4 days in Sydney: what would you recommend?
 

Our 1 month whirlwind sampler of Australia and New Zealand begins in less than a month.
On Sept 26 we'll arrive in Sydney at apx 7 AM and leave for Ayers Rock/Urulu on Sept 30 flying Seattle to SFO to Sydney.

We've looked at the standard guidebooks and planned most of our trip, but what are some of the things you'd most recommend doing in Sydney during those 4 days?

We're an active couple in our 70's, more interested in doing and seeing things than fueling our bodies with food/drink (though open to cheap to moderate suggestions for that too.) We'll likely be walking, using public transit, and biking from our hotel in The Rocks.

What do you already have on your list for Sydney?

Bokhara2: Sydney is the one and only place we don't have much planned, so we're pretty free to explore.
We usually push through our jet lag, but will take the 1st day a bit easy.
Definitely will bike a bit, but not familiar with the best routes/spots (Are we correct in presuming that Sydney may not be as bike-friendly as Vancouver? And does Sydney have bike-share, or just traditional bike rental?) And we'll probably spend time just exploring on foot.

The bridge "climb" is tempting.
Definitely the Opera house - have to check out what, if anything, is on.
Riding the ferries to Manly, maybe the Botanic Gardens and/or Taronga Zoo. Probably join the other tourists walking Bondi Beach to Coogee. Pondering whether a day trip to the Blue Mtns. would be worth it.

We are seniors in our 70's and really enjoyed walking through the botanical gardens and visiting the zoo (but it is situated on a hillside so walking up/down/around the various paths could be challenging for those with mobility problems.

We also enjoyed touring the full size replica of Captain Cook's ship Endeavour in Darling Harbor.

We found Bondi Beach to be a bit anticlimactic so much so we stayed less than 15 minutes. Since it is so far outside the city you might want to skip and on site visit and just look at some photos.

The highlight of our visit was the day we spent aboard a Catamaran sailing around Botany Bay. We chartered the boat for the entire day and had a fantastic but relaxing day on the water. Highly recommend this if it is within your budget.

There are cycle paths but I really wouldn't recommend you cycling around Sydney. The motorists are not used to them as they are relatively new, also I have not seen bikes for hire on the streets like in other cities, cars yes but not bikes

Definitely get out to the Blue Mountains if you are after stunning scenery and vast landscapes, it is beautiful. You can book a day trip there or get the train. Highly recommend!
I know of some great one day conservation projects that you can get involved In if that's of interest?
Other recommendations:
Harbour cruise
Opera house - you can do a tour or go to their bar/restaurant for dinner to take in the harbour skyline at night
Circular Quay & darling harbour
Featherdale wildlife park
Taronga Zoo
The Australia museum
Manly beach

There is lots to do but it is also a great city to relax in, after all it is a holiday, you will have a great time!

Do take one or more ferry trip!

Manly is a good choice ( but not on a Sunday when it's only about $3 and seemingly every Sydneysider & visitor takes the trip).

You can do short, medium or longer walks, stroll along the beach - and if you like, take an Eco hopper ferry across to Watson's Bay. Eco hoppers are not part of ththe Opal card system, but I think it's worth the few $.

You would probably enjoy a visit to the Art Gallery of NSW ( free, except for special exhibitions). They have a very good Art After Hours programme in Wednesday evenings until 9pm.

The Royal Botanic Gardens is a popular spot for visitors as it showcases a lot of our native flora & has guided walks, also by Aboriginal guides. It's also just s beautiful place to relax, have a meal or a picnic.

The MCA ( Museum of Comtemporary Art) is at Circular Quay West & has a good rooftop terrace, lovely harbour, Bridge & Opera House, if there is not a hulking great cruise ship obstructing it.

If you don't do the Bridge Climb, I can recommend a ferry or train to McMahons Point, a stroll through th streets to Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden at Lavender Bay. From there, walk around to Milsons Point & across the Harbour Bridge to the city. You can Climb the Southern Pylon for less than $20.

Do see a performance at the Opera House if you can. If you can't get in, or find something you like, I'd encourage you to see something at the Sydney Theatre Company. Performances at Pier 4 ( Walsh Bay) are special because it's an old bond store on the western side of the Harbour Bridge, with spectacular views from the balcony, bar & restaurant.

Harbour islands, Fort Denison & Cockatoo Island are both well worth a visit.

Normally p, I'd post links to all the places I've mentioned, but I'm posting on my IPad and it's too awkward - but google them & you'll have plenty of information.

You might also google " Harbour Walks - Sydney". There is a lot more than we've listed.

Hope you have a wonderful time.

