Dozens of tour operators lead guided trips through Sydney and the surrounding areas. Options include shopping strolls, tours of the Sydney fish markets, and rappelling the waterfalls of the Blue Mountains. The Sydney Visitor Centre and other booking and information centers can provide you with many more suggestions and recommendations. Most suburban shopping plazas have a travel agency—in addition to the many general and specialist travel agents in the city center.

Boat Tours

The Sydney Harbour Explorer cruise, run by Captain Cook Cruises, allows you to hop on and off at the Opera House, Watsons Bay, Taronga Zoo, and Darling Harbour. Explorer cruises (A$29) depart daily from Circular Quay at 9:45 AM, 10:45 AM, and then every two hours. The best introductory trip to Sydney Harbour is Captain Cook's 2½-hour Coffee Cruise, which follows the southern shore to Watsons Bay, crosses to the north shore to explore Middle Harbour, and returns to Circular Quay. Coffee cruises (A$44) depart daily at 10 and 2:15. Dinner, sunset, and showtime cruises are also available, and all cruises depart from Wharf 6, Circular Quay.

The Sydney Ferries Corporation runs several Harboursights cruises at lower costs than those of privately operated cruises. Light refreshments are for sale on board. All cruises depart from Wharf 4 at the Circular Quay terminal. The Morning Harbour Cruise (A$18) takes in the major sights of the harbor to the east of the city. The one-hour journey begins daily at 10:30. The Afternoon Harbour Cruise (A$24) is a leisurely 2½-hour tour that takes in the scenic eastern suburbs and affluent Middle Harbour. Cruises leave weekdays at 1 and weekends at 12:30. The 1½-hour Evening Harbour Lights Cruise (A$22) takes you into Darling Harbour for a nighttime view of the city from the west, then passes the Garden Island naval base to view the Opera House and Kings Cross. Tours depart Monday through Saturday at 8 PM.

Harbour Jet offers high-speed jet-boat tours of the harbor, racing around at 75 kph (47 mph) per hour and performing 270-degree spins. Trips range from 35 minutes to 1½ hours and begin at A$60 per person.

Contacts

Captain Cook Cruises (02/9206-1122. www.captaincook.com.au/sydney). Harbour Jet (02/9698-2110 or 1300/887373. www.harbourjet.com). Sydney Ferries Corporation (13-1500. www.sydneyferries.info).

Bus Tours

The Sydney Explorer bus, which makes a 35-km (22-mi) circuit of all the major attractions, including the Rocks, Kings Cross, Darling Harbour, Chinatown, and across Harbour Bridge to Milsons Point, is a great way to see the city. Ticket holders can board or leave the bus at any of the 27 stops along the route and catch any following Explorer bus. The bright red buses follow one another every 20 minutes, and the service operates from 8:40 AM daily. The last bus to make the circuit departs from Circular Quay at 5:20 PM. If you choose to stay on board for the entire circuit, the trip takes around two hours.

The Bondi Explorer bus runs a guided bus tour of the eastern suburbs. The blue bus begins its 30-km (19-mi) journey at Circular Quay and travels through Kings Cross, Double Bay, Vaucluse, and Watsons Bay to the Gap, then returns to the city via Bondi, Bronte, and Coogee beaches; Centennial Park; and Oxford Street. You can leave the bus at any of its 19 stops and catch a following bus, or remain on board for a round-trip of about 90 minutes. Buses follow one another at 30-minute intervals beginning at 8:45 AM. The last bus departs from Circular Quay at 4:15 PM.

Tickets for both Explorer buses, valid for one day, cost A$39 and can be purchased on board or from the Sydney Visitor Centre at Darling Harbour and The Rocks. A two-day combined pass for both buses, which can be used within an eight-day period, is A$68. The tickets also include travel on all regular Sydney buses that operate within the area covered by Explorer buses.

Sydney Day Tours, AAT Kings, Great Sights, and Grayline run half-day tours covering the city, Darling Harbour, and Bondi Beach (A$44 to A$57).

Several bus companies run day trips in and around the Sydney region, reaching as far as the Blue Mountains, the Hunter Valley wine region, Canberra, wildlife parks, and the 2000 Olympics site at Homebush Bay. AAT Kings, Great Sights, and Murrays both have a 24-hour information and reservation service.

Contacts

AAT Kings (1300/556100). Explorer Buses (13-1500. www.sydneybuses.info). Grayline (1300/858687). Great Sights (1300/850850). Sydney Day Tours (02/9251-6101. www.sydneydaytours.com.au).

Park & Bush Tours

Mount 'n Beach Safaris is a four-wheel-drive operator that arranges soft adventures to areas of outstanding beauty around Sydney. The company's Blue Mountains 4WD Wildlife Discovery gives you the chance to see koalas and kangaroos, enjoy morning tea in the bush, take in the scenic highlights of the Blue Mountains, lunch at a historic pub, and return to Sydney in time for a performance at the Opera House. Their Best of Hunter Wines & Dolphins tour of the Hunter Valley wine-growing district and the aquatic playground of Port Stephens is a two-day option.

