Brisbane Airport (BNE) to Suffolk Park
From-Price Per Car — No Surge, All Tolls Included
Distance 178 km · 127–142 min · per car, not per person · your price is confirmed before you pay and does not move
Brisbane Airport to Suffolk Park by private car
Brisbane Airport to Suffolk Park is 182 km and takes 128 to 142 minutes in normal conditions. It is a Queensland pickup with a New South Wales drop off, which is exactly what our Queensland licence allows.
Fares start at $405 in the Lexus ES300h sedan, which seats up to three passengers, and at $515 in the Mercedes V Class or Executive Vito Tourer, which seat up to seven. Those are from prices, per car, not per person. Tolls, airport fees and GST are included, so the price you accept at booking is the price at the end of the trip.
Why people book a car for this one
Suffolk Park sits 5 km south of Byron Bay in the Byron Shire. There is no airport at Byron Bay at all. The Byron Visitor Information Centre puts Ballina Byron Gateway Airport about 30 minutes from Byron Bay and Gold Coast Airport about 40 minutes, and Suffolk Park is five kilometres south again. The "Byron" in Ballina Byron Gateway Airport was added in 2005, when it was renamed from Ballina Airport; it is owned and operated by Ballina Shire Council and sits 5 km from the Ballina CBD on Southern Cross Drive.
Rail is not an option. The last XPT left Murwillumbah station on 15 May 2004, and the Casino to Bentley and Murwillumbah to Crabbes Creek sections were formally closed on 23 September 2020 for construction of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail. Passengers sometimes tell us there is a train at Byron Bay, and they are half right: the Byron Bay Train, widely considered the world's first solar powered train, runs over about three kilometres of the old line inside Byron Bay. It does not reach an airport or Suffolk Park.
Public transport into the village is bus route 640, run by CDC NSW on the Far North Coast network and described by the operator as Mullumbimby to Ballina via Byron Bay, Suffolk Park and Lennox Head. It is a real service, but it is not a way to move a family and a luggage trolley from an international terminal in Brisbane at the end of a long haul flight.
That leaves a car. Ours is a booked private car with a named driver: never shared, never a shuttle, never a bus.
Meeting you at Brisbane Airport
We track your flight, so an early landing or a two hour delay changes our plan, not your fare. Your driver meets you inside the terminal with a name board rather than texting you from a kerbside lane. International arrivals get 60 minutes of free waiting from touchdown and domestic arrivals 45, which is the part that matters when a bag is late off the belt.
If you are travelling in the other direction, a Suffolk Park pickup heading to a Queensland airport is also a trip we can run under our licence, and we plan a departure time that respects the run rather than the optimistic one a mapping app quotes on a quiet Tuesday.
The last part of the drive
Most of the 182 km is motorway. The road past the Byron turn offs is dual carriageway thanks to the 17 kilometre Tintenbar to Ewingsdale upgrade of the Pacific Highway, which is also where the St Helena Tunnel sits: a 434 metre twin tube tunnel under St Helena Hill in the locality of Ewingsdale, two lanes northbound and three southbound, opened on 18 December 2015. That is the tunnel passengers remember from this drive.
The last stretch is local road, and we plan for it. Byron Bay's $24 million bypass opened on 27 February 2021 and the council acknowledged at the time that it was not a silver bullet for congestion.
Two predictable things can stretch the local end of the trip. The first is Bluesfest, held over the Easter long weekend at the 120 hectare Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, its home since 2010; organisers said the 2025 festival drew 109,000 patrons. If you are arriving over Easter, tell us, and we build the extra time into the quote.
The second is heavy rain. In the 24 hours to 9am on 30 March 2022, gauges recorded 319 mm at Coopers Shoot and 282 mm at Byron Bay, and Byron Shire Council noted that water flowing out of Belongil Creek and Tallow Creek was slowed considerably when the ocean was pushing against it on spring tides. Tallow Creek is an intermittently closed and open coastal lagoon with a catchment of roughly 450 hectares that takes in Suffolk Park, and the council has permission to scrape the beach berm at the creek entrance down to 2.4 m AHD once creek levels reach 2.2 m AHD. In plain terms: when the creek mouth shuts, water backs up behind the dune instead of draining. On a wet arrival we check conditions before we set off.
Getting the address right
Suffolk Park had a population of 4,222 at the 2021 Census. It is a village, so most pickups are residential driveways rather than hotel forecourts, and the street name matters more here than a business name does. The main shops are on Clifford Street, with a shopping centre on the corner of Clifford Street and Broken Head Road, and the beach runs parallel with Alcorn Street. Tallow Beach, which runs 7.6 km from Cosy Corner at Cape Byron south to Broken Head, lies adjacent to the suburb, the ocean side of the cape, not the bay side.
Named addresses we are often given include Suffolk Beachfront Holiday Park at 143 Alcorn Street, council owned and bordered by Tallow Beach; Suffolk Park Community Hall at 145 Alcorn Street, which holds 100 seated or 208 standing and has off street parking and step free access; Crystalbrook Byron at 77 to 97 Broken Head Road, with 92 Rainforest and Treetops suites; and Byron Bay Golf Club at 62 Broken Head Road.
