Sydney had some heavyweights on its side – the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, and the fantastic combination view at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, all of which delivered on the promise. It also had the charming Manly Beach, which overdelivered, as opposed to Bondi which was only salvaged by the excellent street art! But in terms of overall experience, and probably because it had a stronger big city feel than the other two, both Melbourne and Cairns worked better for us.
Stay
The criteria for room selection remained the same as Cairns and Melbourne, but we had to sacrifice the view thanks to $. We wanted to be as close to Circular Quay as possible, and finally went with 57Hotel. No photos because it would involve crashing into D – the room was that small. The smallest room we have stayed in was in Hong Kong, and this one easily beat that record. But it compensated by being a 5 min walk from the Central station, which made access to all the places we wanted to see very easy! They also have something that can be loosely described as a breakfast – coffee + croissants.
Get Around
Opal is the card to buy and takes care of all the transport needs. We used it for all train journeys – including the airport to and fro, and the ferries. You can buy it from any station, including the airport one. We used up ~ 85AUD pp in the four days we were there. Between Google Maps and the NSW Transport planner, you’ll be able to make itineraries pretty easily.
One thing that piqued my curiosity, but couldn’t spend a lot of time on, was the different visual design styles of the station logos. Central, our “home” station was a hub and had at least three different styles in which it was written, based on the route. St.James reminded me of the London subway style.
See/Do
Our first stop was The Rocks, an area near the Harbour Bridge, and a 5 minute walk from the Circular Quay Station. Since it was a Sunday, there was a buzzing open-air market that D took absolute advantage of and the end result was a bunch of purchases from room fresheners to fudge! From the food stalls, we had lousy sangria (manned by a family from Kerala!) and excellent pizza (manned obviously by Italians). I know!
While you’re there, check out a fun store called Pop on the Rocks. Great pop art and a genial owner who lets you walk around and take pictures too!
On the same day, after checking in, we took the ferry from Circular Quay to Watson’s Bay. This one, unlike the others we took later, was an absolute Kumbh Mela. I wonder now if it was because of a higher than usual Indian presence. You’ll spot the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House on your way. From the ferry terminal, a trail of about 1.5 km, called the South Head Lookout trail takes you to a tourist-famous spot – the Hornby Lighthouse. The walk itself offers some excellent views, and also features a toilet that reminded us of the ones from India! This was our first unhygienic restroom experience in the country.
While you’re in Watson’s Bay, also check out The Gap for some excellent ocean views. It helps that this is right next to the Military Road Terminus….
..from where we had to take a bus to Bondi beach, 20 minutes away. If you’re in the mood for a walk, there is a picturesque walking path that goes along the coast, and you could catch the bus later at Gap Park.
We had loved the street art in Fitzroy, Melbourne, but the ones in Bondi were a revelation. Since we had to check out dinner options, we walked the length of the beach a few times, and caught some brilliant work. My favourite was the beard one.
If you’re really into walking, you might want to try out the famous Bondi to Coogee walk. We didn’t, and in fact, by about 4, were quite hungry. It took us a while to spot a cafe, and the only one we managed to find at all was Lush On at the Bondi Pavilion. The idea was to catch the sunset here, but that proved to be not much of a spectacle.
The crowd became very sparse immediately after sunset, and the place almost became desolate, a far cry from the crowded tourist hotspot that we had seen on the web!
The agenda on our second day in Sydney was Blue Mountains, which we had left to Oz Trails to manage. Our pick up point – the Wake Up Sydney hostel – was walkable distance from the hotel, and we were just on time at 7.30.
Before lunch, we stopped at Evans Lookout and also built up the appetite with a small hike to Wentworth Falls that provided us a bunch of lookout points with a great view of the Blue Mountains. Our guide had been at it for almost two decades and it showed in how he dealt with people and nature itself. He was well versed with the specifics of the flora we saw around us, the geological peculiarities of why they are so, and once, even used natural chalk of different hues to do an impression of Trump and Johnson!
For lunch, we stopped at Leura, which was very pretty thanks to the cherry blossoms on full display. There was a fair going on but we barely had enough time for lunch and a small walk.
Post lunch agenda was Scenic World. The tour, funnily, does not include the Scenic World cost. You could choose not to do it, though it is the main agenda of the tour! Katoomba is the gateway to both Scenic World and the Three Sisters. The Scenic World tour consists of four parts – Skyway, Walkway, Railway and Cableway – and is absolutely touristy, though the views are majestic.
