Without a doubt, Sydney has become one of the most popular destinations for tourists in recent times. We leave you everything you need to know to enjoy a vacation in this city.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO TRAVEL?
Within Australia, the best times vary depending on the area you want to visit. For Sydney specifically, it is best to go between September and May due to the weather (but you have to consider that between December and February the prices are higher since it is the summer season).
WHAT TO DO IN SYDNEY?
Visit the OPERA HOUSE, the most emblematic place in the city. You can book a ticket to enjoy a show or just tour the auditorium. It also has an open bar to have a drink at night with a great view.
Take a walk through the ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN. From here you can enjoy views of the bridge and the Opera House. If you have time, have a picnic there. The center of the park has a cafe where you can buy food for takeaway.
In almost every neighborhood in Sydney you can find different parks for walking, playing sports, picnics... In addition to the Royal Botanic Gardens, it is well worth visiting Centennial Parl, Glebe Foreshore Parks and Lavender Bay Parklands. Also, there is one a bit hidden: Wendy's Secret Garden.
Another destination to visit is NEWTOWN, the most alternative and full of life neighborhood in the city. You'll find lots of pubs, rooftop like the ZanziBar Newtown and bars like the Newtown Hotel or the Courthouse Hotel.
If you want to have panoramic views of Sydney and watch the sunset, a good spot is the spinning restaurant O Bar & Dining in the center of the city (CBD). Opens at 5:00 p.m.
It is worth going to THE ROCKS on Saturday morning to see the market and walk through its streets, it is one of the oldest areas of the city, it is very close to the Opera House. There are many bars and restaurants.
Another fashionable spot is OXFORD STREET. A street stretching from Whitlam Square (in the south-east corner of Hyde Park) to Bondi Junction (in the eastern suburbs). It is full of shops, bars and restaurants.
At the corner of Oatley Road and Oxford Street you will find the Paddington Reservoir, a reservoir that provided water for the Botany Swamps pumping station to supply parts of the city between 1866 and 1899. It was then abandoned and in 2006 they started to restore and reuse the space. The facility reopened in 2008 as a sunken garden known as Paddington Reservoir Gardens or Walter Read Reserve. The installation integrates the remains of the original brick, wood and iron structure with modern elements that give access to the sunken garden.
On Oxford Street you will also find Victoria Barracks which hosts the Headquarters Forces Command and the New South Wales Army Museum, which is located in the original Military District Prison, built in 1800.
Another place to visit close to that area is KINGS CROSS, also known as "The Cross". Some call it "Sydney's Red Light District" and it has a long history of music, entertainment and theatre.
After World War II, it was heavily influenced by troops returning from the Garden Island Naval Base. Today Kings Cross offers a wealth of activities and attractions including: bars, restaurants, clubs and cafes. In addition to offering cultural attractions during the day, the area comes alive at night, taking visitors to see something completely different from what is seen in the city.
Being here you can see the Alamein Fountain, The Fire Station, Elizabeth Bay House, Old Fitzroy Hotel, Harry's Café de Wheels, Piccolo Bar and Les Girls Building. The latter is now known as the Empire Hotel, it is located in the heart of Kings Cross and until 1993 is where the world famous drag queen show Les Girls was hosted. Later, it became the home of alternative cabaret, including the popular Sunday nightclub The Tender Trap. Today, its design retains many of its 1960s features to provide guests with a trip back in time.
A fun plan is to cross the HARBOR BRIDGE to enjoy good views of the city and get to LUNA PARK, the famous old amusement park that is located on the north side of the bay.
If you want to have a good brunch, we recommend you visit The Grounds of Alexandria.
Also, go to any beach that has the famous BBQ (barbecues) to eat one of those. These grills are public and free on almost every beach in Australia. You just have to take your things and go.
Another option may be to go to DARLING HARBOR for a walk. The night views of the Sydney Skyline are very nice from there. It is full of bars and restaurants. You can also find the city's Chinese garden and the maritime museum.
From there many old boats leave crossing the bay, they navigate in front of the Opera and take a tour for a couple of hours. We leave you some links:
For those who want to visit museums and art galleries, you have: ART GALLERY, SYDNEY MUSEUM, AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM and AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART (to name a few).
