Sydney
 

Hello Campers,

Anyone got any tips for Sydney?
Looks likely I'll be going on Sunday for about two weeks with work.
I'll have a weekend and lots of week night evenings to explore, although I do have friends so will probably spend some weekend time seeing them.

Any general tips, info, bars, dinners, lunches, things to see always appreciated. :thumbup::thumbup:

Re: Sydney
 

Shrimps...Barbies

Re: Sydney
 

i want to come

Re: Sydney
 

Chinese and Thai food are outstanding.

Harbour, quay, opera house and all that are fun to explore. Chinatown was neat. There are beaches just outside Sydney but ocean will always be too cold to swim in.

I don't think you need to hear my nightlife stories so I won't get into that. But I was last in Sydney more than a decade ago (only went to Melbourne and NZ in the last few years).

Australia is VERY expensive so make sure you charge everything possible to the expense account.

Re: Sydney
 

Steak instead of shrimp and it's a deal.

Thanks. I love a good Chinatown.
Everything goes on the airmiles credit card :thumbup:

That seems very decisive...

Re: Sydney
 

contrary to what you all think...i am a very decisive person :) you guys will not let me live it down that i was considering various destinations for a holiday...nothing wrong in that;)

Re: Sydney
 

Nothing at all, no you won't ever live it down.

But I love the fact you don't stop posting. :thumbsup:

Re: Sydney
 

Totally, Mission's dilemmas keep this bored alive most of the time!

Re: Sydney
 

Spent a week of a month long trip in Sydney last New Year, where are you staying? Went everywhere on foot, train, metro or ferry, same card used for everything including the bus..train doesn’t go direct to Bondi. Stayed near Chinatown and could walk there, Darling Harbour and the main station and a couple of metro stations.
Got a local SIM card for $50/30 days in Melbourne, data lasted 3 weeks and had unlimited international calls.

Re: Sydney
 

Just looking now. Probably going to get a hotel apartment type place as I don't think I could cope with two weeks of average city centre hotel life (my sensible budget stretches to things like the Ibis / Holiday Inn / Mercure etc).

Thanks for the tips, will be in the CBD / Darling Harbour areas.

Re: Sydney
 

Why not go onto the Australia page on here and ask...could be a long shot, but someone may have some tips :eek:

Re: Sydney
 

We stayed in a Meriton serviced apartment, lots of them around Sydney.

Re: Sydney
 

I seem to recall that you're a smoker, Scamp. If so, it's going to cost you dearly:

Cigarette tax increase in Australia: Why the smoking price hike is ridiculous

And you can only take in two packets duty free, too:

https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Ente/...ee-concessions

Re: Sydney
 

Definitely play a hand or 2 at the Star casino by the wharf. I can recommend the steak there too if you win a hand !

Re: Sydney
 

Yeah yeah yeah. I know. But Just wondered if anyone here had been on a business trip and had evening / weekend things to do that they enjoyed.

They nice? That's what I'm looking at I think.

Good man. I like.

Re: Sydney
 

Cancel the trip.
Shit. They're 100 dizzers a packet.

Re: Sydney
 

Good opportunity to quit? Go for it :thumbup:

Re: Sydney
 

Join us vape wankers!

Re: Sydney
 

First thing that crossed my mind too. I don't smoke during the day at work anyway so maybe new environment will be easier to get out of it.

**** that, sorry mate.

Re: Sydney
 

Bet you don't quit! Just order them in restaurants and then they'll be swallowed by the company CC.

:rofl::rofl:

Re: Sydney
 

I bet I don't too.
Great shout on adding to a restaurant bill. You smart, smart guy.

Re: Sydney
 

Someone, somewhere, is going to go over the receipts with a magnifying glass. Not worth it.

My company is anal about everything and I get endless of questions every time I submit receipts, despite that they all get approved at the end. Then again it's an American company and you know what Americans are like.

Re: Sydney
 

If you ask on the Aus board you may even get an invite to a session. There used to be a regular Thursday night meet up in the CBD. Not sure if it still happens or if they just don't bother advertising it.

Re: Sydney
 

Cadbury's Coconut Rough. That's not a club that DXBtoDOH would patronise, it's a chocolate bar made only in Oz, as far as I can establish, but actually much more common in NZ. Have found it in a shop in the Rocks though. Magically simple: desiccated coconut in milk chocolate but very addictive.

