We have friends visiting us from the US. They will arrive in Sydney in early January and spend up to 8 days here in OZ, not including the day they arrive and the day they fly out. They have family commitments in Sydney for the first 3 days (although these could be moved) during which time they will also sightsee. I think they could spend 2 days in the Blue Mountains, which leaves 3 days. I'm thinking that maybe we should pick them up in Sydney, drive down to Berry via Minimurra Falls, up through Kangaroo Valley and then to Canberra. We could spend one day in Canberra and environs. But that leaves us with at least one spare day. Any other suggestions? Alternatives? Other than the time in Sydney, nothing is set in concrete.

"up to 8 days"? What does that mean? 1,2,3,,5?

When you know exactly how many days they have, post again.

Two recommendations: 1) Spend an extra day in Canberra--there's more than enough to see and do in Canberra for more than one day or 2) after Canberra, drive to Thredbo and take the chairlift to the trail leading to the top of Mt. Kosciusko. If you haven't done this hike, it's great! There's also some other great walks in the area and fabulous scenery.

Sorry - they have 8 days. Wasn't thinking. Thanks for the suggestion re Canberra and Thredbo - I think there's a good few things around Canberra, but wasn't sure if I had really considered every option. They could also go to Melbourne, but I thought they'd do better seeing some of the countryside, rather than another city.

Hi, we just got back from our trip to Oz and we spent the first week south of Sydney, so you might consider some of our itinerary for your friends. The first day we drove to Huskisson via the Royal National Park and Kiama. Visited Booderee NP twice and headed south for Narooma and took a whale watching boat to Montegue Island and saw the little (fairy) penguins. Then drove to Canberra for a short look around (thanks to Neil_Oz) and back to Sydney airport. If it isn't whale season or they don't want to drive all the way to Narooma (it's a long way) they could hang out in the Huskisson area which looked very neat. Depends on what they are interested in.
Sally in Seattle, working on a trip report!

Thanks for that - I hadn't thought of whale watching or fairy penguins. I'll put that into the mix.

Wine tasting in the Hunter Valley? Beaches & dolphin watching around Anna Bay north of Sydney?