Other very nice residential neighborhoods and a little further from Sydney's city center are: Point Piper, Mosman and Seaforth. Also, attached to Point Piper you have Rose Bay, a port about 7km from the centre, in the local government areas of Waverley Council and Woollahra Borough. It is best to walk along here until you reach Watsons Bay.
Moving a bit away from the center, you should go to BONDI (a residential neighborhood that is part of the Waverley Council), where the most famous beach is located: Bondi Beach (surely you saw the typical photo of the pool over the sea, it is right here) . It is also one of the best urban beaches in the world and offers enough entertainment for a few hours or several days.
The renowned pool is called Bondi Icebergs, and in order to see it you will have to go to the south of the beach and do the first meters of the Coastal Walk. If you want to enter, as it is part of a closed club that also has a restaurant and other services, you will have to pay and it depends on the time, it is best to book in advance.
#GuestTravelTips: Did you know that the name Bondi comes from the Aboriginal word "boondi"? It would mean something like: "the water breaking on the rocks" or the sound that this produces.
Bondi Beach is located about 9km southeast of downtown Sydney. It began to develop in the mid-19th century and today, with just over 10,000 inhabitants, it is one of the favorite areas for both locals and tourists.
One of the most popular activities to do here is surfing, if you go on a weekend it is likely that you will be able to see some competition.
It is nice to do the BONDI-COOGEE COSTAL WALK. As the name says, it is a walk from Bondi to Coogee (2 of the most beautiful beaches). The distance is approximately 6km and you'll see impressive coastal views. On the tour you will go through 5 beaches (the two mentioned before + Clovelly, Bronte and Tamarama), Gordon's Bay, several cliffs and even a cemetery overlooking the sea. It is free and if you go between the months of June and October, it is one of the best places to see whales (in freedom and from the coast). Go with comfortable clothes (there are sections with stairs) and do not forget sunscreen and water.
At the end, in Coogee, you can go up to the terrace of the Coogee Pavilion bar to have a drink and continue enjoying more views of that bay. You can do the path however you want, from Coogee to Bondi or Bondi to Coogee.
Continuing with a little more about BONDI, there is a great skate park with a sea view. If you just want to lie on the beach, in the Bondi Pavilion building there are free public toilets and showers. If you go with children, in the northern part there is a natural pool (the famous "Rock Pool").
For street art lovers, right between the beach and the parking lot there is a kind of promenade. There you will see the Bondi Beach Graffiti Wall, a long wall decorated with street art. If you want to take pictures, consider that around noon the wall is backlit.
You can also walk Campbell Parade, the main avenue that is right in front of the beach. It has many palm trees and several buildings with a very striking vintage style. There are many places to eat and drink. A nice place is Gertrude & Alice (bookstore + coffee shop).
If you have time, it's good to take a walk around the neighborhood. There are old houses, federation houses and other options with more typical Australian contemporary style. If you go to the north there are also several colored buildings.
To see very picturesque houses (the typical Australian houses of the early 20th century), take a walk on Bondi Road. The heart of Sydney's Jewish community. It is almost 2 kilometers long and connects the beach with the urban center. There are also plenty of coffee shops, fashion stores, organic supermarkets, Waverley Park and a couple of very nice graffitis to see. Around here you can visit the Bondi Waverley School of Arts, the Postal Office and the Royal Hotel. There are many federation houses and also Victorian terraced houses.
Another great route is to reach the BEN BUCKLER POINT that culminates in a panoramic point with very good views of the ocean. The quickest walk would be to go inside and take a maximum of 10 minutes from the beach, but you will have the most beautiful views along another slightly more adventurous route (be careful). You will have to go to the north of the beach, where the children's pool is, and walk to the end of the street (between the ocean and the Biddigal Reserve park). There you go down the stairs towards the rocks that are in the water and continue until you reach “mainland” again. Soon you will arrive at a small park (the Ray O'Keefe Reserve) from where you will be able to enjoy unique views.
Important: do not go in if there are strong waves, a lot of wind or if it is raining, it can be very dangerous. And of course, wear comfortable clothes, especially closed-toe shoes suitable for this type of walk.
For a panoramic view of the beach, you can stop at the same Ray O'Keefe Reserve.