Ferry to Manley (and the beach at Manley is much nicer in my view than Bondi though there is a cracking cliff walk south from Bondi past the salt water swimming pool).

Re: Sydney
 

+1 Manley when I lived in Sydney was much nicer than Bondi, plus there used to be a good bar called the Steyne ? I think serving pints of beer close by.

Re: Sydney
 

Weekend road trip go to the Blue Mountains, the Sydney commuter train also goes there.

The ocean won't be too cold, not at this time of year.

There are a number of books that outline walking trails - good for an evening or weekend etc.

Re: Sydney
 

I have lots of tips for Sydney - what are you into?

Re: Sydney
 

Just tell them to put it down as a drink or a starter and they can keep the difference.

This aint my first rodeo!

Re: Sydney
 

...says someone named Kooky.... You have got to take this one up Scamp!

Re: Sydney
 

Thanks, been recommended Manley by others too.
Will try the choc too.

Good idea but I'm rapidly running out of time. Will post and then collect replies on the flight :thumbup:

Got the mini Lonely Planet book this morning so will read on the plane for some ideas. Thanks.

Re: Sydney
 

When I flew into Melbourne last year I noticed that all UK passport holders along with Canadian, Singaporean, Japanese and Americans (!) got shuffled into a separate smartgate queue, which meant we were out of immigration in, what, a minute? Which was very kind of the Australians as we don't return the favour in the UK (though that could change soon ;) )

Oh, don't forget the visa. Need to do it in advance.

Re: Sydney
 

Honestly?
I like drinking and eating meat.
I'll enjoy being outdoors for a wander.
I enjoy a bit of history in a new city.
I'll happily stroll around, stop for a pint, stroll, pint etc.
If it's cheap then I like shopping.

I've got this Sunday where I'll need to keep busy to avoid premature sleeping.
Then I'm working and I'll be working hard I expect but evening suggestions are welcome, but expect I'll just pub hunt for dinner / beer before dinner then cook at the apartment.

Then I have weekend. I have two friends to see, both with kiddies, both in suburbia, which could wipe out two great sightseeing days.
I could fly to Brisbane and get to the Ashes (dream of mine, so feels mental to not try). I'm looking for tickets at the moment.
I could squeeze family time into one day and have another day separate for exploring.

However. I don't want to wander round beautiful small harbours or areas on my own for the sheer sake of it. If there's a sick view of the opera house / bridge - i'll go. Then I tick them off the list, done. Next.

Really difficult to articulate. I want to see lots but I already have some possible multiple-hour / all day events to squeeze in.

Lonely planet needs studying for the top things to do I think.:nod:

Re: Sydney
 

You may have more luck finding Manly rather than Manley :whistle:

Re: Sydney
 

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it ;)

Re: Sydney
 

OK the shopping is terrible and not cheap so let's discount that one straight away.

Sydney (not including all those suburbs 40km away that call themselves Sydney) is a small city, easy to get around on foot, but you might want to get yourself an Opal card as you can use it on the bus, train and ferry. https://transportnsw.info/#/ is your friend.

Do you have your accommodation sorted? It's not cheap here but we put up a lot of people on tight budgets (charities) so I know you can find good deals. If you want an apartment, check out Oaks, Fraser suites, etc. If you want to be in Darling Harbour try the Goldsbrough.

Some good suggestions for a ferry to Manly - good idea for your jetlag day but be warned, if the weather is good, it will be packed. Still, that ferry (half hour each way) is a good, cheap, way to see the harbour (don't take a cruise, complete waste of money).

My tip for a "sick view"? Take the ferry to McMahons Point, sit on a bench at the bottom of Blues Point Road and look back at the Opera House through the Harbour Bridge. We lived over there when we first arrived and one of my favourite things to do was grab a pizza from up the road, bottle of bubbly, sit and have a night-time picnic. Or to Milsons Point and walk round the boardwalk, through Luna Park (old fashioned amusements, good photos), have a drink at The Deck.

