Taxi or transfers from airports to hotels
 

We are a family of 4 visiting a few locations in Australia this July/August. Should we do taxi or transfers from Sydney airport to Quay West suites.
Melbourne airport to Park Hyatt
Cairns airport to Lake Cairns resort.
We will be getting into Sydney 8:30pm I don't know if that matters. The other place we will arive around lunchtime.
Thanks for help.
Getting excited about our trip.
Karen

A taxi from Sydney Airport to Quay West will cost around $AUD35; there is a private shuttle bus (you'll see it just outside the doors to the terminal) that does the same trip for $AUD9 a person, so you can see that in your case it world out at around the same. Alternatively, you could catch the normal commuter bus from the International Terminal (it's a blue-and-white bus, route 400, and the destination is Burwood Station) to nearby Rockdale Station (cost: about $AUD2.40 per adult, half for children, pay for only one child), and then take a suburban train to Circular Quay Station (cost: about $AUD3.40 per adult, half for children, pay for only one child). Quay West is about five minutes walk from Circular Quay Station....a bit uphill, so if you are lugging heavy suitcases, you may not feel that the considerable saving to be made by doing it this way is worth the trouble).

There is also a train from the railway station at the airport, and that is probably the quickest way of all (even though, at 8:30 p.m., you won't have much to slow you down if you use road transport); but this is a private station and there is a hefty premium (I think it's $AUD9.60 per person)added on to your ticket just to gain access to it. You'd end up, with four of you, paying more that way than for the taxi.

Sorry, can't help with other cities.

With 4 of you it will be about the same price in Melbourne to transfer to your hotel using a taxi. The taxi rank is manned with someone who will get you a bigger than standard car (usually a station wagon) to cope with large amounts of luggage. These don't cost any extra & there's rarely any waiting as they call them up from the nearby taxi holding area.

Transfers can often mean dropping other passengers off at their hotels as well and if your hotel is last, you could be driving around for a while. In some ways, it's like a free mini-tour but it does take extra time. A taxi will take you straight to your accommodation.
Have a great time!
Kay

Alan, congratulations on a wonderfully ornamented and erudite way of saying "take the cab!"

Karen, note that tipping is entirely optional in Australia, and when it happens never exceeds 10%, unless the customer is seriously pissed (in the Aust/NZ/UK etc sense) or has had a big win somewhere ... or is inspired to reward service above and beyond the call of duty. This applies to cabbies too, whether or not you have an American accent.

Have a great time.