Travel review of Sydney: it is simple stunning – updated!

This travel review of Sydney reflects two of our trips ‘down under’. The first 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.

Second Sydney Trip

Our second trip to Sydney was to spend a couple days and nights pre-cruise this March 2025. We had just spent some time with friends touring around Tasmania – and we wanted to check out some areas of Sydney we hadn’t been to on our previous trip.

We flew in to Sydney with Virgin Australia. It was a very straight forward flight. Arriving in the domestic terminal at Sydney International (Terminal 2) we gathered our luggage and headed for AirportLink. The access point for trains is right off the baggage claim area. AirportLink runs very regularly and is a great option if you are going into the CBD of Sydney. We were staying near Darling Harbour, so we took it all the way in to Town Hall and walked the 2 blocks to our accommodation – Meriton Suites, Sussex Street (see below).

In our two days and nights in Sydney we packed in alot of walking, exploring and even a tiny bit of shopping!

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!

In our recent time in Sydney we enjoyed a beautiful meal at Nick’s Seafood Restaurant in Darling Harbour. We reserved for 6:30pm and had a leisurely dinner of mussels and crab claws and mezes. Fortunately, as it was the Mardi Gras Parade night (March 1, 2025), Darling Harbour also had their fireworks at 9pm. Amazing way to cap off a lovely evening on the harbour. The next evening we used our kitchenette to enjoy some pasta from Woolworths! – we love our nights in sometimes 🙂

The cafe downstairs from our accommodation at the Meriton Suites, just accessible off the street – lux8 – served excellent coffee and breakfast standards.

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.

For our March 2025 stay, we booked Meriton Suites, Sussex Street. Very modern, sleek, clean fully contained apartment / suites with small kitchens. The bed was a king size – that was great. The kitchen was a bit under supplied – no trays for heating anything in the oven, and absolutely no kitchen amenities like aluminum foil, etc. It would be better for longer term stays if willing to purchase all of those little things, but for a short stay, it was not well stocked. Beyond those things, it was well located near Darling Harbour and shopping, and Chinatown, and staff were very helpful.

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!

We spent time both in 2014 and again in 2025 at The Rocks Market down by Circular Quay. Local artisans and their ware are available along with all the stores along The Rocks – a great way to explore and enjoy the local vibe and energy of Sydney!

Enjoy!