One thing worth flagging when you book: accommodation here often markets itself by how close it is to Byron Bay town, Crystalbrook Byron, for instance, describes itself as less than a ten minute drive from Byron Bay town. That is fair marketing, but if it becomes the address in a booking form, a driver can end up in the wrong place. Give us the street number, the street and the suburb and the problem disappears. The same goes for Broken Head Holiday Park at 184 Broken Head Reserve Rd, Broken Head, which is a different road from Broken Head Road.
The village is named after George A. Suffolk (1876 to 1952), who dedicated a large parcel of land to Byron Shire Council for community use on 16 November 1922.
Families, and the child seats
Free fitted child seats come with every transfer. Not hired, not an extra line on the invoice, and fitted by the driver before you walk out of the terminal, you are not kneeling on a kerb with a manual after a long flight. Tell us the ages and we bring the right seats.
Because the fare is per car, one fare covers the car, not the seats. Up to three passengers travel in the Lexus sedan; four to seven travel in the V Class or the Executive Vito Tourer.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Brisbane Airport to Suffolk Park take?
Between 128 and 142 minutes for the 182 km, in normal conditions. Easter and heavy rain are the two things most likely to push it past that, and both are things we plan around when you tell us your date.
What does the transfer cost?
From $405 in the Lexus ES300h sedan for up to three passengers, and from $515 in the Mercedes V Class or Executive Vito Tourer for up to seven. From prices, per car, with tolls, airport fees and GST included.
Can you legally do a Brisbane to Suffolk Park run?
Yes. We are Queensland licensed (BHSL 258504, BEA 260412), and a Queensland pickup may drop off in New South Wales. A Suffolk Park pickup returning to a Queensland airport is also allowed. What we cannot do is a trip that starts and ends in New South Wales.
What happens if my flight is late?
We track it. International arrivals include 60 minutes of free waiting from touchdown, domestic 45, and your driver meets you inside the terminal with a name board.
Do you charge for child seats?
No. Fitted child seats are free on every transfer. Give us the children's ages when you book and the seats are in and adjusted before you get to the car.
Should I fly into Ballina or Gold Coast instead?
Both are closer to Byron Bay than Brisbane is, and if the fares and schedules work for you, that is a sensible option. Plenty of passengers still land at Brisbane for the schedule, the direct international connection or the price, and this transfer exists for exactly that. Book on 0401 605 940 or through the site.
Where to Meet Your Driver at Brisbane Airport (BNE)
Domestic arrivals: Brisbane Domestic Terminal — exit baggage claim level 2 through the main doors. Your driver waits in the meet-and-greet area between the two car-park towers with a name sign.
International arrivals: Brisbane International Terminal — after customs, take the escalator down to arrivals. Your driver is in the dedicated meet-and-greet zone outside the secure exit, with a printed name sign.
Your driver will already know your flight number and have it on tracking. If your flight is delayed or lands early we adjust automatically — no late-arrival fee.
Brisbane Airport (BNE) — What to Expect on the Day
- Separate International (T1) and Domestic (T2) terminals — free Skygate train between them
- Skytrain rail link to Brisbane CBD (35 min)
- Multiple Marriott, Pullman, and ibis on-site hotels
- Free airport-wide Wi-Fi
- Lounges — Qantas Club, Virgin Lounge, Plaza Premium, Air NZ
- Currency exchange, ATMs, duty-free shopping airside
- Direct international flights to North America, Europe, Asia, and Pacific
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Fixed price, all inTolls, airport fees and GST included, no surge
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60 min free waitInternational 60 min, domestic 45 min, no extra fee
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Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before pickup
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Free fitted child seatsCapsules, forward-facing & boosters at no charge
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Live flight trackingDriver adjusts automatically to delays
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Meet & greet at arrivalsDriver waits with a name sign inside the terminal
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Police-cleared chauffeursProfessionally dressed, non-smoking vehicles
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5.0 on GoogleRated by 43 verified customers
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Queensland licensedBHSL 258504 · BEA 260412 · ABN 45 647 949 488
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Book now, pay laterSecure your transfer in 60 seconds, no deposit
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Surfboards welcomeGenerous luggage capacity for sports gear
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24/7 serviceIncluding pre-dawn departures and overnight returns
Door-to-Door Private Transfers — No Surge, No Surprises
Fixed price the moment you book. No queue at a taxi rank. No surge at peak hour. No shared shuttle waiting on five other passengers.
Instant quote — no signup needed. Get a fixed-price quote in under 60 seconds. Pay later if you prefer.
💳 We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Apple Pay and Google Pay through Stripe-secured checkout. No card fees, no holds, no nasty surprises.
📞 Last-minute bookings (under 12 hours) are subject to fleet availability — please call 0401 605 940 to confirm.
Why Choose Unison Transfers
Our Modern Mercedes & Lexus Fleet
Every vehicle in our fleet is professionally serviced, fully insured, and chauffeured by a uniformed, accredited driver. Flexible options are available for executive, family and group travel.
📞 Pre-booked, 24/7 service for any flight time. Our office hours for new bookings are 5am–9pm AEST, but our chauffeur fleet runs around the clock. Once your transfer is locked, your driver will be on the kerb whether your flight lands at 4am or midnight — no surcharge.
We aim to respond to every quote enquiry within 1 hour during business hours.