Amy

I haven't planned much of the Sydney bit of our trip (four days), but we'll be staying at the Sydney Harbour YHA and plan to walk across the bridge (the free one, not the "climb the bridge" bit) and perhaps go for a day into the Blue Mountains. We'll have been to Australia Zoo and Daintree Wild, so Taronga probably isn't on our list (or should it be anyway?)

We're all on a bit of a budget (the twins are still in college) and we like to walk and explore; museums aren't highest on the list, but history is always fun.

So I'm looking for your favorite free/cheap or worth-it-regardless suggestions for getting a taste of Sydney. I'll be there with three nieces (19 year old twins and 22 year old) in early August. To give you an example, for my city (Philadelphia) I'd suggest some Old City walks,
the Independence Hall complex, and Fairmount Waterworks for free; Rodin Museum, Italian Market, and Reading Terminal for cheap; and a carriage ride, Kimmel Center performance, and truffle burrata from DiBruno brothers for "worth it." (That's a highly subjective category, of course!)

sassy_cat

I have a few 'free and worth it' suggestions for you as I was in Sydney the first week of July.
You certainly won't run out of things to do with only 4 days!

1. Walk from the Opera House into the Botanical Gardens and along to Mrs.Macquaries Point. Great views back towards the Opera House and the Bridge, nice gardens even in winter with plenty of bird life and and garden sculptures/art.
The Tropical House charges about $4 for entry if you're interested
If you time it right you can walk back and watch the sunset from the Opera House.

2. NSW Art Gallery is free.

3. Free ferry to Cockatoo Island to see the art installations (if you have a mymultipass there are also other ferries you can take which I took on the return to save time).
There are also a few cafes/ bars set up around the island and the convict built buildings are make for an interesting backdrop.

http://www.bos17.com/biennale/venue/2

4. More art the MCA at Circular Quay is also free.

5. Explore the Rocks Area. The Saturday market was lively and interesting but rather touristy.

Cheap and worth it.. the ferries! Go to Manly and/or Watson's Bay. Take a coastal walk.


I did go to Taronga and I really enjoyed it as I got to stroke a kangaroo. There's a section where you can get really close to the marsupials.
Maybe save your decision on this until after you've been to the Australia Zoo.

BTW I enjoyed walking across Sydney Harbour Bridge but didn't make to the other side! Next time

Amy

Thank you, sassy cat. I've been enjoying reading your trip report.

I know it won't be a problem filling four days--one of the reasons I haven't actually done a lot of planning for the time. I think I do want to go up to the Blue Mountains for a day, but I guess we'll wait to see if everybody is hiked out by that point in the trip.

peterSale

Try
http://www.sydney.com.au/free.htm

I have no idea about Sydney but just typed "free sydney" into google.

The ferries are a cheap way of seeing the harbour.

Amy

Thanks, peterSale; perhaps I need to clarify my question a bit.

There's a ton of info about Sydney on the web and in my books, but I'd love to hear "your* favorite free/cheap or worth-it-regardless suggestions for getting a taste of Sydney."
(*the universal "your")

I live in a city that has a large number of places to go/things to do, and many of the ones that are most touted aren't my first suggestions for visitors. (Don't think you need a hop-on, hop-off bus in Philadelphia, for example, as the city is so walkable and public transport is very easy in the historic/tourist areas.) So I really appreciate first-hand views like sassy_cat's to narrow down the choices.

Susan7

I'd second Cockatoo Island, the Biennale of Sydney will be on and the industrial and convict buildings are beautiful.

The other places we consistently take visitors from overseas: Bondito Bronte walk along the sea front (the cafes at Bronte are a good end point). A friend saw two whales in very close just this week.

Kuringai National Park (the Basin walk), this is in the north of Sydney, you always see wallabies at the Basin. There are some amazing Aboriginal rock carvings on this walk. It is tricky to get to by public transport, however.

Blue Mountains--we usually have lunch at Leura and take people to the Three Sisters at Katoomba and on one of the walks. Behind Glenbrook there is a good walk with kangeroos--Euroka Clearing. Also in the vicinity, Red Hands Cave another interesting Aboriginal site.

The Museum of Sydney is one of my recommendations if you are interested in history it's exquisitely designed with many major Australian artists playing a role in the design of displays. Also interesting for convict Sydney, Hyde Park Barracks, both have an entry fee.

Bokhara2

If you like walking, take a bus to The Spit (Mosman) & do the Spit to Manly walk (2-3 hours) have lunch in Manly ( I like manly wharf hotel, the skiff club, manly seafood market & the Bower cafe near Shelly Beach). Take the late afternoon ferry back to the city for spectacular city views and if you're lucky, the Bridge & Opera House with a sunset background.

Another lovely walk is around North Head. You can walk or get a bus there from Manly.

Bus & ferry cheap, walking & scenery free - food reasonable/ up to you.

Someone else has probably mentioned - but worth repeating: Our art galleries & museums are nearly all free, only charging for special exhibitions.

Reasonable: Sydney Fish Market. Take the light rail or bus from the city ( or walk via Pyrmont, which can be interesting, especially on 1st Saturday when the SMH Good Food market is on opposite Star city casino). Eat outside - choose to your budget & preferences.

Cheap/ reasonable day trip: bus to Palm Beach, Postmans ferry around Pittwater. Or ferry/ bus to Woy Woy, lunch on the pier. I think there is some special cheap deal on Sundays with bus, ferry & trains.

Amy

Thanks so much, Susan7 and Bokhara 2! That's really helpful. I know I'll be wanting a lot more time, but that's the way it goes; I'm stretching it to get 17 days total, really. We'll be there from Tuesday evening to Saturday morning, so the weekend bits aren't possible, but I know we'll be quite filled up without.

I'm so happy to be staying at the Sydney Harbour YHA, too; my thanks to those of you on here who suggested that. It certainly keeps getting rave reviews, and it's particularly the location that seems amazing.

(Whale sightings would be amazing...particularly if I'm NOT on a boat. Whale-watching off of Iceland was, um, not a good experience for me and seasickness. I passed out.)

Bokhara2

Make sure you go up to the roof top terrace at the YHA. Best views in town. Almost next door, the Australian Heritage Hotel serves great pizzas & casual meals,http://www.australianheritagehotel.com/

and for something different, the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel .http://www.lordnelsonbrewery.com/

Rocks Markets on Sundays are worth a visit. http://www.therocks.com/sydney-Shopp...ks_Markets.htm
They can be cheap, reasonable and/or worthwhile - depending on your willpower!

ELiz_Travels

There are a couple of walking tours which operate on a 'tips only' basis. One starts in the CBD afternoon, the other in The Rocks in the evening.

www.imfree.com.au/

We took the afternoon one and were very pleased. They also hand out a map (which we also got at our BnB) which lists free and cheap activities. I agree The Rocks is a great area for walking and gawking, reading the historical plagues, and if you are there on a Saturday, watching wedding parties have their pics taken against the historic backdrop.

Has anyone mentioned the transit pass? Depending on the one you choose you can go anywhere by bus, ferry, or train for one price. We used it to go back and forth to the Blue Mountains by train, which was a pleasant ride.

ELiz_Travels

Here's the link for the transit pass:

http://www.cityrail.info/tickets/which/mymulti