The Botanic Gardens are nice for a wander, some great harbour views. I would suggest starting at Woolloomooloo and working your way back round to the Opera House and Circular Quay. Loads of drinking and eating options at either end. Yes Circular Quay is touristy but we go down to the Opera House quite a bit and so eat down there first. Our favourite is Sydney Oyster Cove but I'm sensing you're not into seafood? (They probably have a token steak on the menu - check them out as the location is worth it.) Alternatively down there is a sports bar called Buckleys that pretty much does what it says on the tin - no frills, OK bar food.

Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay Wharf also have masses of restaurants. Be warned it can get a bit rough down there on a weekend, as can the city centre as a whole. We don't really do pubs, we do eat out a lot but not really in the CBD.

Chinatown has good, cheap, eats. It's not huge, very close to Darling Harbour.

I'm not a fan of Bondi but, if you want to tick a box, give it a quick visit.

There is always tons of free stuff going on in Sydney. Check out Homeground on the Sydney Opera House website, for instance.

Are you into art, museums, etc? I can waste days in all of them. Look up the MCA, AGNSW, Australian Museum, Powerhouse...

Barangaroo is a fairly newly developed area, lot of restaurants springing up there and often stuff going on on a weekend, e.g., Blak markets (no typo).

I wouldn't bother with Lonely Planet. Get yourself on some listings site like Time Out and Broadsheet, this site https://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/

Run out of ideas right now, will come back if my first coffee of the day prompts some more inspiration.

Re: Sydney
 

You wonderful person. Thank you very much.
I’m on the flight now and will return to read again in the morning.

Thank you

Re: Sydney
 

I'd second the Opera Bar. Yes, it's a tourist trap, but it's got great views of the bridge, so it'd be rude not to. For a bird's eye view of the city, head up the Sydney Tower and have an overpriced drink at 360 (on a clear day you can see the mountains). For more ye olde Sydney, try the Hero of Waterloo in The Rocks area - one of the few places here that serve pints (most places serve schooners). For slightly cheaper drinking, it's worth getting out of the CBD. Glebe (my old stomping ground) has a few choices of hotels - the Different Drummer is a super skinny cocktail and tapas bar; the Australian Youth Hotel has good food and an outdoor courtyard; while the Friend in Hand has crab racing. 'Cause that's a thing here. Apparently. It feels a bit country bogan, but that's part of its charm. Half way up Glebe Point Road there's a decent (by Aus standards) curry place called Darbar. Buses 431 and 433 go that way, or it's super quick by taxi. Newtown is also worth a wander around - King Street has hundreds of restaurants and bars (the Courthouse Hotel is another one with a nice courtyard), some awesome book shops and there's also the Enmore Theatre (on Enmore Road), which has lots of live gigs and a comedy club. If you're heading to the 'burbs, demand to be introduced to barefoot bowling. 'Cause that's also a thing. And a bloody good one. :)

Re: Sydney
 

Good thinking, Geordie George - I like Glebe too. And the Youthie (AYH) does have really good food. It's Irish-run IIRC? I know when I worked in Ultimo and it was the after work local, they brought round amazing roasties (I just didn't tell all my vegetarian colleagues that they were amazing because of the duck fat). It has become my bangers and mash place since Smash in Newtown closed its doors.

Newtown is also one of my favourite areas - I like a bit of grunge.

Re: Sydney
 

So, landed late on Saturday, from touching down to hotel in CBD was a little over an hour - very impressive.

Went straight to a couple of pubs for beer and to watch the football (Arsenal / Spurs). Amazed at the amount of gambling stuff in the pubs....yet the drinking laws are so restrictive. Everywhere I've been it's circulated around $10 a pint (8.5-11) which is reasonable I guess.

Went out yesterday to the bridge and opera house. Had a beer at the Opera Bar and took loads of photos. Walked around Circular Quay and The Rocks.
Then headed up to Darling Harbour, walked around, had a beer and some lunch.
Visited a friend up in the suburbs for the afternoon and evening for a BBQ.

In work today, tired and hungry but flat out and think the two weeks of work will be quite intense.

Very, very cool city.

Re: Sydney
 

For all the EU / Brexit arguments going on, there's no denying the British love Australia and NZ far more than they will ever love Europe. No wonder why so many don't come back.

Have fun in Sydney. I'm jealous.