AAMI Park: getting there when thereโs no parking
If youโve left it late and the car park is booked out, the honest answer is that driving to AAMI Park View on Google Maps was never the good option in the first place. The venue itself says so: โPublic transport is the quickest and easiest optionโ (aamipark.com.au). The stadium sits inside the Melbourne Park precinct, hemmed in by the Yarra, the rail lines and Olympic Boulevard, with a single on-site car park that closes bookings the night before. That geography is the whole story โ there is no clever back street to find, no secret free kerb within a comfortable walk.
What the official page wonโt tell you is which option to actually pick. Below is the ranked judgment, then the detail.
The short answer, ranked
| # | Option | Best for | Rough walk from drop | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tram 70 to AAMI Park (Stop 7D) | Almost everyone | Door-to-door โ the stop is named for the stadium | The default. Only option that puts you at the gate |
| 2 | Train to Richmond Station | Anyone coming from the eastern/southern lines | Short walk down through the precinct | Best for avoiding post-match tram crush |
| 3 | Train to Jolimont Station | Northern/eastern loop travellers, MCG-side approach | Walk through the park precinct | Quiet, pleasant, underrated |
| 4 | Walk from the CBD | City workers, pre-match dinner in town | 10 minutes to Melbourne Park via Birrarung Marr or Tanderrum Bridge | Genuinely the fastest if youโre already in town |
| 5 | Bicycle | Locals, warm evenings | Racks on Olympic Boulevard | Free, no queue, but bring your own lock |
| 6 | Taxi | Late finishes, mobility needs, rain | Rank next to Melbourne Park Oval | Reliable in, slow out |
| 7 | Rideshare | Groups splitting a fare | Pick-up outside John Cain Arena | Worst egress โ everyone orders at once |
| 8 | Drive and park on site | Pre-booked only | On site | Fine if booked; useless if you havenโt |
The pattern most regulars settle into: tram in, train out. Ride Tram 70 straight to the door before the match, then walk to Richmond Station View on Google Maps or Jolimont View on Google Maps afterwards rather than joining several thousand people at a single tram stop. Trains have far more capacity per service than a tram, so the queue clears at a different order of magnitude.
Tram: the only genuinely door-to-door option
Tram 70 (Waterfront City Docklands โ Wattle Park) runs from Flinders Street or Richmond Station and stops at Rod Laver Arena (Stop 7B), John Cain Arena (Stop 7C) and AAMI Park (Stop 7D) (aamipark.com.au). Stop 7D is the one you want. Nothing else in the transport mix drops you closer.
Trams 48 (North Balwyn โ Victoria Harbour Docklands) and 75 (Vermont South โ Central Pier Docklands) stop at the MCG on Wellington Parade (aamipark.com.au) โ useful if your line runs that way, but youโre then walking across the precinct rather than stepping off at the gate.
Tram frequency and journey times on event nights: unverified โ check the official source.
Train: the smarter exit
Three stations are listed as near the precinct โ Richmond, Jolimont, Flinders Street and Town Hall (aamipark.com.au). Richmond View on Google Maps is the workhorse: nearly every eastern and southern line passes through it, so you rarely need to change. Jolimont View on Google Maps is quieter and the walk is through parkland rather than along a road full of idling cars. Flinders Street View on Google Maps works but adds the CBD walk.
Exact walking distances and times from each station: unverified โ check the official source.
If youโre going to be a repeat visitor to this end of town, the same logic applies at the neighbouring venue โ see the MCG: best seats and which side to sit to avoid the afternoon sun for the Jolimont/Richmond walk-up from the other side.
Bus
The 246 bus (Elsternwick โ Clifton Hill) stops at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Punt Road (aamipark.com.au). Itโs a genuine option if youโre coming up from the bayside side of town and donโt fancy a change at Richmond, but itโs a single route โ if itโs not near you, itโs not your answer.
Walking from the city
Melbourne Park is a 10-minute walk from the CBD via Birrarung Marr or Tanderrum Bridge (aamipark.com.au). This is the sleeper option. Have dinner in town, walk over the bridge, and youโve beaten every mode above on both cost and post-match egress โ because you simply walk away from the crowd instead of queueing with it. Melbourne evenings can turn cold and windy fast even after a warm day, so take a layer for the walk back; the Yarra corridor is exposed.
Cycling
Bicycle parking is on Olympic Boulevard, outside Rod Laver Arena and John Cain Arena. You must bring your own lock, and management is not responsible for loss or damage to bikes parked on site (aamipark.com.au). That disclaimer is standard, but treat it literally โ a busy event precinct at night is not where you leave a nice bike on a cable lock.