Contact

Mount 'n Beach Safaris (02/9439-3010. www.mountnbeachsafaris.com.au).

Special-Interest Tours

A flight on Sydney Seaplanes is a wonderful way to see the Sydney sights and soar over the beaches. Short flights taking in the harbor, Bondi Beach, and Manly cost from A$120 per person. A trip to the Hawkesbury River (including a gourmet lunch when you're on land) costs A$460. The seaplanes take off from Rose Bay.

BridgeClimb is a unique tour that affords the ultimate view of the harbor and city center from Sydney Harbour Bridge. The hugely popular tours last for 3½ hours and cost from A$190 per person. Tours depart from 5 Cumberland Street, the Rocks. Twilight climbs and night climbs are also available.

Easyrider Motorbike Tours conducts exciting chauffeur-driven (you ride as a passenger) Harley-Davidson tours to the city's landmarks and beaches, the Blue Mountains, and Kangaroo Valley. A two-hour tour is A$190 per person, and a full-day excursion starts at about A$400.

Bonza Bikes lets you see the best Sydney sights without having to worry about heavy traffic. The half-day Classic Sydney Bike Ride cruises past the Opera House, winds around the harbor, and offers the chance to take in the foliage in the Sydney Botanic Gardens and sights at Darling Harbour. Some trips include lunch and go over Harbour Bridge, with prices starting from A$70 for a half-day (bike and helmet included).

Local gardening guru Graham Ross runs popular jacaranda cruises in early November each year. You'll see the beautiful purple flowering trees planted on the shores of the harbor. The three-hour cruise (A$49) takes in the city's sights with fascinating commentary on history and horticulture. Phone or check the Web, as dates change each year.

The Cadi Jam Ora First Encounters is a tour of the Royal Botanic Gardens' display of plants that were growing before Europeans arrived on Sydney's shores in 1788. An Aboriginal guide explains the plants and their uses.

You can go whale-watching from Sydney Harbour with Bass and Flinders Cruises and Captain Cook Cruises. Boats leave from Sydney Harbour in the winter months and venture a few kilometers outside Sydney Heads to see southern right whales making their way up and down the New South Wales coast.

Contacts

Bass and Flinders (02/9583-1199. www.bassflinders.com.au). Bonza Bikes (02/9247-8800. www.bonzabiketours.com). BridgeClimb (02/8274-7777. www.bridgeclimb.com.au). Cadi Jam Ora First Encounters (02/9231-1811. www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au). Captain Cook Cruises (02/9206-1122. www.captaincook.com.au/sydney). Easyrider Motorbike Tours (02/9247-2477 or 1300/882065. www.easyrider.com.au). Sydney Seaplanes (9388-1978 or 1300/732752. www.seaplanes.com.au).

Walking Tours

The Rocks Walking Tours will introduce you to Sydney's European settlement site, with an emphasis on the neighborhood buildings and personalities of the convict period. The 1½-hour tour costs A$19 and involves little climbing. Tours leave weekdays at 10:30, 12:30, and 2:30 (in January 10:30 and 2:30 only), and weekends at 11:30 and 2.

You can literally drink in Sydney's history during the Rocks Pub Tour, where you wander the narrow streets of the Rocks with a guide and stop in for drinks at three pubs. You will hear the stories of hard times in the early days of Sydney and learn about its colorful characters. The 1¾-hour tours depart from Cadman's Cottage on George Street (near the Museum of Contemporary Art) at 5 PM on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The cost is A$34.50.

The dark alleyways of the Rocks can be scary, and the Rocks Ghost Tours makes sure people are suitably spooked as the guides, dressed in long black cloaks and carrying lanterns, regale them with stories of the murders and other nasty goings-on in the early days of the colony. Tours depart nightly at 6:45 (April-October) and 7:45 (November-March) from Cadman's Cottage and cost A$34.

Kings Cross has been the haunt of bohemians, criminals, and ladies of the evening for many decades. The Crimes and Passion walking tour, run by Bounce Walking Tours, takes you alongside streets where notorious villains plied their trade. Tours depart from Circular Quay on Thursday and Saturday at 5 PM (November-March) and 1 PM (April-October) and cost A$40. The 2½-hour tour includes a drink in a local bar.

Contacts

The Crimes and Passions Walking Tour (02/9328-5917. www.bouncewalkingtours.com). The Rocks Ghost Tours (1300/731971. www.ghosttours.com.au). The Rocks Pub Tour (02/9240-8788 or 1800/067676. www.therockspubtour.com). The Rocks Walking Tours (23 Playfair St., The Rocks. 02/9247-6678. www.rockswalkingtours.com.au).