Sydney

[magna_strike]

LOL... cuz quite sad if go all the way there then see CLOUDS only. Guess i have to just keep my fingers crossed and bring a brolly and apply water resistant spray to my boots lol

even though cloudy but still can see awesome views!



3 sisters at echo point, blue mountains..

 

[kevin301]

I had pretty clear weather in small gaps between the heavy clouds and drizzle

 

[nlee84]

even though cloudy but still can see awesome views!



3 sisters at echo point, blue mountains..

Thk!!! Thats gd to know! Awesome photos!

 

[chris888222]

Sorry for the trouble, need a bit of help...

Currently planning for some of the attractions and I'm thinking of a one day blue mountains tour as shown in this website:

http://www.pjtours.com.au/tours/blue-mountains-specials/

OR: the $69 Sydney Attractions Pass which includes Aquarium, Wildlife Zoo (not interested since blue mtn tour inc featherdale), Tower Eye, Madam Tussauds and Sea Sanctuary (but alr got aquarium).

I was thinking if I only went for 3 attractions (Tower, Aquarium and Mdm Tussauds) I will need to pay $63 which is not any cheaper. Booking just the tower and aquarium from their respective websites will be $46.55.

Is Madam Tussauds worth the visit? Or the Singapore one will suffice. Haven't been to the SG one...

Also, any nice whale watching tours to recommend?

Thanks in advance

 

[kevin301]

Sorry for the trouble, need a bit of help...

Currently planning for some of the attractions and I'm thinking of a one day blue mountains tour as shown in this website:

http://www.pjtours.com.au/tours/blue-mountains-specials/

OR: the $69 Sydney Attractions Pass which includes Aquarium, Wildlife Zoo (not interested since blue mtn tour inc featherdale), Tower Eye, Madam Tussauds and Sea Sanctuary (but alr got aquarium).

I was thinking if I only went for 3 attractions (Tower, Aquarium and Mdm Tussauds) I will need to pay $63 which is not any cheaper. Booking just the tower and aquarium from their respective websites will be $46.55.

Is Madam Tussauds worth the visit? Or the Singapore one will suffice. Haven't been to the SG one...

Also, any nice whale watching tours to recommend?

Thanks in advance

The 1 day tour seems rather expensive, and also a bit too packed.
I'm slightly doubtful that it will be much more than a "touch n go" kind of visit.

Are you asking for advice to choose between the 1 day tour and the "attractions bundle"?

 

[chris888222]

The 1 day tour seems rather expensive, and also a bit too packed.
I'm slightly doubtful that it will be much more than a "touch n go" kind of visit.

Are you asking for advice to choose between the 1 day tour and the "attractions bundle"?

Yeah, so many places in one day... Like you said, touch and go likely.

If I choose to go for it, the attractions bundle seems a bit redundant (two zoos). I can skip the Sydney Tower and Madame T, tbh.

Sorry I didn't phrase my question well. Quite excited.

 

[kevin301]

Yeah, so many places in one day... Like you said, touch and go likely.

If I choose to go for it, the attractions bundle seems a bit redundant (two zoos). I can skip the Sydney Tower and Madame T, tbh.

Sorry I didn't phrase my question well. Quite excited.

I suppose if the bus picks you up quite early and chiong to the first location, you could have enough time to take in all the sights listed by the end of the day.

But definitely you won't have time to walk around the trails in the blue mountains, or simply stand at the lookouts for 15minutes each to marvel at how vast the entire area is.

Sydney Tower is very tall, and offers a panoramic view of the city and coast. But up there it feels a bit sterile, as I feel that Sydney is not so beautiful from up above compared with Singapore or Paris. Not so much 'wow' factor.
I think the Bridge Climb is more thrilling

Haven't been to Taronga Zoo for ages, but I had good memories of it.
The Western Plains Zoo out in Dubbo is highly recommended, but it's pretty far out and not in the scope of your itinerary

 

[darrenh]

Sorry for the trouble, need a bit of help...

Currently planning for some of the attractions and I'm thinking of a one day blue mountains tour as shown in this website:

http://www.pjtours.com.au/tours/blue-mountains-specials/

OR: the $69 Sydney Attractions Pass which includes Aquarium, Wildlife Zoo (not interested since blue mtn tour inc featherdale), Tower Eye, Madam Tussauds and Sea Sanctuary (but alr got aquarium).

