Travel review of Sydney: it is simple stunning!

This travel review of Sydney reflects our first trip ‘down under’. This was for a cruise in 2014 from Auckland, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia. (Check out our Travel Review of New Zealand!) Everything was new and we wanted to take advantage of our time there. This meant we planned an additional week in Sydney post-cruise.

After the cruise (it was really amazing and the natural beauty blew our minds!) we pulled into port in Sydney. As we were walking off the ship to a taxi, we were in no rush. We enjoyed breakfast, and a few minutes wandering on deck looking at Circular Quay and all the active harbour boats.

Catching a taxi to our rented accommodations for the week in Greenwich, we were looking forward to doing some exploring! But first, laundry beckoned –

In our beautiful large studio apartment, with its wrap-around deck, we settled in, cleaned up, and planned the day. We spent the next six days super-busy walking, boating, beaching, eating and enjoying all that Sydney has to offer. Our recommendations for this travel review of sydney are below.

Recommendations

Eat:

You’re on the water, and there is plentiful seafood, so eat it! We enjoyed so many al fresco fish BBQ’s, we have taken to doing some of the same here at home. Hooked Gourmet Seafood, a local Greenwich fishmonger, had great grilled fish burgers, along with wonderful local prawns from the BBQ. Portside Sydney Opera House had great drinks available all day along with a lovely evening menu. As we rented, we enjoyed shopping locally and picking up the regional wines – can’t go wrong!

Accommodations:

The rental was in Greenwich, a short 15 minute ferry and 5 minute walk to the course from Circular Quay. We enjoyed waking up to the sunshine, and heading into town by the foot ferry along with everyone else. We are very glad we opted to stay a bit outside of the CBD, as it meant we could see and experience so much more.

Activities:

We had booked a couple activities prior to departure on our vacation, but, we merely had a list of ‘nice-to-do’s’. We often do this when there is so much to see, as we want to wait and see what we feel like when we are there. On arrival, we happened to see that we were just in time for a tour at the Sydney Opera House.

During the tour, we found out that a ballet I love – Manon – was being performed, so we purchased tickets. Take advantage of opportunities!

Sydney Opera House presented Madama Butterfly from the Botanical Gardens overlooking the opera house. This was an amazing performance under the stars, during sunset. A food fair was setup for evening dining and drinks during the performance.

Sydney Zoo was beyond expectations – we’re not likely to go to zoos, but had heard so many praises of this one. It was excellent. Manly Beach and Bondi Beach were excellent, and the weather in April allowed for some dips in the water!