Taxi and rideshare โ read this before you order
The taxi rank is next to Melbourne Park Oval on Olympic Boulevard. Rideshare pick-up (Uber and similar) is outside John Cain Arena on Olympic Boulevard, and the venue explicitly asks guests not to order until theyโve reached the pick-up point, to avoid congestion along Olympic Boulevard (aamipark.com.au).
That request is not bureaucratic fussiness โ itโs the single biggest cause of rideshare misery here. Olympic Boulevard is one road serving several arenas. If a few thousand people all summon cars from their seats, the drivers arrive into a jam, canโt reach the pin, and start cancelling. Order once youโre standing at the pick-up point, and expect surge pricing regardless. Fare estimates: unverified โ check the official source.
Driving anyway
Parking is at the Eastern Plaza Car Park (Entrance D, Olympic Boulevard), pre-booking is strongly recommended because drive-up spaces are subject to availability, and bookings close at midnight the night before the event (aamipark.com.au). Accessible parking must be pre-booked via Ticketek (aamipark.com.au). Parking rates: unverified โ check the official source.
That midnight cut-off is the sentence that catches people out. Decide on the drive the day before or not at all โ a same-day decision to drive is a decision to gamble on drive-up availability.
If you are driving in from the outer suburbs, the approach roads are tolled in most directions โ worth reading CityLink vs EastLink: paying Melbourne tolls without an account before you set off, because a casual pass bought after the fact costs more than one organised in advance.
Drop-off and pick-up: guests with reduced mobility may be dropped off or picked up at the Eastern Plaza Car Park (Entrance D, Olympic Boulevard), and all visitors have 20 minutes to drop off or pick up โ exceeding this may result in parking charges. Guests may also be dropped off or picked up in the accessible parking bays in front of John Cain Arena on Olympic Boulevard (aamipark.com.au).
Timing your arrival and exit
The venueโs own advice is to plan ahead and allow extra travel time for any major disruptions (aamipark.com.au). Beyond that, the specifics โ gate opening times, event-night service changes โ are event-dependent: unverified โ check the official source.
Two things that need no official source, though. First, the precinct hosts multiple venues on the same strip of Olympic Boulevard, so if thereโs a concert at Rod Laver Arena or an event at John Cain Arena on the same night, every mode above gets busier and the rideshare pick-up point in particular becomes a bottleneck. Check what else is on before you plan a tight arrival.
Second, egress is always slower than ingress. Arrivals spread over ninety minutes; departures compress into ten. Whatever you rode in on, assume the trip out takes longer, and prefer the mode with the most capacity โ thatโs the train.
| If youโre coming from | Take | Why |
|---|---|---|
| CBD / after work drinks | Walk via Birrarung Marr or Tanderrum Bridge | 10 minutes, no queue either direction |
| Eastern or southern suburbs | Train to Richmond, then walk or Tram 70 | Most lines pass through Richmond |
| Northern loop | Train to Jolimont | Quiet walk-up through the precinct |
| Docklands / Wattle Park corridor | Tram 70 to Stop 7D | Door to door |
| Bayside via Elsternwick | 246 bus to Olympic Bvd / Punt Rd | Direct, no change |
| With reduced mobility | Pre-booked accessible parking via Ticketek, or drop-off at Entrance D | Only options with kerbside access |
FAQ
Can I just turn up and park on the day? You can try. Parking is at the Eastern Plaza Car Park (Entrance D, Olympic Boulevard) and drive-up spaces are subject to availability, with pre-booking strongly recommended and bookings closing at midnight the night before (aamipark.com.au). Practically, that means a same-day drive is a coin flip, and if it comes up wrong youโre circling a precinct with nowhere to go. Take the tram.
Where do I meet my Uber? Outside John Cain Arena on Olympic Boulevard โ and donโt order it until youโre physically standing there, which is what the venue asks, specifically to stop Olympic Boulevard clogging up (aamipark.com.au). The taxi rank is separate: next to Melbourne Park Oval on Olympic Boulevard.
Iโm dropping someone off. How long have I got? Twenty minutes to drop off or pick up; exceeding that may result in parking charges (aamipark.com.au). Thatโs a real window, not a grace period โ treat it as fifteen so youโre not doing sums at the boom gate.
Sources & last updated
- https://aamipark.com.au/plan-your-visit/getting-here/ โ last updated: unverified โ accessed 26/07/2026