If we take the ferrry to Manly Beach is it necessary to do the Sydney harbour cruise as well? The Sydney Explorer Bus is a must. What areas are covered by the Bondi Explorer? Is it mainly beaches? Please advise.

Hi, Marina! The ferry from Sydney to Manly Beach is only one of about a dozen government-run public transport ferries, and, since they are mainly provided for the use of commuters, prices are fairly reasonable. You could probably take a whole host of them and still have money left over from the price of ONE of the commercial harbour cruises with running commentary you don't need and refreshments you didn't want. And, frankly, I would think that the standard ferries are the best way to see the harbour and beyond... you will actually see real Australians, not just other tourists! The Manly Ferry is the best of the bunch, and especially good if you combine it with a beach-and-rain-forest walk which will take you from the Spit Bridge around the foreshores via Clontarf, Forty Baskets and Reef Beach, past some aboriginal carvings and the best views in Sydney. You take the public bus from Wynyard out to the Spit Bridge, and finish by taking the ferry back, and your total transport costs for the day won't exceed $12. Other ferry rides worth doing will take you to Taronga Park Zoo, Watson's Bay, and (by rivercat) under the Bridge and up the river as far as Parramatta. You could spend three or four days just exploring Sydney by ferry. Can't tell you anything about the Bondi Explorer, however.... but there's not much to see in that area that isn't beaches! Frankly, after you've done the beaches around Manly (such as Fairy Bower), you might be better using a day to hop on a fast train to the Blue Mountains, which is another one of those areas where people pay vast sums of money to join commercial tours when you can do it by train and by foot for less than twenty dollars, including a trip on the Scenic Railway at Katoomba. Hope you enjoy yourself!

Marina:<BR>Alan is entirely correct. The ferry to Manly Beach is the way to go. As for the Blue Mountains, we took the high priced tour. Wish we had the benefit of Alan's advice when we went in 2000.<BR>Australia is beautiful, as are it's people.<BR>John

When you get a ferry see if you can get one that takes in Middle Harbour as well as other places because that is lovely and you will get a better idea of the way of life in and around the Sydney Harbour. Previous posters are correct - there is no need for a formal ferry ride. Its fun to just get a pass and get on and off when you want. There is a kiosk for transport information in front of Circular Quay for Bus information/ then there is the station 20 ft away and you can get their information and a further 20 ft for ferry information. A nice way to get to the Blue Mountains is the Ferry ride to Parramatta and then get the train up to the mountains from there. A lovely day trip and very low cost. Take a look at what available in the Blue Mountains when you get there.

Thank you all very much for your tips. They will be a great help in planning our 3 days in Sydney.

I didn't go to Manly Beach on my Sept trip to Sydney so I can't make any comparisons. We had the Sydney pass which covered both the Explorer Bus and the Bondi Explorer as well as Sydney harbor cruises and some local ferries. If all you want is to see the opera house and the bridge from the water, it doesn't really matter what boat you take (unless you actually want to go under the bridge). We took both the 1 hour and the longer harbor cruise - which I wouldn't advise to do both since the longer one covers everything the shorter one did.<BR><BR>We really enjoyed the Bondi explorer. It makes two photo stops - one where you get great panoramic views of the opera house and bridge and one where you see the ocean (where the harbor goes into the ocean). We also got off at Bondi beach and hiked to the next stop which was a beautiful cliff walk (for most of the walk you're high up on the cliffs looking down at the ocean). We also got off at the Gap Park (where the ocean and harbor meet) and walked back to the previous stop Watson Bay. We did that second walk after making a complete tour on the bus. We ate at Watsons Bay and then took a ferry back to the harbor. In addition to the beaches, you see alot of gorgeous homes, some parks, and some different city areas such as Kings Cross from the Bondi explorer. IF you don't get off the bus the entire round trip is 2 hours which I think is really worth the time. Since you're already taking the explorer bus you should get the Sydney Pass which covers so much.<BR>