I was thinking if I only went for 3 attractions (Tower, Aquarium and Mdm Tussauds) I will need to pay $63 which is not any cheaper. Booking just the tower and aquarium from their respective websites will be $46.55.

Is Madam Tussauds worth the visit? Or the Singapore one will suffice. Haven't been to the SG one...

Also, any nice whale watching tours to recommend?

Thanks in advance

How many days will you be in Sydney? If you have the time, I would strongly advise you to stay a night or 2 in the blue mountains. You have more time to take leisurely walks and trails, shop and explore around. I recommend staying in Leura, a small beautiful quaint village, where there are some nice vintage shops. Or if you want to be nearer to the 3 sisters you can stay in Katoomba. You can hop on hop off the explorer double decker bus and travel to the echo point where the 3 sisters are, the scenic world where you can do the scenic skyway, cableway and railway, which is the steepest railway in the world.

Then you can drop by Leura Cascades, a trail which leads to a beautiful waterfall where you can photograph from a cave type area. Further on there are glorious views of the mountains on the lookouts. You can also walk to echo point from here too. It's definitely one of our highlights of our visit to the blue mountains.

You will need at least a full day just for that, and another half day for Featherdale wildlife park, so I would not recommend you to do both on the same day.

I've not visited the Wildlife zoo in Sydney but I believe Featherdale is more interactive and family oriented where you can pat and take free photos with the koalas and feed the Kangaroos. We did not visit the aquarium or Madame Tussauds in Sydney as we prefer to walk and explore the sights. Other things you can do, I recommend you do the free walking tour, visit the fish market for lunch, walk to Darling Harbour, visit the weekend markets, take a ferry to manly beach, and do a coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee beach. We also climbed on top the pylon lookout to have a panoramic views of the opera house and Harbour bridge. And if you are sick of having fish and chips you can also go to their bustling Chinatown for some Asian cuisine.

 

[kevin301]

great recommendations by darrenh

 

[nlee84]

I'm back! Can't believe my trip ended so soon...

Blue Mountains is simply breathtaking! I went last Monday and the weather was just GREAT with clear skies. I took the train from Sydney Central Station and got around Katoomba area via the public bus using OPAL card which is capped at Aud15 per day. It's easy. Just need to take note of the bus timings.

Oh, I went to Scenic World first instead of Echo Point even though going to Echo Point is the most logical route as I wanted to avoid the crowds. And we also went to Leura Mall - all via public bus.

My itinerary for the Blue Mountains trip to share:
I took the 8.18am train from Central Station and reached Katoomba at 10.17am and managed to board the 10.30am 686 public bus from Carrington Hotel to Scenic World.

Reached Scenic World in 15 mins then purchased tickets - unlimited rides at Aud $35 per adult. Recommended to go to the toilets here first before going on any of the rides.

First ride was the steep railway down to Jamison Valley, then took a short walk around then headed to the cableway station to take the cableway up to the main building. Then I took the skyway to and fro between the cliff tops. The view at the cliff tops is so beautiful! The rides were pretty much empty in the morning and the crowds started to get in after 12noon.

We left Scenic World and headed back to the same bus stop where we alighted to wait for the 12.45pm 686 bus to bring us to Echo Point to see the Three Sisters rock formation. Good place to chill out and take photos.

Then we took the 1.35pm 686 bus to Carrington Hotel and walked around and had lunch at a Fish & Chips cafe nearby before boarding Bus 695 (2.34pm) to Leura Mall at the same bus stop.

Headed to Leura Mall and walked around, had hot chocolate at Cafe Madeline and chilled out. Finally took the 4.26pm train back to Central Station.

Hubby and I are not onto the trails but just felt that it's a waste not to go to Blue Mountains when we are in Sydney so the time spent there is just nice for us. For those who are keen on the trails, maybe you need to allocate more time.

Note that if you are using OPAL card, there's no need to "buy train tickets" as you enter and exit by tapping the card. I didn't know that and actually allocated time to "buy tickets". There's a Hungry Jacks at the Central station so you can buy your breakfast to eat on the train - but there's no drink holder on the train, so you need to hold it.

Have fun!

