What to do in Sydney in one day?

iSamurai on 18/10/2013 - 22:08
Last edited 20/10/2013 - 21:48

Firstly thanks to the community for posting awesome deals for such a long time! I was lucky enough to get two return tickets from Brisbane to Sydney with Tiger for $48. Arriving at ~5:30pm and leaving at 2pm the following day — pretty much a quick coffee break getaway but it's what I've been wanting to do for a long time.

I haven't been to Sydney in five years and my partner has never been there before! We're thinking of sprinting to circular quay after disembarkation to get some snaps of the harbour bridge and the opera house, dinner then stroll around. Probably staying at a backpackers hostel. Early morning coffee then free until noon. Got some tips or quick and easy activities to do/visit without spending too much money? Afaik the train from the airport to the CBD costs more than $10. Are there any alternative/cheaper transport?

Cheers :)

edit - sorry for posting in wrong subforum :P

Travel

Comments

  • parcus on 18/10/2013 - 23:46
    +1

    Train from the airport is actually about $16 iirc, huge ripoff, probably the best option is catching the 400 bus to Mascot station (first stop) and then catch the train to the city from there which won't incur any extra GatePass fees. Alternatively, it's a relatively straightforward ~20mins walk to Mascot station from the domestic terminals.

    Quite a bit to do around Circular Quay such as the Royal Botanical Gardens, 2 major art galleries in the vicinity - MCA & AGNSW, The Rocks (quite touristy but an interesting part of the city nonetheless) and catching the ferries around the harbour which are pretty cheap. Check out the Pylon lookout on the harbour bridge which has fantastic views and only $11pp for entry, much better value than the bridge climb or Sydney Tower observation deck. Perhaps in the morning on your second day you could check out one of the beach walks, Bondi to Coogee is quite a stunning walk.

    • yk300 on 19/10/2013 - 01:41

      you reckon that the pylon lookout is better than the bridge climb? I'm planning a trip to Sydney at start of december and was thinking of doing the bridge climb. Good review on tripadvisor but quite expensive ($200 pp).

      • m2000 on 19/10/2013 - 09:37

        I Think just walk across the bridge with or without the Pylon lookout, $200pp is way too expensive and take too much of your time… even going on top of the Eiffel tower only costs 13.50 Euro. You can almost do a helicopter ride over Sydney for the same cost. (actually I did the heli ride for under $180, obviously different thing/experience)

    • iSamurai on 20/10/2013 - 21:18
      +1

      Good tip for airport transport. $16 is a ripoff, 2 people both ways is $64 which is already more expensive than our flights! Will probably walk to Mascot or catch the bus. At least you could do that in Sydney though; can't avoid that in Brisbane, but we're getting dropped off/picked up so that's ok for this trip.

      • donga100 on 21/10/2013 - 09:06

        Actually you can do that in Brisbane by going to DFO and catching BCC bus from there.

  • vandm22 on 19/10/2013 - 06:34
    +2

    Just walking across the bridge is great. If you can afford $22 each per adult per day($11 concession) you can get a multipass ticket which gets you on all the ferries, buses and trains in the Sydney area. So you could get the ferry across to Manly which is on the harbour and then walk down the Corso to Manly beach. Or you can catch a rivercat ferry to Parramatta. You can use the light rail to get to Darling Harbour or just catch it to the end and then return. When we went in July we stayed at the Rocks and ate cheaply at a hotel under the bridge. We joined the free tours (I'm free tours) once in the morning and then once down at the Rocks at 6pm. You go on the tours which are very informative and they also let you know some cheap things to do, then you can leave a donation if you liked them.

    • iSamurai on 20/10/2013 - 21:03

      Do you still remember what the hotel's called?

  • kid_20 on 19/10/2013 - 08:43

    You could check out the Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour. We grabbed a tourist book and got the discount voucher out, making a cheap, fun couple of hours climbing through a submarine, war ship etc. Or go to Adriana Zumbo's cafe at the the casino. He's got all his world famous cakes on a sushi train setup so you can sample all his yummy delights. Another fun thing I did with my partner many years ago on a trip was a guided tour on Fort Denison in the middle of Sydney harbour. It's run by national parks making it quite cheap and runs from circular keys. I hope some of these help.

  • ELH05 on 19/10/2013 - 09:50
    +1

    Catch ferry to Manly - thought that was a lovely day out :)

  • vietbargain on 19/10/2013 - 10:05
    +1

    http://www.shangri-la.com/sydney/shangrila/dining/bars-loung…

    great views! drinks are on the expensive side, but check it out

  • holdenmg on 19/10/2013 - 12:42
    +1

    Hi,

    On the overnight stay in Sydney you might like to look at https://www.airbnb.com.au to see what is on offer.