To finish with Bondi (so as not to make it so long, because there are really a lot of things to see), on weekends at the public school they set up the BONDI MARKETS from 9am to 4pm. Generally on Saturdays they have "farmers' markets" with gastronomic products and on Sundays it is more for general products like clothing, etc.
Down below we leave you the best places to do shopping in BONDI.
Another activity that you cannot miss on your trip to Sydney is to go to MANLY Bay. You can go by car but the most common is to take the ferry from Circular Quay. Once there, walk along the boardwalk to Shelly Beach. This is a great spot to watch the sunset!
You can also shop and have a drink on The Corso, a pedestrianized street with shops and bars that runs from the ferry jetty to Manly Beach.
Some very nice Manly beaches and further from the center: Freshwater, Collins Beach, Curl Curl. All highly recommended.
You cannot leave Sydney without going to the NORTHERN BEACHES and going up to the Palm Beach lighthouse to enjoy views of one of the coolest beaches. The Northern Beaches are a group of beaches located on the north side of Sydney, above Manly, one prettier than the other.
To get there you have several options. The cheapest is to take a bus from Martin Place station in Sydney CBD that takes you to Palm Beach. In any case, if you can, it is always better to rent a car to have more freedom and get to better places. For example, go to the Ku-Ring-Gai National Park from where you will have incredible views of Palm Beach.
WHERE TO SHOP?
During the weekend there are markets for second-hand clothing, crafts and organic products throughout the city (Newtown, Rozelle, The Rocks...), but one that is undoubtedly highly recommended is the one held every Saturday at GLEBE.
There is a very nice mall in the center called Queen Victoria's Building in an old building.
You also have the Harbor Side where you can find everything: Clothes, home decor, shops with all kinds of items -like Typo (you want to take everything with you)-, several food markets (some with chocolate-covered fruits, donuts, and more). ).
Another spot that we mentioned before is Oxford Street. It is huge, there is everything for all tastes. You will find everything from independent design stores and antique shops to big brands like: Topshop, Gap, River Island, Primark, etc.
We recommend going beyond these famous stores and taking advantage of visiting other more local spots such as the markets that open at Oxford Castle. Also, there is a historical market (from the 18th century) called Covered Market. Access from High Street, Market Street or Golden Cross and you will find everything... Food, fruit and vegetable stalls, as well as small boutiques such as Hat Box, Macsamillion shoes, Next-to-Nada (which has been there for almost 40 years) and more...
Behind a traditional storefront on High Street you'll find a rambling antiques center where various dealers sell jewellery, books, art and other collectibles. It also has a craft center.
Don't miss trendy Walton St. and Little Clarendon St. in Jericho, and Cowley Road, Oxford's most ethnically diverse street and home to its own annual carnival. There are several sustainable clothing stores.
Another place to shop is the already mentioned KINGS CROSS. For example, they open every Saturday in Fitzroy Gardens the Kings Cross market. It is full of stalls with organic products, cafes, clothing, antiques, international food stalls, cheeses, flowers, candles, second-hand books and much more.
If you are in Bondi Beach, in addition to the weekend market that we mentioned before, you can go through Hall Street and Gould Street. There are many more independent boutiques and designer venues. The prices are higher.
There are only more accessible options in the same Campbell Parade where you will find well-known brands and many stores of beach related products. Many of the surf style brands (such as Rip Curl) tend to be quite expensive in Europe, but in Australia they have very food prices and often have discounts.
In addition, in the Westfield Shopping Center in Bondi Junction there are both luxury brands and the typical department store and, of course, the most famous fashion stores in the world, as well as bookstores, toy stores, technology, home decor, etc...
In Manly, our favorite womenswear stores are Wildflower and Nelli & Mo.
FOOD - #GuestBites
Groceries: Woolworths.
Excellent pizza: Frankys.
O' Bar & Dining, It is an original option since it is a spinning restaurant.
For a good brunch: The Grounds of Alexandria.
Rooftop/bars: ZanziBar Newtown, Newtown Hotel or the Courthouse Hotel. In Newtown.
Gertrude & Alice (book & coffee shop in Bondi).
If you like wasabi, you can't leave without trying the "wasabi peas"! They're like wasabi peanuts.
