I recently had the opportunity to visit a friend who lives in Sydney, Australia, and I found myself hopelessly in love with this city and the whole country! Although my trip was short and I didn’t have time to venture outside New South Wales, I still got to see so many amazing things and have incredible experiences. Here’s my list of the nine things you must do when you’re visiting Sydney.
1. Take a Ferry
Ferry travel is a quinticential part of Sydney life since its a coastal city. The ferry system is part of the rest of Sydney’s public transportation system, so you can tap on with your city transport card just like you would the bus or train. Quite often, ferries are also the quickest way to get places, like from Circular Quay to Luna Park. Ferries also give you an award winning view of the Sydney Opera House, so you can take some breathtaking photos!
2. See a Show at the Opera House
One of my first nights in Sydney, I went to see Carmen at the opera house, and oh my gosh, it was so amazing! I’m not one who particularly loves musicals, and of course operas are all singing, but I would 100% do this again! The actors were great singers and the orchestra was phenomenal! The theaters inside the opera house are beautiful as well. Tickets to shows can actually be surprisingly affordable, depending on where you choose to sit. I booked a box seat, so I was really close to the stage, and the tickets weren’t expensive at all! The one draw back to box seats is you can’t see both corners of the stage, but I was ok with trading that for a closer seat. I have always wanted to see a performance from a box seat, and it was everything I had hoped it would be! To see what’s on at the opera house currently, visit their website, here.
3. Take a Tour of the Blue Mountains
The Blue mountains reside just west of Sydney, and let me tell you, they’re gorgeous! I booked a hiking tour that was going to take us to a couple lookouts and a waterfall, and the Three Sisters, which is a really important rock formation for the Aboriginal people. Most of this trip was just getting out of the bus, taking photos, then getting back in, but the big waterfall is quite a bit more extensive. There are viewing areas at the top of the waterfall that aren’t difficult to get to, but getting down to the base of the waterfall requires many wonky stairs carved out of the sandstone. Getting down is definitely an adventure, but it’s nothing compared to going back up. If you’re not a frequent hiker, either go real slow on the way back or just dont go down all the way. It was so difficult that I had to stop and sit down at one point so I wouldn’t pass out. Then for the next four days, my legs were so incredibly sore. Our last stop was to the Three Sisters. The aboriginal legend is that these sisters were turned to stone by a witch doctor to protect them during a tribal war, but the witch doctor was killed in the war before he was able to turn the sisters back, so there they sit. Preserving Aboriginal culture is important to the entire country of Australia, something you’ll catch onto quickly after arrival. Besides these rock formations, the lookout to the Three Sisters also features sprawling views of the rest of the Blue Mountain.
4. Go Whale Watching
Australia is no stranger to ocean life, and they’ve gotten pretty good at finding where finned creatures hang out. I booked a tour with a whale watching tour right out of Sydney harbour, and they guarantee that you’ll see whales, or you get to go another day for free, but their track record is pretty good. Australia has a plethora of whale species, as well as dolphins, flying fish, and seals and sea lions. The day of my tour, we were able to see two whales traveling together, and one that was solo. To protect the whales, the boats are only able to get so close, but sometimes, the whales will come to you and you can get a closer view. Even if they don’t come close, these creatures are still magnificent to watch from a distance, especially when they show off! If you can, try to secure a seat on the top deck of the boat, the viewing is much better up there.
