Perth Airport is two airports in practice. Terminals 1 and 2 sit on the eastern side of the runways, Terminals 3 and 4 on the western side, and the drive between them is about eight kilometres. Which terminal you land at changes your options more than anything else, so it is worth checking before you book anything.
The airport has said it will bring all four terminals together into one precinct, but that work runs past 2031. Until then, plan for the split.
The train
The Airport Line opened in October 2022, and for most people arriving at Terminals 1 or 2 it is now the simplest way into the city.
Airport Central station sits directly under the terminal precinct, so there is no shuttle and no car park to cross. The run to Perth station takes about 18 minutes. Trains go every 12 minutes in peak, every 15 off-peak, and every half hour late at night, from around 5am to midnight.
The fare is capped at two zones, so wherever you are heading on the Transperth network you will pay no more than about five dollars, and less again on a SmartRider. For a couple with luggage it is hard to beat.
If you land at Terminal 3 or 4, the train does not reach you directly. Get off at Redcliffe station and take the 292 bus across to T3/T4. It works, but with bags and a tight connection a rideshare is often the better call.
Rideshare
Best for: four passengers or fewer
Both terminals have dedicated rideshare pickup bays, signposted from the arrivals hall. Uber and DiDi both operate in Perth. Ola left the Australian market in April 2024, so if you have an old booking habit there, it is worth updating before you fly.
An airport pickup fee applies on top of the fare — every operator charges one, and it is added automatically. Pickup bay locations move occasionally as the terminal precinct is redeveloped, so check the signage on the day rather than relying on a map you saved last year.
Bus and coach for a group
Best for: 13 passengers or more
Once a group passes about a dozen people, the maths on rideshare stops working. Four cars arriving at four different times, four fares, and someone always ends up waiting on the kerb.
We run coaches, minibuses and commuter buses from 13 seats up to 70, with luggage compartments, air conditioning and wheelchair access depending on the vehicle. For a group arriving together, one bus meeting one flight is both cheaper and considerably less stressful than coordinating a convoy.
Send us the passenger list ahead of the day and we will check names off as people board, so nobody is left behind while the group works out who is missing. Conferences, sporting teams, school groups and FIFO crews are the usual reason people call us, but a large family arriving for a wedding counts just as well.
See the full fleet or ask us for a quote.
Public transport by bus
Best for: budget travellers not heading to the CBD
The old 380 bus that ran between the airport and Elizabeth Quay was retired when the Airport Line opened — the train does that job now, faster.
Buses still matter if you are heading somewhere the train does not go. Route 37 links Airport Central with Oats Street station via Belmont Forum on weekdays, which is useful for the eastern and south-eastern suburbs. The Transperth journey planner is the reliable way to work out a route, because services change and a guide written today will age.
Car hire
Best for: anyone continuing on from Perth
If Perth is your gateway to the Swan Valley, Margaret River or the coast north, hiring a car at the airport saves a trip back out later. The rental desks sit in the arrivals halls at both terminal precincts.
Book ahead. Over Easter, school holidays and the Christmas period, Perth genuinely runs out of hire cars, and the counter is not the place to discover it.
Getting picked up
If a friend is collecting you, the free pickup window at the terminals is short — long enough to load bags from the kerb, not long enough to wait for a delayed bag carousel. There is paid short-stay parking beside each terminal for anything longer, and a separate kiss-and-drop zone for the quick version.
The practical tip: agree on the terminal and the door before you take off, not after you land. Perth Airport is large enough that "I'm out the front" means very little.
Which option, in one line each
- Landing at T1 or T2, heading to the city — take the train.
- Landing at T3 or T4 — rideshare, or the train to Redcliffe and the 292 across.
- Four or fewer, going somewhere specific — rideshare or a taxi.
- Thirteen or more, arriving together — a coach, booked in advance.
- Continuing out of Perth — hire a car at the terminal.
Group arrivals are the one that catches people out, because it only becomes a problem at the point everyone has already landed and is standing in a hall with their bags. If you are bringing a group into Perth, tell us the flight and the numbers and we will have a driver waiting.