 

[kevin301]

Sounds like a fruitful trip to Blue Mtns
You managed to fit quite a lot of stuff into your day. Good job!

 

[nlee84]

Sorry for the trouble, need a bit of help...

Currently planning for some of the attractions and I'm thinking of a one day blue mountains tour as shown in this website:

http://www.pjtours.com.au/tours/blue-mountains-specials/

OR: the $69 Sydney Attractions Pass which includes Aquarium, Wildlife Zoo (not interested since blue mtn tour inc featherdale), Tower Eye, Madam Tussauds and Sea Sanctuary (but alr got aquarium).

I was thinking if I only went for 3 attractions (Tower, Aquarium and Mdm Tussauds) I will need to pay $63 which is not any cheaper. Booking just the tower and aquarium from their respective websites will be $46.55.

Is Madam Tussauds worth the visit? Or the Singapore one will suffice. Haven't been to the SG one...

Also, any nice whale watching tours to recommend?

Thanks in advance

hey! see my post earlier on my blue mountains trip via public transport. I think $155 per pax is really expensive - i did it for a total of A$50 - transport + scenic world admission ticket.

River Cruise from Homebush Bay - you can consider taking the Sydney Ferry from Circular Quay to Manly Beach and back on the same day if you visit Blue Mountains and it's free due to the cap of using OPAL.

I took the ferry on a Sunday and using OPAL, my transport for the entire day is only A$2.50.

Each trip takes about 30min, excluding waiting time. The view is worth it man! We sat outside for the trip from circular quay to manly beach and was freezing cold due to the wind blowing, but we tahan-ed lol cuz I don't wanna miss the views. But for the return trip, we sat inside then when it's nearing Circular Quay, we went out to take photos of the Harbour Bridge as it's night time when we returned.

It's definitely more crowded but it's cheaper. So it depends on what you wish to see and experience and how much time you have.

 

[nlee84]

Sounds like a fruitful trip to Blue Mtns
You managed to fit quite a lot of stuff into your day. Good job!

yeah! and it wasn't as rushed as I thought it would be.

And Australia has been VERY nice to us in terms of weather hahahaa... clear skies every day for my entire trip from Sydney to Byron Bay to Kingscliff to Brisbane!!

Coldest day for the trip was the Blue Mountains - around 7deg, but it's still bearable - had to use my hoodie to cover my ears and head, but I didn't have to use my gloves. Also same for the ferry ride... freezing due to the wind blowing. First thing we did after exiting the ferry was to go to Chat Thai to eat... heard great reviews for the Sydney branch and was very happy to see it in Manly... but unfortunately the tom yum soup sucks.

 

[macintosh]

hey! see my post earlier on my blue mountains trip via public transport. I think $155 per pax is really expensive - i did it for a total of A$50 - transport + scenic world admission ticket.

River Cruise from Homebush Bay - you can consider taking the Sydney Ferry from Circular Quay to Manly Beach and back on the same day if you visit Blue Mountains and it's free due to the cap of using OPAL.

I took the ferry on a Sunday and using OPAL, my transport for the entire day is only A$2.50.

Each trip takes about 30min, excluding waiting time. The view is worth it man! We sat outside for the trip from circular quay to manly beach and was freezing cold due to the wind blowing, but we tahan-ed lol cuz I don't wanna miss the views. But for the return trip, we sat inside then when it's nearing Circular Quay, we went out to take photos of the Harbour Bridge as it's night time when we returned.

It's definitely more crowded but it's cheaper. So it depends on what you wish to see and experience and how much time you have.

It really depends on your travel style and what you want to see/do. Have to weigh up whether the transport time and hassle also

If you prefer doing things on your own--take the train. This will allow you to spend as much, or as little, time as you want at the various sights and attractions in Katoomba.

If you want some explanations about what you are seeing along the way, want to visit Featherdale Wildlife Park (which is often included on the guided tours to the Blue Mountains) and don't mind traveling in groups, then take the tour.

Also $155 includes the tickets for Featherdale Wildlife Park, Gourmet Lunch, Scenic World(RailWay, CableWay, Skyway), River Cruises

 

[kevin301]

yeah! and it wasn't as rushed as I thought it would be.

And Australia has been VERY nice to us in terms of weather hahahaa... clear skies every day for my entire trip from Sydney to Byron Bay to Kingscliff to Brisbane!!

