We're going to Australia in late October. 3 nights in Sydney, 5 on Hamilton Island, and 3 in Melbourne. We have our hotels but could use recommendations for restaurants and any can't miss attractions beyond the basics (Bondi, etc).
We're going to Australia in late October. 3 nights in Sydney, 5 on Hamilton Island, and 3 in Melbourne. We have our hotels but could use recommendations for restaurants and any can't miss attractions beyond the basics (Bondi, etc).
harbour bridge climb in sydney, go see the opera house, find a rugby or aussie rules football match to watch
Not sure how I forgot about the bridge climb, but that was awesome. Check the Opera House schedule, there are a lot of smaller theatres in it. We saw a piano show geared towards kids that my son loved, and can say we saw a show at the Opera House. There's also a cool light show on the side of it at night, or at least there was when we were there.
Rugby and Aussie Rules will both be out of season by then. As a proud Manly resident, I say come up to Manly instead of Bondi, the ferry ride is worth it and the beach is nice versus having to take a bus over to Bondi.
Bridge Climb is pricey, if you want to get kind of the same view it's free to just walk across the pedestrian path at ground level.
Opera House always has something on. Firedoor is an amazing restaurant in Surry Hills but very pricey. The Gidley is a great steak place that happens to have one of the best burgers in the world, but you can also get it at The Rover bar if that's all you're there for.
Taronga Zoo is amazing.
Depending on when you're going, happy to meet for a beer in Sydney.
Find a meat pie somewhere Tim tams A burger with beet root on it Eat a kangaroo steak
I could never get into beetroot but... if you're up for an authentic Aussie Burger, ask for a burger with "The Lot"
The absolute best meat pies are in Collaroy at Upper Crust on Pit****er Road. While I'm a total homer, and lived in Collaroy for a decade, Upper Crust really is the best. https://www.instagram.com/uppercrustpieshop
But the main thing you must do, and do this in all three destinations you're going to - have an Australian coffee. I recommend a Flat White, that was my favorite.
You need to do this at the most uppity coffee shop you can find. And ask any Australian, they'll all have their own favourite coffee shop. Since you're going to NSW, QLD and VIC, you'll get three different versions.
bthotugigem05 lives in Manly now and will have more current information than I do but here's what I always recommend for my Sydney tour.
I've been to Melbourne 4 or 5 times for work so I don't really have much to add and a really great Indian restaurant that I went to in 2019 doesn't appear to be there any more. So outside of Crown Casino, I'm not going to be much help.
For Sydney, I definitely second the recommendation for Taronga Zoo. I personally haven't been there since 1983 but the wife and kids went and in fact I think both of the girls had their equivalent of senior prom at Taronga Zoo. There's also a pretty good aquarium in Darling Harbour. If you've never seen a duogong, that is a trip. https://www.visitsealife.com/sydney/whats-inside/exhibits/dugong-island/
For my patented Sydney tour, it goes like this: Stay wherever you are in the CBD
Step 1 - Get to Circular Quay via walking or the train. Buses are OK to take in Sydney, even late night although late at night it's going to be full of drunk people and maybe a couple low lifes but they're usually harmless.
Step 2 - Take the Ferry to Manly There is a Fast Ferry that takes 15 minutes and a regular ferry that takes 30 minutes. Take the regular ferry because you really want the time to take it all in. Also, take the ferry before lunch so you get a poor man's Harbour Cruise while it's light outside.
Step 3 - Lunch at Manly Wharf I like Wharf Bar. Have a couple of schooners of the local beer. My personal favorite is James Boag's Premium but Pure Blonde should be readily available. Have whatever you'd like to eat, personally, I usually get pizza there. The Wharf Bar appears to now be called Felons Brewing https://felonsbrewingco.com.au/pages/felons-manly
Step 4 - Walk the Manly Corso and Steyne Beach The Corso is a pedestrian mall and Steyne Beach is almost 1 mile long so you can walk as much as you like. There are a couple other walks you can do from Manly depending how adventuresome you are. You can walk to North Head, Shelly Beach, or if you're really up for it, walk the Manly to Spit.
Step 5 - Northern Beaches If you have a friend with a car - like bthotugigem05 that would help, or you can take the bus but I recommend venturing North to Collaroy.
I would usually take people out to Long Reef Head. Side note, one of my former neighbours was recently killed by a Great White Shark at Long Reef Beach. I did not know this guy personally, but I met his family because my 132 lb mastiff got loose and wound up in their yard. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOSUVJ8EyH3
Everyone always enjoys a walk past the golf course out to Long Reef Head. You can see for miles from there and occasionally, I've seen whales from there. There are usually a lot of paragliders and even some hang gliders out there. Depending on the tides you can walk out on the rocks but fair warning, we typically lose about 1 rock fisherman a year out there.
From there, I recommend going north to Collaroy Beach. There is a rock pool if you fancy a swim and if you're really up for a hiking challenge, there is the infamous Alexander Street. It's about a 300 ft. vertical gain over a distance of about 1/2 mile.
Once you make it up Alexander Street, walk along Edgecliffe Blvd until you get to "McLean Lookout".
Side note, I used to have a friend who lived on Edgecliffe and some of the dinners and parties at their house were epic. If you're looking for an amazing place to watch weather roll in, it is awesome. But unfortunately, he got busted playing sex around the world during business trips to Vietnam so those good times ended tragically.
Another side note - when I took General Ramirez up there when he was on a trip to the Australia Defence Force Academy, he was just in awe of the view from Collaroy Plateau. It is impressive.
Walk back down the hill and have a drink at the Collaroy Beach Club, or if you want a pizza, my favourite is Alimento. I used to order from them weekly.
From Collaroy, you can catch the B1 double decker bus back to the CBD to end your evening.
If available - A&M Game Watch I recommend reaching out to the local Texas A&M Club via Facebook if you're going to be in town when an A&M game is on. We've had a lot of good game watch parties over the years.
Sometimes they've been at bars in the The Rocks or Darling Harbour and sometimes at people's homes.
The most touristy thing you can do - Bondi Beach
Bondi is where most people know and it is impressive. A nice walk over to Tamarama is very enjoyable.
The rest of your trip For QLD, I've only been to Brisbane and the Gold Coast so I can't add much there. But if you're spending the night in Brizzy, I definitely recommend the Breakfast Creek Hotel and order a XXXX (Four X) "Off the Wood".
For VIC, I freaking hate Melbourne but... it's nice to walk around the CBD and watch them do a Melbourne "Hook Turn". They might have better coffee than Sydney but I'm not going to concede that on principle. And I think they also have a better craft beer scene in Melb.
More so than Sydney, I'd be on the look out for panhandlers, scammers and African refugees.
Find a meat pie somewhere Tim tams A burger with beet root on it Eat a kangaroo steak
I could never get into beetroot but... if you're up for an authentic Aussie Burger, ask for a burger with "The Lot"
The absolute best meat pies are in Collaroy at Upper Crust on Pit****er Road. While I'm a total homer, and lived in Collaroy for a decade, Upper Crust really is the best. https://www.instagram.com/uppercrustpieshop
But the main thing you must do, and do this in all three destinations you're going to - have an Australian coffee. I recommend a Flat White, that was my favorite.
You need to do this at the most uppity coffee shop you can find. And ask any Australian, they'll all have their own favourite coffee shop. Since you're going to NSW, QLD and VIC, you'll get three different versions.
