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What's the best way to be a tourist in Sydney without spending tons of cash? We have an upcoming six day visit to Sydney in early December and haven't a clue where to start planning.
Where should we be looking to rent accommodations and what sort should they be? We don't want to pay a whole lot, of course, but this may be our only Australia vacation so we don't want 'saving money' to ruin the vacation. Hotels seem sorta generic and they're usually expensive aren't they? Should we look into a BnB? I notice there's a lot of "backpacker's" hostels, I've never stayed at a hostel, that's usually for younger folks who are more into parties, aren't they? Although, by the time two folks check into a hostel it adds up to almost the same as a BnB/hotel since they charge per individual at a hostel, don't they?
It looks like public transportation is good in Sydney, so can we skip renting a car? If we do, then we'd want a hotel/AirBnB/hostel near public transportation. I think we will enjoy riding ferries since that's not anything we have at home.
What are the 'must do' sort of things for a pair of middle aged non-alcohol drinking tourists? We are mobile but not overly athletic so hiking up a mountain isn't on the 'to do' list, however long walks would be okay. Someone has said 'going to The Rocks' on Saturday, I think it was. When they have the market open there anyway. There seems to be a big botanic garden in Sydney and an aquarium as well, those may be interesting. Maybe something at the opera house would be interesting, although, I don't know what would be playing or how much it would be. We like boats, are they expensive to charter? Is it cold to swim in the ocean in December? Or at any time of the year? Although, there's critters with teeth in Australia, is it safe to ocean swim? We haven't a clue what to plan.
We aren't adverse to 'being a tourist', we are tourists, after all. Are there specific things tourists do in Sydney?
What do folks who live in Sydney like to do? Are there any holidays or events in Sydney during the second week of December?
What is your daily budget? Sydney is an expensive place. One person's cheap is another person's expensive etc. What interests do you have? That might help us better suggest things to do. Obviously in December it's the start of summer so beaches etc will be popular.
I would absolutely not hire a car in Sydney. Anywhere a tourist would want to be will have ample public transport options. Driving in Sydney is not particularly enjoyable; narrow streets, bad traffic and angry drivers. The CBD has virtually no street parking for cars these days and if you use a parking station expect to pay $25+/hour.
Currently am a tourist in Sydney. Able to pull off lots of 24 hours on less than 30 to 50 USD if really trying in a narrow window. Find the cheapest items in Supermarkets such as Woolworth's, even Restaurants(Usually, the most smallest appetizer), and Cafes(A cup of coffee is actually quite cheap compared to Persian Gulf UAE). Limit use of public transportation. Use wisely. Maybe even entirely skip riding the trains/buses on a few occasions.
Pubs and clubs are where you want to be if you're eating on a budget. Almost every pub runs a daily special. I've got 12 pubs within a 10 minute walk of my house and they all run food specials. If you're in the inner city there are plenty of cheap Asian restaurants where you can fill up for $10-$15.
What is your daily budget? Sydney is an expensive place. One person's cheap is another person's expensive etc. What interests do you have? That might help us better suggest things to do. Obviously in December it's the start of summer so beaches etc will be popular.
I would absolutely not hire a car in Sydney. Anywhere a tourist would want to be will have ample public transport options. Driving in Sydney is not particularly enjoyable; narrow streets, bad traffic and angry drivers. The CBD has virtually no street parking for cars these days and if you use a parking station expect to pay $25+/hour.
Thanks for the car info! Guess we will not be hiring a car at all, which is good, I prefer not to hire cars since it's hard to see the scenery and drive at the same time. Is the "CBD" the Central Business District? Guess I could Google it. Ha! According to Google it's some sort of pot oil, although way down in the listings it mentioned "Central Business District if referring to a hotel location."
I'm hoping to keep the budget at around $100 (US) per night for the lodging and about that much or less for food and entertainment for two? Might be optimistic?
There's a variety of hostels, but not sure how secure they are or how comfortable they'd be for six days. They also don't seem to save all that much when they charge per person and there's two of us.
There's a BnB in Pyrmont on Haris street, somewhere overlooking Darling Harbor, I think? If it's not Darling Harbor it's the one on the other side. Sydney has rather a lot of harbors, doesn't it? Anyway, that BnB is just over $100 per night, includes a light breakfast, an 'Opal' card (some sort of card to use on public transport, although we'd have to charge the card up, it would be empty when we got it. Don't know if there's a fee just for the card or not if we were to buy one). That BnB also has a pool, which might be nice. It looks to be a downtown urban environment, close to a lot of things? Is Pyrmont considered 'CBD'?