Coldest day for the trip was the Blue Mountains - around 7deg, but it's still bearable - had to use my hoodie to cover my ears and head, but I didn't have to use my gloves. Also same for the ferry ride... freezing due to the wind blowing. First thing we did after exiting the ferry was to go to Chat Thai to eat... heard great reviews for the Sydney branch and was very happy to see it in Manly... but unfortunately the tom yum soup sucks.

You should blog about your Sydney + Brisbane trip. It sounds like you planned it pretty well. I'm sure quite a lot of people would find the info useful

That being said, it was interesting to meet some of the local photographers during my recent trip, and they said 5 days to visit country NSW is "way too short". Difference of perspective. LOL.

Hahaha 7 degrees only? That's WARM!

 

[nlee84]

You should blog about your Sydney + Brisbane trip. It sounds like you planned it pretty well. I'm sure quite a lot of people would find the info useful

That being said, it was interesting to meet some of the local photographers during my recent trip, and they said 5 days to visit country NSW is "way too short". Difference of perspective. LOL.

Hahaha 7 degrees only? That's WARM!

yeah.. pretty warm! So we are lucky.

Eh blog? I'm lazy leh. One day I'll get down to it... lolz.

but yeah, it's a matter of perspective - like I can spend 1 week in Bangkok but still feel not enuff time to nuah...

 

[chris888222]

hey! see my post earlier on my blue mountains trip via public transport. I think $155 per pax is really expensive - i did it for a total of A$50 - transport + scenic world admission ticket.

River Cruise from Homebush Bay - you can consider taking the Sydney Ferry from Circular Quay to Manly Beach and back on the same day if you visit Blue Mountains and it's free due to the cap of using OPAL.

I took the ferry on a Sunday and using OPAL, my transport for the entire day is only A$2.50.

Each trip takes about 30min, excluding waiting time. The view is worth it man! We sat outside for the trip from circular quay to manly beach and was freezing cold due to the wind blowing, but we tahan-ed lol cuz I don't wanna miss the views. But for the return trip, we sat inside then when it's nearing Circular Quay, we went out to take photos of the Harbour Bridge as it's night time when we returned.

It's definitely more crowded but it's cheaper. So it depends on what you wish to see and experience and how much time you have.

Thanks for sharing! Yes, $155 is kinda steep... It includes featherdale though.

Maybe I might try your approach and save the money for Taronga zoo instead...

 

[s0ulz87]

hey.. this is my rough itinerary for sydney..

Fri (will land in Sydney by 1pm)

- won't be able to check in to my airbnb at redfern till 6pm, anything i can do?
- head to my airbnb accomodation
- paddy's markets haymarket
- chinatown fri night market

Sat

- sydney sights free walking tour at 1030am
- paddington market
- explore the rocks area
- fireworks at darling harbour
- i guess i can squeeze in more things?

Sun

- bondi beach markets
- bondi to coogee coastal walk
- no plans for the evening yet

Mon

- free morning
- whale watching cruise in the afternoon (can do without if it's nothing spectacular)
- manly ferry in the late afternoon/evening hopefully to catch sunset

Tue

- blue mountains

Wed

- probably flying out in the afternoon to Melb, anything to do in the morning till about 1-2pm?

what do you guys think of this?

any other things that you will suggest or change?

thanks!

 

[magna_strike]

U not considering to visit those famous sites like opera house or harbour bridge? Probably u can do these two in your spare time while waiting for your airbnb..then quickly ho chinatown and find this store selling cheap emperor balls which is not bad but queue can be damn long if u go late..
paddington market is just a normal flea market,i find it abit not worthwhile going in the end..if u are up for walking,maybe u can go watsons bay and walk along the coastline? View is great there..or since u are around the rocks area,can detour also around the botanic gardens?

 

[bobbly]

Another question, since the AUD is quite low now, is there anything which is cheaper to buy in Sydney? Thinking of getting some clothes or bags there but I'm not sure if it's any cheaper.

At the moment many luxury brands are very cheap in Australia due to low AU value. You can easily check prices online by setting your region to Australia to see how they compare.

Also remember that if you spend over $300 in one transaction you can claim back the 10% GST as you leave the country at the TRS counter.