Our guide proved better at crowd management than the staff! In a conversation he was having with one of the staff, I overheard how he had lived around the area practically his entire life and was very reluctant to move elsewhere, though there was some pressure from the kids, who were now outgrowing their environs. Human stories have such common threads.
We realised that after a bunch of similar escapades in other parts of the world, one tends to find these rides jaded. I think it also had something to do with the guide – unlike our benchmark Leonie, he had, despite a fun nature and subject knowledge, an impersonal air that kept the interactions aloof. But yes, like I said, that does not take away from the magnificence of nature.
On the way back, we passed through the Olympic Park, the venue built almost two decades ago! I didn’t realise it then, but for something that is that old, the place has been built and maintained very well. From there, we took a ferry to Circular Quay along the Parramatta river, passing, among other places Kissing Point and a set of buildings that reminded us of Bergen (sigh, what a trip that was!) By the way, you could do all this DIY as well, since there are trains and public buses to Katoomba.
The next morning, we were off to Hyde Park, and D specifically wanted to see the St.Mary’s Cathedral. Like all good places of worship, it not only had an awe-inspiring facade and high ceilings and stained glass paintings inside that added to its grandeur, but provided an air of serenity inside.
D was also busy taking pictures of the flowers, but suddenly got very excited on seeing her employer’s logo on one of the skyscrapers. 🙂
Where there is a city view available, we are more often than not likely to be there! Sydney Tower Eye is located inside the Westfield Shopping Centre. Luxury brands are all around, and on the way to the viewing deck, all the chocolate in the food court made us rue the heavy breakfast we’d had! The views were great, as they always are from such a high vantage point. The church we’d just visited was visible, as was the Harbour Bridge.
Speaking of which, walking along the Harbour Bridge was next on the agenda. There is an organised walking tour that takes you right to the top, but we chose the more regular one at ‘ground level’. A short walk from The Rocks will take you to the Bridge Stairs, from where you can walk across the bridge and catch superb views of the harbour and the Opera House. The bridge at night is an extremely vibrant spectacle – colourful lights and of course, ads!
After lunch, it was time to visit the Opera House. We had booked tickets in advance, and had some time to kill since we missed the 3PM tour by 5 minutes! It also started raining. They say Melbourne has four seasons in a day, but it was the Sydney rains we found more annoying!
Our tour guide was an elderly lady, and this was her ‘fun job’. Her ‘boring’ job was at the library apparently! The tour lasted an hour and I was surprised by the turbulent history of the Opera House’s construction. In addition, this was another occasion when I saw an Australian give a hat tip to the original aborigines who owned the land. They are very particular about this, and it made me wonder at what point, if at all, they would have a negative reaction to the Chinese and Indian mass immigration.
D (guided by Google) got us to switch the evening plans (with the next day) and we found ourselves at Darling Harbour. We spent some time walking around, and caught the sunset colours. Though the original plan was to have dinner here, we weren’t really impressed by the options, and decided to go back to Central. This was also the time that we discovered that shopping malls closed at 6, even on weekends! I now had to replan D’s favourite part of the the trip!
While we had seen koalas during the GOR tour, D was particular about meeting kangaroos before we left the continent. On our last day in Sydney, we reached Taronga Zoo via ferry almost as soon as it opened! The kangaroos, predictably, refused to cooperate but we caught a few of them in the kids section. A lazy bunch they were, not even hopping around a bit, until I put my vocal cords to use and made animal sounds to instigate movement. While wild animals was what I went for, I think it irritated more than spooked them. But hey, the damn things moved finally! We spent a little less than 3 hours and had a good time – the seal show was fun!
Despite a last minute run to catch the 12 ferry, we missed it – the only time we cursed the public transport punctuality. The ferry started even as they saw us and another couple (with a pram!) trying to catch it. Anyway, we got back to Circular Quay and then took the ferry to Manly Beach. By the way, they have large “which ferry do you need to take?” boards that makes life very simple.
Manly Beach was quite pleasant, and we made it half way to Shelly Beach nearby before looking questioningly at each other and walking back! 😀 The previous day was quite a walkathon and we were still sore. This too was a hectic, walk-heavy day, but I would have loved to explore this place further and probably catch a sunset.
