Thanks for all that information! We are not into IG places or blogs, no idea with the trend. Just cosy places to chill, quite a handful at Surry Hills, how about good bakeries? Coffee is for the mister, I’m more into pastries - breads and cakes.
The dates are not out for Vivid Sydney yet. The mister is not in favor of AirBnB apartments so it’ll be service apartments, either Meriton or Frasers, or hotels. In any case, we are complete idiots on the usage of an oven. Stovetop only.
How about heading out all the way to Orange as a day trip? Or would it be too late for the colors? Or what about the city gardens such as Auburn Botanic Gardens? We have no issues waking up early, say 4am for activities e.g. waiting at certain locations to catch sunrise in overseas.
I’ve seen recommendations on international cuisines in Australia but we are not too keen on this, prefer to have local food in the country we are visiting. Most likely sticking to Western food - cafes, steaks and seafood. Would it be better to make reservations for dinner places (probably 2-3 steak houses) or walk-ins are fine? Food budget around A$150-200 per day, just right or too low for two small eaters?
What are some good snacks to bring back from Sydney? Tim Tam? Everything seems to be quite costly. Or simply save our money for better food and more boat rides?
Australia don't really have their own food.
I went to the Grounds of Alexandria and it was really cool there.
Apart from a really hip cafe for Instagram, they have lots of flowers, some birds and even a pig there.
Another nice cafe is Cuppa Flower.
Surry Hills -can be sleazy esp at night.
Service apartments eg Meriton are nice!
I stayed at Meriton World Tower (expensive) a few years ago, my last trip I stayed at Meriton Zetland which was much cheaper.
I chose Zetland as it is near the airport and many cafes.
Last year I stayed in Adina apartments in the CBD.
It was really convenient (though the furniture was dated) and the view of Darling Harbour is picturesque.
I walked around the CBD area, their gardens are relaxing and large, admired QVB, walked in Chinatown, Paddington market, Darling Harbour, Barangaroo, Opera House, Harbour bridge.
Basically if you wanna explore the CBD in detail, it can take days.
I also went to shop at Birkenhead Point (an outlet mall).
Most Tim Tam are available here.
U may like to check out which Tim Tam is unique to Sydney.
As for me, I will buy the white chocolate Loacker biscuits as it is not found in SG.
Usually it cost $4.50 , but when it is on sale it can be as cheap as $2!
I bought 10 of them last trip!
If you have an American Express, Mastercard or Visa credit or debit card or a linked device, you can use it to pay for your travel by tapping on and tapping off at Opal readers. Just look for the contactless payment symbol Contactless payments are available on all public transport in the Opal network.
With an Adult Opal card you can travel as much as you want on metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail services within the Opal network and you never pay more than $16.10 a day, $50 a week, or $2.80 on Sunday.
https://transportnsw.info/tickets-opal/opal/fares-payments/adult-fares
Their public transport is rather expensive.
If you have a party of 2 or more, it may be more economical to take ride hailing eg Ola, uber etc and they do have discounts for new users and some have good discounts on and off.
Hope you enjoy your trip there and safe travels!