Melbourne Cup week travel: booking stays and transport

Melbourne Cup week travel works best when you book rooms and trains early, because the race is run on the first Tuesday in November and the city fills up around it. This year's Cup has just been run, so now is a good time to plan for the next one. This checklist covers rooms, transport and getting into Flemington.

Use it as a simple order of jobs. Fix the date first, then the bed, then the way to the course, then the day itself.

Sources for this section: Wikipedia, Melbourne Cup and 2011 Melbourne Cup, as they stood in early November 2011.

Step 1: fix the date

The Melbourne Cup is run at Flemington Racecourse on the first Tuesday in November. That rule makes the date easy to work out for any year. This year's Cup fell on 1 November, and the French-based horse Dunaden beat Red Cadeaux in a photo finish, probably the closest in the history of the race.

Cup Day is a public holiday for people who work in metropolitan Melbourne and some parts of regional Victoria. Some country cities and towns hold their own spring carnivals instead, so the holiday does not apply across the whole state. If you work in Victoria, check which holiday your town has before you book leave.

The Cup has a long history. The first race was run on a Thursday in November 1861. It was first run on a Tuesday in 1875, and the Tuesday date has stuck ever since.

Sources for this section: Wikipedia, Melbourne Cup and 2011 Melbourne Cup, as they stood in early November 2011.

Step 2: book your room

Rooms are the first thing to go. Many people visit for the whole of Cup week, not just the Tuesday, so hotels and serviced apartments fill early. Here is a simple plan.

• Book as soon as the dates are clear. Once you know the first Tuesday, hold a room for the nights either side of it.
• Pick a free-cancellation rate if you can. Then you can keep looking without losing money.
• Stay near a train line. A room close to Southern Cross or Flinders Street stations makes race-day travel easier. Both are in the middle of the city.
• Look beyond the centre. Suburbs on a train line cost less and still get you to the course.
• Ask about minimum stays. Some places want two or three nights in a busy week.

If you drive in from another state, book parking at the same time as the room. City car parks also fill up on a public holiday.

Room advice is the editors' own general guidance.

Step 3: plan your transport

Most people reach Flemington by train, tram or taxi, and the city has no car park big enough for a Cup crowd. Trains on race days run from the city stations, so a room near Flinders Street or Southern Cross keeps the trip short.

That means a few things for your plan.

1. Check the timetable before the day. Metlink publishes train times for Melbourne, and race-day services can differ from normal ones.
2. Expect queues going home. A big crowd leaves at once, so allow extra time or plan a meal in town afterwards.
3. Sort your ticket early. Do this the day before, so you are not in a line at a machine on the morning.
4. Have a back-up. Taxis and trams are the other options, but both are busy on Cup Day.

People who find walking hard should allow extra time and ask the club about access before the day.

Timetables change, so check Metlink, the Melbourne public transport information site. Transport advice is the editors' own general guidance.

Step 4: sort your access to Flemington

Decide early whether you want to go to the course at all. Flemington is very full on Cup Day, with a crowd of many tens of thousands. Some visitors would rather watch in a pub or a park with friends, and that is a fine choice too.

If you do want to go, here is what to do.

• Buy your ticket early. Use the Victoria Racing Club, which conducts the Cup, and read its site for the current prices and entry types.
• Check the dress guidance. Dress rules can differ from one area of the course to the next, so read them before you buy.
• Plan a time of arrival. Aim to be there well before the main race, since the gates and station both take time.
• Pack light. Bring a hat, sun cream and comfortable shoes. You will stand and walk a lot.

Sources for this section: Wikipedia, Melbourne Cup, as it stood in early November 2011. Ticket and dress advice is the editors' own general guidance.

Step 5: make a week of it

Cup Tuesday is only one day of the racing carnival at Flemington. If you have a few days, add other things in the city. Melbourne is easy to explore on foot and by tram, and a public holiday means many people are off work, so popular spots are busy.

• Book any dinner you care about at the same time as the room.
• Leave the morning after the Cup free. Trains and roads are quieter by then.
• If you fly, look at flights before you book the room. Prices and seats can run out in the same week.

For the rest of Victoria, see our Great Ocean Road drive guide if you want a day out of the city after the races.

Sources for this section: the editors' own general guidance.

Quick checklist

1. Work out the first Tuesday in November.
2. Book a room with free cancellation.
3. Book parking if you drive.
4. Check the Metlink timetable for race-day trains.
5. Buy your Flemington ticket early, or choose another place to watch.
6. Pack a hat, sun cream and flat shoes.

Sources for this section: as listed above.

Sources

1. Wikipedia, Melbourne Cup, version of 5 November 2011: web.archive.org
2. Wikipedia, 2011 Melbourne Cup, version of 3 November 2011: web.archive.org