Planning Out Sydney Sightseeing
Dec 24th, 2007 by Nick
If you go to the “mainstream travel guides” such as Frommer’s or Fodor’s, they really don’t rate very many sights in Sydney that highly. Of course, I learned a long time ago to ignore the mainstream travel guides! I do miss not having a Michelin Green Guide, however, as that for me is the absolute best and most detailed series.
I have 7 full days in Sydney - Thursday morning through Thursday morning. The only thing is that between “Sunday” and “Monday,” I will be gone for two weeks to see the other cities on my itinerary.
My plan is not rocket science: divide the city into various zones, and cover two zones per day, and maybe another one at night. The one thing I’m not doing is the Bridge climb, as I have a fear of that kind of heights. Here’s the general plan:
Thursday: By the time I clear customs, get to my hotel, and hopefully get a shower to remove the grime, it’ll be noon. This is going to be a short day but I’ll want to stay awake until at least 8pm. The first thing is to get my local supplies: transit card, prepaid SIM card, beverages/snacks for the hotel, and the local weekend activities paper (in Chicago for example, it’s called the Chicago Reader). Then it’s off to Circular Quay and the ferry boat to Manly.
Friday: I’m going to start off by taking a guided walking tour. I think I’m going to take the one by Bounce Tours, which starts at 10am. After lunch, I’ll head over to Bondi Beach, as I think Friday will be less insane than the weekend. Plus, it sets up well for me to stop in Kings Cross for the evening.
Saturday: I’m going to try and get one of the early tours of the Opera House. After that, I’m going to cover whatever parts of the city of Sydney’s Colony and Historical self-guided walking tours that were not covered on the Bounce tour the day before. The two self-guided tours basically cover everything northeast of Hyde Park. After that I’ll go to Chinatown for the big meal of the day and some wandering around. After a stop at the hotel and a brief nap, Saturday night at the casino on the west side of Darling Harbour.
Sunday: Sleep in for a while in the morning, and process the photos from the first three days. I’ll want to be at the Toronga Zoo at noon, as they close at 5pm. I do not think I will spring for the A$77 “VIP Tour,” however. In the evening, I need to pack up my belongings and call it an early night, as I have to be out of the hotel at 7am to get to Ayers Rock.
– fast forward two weeks –
Monday: I’d like to get to the Australian National Maritime Museum, maybe out to Watsons Bay, and maybe some residential neighborhoods. I also may need to do some shopping.
Tuesday: Get on the train to Katoomba and take the Blue Mountains Explorer Bus tour. (I may do this on Monday instead, but since I’m going to be getting in late on Sunday night)
Wednesday/Thursday: It’s the end of the trip. I remember spending the last day of my last three-week solo trip, in 1993. I spent most of the afternoon and evening strolling about six miles through Madrid, with many stops along the way to windowshop or have a glass of wine and a nibble. I suspect I’ll want to do something similar in Sydney.