In addition, you have the food markets mentioned above in each neighborhood.
At the Sydney airport you eat very good in: Joe & the Juice.
TRANSPORTATION
One option is to rent a car, you will have more freedom to move since the city is big, although the downside is the parking problem in some destinations, but in general it works best. If you go by car you always have to wear a seat belt and respect the indicated speed, otherwise you will be fined.
If you are going to go for this option, remember that in Australia you drive on the left (as in England)..
Luckily in Sydney, there is not excessive traffic for being such a big city. Maybe you can have some at the entrance and exit of the CBD (the city center) at peak hours, so knowing that try to avoid those times and that's it. It happens everywhere.
There are automatic tolls, for example on the Harbor Bridge. If your car is rented, it surely already has the system already incorporated and you will be charged without knowing it, through the rental agency. Don't worry, it works great.
Regarding parking, in Sydney there are very few free parking spaces and there are spot like the center and the beach areas where it is very difficult to find. Private car parkings are very expensive...
Something important when parking in the city, it is a crime to do it in the opposite direction of the hand, that is, you can only leave the car on the side you are going to. Also be careful with traffic lights and speed, there are many controls; and, of course, mind pedestrians.
If you go to the suburbs, be careful when driving at night: it is true that the Australian streets can be full of dead kangaroos...
For car rental, we recommend the Airport Rentals finder that has great offers.
Regarding public transportation, there are many things to consider:
It is paid by mileage, that is, by distance traveled. For this reason, it is very important that you swipe the card at the beginning and at the end of your trip. If not, you will be charged the maximum rate.
You can only pay with the Opal card or with a contactless card (Master Card, Visa or AMEX).
Peak hours in Sydney run from 7am to 9am and 4pm to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday.
On Sundays there offer sales! They put a fixed price to move everywhere.
There are four public transportation options in Sydney: city buses, trains, ferries and trams. In general, the bus is used to be around the city, the trains to go to the outskirts, and the ferries to go to Manly or some other place across the water.
Of all these, the bus is the cheapest and most practical. Although some are 24 hours a day, the general rule is that they operate between 4:30 a.m. and midnight (times depend on the bus line). The frequencies are between 3 minutes from some of the most important lines during rush hour, up to more than half an hour on weekends or mid-morning.
It is very important that you signal the driver, otherwise he may not stop. You will see that most of them have a "please signal driver" sign.
This is not mandatory, but it is common in Sydney: greet the driver when you get on and shout "thank you" when you get off. Also remember to press the Stop button for the bus to stop.
Although you have to go up through the front door and down through the back, if for example, you are carrying a baby stroller or have reduced mobility, you will have to exit from the front.
Regarding the train, it is very comfortable and generally works well. The issue is that it does not go throughout the city: the focus is mainly in the center and the west. It does not include in its tour, for example, the coastal neighborhoods. Even so, it can always be combined with the buses if necessary.
The hours are more or less between 4/4.30am and midnight. During the remaining hours you can use the Night Ride Bus that leaves from Town Hall, Central Station or Kings Cross and makes more or less the same stops as the train.
At regular times, the main stations are those of the so-called downtown loop: Central, Museum, Circular Quay, Wynyard and Town Hall. These, with the airport and Bondi Junction (it will take you to Bondi Beach and the rest of the eastern coastal suburbs), should be more than enough if you are visiting Sydney as a tourist.
We also recommend that you download an app that gives you possible routes and arrivals in real time. It can be Google Maps and other popular ones: Transit, Trip Go, Trip View, Moovit… This is because not all the stops show how much time is left for the next bus and delays and cancellations are quite frequent.
As we said before, the train is also the best option to explore the surroundings or outskirts of the city. You can get to the Blue Mountains, the Royal National Park, Wollongong, Newcastle... But, its important to keep in mind that if you go to the outskirts and your station is not one of the main ones, you have to pay close attention to the stops it announces each service (as strange as it sounds, not all trains always stop at all stations on their line).
One tip is to take advantage of Sundays and take an often more expensive excursion or route. The rest of the days, if you are going to use the train, try to do it outside the "peak hours".
