One week in Sydney
 

I will be in Sydney for one week in October.
What should I see in the city ? Should I take Airpasses ? Are there any one-day trip I could do by train or car from Sydney ? What temperatures should I expect ? A lot of questions... Thank you for a few answers.

Not sure about temperature but imagine low 70's F. Lots to do and see in Sydney - Sydney Tower atop the AMP buiding, The Rocks (historical area), the Opera House, Sydney Aquarium and Darling Harbour, Paddy's Market, ferry trip to Manly, numerous harbour cruises. My brother lives in Parramatta and we enjoy travelling on the Parramatta ferry, slower than the train but vastly more comfortable. Hope this is some help and have a great visit! Brenda

I think you'd be really rushed trying to get to the outback or other parts of the country in just a weeks time. Consider a trip out to Katoomba and the Blue Mountains for a day or two (assuming you like to hike), which can easily be done by train from Sydney.

If you really do have the time to get away, you could fly to Alice Springs and set up an outback tour from there (I just did a 3 day camping tour in April), or you could fly to Cairns and get out to the Great Barrier Reef for a day. You could head north up the coast from Sydney to Byron Bay, which has nice beaches.

One week doesn't really give you much time to experience all the country has to offer.

I have quite a few photos on my web page: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tomgriffin

Take a look. Plenty of outback photos.

Tom

Hello Nora

There is a lot to see and even more to do in Sydney.
You would be crazy if you didn't spend at least a day in the Darling Harbour area. You can visit the fantastic Powerhouse Museum, National Maritime Museum and the Chinese Garden. There are heaps of great restaurants and shops there as well.Check out the Australian Geographic shop for unusual gifts and souvenirs. For a great view of the city go to the top of the Centrepoint Tower. Ride the monorail for a great way to get around Downtown. Take a ferry across to Manly and back........the list goes on. The temperature should be around the mid 20s Celsius in October, but that's up to nature of course...
Have a great visit.

Hello! You definitely have to spend time at "The Rocks" . Get to Circular Quay to see the Opera House (I couldn't get enough of looking at it!) and walk to the other side to the Rocks. GREAT shopping at the Rocks for Aboriginal art and souvenirs. If you have a solid heart (and grip!), you can walk to the top of Harbour Bridge...Get to one of the Wild Life Park (Featherdale was nice). have fish & chips at Doyle's in Watson's Bay.

One week doesn't give you much time, but if you must, you could swing one trip to either Uluru (Ayers Rock) or to Cairns/Port Douglas area. Depends if you want desert and flies or ocean and fish! Trips are a 3 hours flight each (north or centre) so calculate 3 days to spend there at least. I would do 3 days in Sydney and the rest up north or in Uluru. You can climb Uluru, but you have to be in shape and watch your steps...it can be dangerous.

If you don't have time to go that far, Katoomba (Blue Moutains) is a MUST! In Sydney (Miranda), I had the best kangaroo meal at "Thursdays" .
I'm just back from there and had a wonderful time. You'll love it, no matter where you end up going! Good Luck!

My husband an I spent 1 week in Australia in March 1995. A week is much too short!!! Try to spend 2-3 days sightseeing in Sydney especially over the weekend. Get a good guidebook and follow the walking tours. Sydney Harbour, the Opera House, the Rocks (the Weekend Market), the Royal Botanic Gardens and Macquairies Point. Try to take a ferry to Manly or Bondi Beach. There many great restuarants for dinner. However, we were very tired at end of each day from trying to fit too much into too little time.
We flew to Cairnes and spent 3/4 days. 1 day to tour the Barrier Reef, one day to take a 4WD tour up to Cape Tribulation and through Daintree(we got to swin in a stream in the rainforest), and a day to take the Railroad to Karanda. If we were to return we would stay in Port Douglas at a resort and use that as our base in Northern Queensland.
You can gain an extra day if you depart from Cairns. We had to fly back to Sydney before flying home. You'll need a vacation from your vacation-but it will be one to remember!! Someday, we will make it back!!
Book airline tickets for domestic travel in Australia, not at home. We saved 50%25 ($600) on our tickets from Sydney to Cairns.
Have a great trip!!

send me more info about travel passes within Australia, especially going from Melbourne to Sydney. Thanks!

I wouldn't buy anything from the shops at The Rocks. (Unless of course you're really rich and money's no object). You're better off doing your shopping in the shops in the city itself which is just walking distance from The Rocks.<BR>
There's a pub at The Rocks that's the oldest pub in Australia(don't know what its called) - we had a really nice lunch there. Lots of other great pubs at THe Rocks - we went to 3 and they were all great.
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Have fun.