I have been over looking at Melbourne Airport. Please note that things I have seen may change by August 2010, but hopefully most of them will not.

Firstly, for the benefit of Kevin, the gaming area has four pinball machines: The Addams Family, Batman, Indianna Jones and The Simpsons.

For everyone else, the Vodafone cellphone rental shop in the International Arrivals area is still there. If you need a phone while you are in Australia you can rent one for the duration of your trip.

And now, transport. This is where you need to be clever, because Melbourne Airport is a trap for the unwary tourist.

If you come straight out of International Arrivals (Terminal 2) you will see no options for transport except a taxi. Do not take this option unless there are at least 3 of you. It costs AU$51 for a ride to the Hilton South Wharf, and there’s a AU$6 surcharge if you pay by credit card. Instead turn left and make your way to Terminal 1 (QANTAS Domestic), which is in the same building and a very short walk away. There you will find two additional options.

The VHA Airport Shuttle is a classic SuperShuttle-style service. It is AU$25 single or AU$40 return to the Hilton South Wharf (cheaper for some other hotels), and it will deliver you door-to-door. The first shuttle runs at 6:00am, which is just about right for flights from London.

And even cheaper option is Skybus. This is a bus service that runs between the airport and Southern Cross station in the city. It is AU$16 and AU$26 return. Southern Cross is around 15-20 minutes walk from the Hilton South Wharf, and isn’t an easy trip with heavy bags. In theory Skybus offers free transfers to hotels, but this is noted as “subject to availability” so you might have to wait a while, or you could get a cab which won’t cost nearly so much for that short trip. Service frequency is hourly through the night increasing every 10 minutes during the day. I would have used it to go shopping today if the weather hadn’t been so foul.