Melbourne: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Melbourne is a city of 5.4 million people in Australia (Victoria), 25 m (82 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Melbourne Airport (MEL), 19 km (12 mi) from the centre. It has 11 railway stations on record, including Flinders Street. It is a port city: Port of Hastings. Our booking partner lists 3,019+ places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Melbourne runs from about 9 h 36 min a day in late June to 14 h 50 min in late December (computed for -37.81° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Melbourne is served by 4 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Melbourne Airport (MEL), 19 km (12 mi) from the centre, whose 11,998-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Melbourne Avalon International Airport (AVV, 50 km), Melbourne Essendon Airport (MEB, 11 km), Melbourne Moorabbin Airport (MBW, 22 km).
Flights to Melbourne: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Flinders Street, Malvern, Tooronga, Boronia, Bayswater, Heidelberg. Trains to Melbourne
Buses to Melbourne · Driving and car hire · Ferries
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 3,019+ places to stay in Melbourne (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 738 with a star rating, the largest group is 4-star (531), and 118 are five-star. Across 557 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.5 out of 10. Guests have left 990,748 reviews in total.
Hotels in Melbourne: the full picture, and book
Our booking partner lists 27 hostels in Melbourne, out of 3,019 places to stay of every kind — 0.9% of everywhere it lists in the city, a small share: this is a city where nearly everything on offer is a hotel or an apartment. Across 27 hostels with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 7.4 out of 10, 1.1 below the 8.5 its hotels average. Guests have left 27,661 reviews across them.
Hostels in Melbourne: the full picture, and book
What people come for
UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Melbourne
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Geelong, 65 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Ballarat, 102 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Bendigo, 132 km — buses · car rental · tours
Common questions
Which airport serves Melbourne?
Melbourne Airport (MEL), 19 km (12 mi) from the centre, plus 3 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Melbourne?
About 5.4 million people live in Melbourne, across 9,993 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Melbourne in?
Australia/Melbourne, currently UTC+10.
What currency is used in Melbourne?
The Dollar (AUD). Traffic drives on the left.
Are there hostels in Melbourne?
27 of them, bookable on this site. Hostels in Melbourne.
How many hotels are there in Melbourne?
Our booking partner lists 3,019 or more places to stay in Melbourne, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Melbourne?
Geelong (65 km), Ballarat (102 km), Bendigo (132 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.