Your dream family holiday in the sun for a week is fast approaching to escape Melbourne’s cooling weather. You’ve bought a set of new suitcases, grabbed some boardies and the supersized sunscreen bottle. You’re almost set, but you still have one final logistical problem to solve – should you drive to Melbourne airport and park your car in the long-term carpark? On the face of it, it sounds like the logical solution, right? Throw your bags in the car, lock the house and away you go. Cocktails and coconuts here we come. However, before you go and make the supposedly easy and obvious choice, you should explore the many transport options available to make it to the check-in desk on time without blowing the budget.
Ace Airport Melbourne
Melbourne Airport Car Parking
Let’s start with the obvious. Let’s assume that our model family consists of mum, dad and the two kids. You’re quite happy to load up the car, hit the freeway and park at Melbourne airport itself. But where are you going to park? Melbourne Airport’s car park is quite the little goldmine for the privately held monopoly, with $80 million in pure profit made last financial year thanks to a lack of direct competition. That’s an average of $3000 from each of its 26,000 car spots. The tricky part of choosing a parking option at Melbourne airport is the bewildering selection of parking options available. They have increased car park spaces by 50% over the past ten years and have divided those up into a confusing array of sub car parks.
The option that jumps to mind when we think of Melbourne airport car parking is the long-term option. It’s a vast open plain where you find yourself having to drive around for ages looking for a vacant space like a frustrated Christmas shopper at Chadstone. Once you finally manage to park, you then have to haul your luggage to a shuttle pick-up point where you hope to be able to squeeze on board. Not the option you want, if you fear missing your flight! For the privilege of leaving your car exposed to the elements with limited security, you’ll pay roughly $110 for the week. The options increase in price the closer to the terminal you get. Parking at the terminal car parks will cost you roughly $210 with a 5-minute walk to the terminal with your heavy luggage.
Up the budget and treat your car to a Business, Premium, or Melbourne Airport Valet parking spot and you will have to hand over anything from $267 to $400! You do get a shorter walk though, which is nice.
Public Transport and Alternatives
So what if you don’t want to drive to the airport? Well, there are options for that too. A taxi from the south-east suburbs to Melbourne airport will cost approximately $290 return. Alternatively, you could take an Uber. An UberX on the same route is slightly cheaper than a cab at approximately $242 return. Uber has taken large market share in all countries it operates, but the longevity of the company has been in question with recent controversies and boardroom upheaval, so who knows if it will be a viable future option anyway. Not driving yourself also means leaving your car at home, exposed to the elements and the risk of attention from undesirables.
Alternatively, you could let the train take the strain. I literally mean strain, as you prepare to begin your idyllic holiday with an unplanned workout as you drag and lift your luggage on a sightseeing tour of Melbourne. With an average check-in allowance of 20kg plus carry-on bags, that’s a hefty amount of weight to be lugging around. So you have to make it to your local train station (a short walk if you’re lucky) before enjoying crowded commuter trains and finding a seat for the family (good luck with that one). Along the way, you face the possibility of changing trains, which means navigating platforms with luggage and family in tow, before you disembark at Southern Cross Station where you are met with more platforms, stairs and escalators.
From Southern Cross Station
Congratulations you’ve made it into the CBD! Unfortunately for you, that’s not where Melbourne airport is located. Now thus far you’ve only spent approximately $16.40 on train fares for the family depending on which Metro zones you’ve passed through. (You should also allocate funds for your chiropractic visits upon your return). So how do you get to the airport from here?
Well, you could hop on the Melbourne airport rail link – just kidding, there isn’t one! Much has been reported about the potential rail link, with successive state governments overturning the plans of the former. At the time of writing, the Federal government has agreed to allocate funds in a Victorian infrastructure budget, but we all know that will come with more than enough caveats for it never to see the light of day.
If you take a taxi from here to the airport, it will cost approximately $60 one-way. The other option is SkyBus. From Southern Cross Station it will cost $38 one-way to the airport. If you wanted to take SkyBus from home to the airport, you would have to make it to a convenient pick-up point, for example, Frankston in the south-eastern suburbs. From there it would cost $95 one-way, excluding the potential cost of a taxi to the SkyBus depot.
The Ace Airport Parking Advantage
As you can see, the above options are a perfect blend of high-costs or backbreaking luggage hauling. The alternative is driving your own car and parking with Ace Airport Parking. We offer a range of affordable parking options that include many added benefits. Choose from Premium Rooftop Covered Self-Parking for $114, Undercover Self-Parking for $107, or our Undercover Valet Parking where you drive in, hand the keys over and we park it for you for $111. Our cheapest option is the Outdoor Self-Parking for an amazing $89.90!
All airport parking options come with the Ace Advantage: 24/7 staffed and security monitored facility which is open 365 days a year, fast and free shuttle bus which will drop you at the terminal in minutes and a friendly team which will help lift your luggage! You can even spoil your car while you are busy sunning yourself with a car wash starting from $19.90.
So remove the hassle and stress from your holiday by choosing to park with Ace Airport Parking, Melbourne airport’s premium offsite parking facility.
