We arrive at SYD at 6:35 AM on a United flight and depart for AKL at 6:35PM. I've sketched out an itinerary and would like some comments. The stops that I mention are the only required ones, others can be added.

This will be December 24. I assume this is not a holiday and the ferry is on the regular weekday schedule.

We will be back in Sydney for the night of Jan. 5 at the Four Points and plan to visit the Sydney Aquarium on the morning of the 6th (Sunday, but as far as I can tell it will open at 9AM that day).

On December 24, the Singapore Airlines A380 arrives SYD at 7AM, just 25 minutes after us, and it departs at 8:50 AM.

Where can we get a good view of the plane coming in or departing? We will have access to the NZ Koru Club, the United RCC, and I think to SQ's club.

We'll have express passes thru customs and immigration, so we might not get to left-luggage place until 9:30 or 10AM if we wait long enough to see an on-time SQ 220 departure.

Drop our luggage and then get on the train to Circular Quay (and have a gelato).

Take the ferry from wharf 5 to either Pyrmont Bay or Darling Harbour. We will pick up the Sydney Explorer bus at that point.

I suppose we could take the ferry from CQ and:
1) debark at Pyrmont, check out Star City, and board the bus there (stop 21),
2)debark at Pyrmont, walk across the bridge to the Aquarium side, and board the bus at stop 24, or
3) debark at Darling Harbour, which apparently is on the aquarium side of the water?, and board the bus at the Aquarium stop 24.

Bus to stop 2, get off and take the 1 hour tour of the opera house.

Bus across Sydney Harbour Bridge to stop 3 (Milsons Point). Maybe we should get off there?

Bus to Mrs M's chair at stop 11. Is this a 20-minute stop? 40 or 60 min?

Bus to the QVB stop 14. Visit QVB and see the Christmas Tree. Go up the tower.

At this point we would head back to SYD. Should we get the train at St James Station?

I'd love to spend some time in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Maybe we should walk between the opera house and Mrs M's Chair.

that plane looks like any other plane from the air (when you are on the ground), so i would not alter plans to see it (it was at an air show and i waited an hour and when it showed up i didn;t even realize it...maybe it would look different on the runway, but you won;t be able to get on a runway...

that said all of your details on bus lines etc. are very confusing. i would say get off at circular quay and walk to the opera house and through the botanic gardens, see the bats and then, maybe, if your eyes are still open, take the ferry to manly and get something to eat, stroll on the beach.

you did not ask, but i am very concerned about christmas day in auckland. do you have a place to eat? a car organized? landed there one chriustmas eve and was very surprised at how closed everything was on christmas day...and boxing day too.

kerikeri

Yes it does sound complicated especially Sydney on Christmas Eve. I agree with above catch the Manly ferry from Circular Quay, walk down the Corso, have fish and chips at one of Sydney's best beaches and catch the ferry back. You see the Harbour, the Opera House, the Bridge and the magnificent houses of Double Bay and Point Piper plus a nice boat trip. It is the best and cheapest day trip in Sydney.

It's not that complicated. We'll take a boat and then a bus. It is a hop on/off bus with multiple stops. Sounds simple to me. But it is a matter of deciding which of 27 stops to use and whether or not we have enough time.

I'll take a look at the ferry to Manly recommendation.

Seeing the A380 wouldn't be altering any plans. it is the plan.

ok mr...

you are on the right track...some refinements might be..if you can keep up the pace..

train to circular quay
walk to opera house and do tour..they go on the hour
walk thru botanic gardens to mrs macquaries chair...pick up explorer bus..

get off at qvb...walk down george to circular quay

get a darling harbour ferry ...stay on it thru darling harbour and back to milsons point..walk over the bridge to south east pylon..down thru the rocks to circular quay then back to airport by train.

don't muck about...take your photos quickly and don't stop to shop.

I hadn't considered walking across the bridge. But if we didn't walk it then we might have enough time to take a few photos without them being blurry. No chance that my brother and I will be shopping.

I see where Manly Beach is, the wharf, the long beach facing the ocean. A day trip there is not what we are looking for. Might change my mind if I find out there is a cricket match on that day at Manly Cricket Club.

there is a cricket test at the scg on jan 5 ...australia v india.

there is no cricket at manly oval on dec 24.

look mr... you have to tick off the three great sydney icons...and I think you are the sort of traveller who can do it in 10 hours...

harbour cruise
bridge
opera house

walk the bridge...check out the south east pylon and come back to the quay via the rocks.

forget star city...you have seen better in las vegas or blackpool.

Too bad, the 10:30AM matches at SCG are too early on the 5th and too late on the 6th. No night racinig on the 5th at Randwick I suppose.

The reason for the Star City stop was to get tix for a show at the theater there that I would play on the 5th but won't be. Yes, I know I could get tix at Ticketmaster. I will forget Star City, as you suggest, as I'm already booked for Vegas in February.

But now I think we might take the ferry from Darling Harbour to CQ. Would that suffice as our harbor cruise? There must be sightseeing cruises that I don't know about.

The walk across the bridge would take far too long with my brother.

If we walk from St James Station to Sydney Tower to QVB to Darling Harbour would we be going downhill or what?

Darling Harbour to Circular Quay is a pretty boring harbour cruise - you see virtually nothing of the harbour, just some wharves and the underside of the harbour bridge.

I think the Manly option, or something else that goes in the main part of the harbour, is a better idea.

St. James to Sydney Tower and QVB is a flat walk and then you will be going downhill to Darling Harbour.
There won't be any night racing at Randwick on Jan 5 - in fact there is very little racing at present owing to an outbreak of Equine Flu and things are only slowly getting back to normal.