OK. It's official. Merimbula airport is by far the smallest airport I have ever visited. It's basically one gate with one waiting room; and the waiting room features the flight check-in area on one side, and rental car podiums on another. You can get a snack or fresh-made sandwich at the small cafe at the back end of this same room...if they are open. (It closed about 2 pm on the day I departed). But there's only one person behind the counter, so your food will take awhile if there's a line. Security is non-existent. There were no metal detectors or scanners, and I never had to put my carry-on stuff through a machine or take off my shoes. The arrival and departure door were adjacent to each other and not staffed. Kind of like going back in time. One interesting feature was what appeared to be an outside waiting area between the arrival/departure doors and the tarmac. Not sure if this was for departing guests or those waiting on arrivals; perhaps both. But if I was stuck at this airport, it wouldn't be a bad place to hang out on a warm day. If renting a car here, make sure to reserve ahead, otherwise nobody will be there. (Rental car podiums appear not to be staffed unless flights with reservations are arriving.) The Avis podium seemed to be staffed by one local guy who drove in just to hand people their keys and paperwork. Rental cars were parked outside, about 10m from the front door. As airports go, it was actually pretty charming and easy. But since 90% of the flights here are via the dreaded REX airlines (http://www.yelp.com/biz/rex-airlines-mascot?hrid=dGE_iUOe5n_yM9wkYzv5Xg), I can't rate it too highly. Dan's Airport checklist: -- Free Wi-Fi: Surprisingly yes; with a website login (4) -- Logistics and getting around: As easy as it gets (5) -- Shops and amenities: (2) -- Beauty and art: (2) read more

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Nice little airport with a small cafe, car rentals, bathrooms, and airline desk. Someone in our party found it amusing that there were two different doors for arrival and departure because they were like three feet away from each other and basically did the same thing. Shaded seating is available to sip your preflight beverage. There is a rather large rock that children seem to be particularly drawn to climb. It features a plaque commemorating the updated airport security in 2007. They picked a really nice rock to mount it on. read more