And yes, I'd recommend a day trip or overnight to the Blue Mountains. Rent a car from Sydney for maximum flexibility.

I found that I did not get the most out of my blue mountains trip when I did it independently. The tours are all hosted by locals and they give a much better insight into the history and hotspots in the area. It is such a huge national park that you benefit more by doing it as a day trip. It's personal preference I guess, either way it is a beautiful place to visit.

Great suggestions. Just wanted to add to Bokhara's recommendation of taking one or more ferry trips and CultureClub's suggestion of seeing the harbour skyline at night: take the ferry both during the day and at night. The views are different. Viewing the illuminated Opera House from a ferry on Sydney Harbor the water is unforgettable. Of course, it's beautiful during the day, as well.

Correction. I meant to write: "Viewing the illuminated Opera House from a ferry on Sydney Harbor is unforgettable."

You can do this with an afternoon visit to Manly & return to the CBD in the early evening to catch the sunset behind rh ridge - or later when th city is lit up.

Fwiw another recommendation (from a long time walker and sometime bike rider) to forget the bikes and concentrate on walking (as Bokhara says, just Google "Harbour Walks - Sydney" or whatever, for ideas and maps) and using public transport (ferries and buses).

We are active 70’s like yourselves and spent a few days in Sydney about 3 years ago.

We did Blue Mountains by train using our Multi transit pass and found that quite pleasant. Once there we took the Hop on Hop off bus --not the sort of thing we would usually do--and it was an easy way to get from sight to sight at your own pace. The driver was chatty and friendly and provided all the commentary we felt we needed. We also took a nature hike but perhaps not practical if you are only going for the day. There are brief free presentations at the aboriginal centre, and souvenirs there seem to be a bit cheaper than elsewhere .

In the city we did a ’tips only’ walking tour. Since you decide what to tip, you can be sure you get your money’s worth! We found it of equal quality to city walking tours we’ve done elsewhere.

I cycle a lot at home (Ontario) but wouldn’t attempt it in Sydney.

Enjoy yourself!

Oh do get a grip, gemmsourcel! Neither of these places is remotely near Sydney!

http://www.salsalis.com.au/ - is on about the western most point of the Western Australian coast and

Http://www.elquestro.com.au is in the Kimberley region of WA.

Your post is misleading in the extreme.

4 days in Sydney and gemmapurcell wants them to fly right around the country = not remotely helpful!

I think Gemmapurcel has more than a few Roos loose in the top paddock.

Whoa! A great thread with great ideas! Climbing the bridge? Oh I'm there.

We recently returned from our trip to Australia ... now we have to sort through our photos and put up a blog including some of the pictures (I'll post a short written trip report here, with links to the blog ... but its going to take some time.)

But here's a summary of our time in Sydney:

Day 1:
* arrived at 7:00 AM on flight from the states. After debating, we sprang for a taxi from the airport to the Holiday Inn Old Sydney in The Rocks instead of taking the train and then having to schlep our bags about 4 or 5 blocks (some uphill) from Circular Quay's train station.
* After getting settled we walked and explored Circular Quay, the area around the Opera House, and the Royal Botanic Gardens. That was a good day helping us balance recovering from our 17 hours in two flying petri dishes +6 hours dealing with airports, and balancing that with our excitement at being in Australia. We were startled that the shell of the Opera House is not as bright white as many pictures make it appear ...

Day 2:
* Picked up Opal cards at Circular Quay.
* Took ferry to Cockatoo Island (unplanned but recommended by our taxi driver - it was one of our unexpected HIGHLIGHTS - quite a variety: a mix of uses dating from the 1700's, part an historical park, part an active semi-industrial site: an old jail for prisoners transported from England and others; a military and shipbuilding area from WWI, WWII, and later; a warren of tunnels and caves in the cliffs from all eras; a current mixmash of new industries using old buildings; a yacht harbor; and a massive "glamping" campground + a separate campground for backpackers - all on a relatively small island only a few minutes by frequent ferry from downtown.)
* Explore downtown (not much different from any major city - saw no homeless people ... in our Seattle there are homeless everywhere)

Day 3:
* Walked across Harbour Bridge (across and back - Fantastic views - one of HIGHLIGHTS)... We debated doing the bridge climb but since we are in our mid 70's we didn't think we were quite up to doing it ... if it were cheaper, and if we were younger, we definitely would have.
* Ferry to Taronga Zoo (meh, a bit of an old-fashioned zoo with animals in smaller areas than some other zoos - at least they were not in too-tight cages ... but we were happy that at least we got to see Australia wildlife there - we were disappointed that elsewhere in Australia we just weren't in the right place at the right time to see other wildlife ... didn't even see a kangaroo in the wild)
* Ferry to Manly, watched the surfers (oh to be young again) and walked the beach promenade. On way back admired the Opera House at night (a must, especially from the ferry)