After making our way back to Circular Quay, we slowly started a 20 min walk towards Mrs Macquarie’s Chair through the Royal Botanical Garden. The garden itself has season specific closing times, and sunset is not entirely their priority. But though we wondered if that would be an issue, it turned out that the Chair area itself is outside RBG and you don’t really have to worry about getting trapped inside the garden!
This was the last evening of our vacation, and thanks to the weather being cooperative, we enjoyed a lovely sight!
Eat/Drink
For breakfast, we skipped the hotel’s coffee and croissants fare and tried a few places. But the easy favourite was Le Monde. It helped that it was only a couple of minutes walk from the hotel and opened early enough to fit our plans.
As with Melbourne, breakfast sometimes was costlier than lunch but was filling enough to last us well into lunch time! That one on the left is a Matcha Coffee, and it’s a thing. I refused to have it, though D seemed to enjoy.
The lunch during the Blue Mountains tour was at Leura, and after some deliberation, we chose Thai Square. By this time (of the vacation), we were craving some ‘real’ flavours, and our bet on Thai paid off. It also helped clear my blocked sinuses. The Tom Kha, our bellwether of the overall quality of the Thai food, was a success, and the rest of the meal followed that pattern.
During the Harbour Bridge walk, we had spotted the Glenmore Hotel, which seemed to offer a good view of the Opera House. We changed our original spot for lunch, and after the walk, managed to find a good table. The view was the only good thing about the place. The food was just ok, and I finally tried the much hyped ‘Bundy’ (Bundaberg Rum). It reminded me of blended whiskey, and the plan to buy a bottle at duty free was immediately ditched!
Our favourite meal during the vacation was at The Pantry Manly. We liked everything about the place. D’s sangria as well as my Old Fashioned (that D owed me from the previous night) were both splendid. The French Onion soup was delicious, and we also enjoyed the grilled Barramundi fillet. What we liked most was the friendly service. We wanted a table that gave us a view of the beach, and the lady who waited on our table went out of her way to help us get one, though it was initially unavailable.
At Bondi, we had earmarked quite a few places for dinner. After arriving there, our first bet was the North Bondi RSL, but they had a long waiting time, so we finally went with Bucket List. The beer was reasonably good and we had a good view of the beach. The food, surprisingly, wasn’t too bad either.
After our Opera House tour, we tried the Guylian Belgian
After the ferry ride to Circular Quay at the end of the Blue Mountains Tour, we dropped in at The Squire’s Landing. The upper floor menus skewed towards seafood, so we chose to sit downstairs. The place seemed related to Crafty Squire in Melbourne. The food and beer were both great, but the best part was the excellent view of the Opera House, all lit up at night.
After our visit to Darling Harbour, and deciding against the options there, we finally landed at Keg & Brew, which offered a ridiculous number of craft beers on tap, and was conveniently located right opposite our hotel. The rooftop bar was open, though despite the heaters, it was quite cold! D’s rose wine on tap was just ok, the beer I tried wasn’t bad.
Our last meal in Sydney was at the much hyped Spice Temple. Since we didn’t have a reservation, the bar was the only option, though they did serve the restaurant menu there too. The sake was fantastic, and so was the Wagyu Brisket and the Belt noodles with bacon. But the service was dreadfully slow and took away a lot from the experience. This was also the costliest meal we had during the trip at 98 AUD.
Shop
The Rocks, as I had mentioned earlier, is a good place for little (overpriced) things you can pick up. The area near St.James station has three malls – Westfield, Pitt Street, MidCity – for labels, and a few smaller shops around to pick up souvenirs.
Itinerary
We reached Sydney around 9AM, and after dropping the luggage, visited the Rocks, and after lunch Watson’s Bay and Bondi. The Blue Mountains tour was on the second day. The next day was spent in the city – Hyde Park, Tower Eye, Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Darling Harbour. On the last day, we began with Taronga Zoo, had lunch at Manly Beach, and then came back to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.
Costs
The total cost was around 5.5L, but that’s everything including duty free alcohol and other shopping! I think you can save at least a lakh by doing a few things differently – going Airbnb instead of hotels, finding cheaper eateries though food in general seems costly in Australia, and doing a couple of tours on your own.