Another possible BnB is in Kirribilli, a studio near or on the water, across from a park. Has more cooking options than the really urban one, although not sure if it has the same sort of harbor views. No pool. Costs a bit more than the urban one. That was just from a quick BnB search, I've not really got much info on where to search yet.
It seems like there'd be a big difference in the experience between staying in Pyrmont and Kirribilli. Is there any specific area to stay away from? Any preferred area that everyone wants to be in?
I think once we figure out where we will be staying, then we could figure out what to see from there?
As for interests, we live in a rural town on Hawaii island, so we have zero urban environment here. Some sort of museums, galleries, interesting shops, architecture, and other products of an urban environment would be interesting. Boats and harbors are interesting, there's possibly a boat museum around there somewhere? Australia has some crazy boat folks who have wandered through here, wonder if there's any sailboat races happening during early December?
Are there any nature reserves anywhere within public transport range to see native Australian wild life? Kangaroos are kinda iconic Australian wildlife, is there anywhere to see any of them? Although, for us, squirrels are kinda amazing, we don't have them around here, just mongoose.
Fabric shops, yarn shops, old machinery, old cars, boats, botanical gardens, bookshops, new tech shops, I dunno, wouldn't want to limit what we'd be interested in, I'm sure there's some amazing things there that we don't even know we'd like.
1. Definitely do not hire a car. You can use public transport to go anywhere you need to go. Download the Opal card app and use the trip planner. There is a weekly cap of $50 per person and you can use a credit or debit card, but need to use the same one each time to get the cap. You can use it to take you over a vast area of greater Sydney and it includes all main types of travel; buses, trains, light rail, most ferries. The one exception to the cap is the airport train line and depending where you end up staying, it may be cheaper to get a taxi or Uber especially as you will have your luggage.
2. Yes, the CBD I’d what you call downtown. Either Kirribilli or Pyrmont would be fine, I will have a look later at what I can see in your budget.
3. There is a great deal to do that is not expensive. https://www.sydney.com/
That is the official site.
4. Taronga zoo is just across the harbour from Circular Quay. The Maritime museum is in Darling Harbour, near Pyrmont. Many people do the bridge climb but it is fairly expensive.
5. Walk around the Opera House, go past there to the Botanic Gardens, walk up to the Art Gallery, the main part of which is free. Walk across to the QVB.
6. Food can be expensive, but as said, pubs and clubs are good. Food courts all over the city.
7. Accommodation is your first issue. If you were able to go to about $US150 a night you would have a much better choice. At $100 you seem to be looking at shared bathrooms, which is something I would not think of. Kirribilli is fine as long as you are happy to use public transport ( no reason not to) Pyrmont is good too but neither are easy walking distance to the CBD. Look at the Rocks, also Wooloomooloo.
I'm hoping to keep the budget at around $100 (US) per night for the lodging and about that much or less for food and entertainment for two? Might be optimistic?
There's a variety of hostels, but not sure how secure they are or how comfortable they'd be for six days. They also don't seem to save all that much when they charge per person and there's two of us.
There's a BnB in Pyrmont on Haris street, somewhere overlooking Darling Harbor, I think? If it's not Darling Harbor it's the one on the other side. Sydney has rather a lot of harbors, doesn't it? Anyway, that BnB is just over $100 per night, includes a light breakfast, an 'Opal' card (some sort of card to use on public transport, although we'd have to charge the card up, it would be empty when we got it. Don't know if there's a fee just for the card or not if we were to buy one). That BnB also has a pool, which might be nice. It looks to be a downtown urban environment, close to a lot of things? Is Pyrmont considered 'CBD'?
That's a pretty tight budget. If you could stretch an extra $50/night it really opens up a few more options. There's a small hotel just up the road from me (link here) and just having a look Expedia will let you book in for $AU$200/night in December. That seems like a much more comfortable option than a hostel. The Hughenden is in a pretty good spot, right opposite Centennial Park, 10-15 minute bus into the CBD and a 20 minute bus to Bondi. Bondi Junction would be a 15 minute walk. In the Paddington/Woollahra area there are loads of art galleries and antique stores.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz
It seems like there'd be a big difference in the experience between staying in Pyrmont and Kirribilli. Is there any specific area to stay away from? Any preferred area that everyone wants to be in?
