How should you make it out to the airport this time? Last time you ordered an Uber and it took 20 minutes to arrive after getting lost, which nearly gave you a heart attack because you live in the inner city for god’s sake and you thought you were going to miss your flight! We take a look at the options you have to get to the airport – from the best through to your least desirable option to get you to the gate on time.
Park and fly services
Park and fly services make trips out to the airport soooo easy. You drive yourself there, you drop your car off, you get a shuttle to the terminal, and off you go. They’re surprisingly affordable, offer services like a car wash while you are away, plus – the big benefit – you get to drive yourself at the time that suits you. Plus, when you get back, you don’t need to worry about transport home, you simply pick up your car and off you go. Just don’t drink too many complimentary wines on the flight home!
A lift with family, a friend, or colleague
Are you flying with others? Maybe they will use park and fly services and you can carpool – this really saves the environment, plus it’s a great social aspect if you’re already flying together. Put some money towards the cost of their park and fly services if the occasion fits.
Even if you’re not flying together, sometimes family and friends are happy to offer you a lift out to the airport if they aren’t up to anything. If you ask us, it’s always a lot nicer travelling out with family and friends rather than a stranger. Just make sure they’re on time and reliable!
Private chauffer
Much like your family and friends, a private chauffer is a good bet. Private chauffers are pretty much guaranteed to be on time and to be hassle free. This service you’ll need to arrange in advance, and you might like to ask for other people’s recommendations about who to use, or look up chauffer services in your city. If you like the chauffer that you have you can arrange for them to take you out to the airport every time that you fly, which really makes things easy and more stress free.
Pre-ordered Uber or taxi
A step down from the private chauffer is the pre-ordered Uber or taxi. These drivers aren’t quite as up there as the private chauffer because they aren’t quite as reliable. Even though you book in advance, there is always the off chance that they won’t show up at the right time or will cancel – which can really leave you in the lurch. Choose a premium Uber or taxi service wherever possible to help minimise the chances of this happening to you!
Public transport
Those looking to save money, who really like long trips, or just have a really convenient public transport option close by will probably go down the public transport route. Most Australian cities have dedicated airport public transport lines that are fairly reliable when it comes to time. However, if you link up with another route that isn’t a dedicated airport line, this is when you can run into trouble. Your regular buses, trains, and trams run to varying degrees of time accuracy which depend on a whole number of things and you could flip a coin as to when it will actually arrive. So be careful when using the public transport option, and where possible only use the dedicated airport link or give yourself plenty of time.
