Sydney, Australia.

luke.harvey3

I'm 24 and going on my first trip to Australia as a solo traveller and may be meeting up with a school friend from here in the UK over in Oz.
I have 6 nights in Sydney before a 5 week trip up the coast and through the outback starts.
Any recommendations from the Australians on the board on what to do? See? Where to stay? I'm in sydney April 15th-21st.

Thanks.
Luke

moretonbayfig

Hi Luke,

In Sydney - definitely go on the Manly Ferry, Bondi Beach (over-rated, but iconic) & do the Sydney Harbour bridge climb (although the bridge climb is pretty expensive). The Blue Mountains are beautiful too if you have access to a car.

If you're heading 'up' the east coast the Gold Coast & Sunshine Coast Hinterland region are beautiful and beaches are nice. The Great Barrier Reef, further north.

If you have the money to visit the West Coast - Eco Beach & Cable Beach in Broome are arguably the best in Australia. And if you have a trust fund stay at El Questro Resort and fly over the Bungle Bungles.

Don't go too far bush without an experienced Australian with you - seriously. If you want to visit National Parks, make sure you have a permit. Respect the traditional custodians of the land.

It's a beautiful, wide, ochre land - have a wonderful trip

tallman72

OH THERES SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT ^^^^^^

yes the manly ferry do it both during the day and night.

Catch the train accross the harbour bridge then walk back accross it to circular key , dont worry about bridge climb complete waste of money. if you really wanted on the walkway back accross you can pay to climb the lookout of one of the pillars of the beach heaps cheaper if yo want that photo oppertunity.

go on a tall ship on the harbour for a evening cruise .

accomodation whats your budget.

Go on a tour of the Opera House ( worth it) go to darling harbour .

We bought a weekly ferry pass ($80 buck for an adult) and caught every ferry , its cheap in comparison, to buying a ticket every time.

Sydney will take your money like you wouldnt believe if you let it.

look for the pub meal specials

there Kings Cross, then theres The Rocks ,

Oxford street ( for our gay brothers and sisters ) but its worth a look

Byron Bay ,


go to the museums ,
seek out the Jewish holocost Musuem near kings cross , we spent a whole day there it was like ten bucks and very interesting , go on the tours there


tour of the sydney cricket ground ,
theres Manly beach , Bondi Beach , the Heads, cronolla sydney tour was good

catch the train to Newcastle have a look around there.

Gold coast is a dump dont waste your money there go to sunshine coast , brisbane or up north further.

Melbourne is Awesome heaps better than sydney , heaps of things to do , you dont feel like your hands in your pocket so much , Do you want to know of things to do in Melbourne.

And the theres Adelaide , heaps to do here pretty cheap , laid back atmosphere , if you come here i can show you around a bit if you wanted no dramas,

plus then you could go to alice springs , cooper pedy , ayers Rock.

moretonbayfig

^^^^^^^ t'othersiders :roll: ^^^^^^... leave the west coast to us uncultured rednecks

pjfan31

Check out Sydney tower. I haven't been yet, though I will soon. You can do a glass walk. $60 will get you a view of Sydney 360 degrees.

Cockatoo island

Many places mentioned above. I love berowra waters, Barnetts reserve bobbin head.

Respect the land. Don't take, pick flowers, plants pick up rocks etc. you'll be right. I love this place.

Loulou

:wave hi there!
I don't know Sydney very well but I hope you have a wonderful time! I'm sure you will. Adelaide is very laid back, like Tallman said. The Gorge Wildlife Park is nice here, MUCH cheaper than the zoo and you can actually go right up to the kangaroos/wallabies and hold koalas for free. Very cute and smell like eucalyptus.
HAVE FUN!!!

Loulou

Hey just saw you are from the West Midlands! I was over in Kettering a few months ago, been sent some very snowy pics from my family there. Bet you can't wait for some sunshine!!

tallman72

moretonbayfig wrote:

^^^^^^^ t'othersiders :roll: ^^^^^^... leave the west coast to us uncultured rednecks

HUH

Princess Bulldozer

Let me know if you hit Brisbane

Thoughts_Arrive

If you want to earn street cred points check out Mt Druitt, Cabramatta and Redfern.

luke.harvey3

Thanks for the replies!

