Maddie

We're arriving in Sydney at 5:30 am on a Friday and do not know if we can get into our hotel in the Rocks area. <BR> <BR>Are there any recommendations on the best way to spend your first day in Australia considering jet lag and in our case early morning arrival?? <BR> <BR>Thanks

John

Maddie: <BR>Upon arrival in Sydney, go directly to your hotel. You might luck out. At the very least you can leave your luggage there. You might then visit Darling Harbour. Lots of restaurants for a casual breakfast as well as other attractions. <BR>You're going to love Sydney. <BR>John <BR>

Karri

I would call the hotel and let them know of your early arrival just to give them a heads up. They sound make of note of it and try and accomodate you. The restrooms at the airport where nice and we all did a mini fresher upper when we got of the plane. By the time we did luggage, customs, and money from the cash machine we had wasted abit of time. Find a fun place to have breakfast and get yourself a little oriented. We all did fairly well until about 1:00. Luckily we were in the room by then and all crashed for a few hours. Took some Tylenol PM on the plane down and it really helped everyone get a good couple of hours sleep on the plane. Have a great trip

Mary Ann

Last November we arrived in Sydney at about 8:30am. We did take excedrin PM on the plane right after dinner. I think most of us got about 4 hours sleep. It did help. <BR>Also, keep your toothbrush with you so before landing you can freshen up. I sware some people took changes of underwear with them into the lavatory. (For women, panty liners can work). <BR>We also from our local bank got about $100 US a couple converted into Australian dollars before we went. This saved the initial hassel of converting money for a cab ride. <BR>We were staying at the Marriott and got there about 10:30. They suggested breakfast, then we organized some tours with the concierge and by 12:30 they had rooms for us. We showered and changed and headed out. We were fine until after a light dinner and by 8:30pm we were crashing. Next day, everybody was in sync with the time zone. The key they say is staying out in the sun light. <BR>Also based on a Good morning america story 3 of the 4 of us wore medical socks due to the length (15 hours) of the flight. They said if you carry more weight around the middle you should. I did not, I am fairly thin and considered underweight. Even with getting up every 2 hours to lap around the plane (except when sleeping), my ankles were swollen upon arrival in Sydney. Also recommend a nasal spray. It was actually painful when I woke up because the passages were so dry. Air quality in most planes is not that great. <BR>On arrival day, we checked out the Rocks area, then took a ferry ride to Manly from Circular Quay, then walked to the beach (not far). Kind of a leisurely day. <BR>Have a wonderful time, hope this helps.

WMR

Stay up + sunlight. We arrived at 8:00 am; got luggage and through customs by 9:00 or so; bad to the hotel to drop bags; then out on the town. We spent the day outside, walking around the city and crashed about 8:00; slept 10 hours and were up the next morning, already adjusted to the time difference.