Pyrmont is a bit of a concrete jungle. Lots of international students. It's a bit boring, tbh. Kirribilli is a quiet suburb. My grandparents lived there. There's a few nice restaurants and the sailing club, but you are somewhat out of the action. It's a relatively easy walk across the Harbour Bridge to the city (granddad did that walk every morning until he was 90).
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz
As for interests, we live in a rural town on Hawaii island, so we have zero urban environment here. Some sort of museums, galleries, interesting shops, architecture, and other products of an urban environment would be interesting. Boats and harbors are interesting, there's possibly a boat museum around there somewhere? Australia has some crazy boat folks who have wandered through here, wonder if there's any sailboat races happening during early December?
You probably want to check out the National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour. I also think you'd like the Australian Museum which is, surprisingly given how recent European settlement of Australia is, one of the oldest natural history museums in the world. One of the more interesting urban forms in Sydney is the abundance of 19th century terrace housing. Suburbs like Paddington and Surry Hills have it in abundance. They wanted to bulldoze them all in the 1960s but the local communities pushed back and now they are heavily protected. For interesting shops King Street in Newtown is great. A ferry ride to Manly is also worth doing.
The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia runs twilight social sailing races which you might be interested in, although at that time of the year they might not be doing it because the Sydney to Hobart race starts on Boxing Day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hotzcatz
Are there any nature reserves anywhere within public transport range to see native Australian wild life? Kangaroos are kinda iconic Australian wildlife, is there anywhere to see any of them? Although, for us, squirrels are kinda amazing, we don't have them around here, just mongoose.
Taronga Zoo is accessible by ferry from Circular Quay. There is actually a hotel in the zoo. Featherdale Wildlife Park is in Western Sydney and is a bit more like a nature reserve than a zoo.
Currently am a tourist in Sydney. Able to pull off lots of 24 hours on less than 30 to 50 USD if really trying in a narrow window. Find the cheapest items in Supermarkets such as Woolworth's, even Restaurants(Usually, the most smallest appetizer), and Cafes(A cup of coffee is actually quite cheap compared to Persian Gulf UAE). Limit use of public transportation. Use wisely. Maybe even entirely skip riding the trains/buses on a few occasions.
Have to stay in Hostels at least some nights: https://www.google.com/maps/search/S...1!1i1!9i50!6e3
In the search results below 50 AUD=35 USD per night, Sydney is much better than Honolulu, San Francisco, Chicago, Oslo, Geneva, Zurich, even NYC(I am from New York City) to play with this version of affordability occasionally.
However, natives want tourists to spend a generous amount of cash funds minimal! At least sometimes. I want to go above 71 AUD=50 USD or even 142 AUD=100USD+, at least some 24 hours. And I did already. At least once. Including after tomorrow. Support at least 1 mid range or Luxury Hotel(Going to also fulfill this after tomorrow) with all of the Hostel(s). Glad to have slept so well over there.
713 AUD=500 USD after 6 days isn't technically impossible. But, if budget allows, spend a bit extra cash hundreds of dollars extra. The Australian Tourism Hotel industry needs the service! And the Independent businesses administration. My own 10 days to 2 weeks, spending around 1,424 AUD=$1,000 USD. *Excluding costs of airplane tickets.
Go up on Sydney Eye Tower(A Space Age Tower built extremely early in the 1970s/up to 1981: Reserve tickets early online and well before sunset! Might get sold out), walk all over the dense downtown areas: Circular Quay/Wynyard/Town Hall/Central, visit Bondi Beach neighborhood. Sydney is offering urbanity. Even when the vast majority have a nice quiet house starting not far from immediate proximity of Downtown. Can see that quite fast on inner city train rails. Almost felt extremely rural.
Visit Australia in a special year like when people visit the USA. Only 1 country. Rather than lots of countries in same 5 month vacation. India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia almost felt like too much countries. Even with no regret. Going slower on future holidays.
So exciting. Why don't you post few pictures to underline your statements and share with us your travel experiences??
My daughter stayed there for six months, having gotten a dirt cheap rent during our Covid lockdown last year. It is so convenient as the train is directly underneath and takes you to the city in a few minutes. I love going to that area, so much to see and do. If you were wanting to prepare some of your own meals there are proper big supermarkets there, unlike some parts of the CBD.
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Including after tomorrow. Support at least 1 mid range or Luxury Hotel(Going to also fulfill this after tomorrow) with all of the Hostel(s). Glad to have slept so well over there. 
