesday and Friday.The museum closes on Mondays and attracts droves of tourists on the weekends.
• Eureka Tower: The tallest building in Melbourne also happens to be the tallest residential building in the entire world. Public observation is allowed on the 88th floor Sky Deck, so high that other Melbourne flights seem nearby in the sky. The most intriguing part is The Edge, a frosted glass cube that moves and becomes unfrosted for a crystal view of the city skyline.
• Laneways and arcades: Of the seven arcades you might stumble upon, don't miss the Block arcade and the Cathedral arcade. The Block arcade, located on Collins and Elizabeth Street is trimmed with iron and lace architecture, glass dome ceilings, and Italian mosaic floors. The Cathedral arcades offer a selection of Japanese accessories and 50's rock fashion, along with essential jazz and blues CDs at Basement Discs.
• Take a wine tour in the Yarra Valley.
• Lava: According to official tourism guides, Melbourne is geologically "built on the confluence of Quaternary lava flows to the west, Silurian mudstones to the east and Holocene sand accumulation to the southeast along Port Phillip." Pictures are bound to be breathtaking so make sure your camera's battery is loaded before heading out to explore the lava-lands for the day.
• The Melbourne Zoo opened in 1862 and has more than 350 animals, many of them native to the land down under. Visit the wombats, koala bears, kangaroos and wallabies, among many others. There’s a beautiful butterfly house with 12 which hosts approximately 800 butterflies at any time.
• The Royal Botanic Gardens are one of the finest in Australia.
• Birrarung Marr, a riverside park that is almost a continuous green belt around Melbourne and Carlton Gardens extend around the Royal Exhibition Building which dates from 1880.

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Melbourne Airports

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