5. Make New Marsupial Friends
If you only do one thing on this list on your trip, let it be this! Getting up close to marsupials was the absolute highlight of my trip. This isn’t a typical experience that most people have, especially because at most zoos and conservations, you can’t touch the koalas, but here you can pet them! This was an excursion I booked on Viator, but Sean, the guide, started out and still gets most of his bookings through airbnb experiences. These are small group tours where Sean drives you in his van up about an hour north of Sydney, to an animal park where he knows the employees and can get you behind the scenes to hang out with little koalas like Momo here. The park has all kinds of native animals, like colorful birds, a Tasmanian devil, super old turtles, etc. but most of these animals you just observe from outside the enclosures. Others you can feed and hang out with, like the small kangaroos. The kangaroos technically don’t belong to the park, they’re free to come and go from the bush as they please, but they get absolutely spoiled by visitors, so they usually hang around and lounge in the open area. The kangaroo below is Heidi, one of the kangaroos that hangs out frequently, and her joey. Heidi was the sweetest girl! I mean, all the kangaroos are sweet and gentle, but Heidi and her joey were the star of the show that day. This park is so important and needs support because they are trying to rehabilitate species that are on track to be extinct. If meeting and feeding animals wasn’t enough, Sean makes the most elaborate lunch complete with wine, barbecue, and an amazing cheese board. I can promise you that you won’t walk away with an ounce of hunger. The day ends with some free time to explore the park, then Sean gives a crash course on throwing boomerangs! The reviews on every site for this experience is 5 stars, and I can assure you that if people could give more than 5 stars, they would. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience and one that you’ll be telling everyone about when you get home! I could talk for days about how amazing this experience was, but instead, I’ll let you book it and experience it yourself! If you do, give Heidi my love, I adore that kangaroo!
Book the experience or learn more here
P.S. Shoutout to Sean for being our amazing photographer all day!
6. Catch a Wave
Aussies love to ride the waves, you’ll see them out surfing even in the winter when the water is ice cold! My friend is a surfer and wanted to take me out surfing and I was totally down, even though I had never tried before because I don’t live anywhere near the ocean. I’m not going to lie, its difficult, but once you ride just a little bit of a wave, you understand the appeal. I will admit, it didn’t go great because the waves were so powerful that day, but I’d love to try again someday! I would recommend that anyone try, if the waves are agreeable and the seas are shark free that is. There are helicopters that patrol for sharks, so you’ll know if there’s one in the area, but it sounds like shark sightings are pretty infrequent. If you don’t know someone that can teach you, there are classes you can book online.
7. Enjoy a Drink at a Rooftop Bar
While Sydney isn’t know for its nightlife anymore, they still have some really cool spots to drop in for a drink, especially rooftop bars. The bar my friend and I went to was called Untied, in Barangaroo. This bar had us in a trance from the second we walked in! With pretty lights and pops of color, Untied provides such a fun atmosphere. However, if you’re interested in sipping cocktails while admiring the harbour, you’ll have to go to a taller building, like a hotel rooftop bar, but know that you pay for that great view, drinks are expensive! If that’s more your style, I was told by locals that the bar at the Shangri-La hotel is the place to be!
8. Try Pavlova
If you’ve never heard of pavlova, its one of the most magical desserts ever invented. It starts with a meringue shell that’s crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, then it’s topped with cream and finished off with fresh fruit. In my experience, this dessert is pretty hard to find outside Oceana. The origin of pavlova has actually been a topic of great controversy, because no one has proof it originally came from Australia or New Zealand, and of course both countries claim ownership. I actually had a pretty difficult time finding restaurants in Sydney that served pavlova, but thanks to the internet, I found a 24 hour restaurant called City Extra that has the biggest “personal” pavlova I’ve ever seen. They’re so good though, I actually went there twice because I loved them so much. You can find City Extra right across the way from Wharf 2 on Circular Quay.
9. Drink Real Coffee
Ok, when people think of Australia I don’t think coffee would be the first thing to come to mind, but oh my their coffee is fantastic! If you’re an American and have been drinking coffee there your whole life, my condolences, because it’s awful. This coffee has so much flavor it’ll knock your socks off! Right after I got off the plane, my friend took me to a little cafe for brunch, and that was my first taste of Aussie coffee. I ordered a standard cappuccino and was immediately in love. I loved the coffee so much that I actually came home with a ridiculous amount of dry coffee in my suitcase. You may be thinking, hey, with Australia’s ties to the UK, wouldn’t they be tea drinkers? Yes! They drink tea all the time, but they’re also serious about their coffee, and rightfully so.
Australia is a huge continent with so much to see and so much to take in. If I could, I’d pick up and go back right now, and probably stay forever; Australia is truly a continent of wonders! Sydney is a great place to start your Australian adventure and get acquainted with the land down under, its wonderful residents, and unusual but extraordinary wildlife! I can guarantee, you’ll have memories to last a lifetime!
(No travelers were harmed by spiders or snakes in the making of this adventure)
Happy travels!
Pursuit of Happy Travel 
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