Melbourne is a major transport crossroads throughout Australia.

There is a major international airport with many flights to other continents, as well as frequent domestic connections. Melbourne is also served by rail and long-distance bus services.

By air

There are 4 airports in Melbourne with scheduled services, but only one international airport.

• Melbourne-Tullamarine MEL - Melbourne's main airport with extremely busy domestic routes and a large number of international flights, the second largest airport in Australia
• Melbourne-Avalon AVV - low-cost airport between Werribee and Geelong with several daily flights to Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast
• Melbourne-Essendon MEB - historically the first airport for Melbourne, today it only serves small Sharp Airlines aircraft with flights to King Island
• Melbourne-Moorabbin MBW - a small general aviation airport with regular King Island Airlines services to King Island

International flights

Melbourne is Australia's second most important international hub after Sydney.

Many airlines operate direct flights here. Frequent bargains are available from Chinese airlines, for example, where return tickets from Europe can be purchased from 700 eur.

Compare flight prices to Melbourne

Nonstop flights to Melbourne are operated by the following airlines:

• AirAsia X - Kuala Lumpur and low-cost connecting flights to Asia
• Air China - Beijing
• Air New Zealand - Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, Wellington
• Batik Air - Bali, Kuala Lumpur
• Cathay Pacific - Hong Kong
• Cebu Pacific - low cost flights to Manila
• China Airlines - Taipei
• China Eastern Airlines - Shanghai, Nanjing
• China Southern Airlines - Guangzhou, Beijing
• Delta - Los Angeles
• Emirates - via Dubai to Europe, Middle East and Africa
• Etihad Airways - via Abu Dhabi to Europe, Middle East and Africa
• Fiji Airways - Nadi
• Garuda Indonesia - Bali, Jakarta
• Hainan Airlines - Haikou
• Japan Airlines - Tokyo
• Jetstar - Bali, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Phuket, Singapore
• Korean Air - Seoul
• LATAM - Santiago de Chile
• Malaysia Airlines - Kuala Lumpur
• Philippine Airlines - Manila
• Royal Brunei Airlines - Brunei and often convenient connecting flights to London and Dubai
• Qantas - Bali, Dallas, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Jakarta, Los Angeles, Singapore, Tokyo
• Qatar Airways - via Doha to Europe, Middle East and Africa
• Scoot - Singapore and low-cost flights onwards to all of Asia and Europe
• Sichuan Airlines - Chengdu
• Singapore Airlines - Singapore and onwards to Asia and Europe
• SriLankan Airlines - Colombo
• Thai - Bangkok
• Turkish Airlines - Istanbul, Singapore
• United - Los Angeles, San Francisco
• VietJetAir - Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City
• Vietnam Airlines - Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City

Domestic flights

Due to the vastness of Australia and the distance of major cities from each other, air travel also plays a role in domestic traffic.

Typical prices for one-way tickets to Sydney, Adelaide or Brisbane are around 100 aud on low-cost airlines and it pays to buy tickets about 1-5 months before departure.

Last-minute tickets normally cost 200 aud to 280 aud.

Compare domestic flight prices

For domestic flights within Australia, use the following airlines in particular:

• Jetstar
• Qantas
• Virgin Australia

In addition, Regional Express Airlines and LINK Airways provide regional flights to nearby small airports in Victoria and the surrounding area.

By train

Australia's rail network mainly connects the major cities, but due to the long distances involved, it is usually worth the cost and time to fly to Sydney or Adelaide, for example.

All long-distance trains to Melbourne arrive at Southern Cross main station in the city centre.

There is currently only one conventional long-distance line and one tourist line in operation.

Sydney to Melbourne train

The conventional long-distance route connects Australia's two largest cities and is operated twice daily by NSW Transport.

The train takes approximately 11.5 hours between Melbourne and Sydney and a one-way ticket costs from 83 aud. The cheapest tickets tend to be available about 1 week before departure, but only if the service is unavailable.

In the summer season (November to February), it is worth buying tickets 2-4 weeks in advance and normal prices are from 99 aud.

Night sleeper fares start at 250 aud.

The train runs twice a day - always 1 day and 1 night service.

Tickets and timetables can be found at transportnsw.info/regional-bookings.

You'll probably use the trains mainly to get to towns along the way that have no or expensive and infrequent air service. The most important stations along the way are:

• Benalla
• Wangaratta
• Albury - for trips to Mount Kosciuszko
• Wagga Wagga
• Yass
• Goulburn - change to Canberra-bound train
• Moss Vale

Tourist train The Overland

Only the company's luxury tourist trains currently operate on the route to Adelaide Journey Beyond Railwhich also operates the famous Indian-Pacific (Sydney to Perth) and The Ghan (Adelaide to Darwin) trains.

There is a train The Overland to Melbourne from Adelaide.

The journey time is about 10 hours and the train only runs twice a week.

A one way ticket costs from 145 aud and in the summer season we recommend booking at least 1-2 months in advance.

To book tickets, visit the official website at journeybeyondrail.com.au/the-overland.

Regional trains

From destinations within the state of Victoria, Melbourne can be reached by the relatively frequent V/Line regional trains.

Regional trains to Melbourne run from cities such as Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Warrnambool, Ararat and Seymour and details can be found at vline.com.au.

Buses

Long-distance buses run mainly to Sydney and Adelaide.

All services depart from the underground bus stand at Southern Cross Station. There are no ticket offices or ticket machines at this bus station, and although the driver may sell tickets, we strongly recommend buying tickets online to ensure a seat on the bus.

Usually you just need to buy a ticket a few days before departure, often on the day of departure, but especially on Fridays and Sundays or in peak season it is better to keep an eye on ticket availability.

Long-distance services to Melbourne are mainly operated by two companies from the following cities.

• Greyhound Australia
  • Sydney - 1x daily, journey time 12 hours, single ticket prices from 151 aud
  • Canberra - 1x daily, journey time 8 hours, single ticket prices from 128 aud
  • Albury - 1x daily, journey time 4.5 hours, single ticket prices from 91 aud
  • Book tickets at greyhound.com.au
• Firefly Express
  • Sydney - 1x daily, journey time 11.5 hours, single ticket prices from 99 aud
  • Adelaide - 2x daily, journey time 9.5 hours, single ticket prices from 65 aud
  • Albury - 1x daily, journey time 3.5 hours, single ticket prices from 99 aud
  • Book tickets at fireflyexpress.com.au