I've got 6 free days in sydney before I go on a guided tour up the coast through Brisbane. Whitsundays. Cairns. Port Douglas. With a few free days then fly to Alice springs and stop at Ayers Rock, coober pedy, port Augusta and few other places... A free day in Adelaide to explore the city and then through the Grampians NP and a drive on the great ocean road finishing in Melbourne for 5 days. A lot to fit in 5 and a half weeks! But I will be with an Aussie guide 80% of it!

Loulou: I'm about 1 hour from Kettering! My best friend lives in Northampton which is right next door! Thankfully the snow has now fully gone and peace has returned to the UK!

moretonbayfig

luke.harvey3 wrote:

I've got 6 free days in sydney before I go on a guided tour up the coast through Brisbane. Whitsundays. Cairns. Port Douglas. With a few free days then fly to Alice springs and stop at Ayers Rock, coober pedy, port Augusta and few other places... A free day in Adelaide to explore the city and then through the Grampians NP and a drive on the great ocean road finishing in Melbourne for 5 days. A lot to fit in 5 and a half weeks! But I will be with an Aussie guide 80% of it!

That is stellar trip you have planned there - Great Ocean Road is absolutely stunning. Adelaide is cruisy (order a Cooper's Sparkling Ale) maybe take the tram to Glenelg from the city centre or take a drive to Mclaren Vale or the Barossa Valley, the South Australian coast is under-rated (lots of interesting spots and rocky outcrops). I've got itchy feet and wonderlust just thinking about it

Apologies to Tallman for the playful p-take (which obviously used a far too obscure historical reference - but made excellent use of my undergrad degree :fp: )

catefrances

pjfan31 wrote:

Check out Sydney tower. I haven't been yet, though I will soon. You can do a glass walk. $60 will get you a view of Sydney 360 degrees.

Cockatoo island

Many places mentioned above. I love berowra waters, Barnetts reserve bobbin head.

Respect the land. Don't take, pick flowers, plants pick up rocks etc. you'll be right. I love this place.

what do you mean you havent been up sydney tower???

I LOVE SYDNEY!!! im born and bred so im totally biased. sydney is sparkly and brash and the harbour is unparalleled. as has been mentioned before, do the manly ferry. its a trip i never tire of. the ferry ride upriver to parramatta gives you the chance to see sydney from another angle. not the usual touristy thing and you can catch the train back to the city and see more non touristy parts of sydney. as for bondi.. hit it if you want to name check it... try coogee if you want a better beach. the museum of sydney in bridge street(just up from circular quay[where the ferries are]) will give you a good understanding of our city(and therefore australias) history. do cockatoo island(as was mentioned). thats a nice trip(another ferry ride) and its full of history. visit the gap on south head( you can catch a ferry to watsons bay and walk through the park to get there... while youre there you can talk a walk to hornby lighthouse on south head(more history but gorgeous views back down the harbour). i agree about walking across the bridge rather than climbing it. you gotta do fish and chips while youre at manly beach. do some research(or ask your friend to) and see what bands are playing. sydney is full of live music.

catefrances

Thoughts_Arrive wrote:

If you want to earn street cred points check out Mt Druitt, Cabramatta and Redfern.

dont be a dick. oh and redfern is full of history... you should know that.

catefrances

oh i forgot taronga zoo. you can catch a ferry there. its on the northside of the harbour.

tallman72

moretonbayfig wrote:

luke.harvey3 wrote:

I've got 6 free days in sydney before I go on a guided tour up the coast through Brisbane. Whitsundays. Cairns. Port Douglas. With a few free days then fly to Alice springs and stop at Ayers Rock, coober pedy, port Augusta and few other places... A free day in Adelaide to explore the city and then through the Grampians NP and a drive on the great ocean road finishing in Melbourne for 5 days. A lot to fit in 5 and a half weeks! But I will be with an Aussie guide 80% of it!

That is stellar trip you have planned there - Great Ocean Road is absolutely stunning. Adelaide is cruisy (order a Cooper's Sparkling Ale) maybe take the tram to Glenelg from the city centre or take a drive to Mclaren Vale or the Barossa Valley, the South Australian coast is under-rated (lots of interesting spots and rocky outcrops). I've got itchy feet and wonderlust just thinking about it

Apologies to Tallman for the playful p-take (which obviously used a far too obscure historical reference - but made excellent use of my undergrad degree :fp: )

no apolgies needed all good ,

Thoughts_Arrive

Check out the lodge and have a frothy with Jooliaaa.
Or try Double Bay for some razzle dazzle.

Eraserhead

Loved my time in Sydney in 2009. Just go an explore - it's an amazing place! :thumbup: