Melbourne for Cheap
June 29, 2019 1:36 AM Subscribe
Woohoo, got tickets to the Cursed Child for the Potterhead child! All the money went to tickets so we are on a tight budget. Logistics questions inside for Melbourne.
Going to Melbourne to catch the Cursed Child with Potterhead, daughter. Need to know how to do this cheaply:
1) I assume that JetStar is the cheapest flight option out of Sydney. Every Aussie I asked told me that the drive from Sydney to Melbourn was crap;
2) I want to keep my kidneys, what is the cheapest way from the Tullamarine Melbourne airport to Melbourne proper? Just lump the taxi fee?
3) What suburbs should be considered to stay? I know from the previous askmefi that Melbourne neighborhoods have got it all, but I am looking for that intersection of the transportation network and not outrageous pricing for a stay. Right now, I am excluding hostels with shared bathroom and sleeping accommodations (bad experience has cured me of sleeping with strangers)
4) anything else on the thrifty side is welcome.
We plan on exploring Melbourne and working off the wonderful previous posts on Melbourne from AskMefi.
Going to Melbourne to catch the Cursed Child with Potterhead, daughter. Need to know how to do this cheaply:
1) I assume that JetStar is the cheapest flight option out of Sydney. Every Aussie I asked told me that the drive from Sydney to Melbourn was crap;
2) I want to keep my kidneys, what is the cheapest way from the Tullamarine Melbourne airport to Melbourne proper? Just lump the taxi fee?
3) What suburbs should be considered to stay? I know from the previous askmefi that Melbourne neighborhoods have got it all, but I am looking for that intersection of the transportation network and not outrageous pricing for a stay. Right now, I am excluding hostels with shared bathroom and sleeping accommodations (bad experience has cured me of sleeping with strangers)
4) anything else on the thrifty side is welcome.
We plan on exploring Melbourne and working off the wonderful previous posts on Melbourne from AskMefi.
Definitely skybus.
For actually cheaper, you can get a 901 bus from the aiport to a train line, but skybus is way less hassle.
posted by pompomtom at 2:46 AM on June 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
For actually cheaper, you can get a 901 bus from the aiport to a train line, but skybus is way less hassle.
posted by pompomtom at 2:46 AM on June 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
Use webjet.com.au to compare flights and then book the one you want directly on the carrier's website to save about $20. There is also a Syd-Mel train - costs about $100 for adults, takes 12 hours, nothing much to see, no wifi. I love it, but I'm odd, sans child and not on holiday.
If you end up booking accommodation in the city, catch the Skybus direct to Southern Cross station (about 25 mins). Once you get to the city, you're in the free tram zone (link to PDF), so you can sail round to your hotel for free.
If you're not staying in the city, consider booking the Starbus airport shuttle: door-to-door dropoffs for many inner suburbs, $20-27pp. Otherwise, a taxi from the airport will take about 20 mins and cost about AU$50 to one of Melbourne's northern suburbs, and rather more for southern ones.
I agree with pompomtom about the 901. It's impossible to find the stop, it only comes twice an hour, it doesn't go anywhere that's likely to be useful to you, and you'll be anxiously consulting google maps the whole ride trying to figure out where to get off and change. I've caught a lot of inconvenient public transport options to airports in my time, and that one is only for the bloody minded.
I've stayed at The Nunnery and liked it, especially location-wise. The backpacker side will be louder than the guesthouse.
posted by trotzdem_kunst at 4:20 AM on June 29, 2019
If you end up booking accommodation in the city, catch the Skybus direct to Southern Cross station (about 25 mins). Once you get to the city, you're in the free tram zone (link to PDF), so you can sail round to your hotel for free.
If you're not staying in the city, consider booking the Starbus airport shuttle: door-to-door dropoffs for many inner suburbs, $20-27pp. Otherwise, a taxi from the airport will take about 20 mins and cost about AU$50 to one of Melbourne's northern suburbs, and rather more for southern ones.
I agree with pompomtom about the 901. It's impossible to find the stop, it only comes twice an hour, it doesn't go anywhere that's likely to be useful to you, and you'll be anxiously consulting google maps the whole ride trying to figure out where to get off and change. I've caught a lot of inconvenient public transport options to airports in my time, and that one is only for the bloody minded.
I've stayed at The Nunnery and liked it, especially location-wise. The backpacker side will be louder than the guesthouse.
posted by trotzdem_kunst at 4:20 AM on June 29, 2019
Re Skybus - if there are two of you, and you’re staying in the CBD, or close (eg The Nunnery) rideshare maybe cheaper and easier depending on the time you arrive/surge charging or not. Skybus can be very crowded, drops you at Southern Cross station and then you’ll need to haul yourselves to wherever you’re going on a tram or train. Either option is easy to do when you land, no pre-booking needed. Maybe once you’ve decided on a location work out tram/train from Southern Cross so you know the cost - then when you land check Uber pricing and make a decision about Skybus vs rideshare.
posted by t0astie at 5:00 PM on June 29, 2019
posted by t0astie at 5:00 PM on June 29, 2019
For places to stay, I'd suggest Carlton via Airbnb. Nadine and Mike have several rooms and setups around Elgin, Drummond and Lygon streets. Some have private bathrooms. The couple are incredibly nice. Public transport is at your feet and close enough to walk to the CBD if you're so inclined.
posted by michswiss at 7:46 PM on June 29, 2019
posted by michswiss at 7:46 PM on June 29, 2019
I always enjoyed the drive from Melbourne to Sydney, but obviously YMMV. It can be an experience in itself and I think it's definitely worth doing once. However, unless you want to do it I suspect that the economics of it require three or more people to make it cheaper than flying.
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:12 PM on June 29, 2019
posted by Joe in Australia at 11:12 PM on June 29, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
re: 2, mel airport -> mel cbd ; there's the commercial "skybus" service, it runs between the airport and southern cross station on the city loop in melbourne cbd. skybus tickets are about $20 a head per adult with children 16 and under free -- https://www.skybus.com.au/buy-tickets/ . you don't need to book in advance, the bus service departs the airport about every 10-15 minutes.
re: 3 ; any suburb with straightforward public transport access via train or tram to get to the cbd should be pretty easy to work with.
re: 4, thrift, aldi supermarkets are reasonably cheap for groceries. victoria market is also worth checking out
posted by are-coral-made at 2:14 AM on June 29, 2019