Our experience on Virgin Australia was a flight from Hobart to Melbourne. I'd call it a good…read moreexperience, although I think we did some circling as this flight should have been a shorter hop. Leg room was a little tight, service was pleasant, and we appreciated the warm quiche snack. I'd rated Virgin higher than Jet Star and lower than Quantas in terms of internal Australian service. Those are practically the only 3 choices to fly within Australia.

Sadly very quick to point out I'd entered the wrong side by mistake…read more Not a good thing to embarrass your customers

We had a couple hour layover in Melbourne Airport and we started our wait here…read more It was the first time trying out the Singapore Airline Lounge and it was much smaller than the Air Zealand's. Checkin at the front went smoothly and *G status gained us admittance. The rep reminded us of the early closing hours before we entered since the lounge was open only when a Singapore Airline flight was scheduled. Inside there lounge wasn't busy at all. The furniture and decor inside was average and mirrored those in other airports. The buffet offerings contained both Western and Asian selections. We gravitated towards the dim sum steamers since we wouldn't get them in the next lounge we'd visit. Overall decent pork siu mai and shrimp/ginger dumplings. What stood out was the barista service offered/ made to order coffees and teh tarik (milk tea). It was delivered in a short time to our table. I looked forward to the teh Tarik but it was the iced latte that was the better of the two drinks. The opening hours were inconvenient for non-Singapore Airlines flyers but at least quiet and less crowded option in MEL.

Singapore Airline Lounge is a relatively small lounge in Terminal 2. The service is an okay but the…read morelounge only opens for a few hours a day. There are two places for passengers on United flights to stay at Melbourne airport ever since the closure of the United lounge several years ago, and I think the Air New Zealand Lounge downstairs is a better choice: it is bigger and has better service and longer open hours.

Best Airline! This…read moreairline deserves to be No.1 Friendly helpful staff. Clean plane. Food and drinks good. Business class to Auckland Jan Dec 2016

Unlike the LAX experience, I had a great experience with the counter staff during the check-in…read moreprocess at MEL. The employee was very friendly, helpful, and went beyond the call of duty with checking if my additional container could be checked vs carried onto the plane. I was extremely pleased with her conduct and demeanor during a busy morning crowd.

We flew through Melbourne three times on our latest trip to Down Under…read more International arrivals required a little bit of a hike to get to immigration. We were able to use the egate to enter so no more passport stamp. We grabbed our luggage and proceeded through customs. That was the much longer and slower line. Definitely better to declare conservatively (per announcement on our flight) and explain all Yes answers to the agent. To connect to our domestic leg to Hobart we followed the signs to T3 and did the self serve baggage drop like everyone else. Security was next and water was allowed to be carried through. To connect to our international flight to Queenstown in T2 we had to queue to check bags and get our boarding pass since they had to verify our NZETA and return flight. Security screening was quick but a little slower at the egate customs as people fumbled around for their passport (required first step). Some people had to be rerouted to the in person agent when flagged by the egate. After all this, at least there was a good selection of restaurants and shops in each terminal we visited. Prices were roughly just a couple AUD higher than outside the airport so it felt reasonable. Overall good signage and well connected terminals.

On my last trip out to Australia to run the Sydney Marathon, I was here for a fairly short layover…read more I got off of the plane into the international terminal 2. Although I was given a paper incoming passenger card to fill out, I didn't do that as I had already filled out the digital Australia Travel Declaration on the Qantas mobile app to get a QR code. Apparently, they were still transitioning over to the digital format as none of the Border Force agents knew what to do with that QR code. After taking care of that, I exited the terminal to head over to terminal 1 to catch my short flight into Sydney.

Easy to locate as the domestic airport is just next to the Melbourne International Airport…read more Counters are well displayed with directions everywhere. Shops and cafes are all around ensuring that you can get a quick bite whilst waiting for your domestic flight. Security Personnels are polite and dutiful so do help them to make our flight safe. It can get a little crowded so do check in early.

Economical and convenient way to travel from MEL to the central business district. You can buy a…read moreround trip ticket at the kiosk next to the bus stop. It's a double decker and the bus is always full.

I don't understand why Melbourne's otherwise outstanding tram system doesn't extend to the airport…read morebut it doesn't. So your option is an expensive cab or the Skybus. Fortunately there was a stop right outside our hotel so it was super convenient. There are several routes that go to different places - just ask & staff will make sure you get to the right bus. The buses we were on were very clean, with pleasant drivers and ample luggage space. There is also free WiFi that actually worked. I'd rather take a tram but the Skybus gets the job done.

I've never understood why people plan their own trips when you can get someone else to do it for…read moreyou! Plus they are more likely to plan you a better trip than you could have ever imagined yourself. Hayley from Flight Centre in Collingwood has done this for me, and a whole lot of other things too! She recommended airlines, hotels/hostels and the best places to visit while overseas. Since my initial booking, she has kept me up to date with any changes, and consistently sends through things I might be interested in including her own personal travel stories and photos. She even comforted me as I nervously bought my first ticket overseas! What a woman and what a travel agency. If you are looking for a cheap getaway to any part of the world, these guys will have you covered. I couldn't recommend them any more.

The last couple of times I have been overseas, I have had absolute nightmare experiences with…read moreflights, missed connections, accommodation being wrongly booked- the list goes on and on. So when I decided to take a holiday to Thailand recently, I flat out refused to organise it myself and wanted the most simple, straightforward itinerary in the history of all overseas travel, ever. Cue Kylie from Yarraville Flight Centre. She was seriously amazing, booked us some amazingly cheap flights and was genuinely interested in making sure we got a good deal. We did everything via email (super convenient for me working in an office) and she always ALWAYS responded promptly to my many, many emails. Kylie made everything super easy for us and was a pleasure to deal with. I will NEVER book a holiday on my own again.