DXBtoDOH

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.

scrubbedexpat141

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.

moneypenny20

You may have more luck finding Manly rather than Manley

Kooky.

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

Kooky.

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.

scrubbedexpat141

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

Thank you

Geordie George

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.

Kooky.

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.

scrubbedexpat141

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.

DXBtoDOH

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.

Kooky.

One big factor for people still in the workforce - language.

scrubbedexpat141

Don't be. The 7 hour difference has decided to try and ruin me a few days in. Combined with a dodgy ear I spent most of last night and this morning feeling like I'm going to fall over or faint.

Can't blame Sydney for that though.
Although I can blame the colleagues for taking me to a halal Chinese for dinner No sweet and sour pork

Kooky.

Well you've just learned a major downside to Australia - it's a chuffing long way from anywhere! We go back to the mother country every year to visit relatives so extreme jetlag is just a fact of life.

We moved here from Singapore; both the journey and the time difference from there now, with hindsight, seem easy. However Sydney has a lot more going on in terms of theatre, music, dance, etc., so we'll suck it up

scrubbedexpat141

Definitely a plus.

To be honest, I think it must be a combination of factors mentioned, but it's genuinely horrid and ruining my day today.

Millhouse

I find time-difference to be a killer. I hate going to the US, 9 hours from Dubai, or 5 from UK, all in the wrong direction. I can't keep in touch with anyone I actually like and get very lonely very quickly.

I find Asia marginally better as I don't mind staying up late to speak to people starting their day, but it is still difficult.