1. Do you need to take the tour in order to see the Sydney Opera House, or can you just walk around and see everything?
2. If you eat in the AMP tower, do you still have to pay the elevator cost?
3. Do regular ferries go to Manly Beach or do you need to take a jet cat? What is the cost of a roundtrip on the jet cat? I do not think that it is included with the day pass.
4. What is the best way to see the harbour? Does a regular ferry trip, one or more, give you a good enough view?
5. Any ideas for discount hotel prices?
6. Do senior prices only apply to Australians?

1. to see inside you need to take the tour..runs on the hour..A$20.

2.forget the tower and take a picnic to Bradleys head at sunset.

3.Regular ferries run on the half hour to manly.wharf 2 cirular quay. Jet cat is expensive..it is not included on the day tripper or the weekly pass.
If you are staying for 4 days or so get a green weekly transport pass for A$40..covers busses,trains and public ferries in the sydney tourist area.

4.Use the ferries..get a map..get the sydney ferries/walks booklet from the sydney ferries info office at the quay.Take a round trip to darling harbour and a round trip to manly..maybe take the ferry to watsons bay and then bus via bondi back to town.
Take the darling harbour ferry..get off at milsons point..have a coffee at ripples..walk back over the harbour bridge.
5. www.wotif.com.au
6.I think so..i think you need an aussie seniors card.

Great advice from johhj au - I was going to mention the Daytripper Ticket but I see he has mentioned it.
Dennis the Menace - I would also support the use of ferries, and forget some of the tall buildings in the city, go for places like Bradleys Head, Watsons Bay (the gap & Doyles Pub & Restaurant), or Manly (walk the Corso to the beach, then walk around to Shelley Beach (fairy bower), nice short coastal walk, and a nice little restaurant half way around, and one at Fairy Bower.

I've heard complaints about the parsimony of many Australian operations with regard to accepting senior's card - compared with certain other countries. One retired gentleman of my acquaintance used his card all over Italy, including La Scala, and then often gets knocked back when he goes interstate in his own country.

Dennis, it won't cost you anything to ask, though.

Hi Dennis_the_menace
Could I just interfere with John's AMP tower answer. I disagree slightly.
Don't forget the tower, it is a
fantastic opportunity to get a great view of Sydney, we loved it. But where I would agree with him is don't bother eating there as the food is not the 'best value'. (was that diplomatic or what!!)
Good luck
Muck

Mucky - in other words, follow the old adage "Never eat in anything that floats, revolves or otherwise moves"?

The ferries for Manly leave on the hour and half hour. It is a MUCH more pleasant experience than the jetcat and is cheaper. You can sit inside, outside, upstairs or downstairs and enjoy the view. The trip across takes half an hour whereas the jetcat takes 15 minutes but you are stuck inside and don't get a view.I think the jetcat only suits the Manly residents who want to get home as quickly as possible.

The best way to see the harbout? Take as many ferries as you can. Watsons Bay, for sure. Darling Harbour - classic tourist territory.

My two top picks would be - the Manly ferry (the proper one not the Jetcat) - and do yourselves a favour if you are here in the summer, and take the ferry to Mosman at around dusk. Or go to Cremorne Point and have a bit of a walk and time your return to CQ to coincide with the sunset.

Priceless.

As for the SOH - put that $20 towards a ticket for a performance there. Doesn't matter much in which space - though you would need to go to the Concert Hall or Opera Theatre (ballet also) to get the opportunity to take your interval drink outside and marvel at the view.

Personally I found the tour very disappointing - it in no way matches the thrill of walking up East Circular Quay at twilight and rounding the corner and seeing it there before you - and knowing that you are about to use it for for it's meant to be used for.

A performance.

I have heard from other people that the "standard" Opera House tour is, as Fuzzylogic has pointed out, a bit of a let-down, as you are deliberately kept away from areas where people are working, rehearsing, or erecting sets.... and that takes care of most of the complex! However, there is a "special" tour that leaves every morning at around 7:30 (the Opera House site will tell you the exact time). This is a much more expensive tour than the usual one, but, apparently, it's terrific ... you get to go into parts of the Opera House that even the locals (such as myself) haven't seen. If you do plan to do a tour, and you don't mind the early start, then that might be a canny choice.

I did two days of going around the Sydney harbour with ferries...

I went from Balmain to Darling Harbour (I was staying in Balmain),

Darling Harbour to Watson's Bay (nice way to see the city from afar & reach the coast),

back to Sydney (bus),

Darling Harbour to Kirribilli (nice view of the Sydney city/opera house from the other side of the harbour, nice big houses in Kirribilli, the PMs house too)

& Darling Harbour to Taronga Zoo Wharf (I did not go to the zoo but instead took a walk in the Sydney Harbour National Park as saw wild animals - lizards, birds & tons of plants).

I think all these ferry trips gave me a good insight into the city... The harbour is the focal point so spending some time on the ferries was awesome!

Apart from the ferry, do the Opera House tour, it was worth it when I did it! We were also lucky to get to hear the orchestra while they were practicing for a few minutes and got a ticket for free drink afterwars!

The AMP tower I would go only for the view from the tower on the city, it's a nice view! Not for dinner there, much better places to eat.

Have fun in Sydney!

Thanks for all of the responses.

Does the weekly pass include getting into Sydney from the airport?

Dennis...
the green pass does NOT include the rail trip from the airport...however they do sell a $53 green pass which includes return to the airport.This is probably the best value public transportation deal in sydney...if you are prepared to lug your bags on the train and at the station.

Also pick up a sydney guide at the airport..has a number of discount vouchers included.

And for the record, we thought the outback tour ride at the top of the AMP tower was a good laugh and a bit of fun thrown in too.
That too is worth a shot.
(before you head off for something to eat ..lol)

Muck

For the record, as an Aussie, I do love the jetcat. I've been on the ferry going to Manly in some nasty summer weather in the middle of a freak storm, and it almost seemed like the ferry was going to be pushed out of the north/south heads to the ocean.

Yes, catch a ferry, but there is nothing more fun than blasting across the harbour in a jet cat!

PS. I love dining at Centrepoint. Yes, it's horribly overpriced. The lunch is better value, and it's fun to just look at pictures and think, "Wow, I ate up there."