Are you visiting Sydney just for the brief period?
If yes, then we bring you this little guide to Sydney.
This time we arrived in Sydney only for less than a week as a longer over stop between moving from New Zealand to Singapore.
And as we knew that Sydney is an amazing city, we really struggled to plan a perfect schedule to see as much as possible in such a short time.
But we have been very lucky because our Aussie friend Ross offered to be our local guide. We love to be hosted by friends because we always have much more authentic experience than when we travel to places alone. And of course, we have a unique chance to know the place like locals with all the things which can’t be found in the travel guides.
As soon as we landed at Sydney airport our friend Ross was waiting for us. But we didn’t expect such a huge surprise he managed for us. He actually called his friend to pick us up and make a drive around the city to show us quickly all highlights and beautiful sights.
As Ross introduced us to his friend, he told us that it was the producer of famous Australian tv series – Skippy The Bush Kangaroo. It was my favorite tv series when I was a child and it was awesome to meet in person someone who worked on it.
We enjoyed our holiday in Sydney very much, and thanks to our local guide we managed to go through all the best things in quite a small time-frame. And this is what we’ve seen and highly recommend to you:
Bondi Beach
One of the first stops was on the most famous beach in Australia. Even though we’ve been visiting in autumn and the weather wasn’t already suitable for swimming, it still worth to come by. The sun was shining strong and the weather was very nice and warm for the autumn. The beach itself was stunning – a huge white sand area with the clear blue ocean and waves strong enough to make it the perfect place for surfing.
It must be a great place to be in summer and we definitely recommend to visit any time of year.
Darling Harbour
The popular leisure destination for locals and a must-see for tourists. There is always happening something and you will be amused by the atmosphere of this spot.
There is a ton of attractions including a Madam Tussaud Museum and a National Maritime Museum great for kids and families. Also lots of cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, galleries etc. It is a nice busy place with great vibes.
If you have kids, then there is the most entertaining playground I have ever seen. We spent about one hour just watching a bunch of happy kids playing there and we enjoyed its warm family atmosphere.
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Make sure to take a walk on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We took a nice walk and had astonishing views of the Sydney Harbour, Sydney Opera House, and the skyscrapers of CBD.
Sydney Harbour
Sydney Harbour is the number 1 place for every visitor. This is where you can admire Sydney Opera House, have a nice walk along the harbor, watch cruise ships sailing around or simply take a ride on one of the ships!
In fact, when visiting Sydney, make sure to take a ferry or cruise from Sydney Harbour. These cruises offer outstanding views of the whole harbour whether it’s day or night.
We have been glad because we visited Sydney just right during the world’s most popular light and art show called Vivid Sydney!
And if that wasn’t enough, Ross managed to get tickets for a night cruise at Sydney Harbour right during this magnificent show. We have been very lucky to enjoy Vivid Sydney from the most exclusive place of a luxury ship during exquisite dinner.
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Just right on the edge of famous Sydney Harbour is Australia’s leading museum exhibiting, collecting and interpreting modern art. It offers free admission to all its galleries and temporary exhibitions. They try to be widely accessible to wide range of audience through the various programs and exhibitions. We highly recommend visiting this wonderful museum to discover contemporary art from Australia’s perspective which often links to or is inspired by aboriginal culture.
The Rocks Market
I still remember walking down these markets as if it was yesterday. The sun was strongly shining to my face, and the smell of delicacies all around me teased my taste buds. The atmosphere of hundreds of stalls with local crafts, souvenirs, and the food was complemented with live music. We have seen very weird things among souvenir stalls like dried kangaroo testicles as key chains and kangaroo jerky. Generally, the atmosphere was cool and relaxed and we recommend to visit these markets for new experiences of tastes and to see interesting products of local craftsmen.
Taronga Zoo
You could say who didn’t see kangaroos and koalas, hasn’t been in Australia.
There are many animal parks in Sydney but Taronga Zoo is undoubtedly one of the best options especially when visiting with kids. With more than 4000 animals on site and 180° of spectacular view of the whole Sydney Harbour, this might be one of the most beautiful zoos you’ve ever seen.
Animal Sanctuaries
Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the Taronga Zoo but have visited Koala Sanctuary Park instead.
It is a sanctuary with many Australia’s endemic animals with the possibility to feed and cuddle with kangaroos and even touch koalas! There is always some interactive program for kids including sheep shearing as a presentation. For me, as an animal lover whose dream was always to cuddle with cute kangaroos which I knew only from TV, it was an unforgettable experience.
Visiting Sydney was a very impressive experience. I must say that we’ve been amused by its beauty. And we haven’t stopped to be impressed even when got out of city center to stay at our friend’s home at one of Sydney’s suburbs.
There were flying colorful parrots above our heads, houses with exotic gardens, we even saw a small boy feeding the herd of cockatoos in front of his house. I’d say that these people are living in a real paradise.
We definitely enjoyed our brief visit to Sydney and plan to be back one day to discover even more! Our big thanks goes to the Aussie friend Ross for his warm welcome and for being such a great host to us.
Have you been to Sydney? What were your favorite places which you recommend to visit?
© Independent Couple
All pictures in this post were taken by Radoslav Cajkovic www.radocation.com and are subject to copyright