    The last Backpackers I stayed at in Sydney was very ordinary. There may be some Min. Stay provisions with some https://www.airbnb.com.au offerings, but not all.

    Also, be careful with the Check-In time with your return flight. Tiger can be very strict on this and watch out for your luggage weight too.

    Also, have a look at http://my247.com.au/Sydney/whats-on/ (select whatever date you are there).

    Hope you have an enjoyable and safe time.

    • iSamurai on 20/10/2013 - 21:32

      Thanks for the airbnb site! I saw it on the tele ages ago and never thought of it! Cheers for that. We'll travel as light as possible. Probably just a backpack with wallet, undies, toothbrush/toothpaste and soap. lol!

  • netsurfer on 19/10/2013 - 16:48
    +2

    With daylight saving, I have a suggestion: after disembarking at circular quay, go to Opera house and just take some quick photos (as quickly as possible). Then head back to circular quay and take the ferry ride to Darling Harbour. The ferry ride from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour is really nice (all my friends and family members really enjoyed it). They all enjoyed the ferry ride more than the Opera house tour (which you will not have time to do). You get to see both the opera house and the harbour bridge from all sorts of angles. It is really worth it (very cost effective and it covers / you get to see Circular Quay, Milsons Point, McMahons Point, Balmain East and Darling Harbour).

    At Darling Harbour, there are quite a few things to do. The wildlife park is nice, but by the time you reach there, it would probably be closed.

    At night, go to O Bar at Australia Square (Level 47, Australia Square/264 George St). Go there AFTER dinner. Just go to the bar and order some drinks. This way, you still get to enjoy the 360 view of Sydney at night time (the bar/restaurant rotates) and all you pay is a couple of drinks. My local Sydney friends told me that.

    • iSamurai on 20/10/2013 - 21:42

      I think this would be an awesome itinerary! Thanks for that! Just need to walk really fast from the airport to mascot station to avoid that silly gatepass fees.

      Yeah with DST there'd still be some sunlight. I keep thinking arriving at 5:30pm it'd be dark already! Just checked sunsets at 6:51pm on 1/4/14 so there'd be some time provided that we arrive on time.

  • iSamurai on 20/10/2013 - 21:47

    Thanks for the great tips guys, please keep them coming. I think I've got the arvo/evening sorted out, now just the next day until noon-ish.

    Are the beaches worth visiting? From memory I did the tourist bus thing last time I thought it was nice but since this would be a really short trip I don't know if there's time to go lie down on the beach - could just do it on the Gold Coast haha :P

    Any great/inexpensive food around the CBD?

    • netsurfer on 20/10/2013 - 22:29

      Beaches… You won't have time to go to Manly. You could go to Bondi beach in the morning, but you'll pretty much have to take a taxi from Bondi beach to the airport I reckon. You might be better off just take it easy at the CBD (go back to Darling Harbour area might be better).

      Food… after the ferry ride from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour, you should be able to find some nice places (reasonably priced) at Darling Harbour. Or, just walk a bit further to China Town area. Should be plenty to choose from there also (cheaper too).

      What type of food do you like? For Japanese, consider Makoto: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/70/751419/restaurant/CBD/Makoto-…. Problem is, if you are there too late, you will need to queue. Not exactly cheap, but quality food.

      • iSamurai on 22/10/2013 - 20:11

        I'm quite open to any food that's within reasonable price and not stuff that I can get in Brisbane. Thing is these days you can get almost everything everywhere so I'm really into what sydneysiders rave about. I went to a Japanese restaurant (I think it's in haymarket) the size of a matchbox but the food was divine and less than $10. Will look it up :P

        Also - any cafés worth going to tucked away in alleys?

        • donga100 on 22/10/2013 - 20:26
          +1

          Pizza from this place http://madeinitaly.com.au was great. I used to live in Pyrmont so often went there. $20 for a large pizza could feed two people or make one person painfully full.

  • Tech5 on 20/10/2013 - 22:36
    +2

    Go west past blacktown and experience the area :). But seriously, maybe check out maritime museum, luna park, aquarium/reptile park, IMAX. They are all right around Darling Harbor.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/10/2013 - 09:06
    +1

    If you're in the city - go to Orbit Bar in Australia Square. Free entry - and it's on the 48th floor and it's revolving. Food is expensive as are drinks but stick to a coffee and enjoy a similar view to the centrepoint tower (which is > $20 just to enter).

  • PLANT on 17/11/2013 - 20:34

    Bugger I spent 1 day and another 3 the following week in Backpakers and no one suggested the rotating Orbit bar…do you have to buy a drink…cant you look lost or waiting for date as you look out?

    • [Deactivated] on 22/11/2013 - 18:16

      Don't have to buy anything really - but it is a restaurant / bar so… They will try to get you to have a $15 sparkling water haha

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join