Tullamarine International Airport, located 14 miles northwest of downtown, is Melbourne’s main airport. Australia’s national carrier Qantas and discount airline Virgin Blue handle the majority of domestic flights from all the state capitals in the country. A number of major international carriers also provide regular service into Melbourne, offering air travellers plenty of options.

The international and domestic terminals are separated by a five-minute walk. Each terminal has excellent amenities to help arriving and departing passengers such as ATMs, banks, currency exchange offices, eating and shopping options. Useful tourist information desks can be found on both levels of the International Terminal from 06:00 until the last flight of the day.

Melbourne’s airport has a convenient and cheap public bus service which ferries passengers from the Baggage Claim area to the city centre. Skybus departs every 15 minutes from 07:00 to 18:30; every 30 minutes from 19:00 to 00:30; and every hour between 01:00 and 05:00. Skybus takes passengers directly to the Spencer Street Railway Station, where free shuttle buses will transfer you to most city hotels. The journey takes around 30 minutes. Alternatively, taxis are available outside the Arrivals area for door-to-door service to your hotel. All the major car rental firms have offices in both terminals if you want to hire a car.

Visitors can arrive in Melbourne by interstate train at the Spencer Street Railway Station. The Sydney-Melbourne XPT runs daily between these two major cities, while the Overland operates from Adelaide. The Canberra Link will connect you with Canberra.

A number of private coach companies provide transport between Melbourne and nearly every other town in Australia. Greyhound is the nation’s largest coach company. All coaches arrive and depart from the Transit Centre just north of Spencer Street Station. Trams and taxis provide ongoing transport from this main station.

Melbourne has an incredible tram network; the oldest in the world in fact. This iconic form of transport is an essential component of the city’s public transportation system, with hundreds of them operating on 202 miles of track within the metro area.

Buses and trains make up the other parts of Melbourne’s transport network. There are several useful ticketing options. The two-hour Metcard allows unlimited travel for two hours, while the Zone 1 Metcard daily ticket covers nearly all the tourist attractions within its transport area for a single day. Both of these tickets can be bought from machines on trams, at station ticket offices and at many newsstands.

A great transport option for visitors is the free City Circle tram. This dark red tram run in a loop around the city centre, hitting all the major attractions, shopping malls and arcades. The free tram runs in both directions, stopping every 10 minutes at the well-marked burgundy tram signs between 10:00 and 18:00. Taxis are plentiful in Melbourne and use meters. If you are driving yourself around the city, beware of the ubiquitous trams.