Then there is the tram. You have the Light Rail line (1), which runs from Central Station to Dulwich Hill, and line 2, which runs from Circular Quay (Sydney Harbor) to Randwick, in the Eastern Suburbs and very close to Coogee.
It is planned that a 3rd line will be inaugurated as an extension of line 2 to the Kingsford area, and it is said that the idea is that the tram will reach the airport in the future. Check if this happens when you read this guide.
The operating hours of the current lines are from 6 am to 11 pm (until 12 midnight on weekends), and it leaves every quarter of an hour during peak hours. If you plan to use it, we recommend that you take a look at the official Sydney Light Rail site for the last information.
Last, we have the ferry. Its main station is Circular Quay (just between the Open House and the Harbor Bridge). You are going to use it a lot if you are going to make visits to Manly or Watsons Bay. They usually work from 6am to midnight. To go to Manly there are two options, one that is the normal option and the other the faster one that is more expensive.
The trip planner from the official transportation web is very useful. It not only tells you which public transportation options in Sydney you can use, but also gives you an estimated price and duration.
If when using public transportation you decide to sit in the priority seats, you must always be alert. In Sydney, as soon as someone in need gets on, those who occupy the reserved seats have to get up.
Another widely used transport is the bike. But you have to know that the geography of the city is not so friendly for this, it has a lot of uphill and downhill.
There are several sections of bike lanes, but more focused on going to and from work, from the center to the suburbs and not so much in tourist areas. You can use all the streets and routes (unless otherwise specified) except the tunnels, and it is also allowed to go through the bus lane.
It is mandatory to have lights that work well and wear a helmet.
You can get on the bike on the trains and ferries for free, but not at rush hour. In some stations there are also special parking lots for bikes (but in some cases you have to book them beforehand).
A practical option to rent an electric bike is by downloading the Lime app. We leave you the official Sydney link for more information.
If you choose to walk, there are four things to keep in mind: We have already mentioned one several times, but it is that there is a lot uphill and downhill. On the other hand, the streets are made more suitable for cars and there are not as many pedestrian crossings as there should be, so on many occasions there is no other option than to cross where possible, carefully. Also remember that they drive on the left, so pay attention when looking where cars are coming from. Finally, do not cross when the traffic light is red or several meters from a pedestrian crossing because you will be fined.
And another option for transportation is Uber. It works very well and there are plenty of cars available almost always and the prices are very reasonable. Of course you have to have internet on your phone to be able to use the App.
Taxi is expensive and much less convenient than Uber.
OTHERS
WHAT'S THE OPAL CARD AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
It is the Sydney public transport card, the typical one that you buy and recharge. Currently, this and the contactless credit card are the best and only options to pay for transportation.
It works for all types of transport (bus, train, ferry, tram) and throughout the network in and around Sydney. This includes the Blue Mountains and the north and south coasts, including the cities of Wollongong, Newcastle, and nearby.
The Opal card is personal and non-transferable. They come in different colors depending on your situation. Navy blue is for adults. Children up to 15 years old travel free. Retirees or pensioners must be residents and have a series of documents to have the gold one.
This card is free and you can get it at stations (including the airport), grocery stores, Seven Eleven, service stations and supermarkets. Generally, the places that have it put a sign in the window announcing it. If they don't have it, they themselves will tell you where to find it.
The minimum recharge is 20 dollars and there are different options to recharge it: At the train stations and the most important interchanges (such as Bondi Junction). At the airport train station (here the minimum recharge is higher. Another option is at grocery stores or online, although it will take between 15 and 60 minutes for the recharge to be effective.
Remember to pass it through the reader at the beginning and at the end of your trip, unless otherwise specified. Otherwise they will charge you the maximum. Be aware of waiting to hear a “ding”. If you see that it makes a strange noise, or none at all, it will mean that it did not read it or the reader is broken; try another or ask the driver or a station staff.
If you leave Australia and you have a balance left in Opal, it is possible to recover it as long as it is more than 5 dollars. But the process is not that easy (for example, they do not refund a card, you need an Australian bank account or a private address in Australia where they can send you a check). So if you didn't have much left, it's not worth it. Another option is to keep the card if you plan to return, since the balance expires after 9 years.
MOTOR HOME
If you are planning a trip to Australia in motor home, you can rent in: Motorhome Republic