My family will be in Sydney for a Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in late March. At the moment, my plan is to see downtown Sydney (Opera House, gardens etc) on Saturday, take the Manly Ferry to Manly on Sunday to enjoy the area, and take an organized tour to Blue Mtns. on Monday. I think the beach area will be more active/interesting on a weekend and the Blue Mtn. area less crowded/busy on a workday. Does this schedule make sense? Thanks.

I would not be bothering to go to the Blue Mountains at that time of year particularly as they have had so many bush fires this year. There will be a lot of other things to see and do in Sydney itself and you are not there for that long.

Don't forget the Sydney Aquarium, which is awesome! Go in the late afternoon/evening to avoid the crowds. Dinner time is good since everyone else is eating, you can walk right down to the under-the-sharks area. Seeing the turtles and rays and sharks swim overhead is really an experience you won't want to miss.
Sally in Seattle

And the zoo is wonderful also, including its fabulous views of the harbor (opera house and bridge).

Living in Sydney I have never been to the Blue Mountains for a day trip. Seems you would spend most of the day getting there and back. There are some nice views of the bluffs and some nice little townships but not worth a big day out on such a short visit. To really appreciate the Blue Mountains you need to hike. It could be dispponting seen from the window of a bus to be honest. They are not big mountains, really a plateau.

Whether taking one of your 3 days to go to the Blue Mountains is a good idea or not depends on where else you are going in Australia.

Where else are you going? have you been here before? will you ever come again?

Need more info to give sensible reply.

Cheers and HNY.

Hi GoBucks,

A really overlooked experience (IMO) is the Discovery Rocks Museum.

btw....I'd be interested to know/see if any of the Aussies on this forum have ever been to this Museum?

This is a WONDERFUL (and I suspect, often overlooked) museum that will educate you about the history of Sydney in a fun and entertaining way.

Another excellent tour would be the Taronga Zoo, especially the "Behind the Scenes" tour, which I think everyone would enjoy, not only for the animals, but there are some great photo ops along the way.

Hope this is helpful!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

No Melodie, I haven't. But tell you what I'll check it out and report back. I would be very surprised if it bettered tne Musaeum of Sydney.

OK Fuzzy,

I'll wait for your report, it may not BETTER than the Museum of Sydney, but I think it's a great inter-active museum, really brings history to life as well as explains the politics going on at various times. Much smaller as well for those pressed for time. (And it's free, although everyone should leave a donation)

For example, I'd never known there were pretty active/violent protests in the Rocks in the 60's when they were going to modernize it by ripping down all the old building; you see all the footage of the protests, etc.

While I was there I asked for about 30 of their laminated bookmarks so I can put them in my clients' documents and encourage them to visit. I believe that it adds so much knowing the history of an area you're visiting.

I ran short of time while there, but next time I'm in Sydney I plan on devoting several hours.

Melodie