Day 4:
This was THE HIGHLIGHT of our time in Sydney:
Against much advice, we decided to bike in Sydney. The biggest problem in a strange city is knowing where, and finding out where, you can safely bicycle. So we signed up for an almost-full-day with Bike Buffs Sydney Bicycle Tours. We met near Observatory Park (a great viewpoint), rode over Harbour Bridge to a number of points on the north side of the bridge, then back and through Darlington Harbor and across some pedestrian-and-bike-only bridges, thence back on some busy main street (was it Sussex Street?) that had a physically separated bike lane with signals for bikes better than any in downtown Seattle. (Would I attempt it on our own? nope. I'd have no idea of how to find a safe route.)

PS
We really wanted to get the time to go to the Blue Mtns and had scouted out a day-trip by train. But in the end, were busy in Sydney, were trying to fight off a respiratory thing that we caught on the flying petri dishes, and most of all, decided that the Blue Mountains should be done as a 2 day trip minimum, preferably more.

Thanks so much for telling us about your 4 days in Sydney.

You certainly packed in some interesting things off the usual tourist’s track. The cycle tour would have been interesting.

Cockatoo Island is one of my favourite “little Harbour gems “ & I’m glad you had a chance to explore it. I think the sandstone in the dog leg tunnel is like artwork - just exquisite.

Where else did you go on your month’s meandering?

Bokhara2:
We had a grand time, although overly rushed - 30 days in all. I'm in the midst of writing a report and putting together a blog but that all will take some time.
Flew too much
Uluru 3 nights (mid 70's sunny when we were there, rained the day before we got there - interesting walking around mud puddles in such a dry place)
Port Douglas 4 nights (preferred Daintree to the Reef)
Melbourne 3 nights (liked it even more than Sydney)
Hobart 4 nights (of course, went to MONA but even better, Port Arthur)
Queenstown 4 nights (including Milford Sound - hit it right - it was sunny there; biked Arrowtown to the bungy bridge to Gibbston)
Auckland 4 nights (enjoyed walking up Mt Eden and one great day on Waiheke Island then days of rain - only rain on the trip - enforced relaxation)

Here’s a little something about Uluru the day before you arrived.
Turn up your sound

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n4mTKcJfnnE

elbegewa

I'm glad you had a good time in our city (but disappointed you preferred Melbourne)!

I was interested also in your comments about Cockatoo Island. I love it - but I'm never sure if I should recommend it to visitors. It's a bit of local history that even locals are not too aware.

Elbegewa, thanks for your post, which reminded me of my own Australia trips. I've stayed in Manly, Darling Harbor, and Circular Quay, but returned several times to Old Sydney Holiday Inn at the Rocks. It has a great location. Sounds like you thought so, too (apart from having to take a taxi to avoid a four block walk with luggage).

I agree, Daintree NP is wonderful. We stayed for a few nights at Ferntree Rainforest Lodge in Cape Tribulation, and regretted not planning on staying longer.

Seems you were lucky to see mud puddles at Uluru, which only averages about 12 inches of rain a year. We also visited Uluru after it had rained and found puddles of water teeming with tiny fish, particularly around Kata Tjuta/The Olgas.

The link below will reinforce how immensely lucky you were with Queenstown and Milford Sound weather. In the south of the South Island, we had great weather in October, even a prolonged heat wave. But over this weekend it snowed around Queenstown!
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queens...nd-gloves-next

I look forward to reading more about your trip, looking at your blog, and learning about places I've not yet visited, such as Cockatoo Island. Apart from its aforementioned attractions, is it also good place for seeing cockatoos?

Probably not a cockatoo in site - Diamantina - it's named after the cockatoo docks and engineering company that leased it from 1933 to 1954

The only birds we saw on Cockatoo Island were seagulls ... including a seagull that stole a large part mf my hamburger while I was eating.

But Northie, I suspect that the cockatoo docks and engineering company was named after the island. According to info on the site and on the web, it had been home to large numbers of Cockatoos and had been called Cockatoo Island when the first penal colony was established on it in the 1830's.

Interesting info. on Cockatoo Island's history, Northie and Elbegewa. Thanks for that. I thought it might actually have cockatoos, as I recall seeing cockatoos in other parts of Sydney (which surprised and delighted me, as I'm a birdwatcher). Despite not having cockatoos and only seagulls, it still sounds worth visiting.