Your guide to a three night visit in Sydney, Australia. This guide is best for first time visitors who are looking for great food & drinks, bustling city vibes, tourist attractions, saltwater bath’s and unique beaches.
Itinerary Overview:
- Day One: Best of Sydney Harbour and Botanic Gardens
- Day Two: Cooggee to Bondi walk, Bondi Beach and Saltwater Baths
- Day Three: Hyde Park and Queen Victoria building followed by Watson’s Bay
- Day Four: Half Day – Manly Beach
Day One: Sydney Itinerary
Morning
Start your morning near the harbor with a coffee and pastry from Canopy Cafe. While near the Sydney Harbor Bridge, go ahead and make your way to the bridge. You can walk across all or part of the bridge with awesome views of the Opera House. You can actually climb up one of the pillars to get a great view, in my opinion, the best view. It is called Pylon Lookout. You can also make reservations to do the “Bridge Climb”, but if you are looking to save money, I recommend sticking to climbing Pylon. When you are finished up here, either visit Campbells Stores for some high-end lunch, or make your way to the Opera House.
Early Afternoon
The walk from the bridge to the Opera House is lined with restaurants and vendors of all sorts. Take your time to see what they have to offer, you may come across something unique you want to come back to! When you reach the Opera House, take advantage of the photo ops. It can be tough to get people out of your shot, but standing on the benches along the water can be a great shot.
If you would like to tour the opera house, it is about $40 a person. The tour is great, but the outside is the most phenomenal part if you decide not to tour. There is a restaurant inside the opera house called Bennelong that features Australian Cuisine. You could have lunch here, but it is expensive and requires a reservation.
Afternoon
After lunch, go ahead and start walking toward the Royal Botanic Gardens. You can map yourself to the Opera House Gate or Queen Elizabeth II Gate entrance, which will be the closest to the Opera House. Here is an interactive map that you can use to find your way around. The “Calyx” has beautiful vertical gardens and flowers, and is a really lovely space. for Another great view of the harbor, seek out Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair. this is one of the best photo ops. If you are visiting between September and May, make sure to visit the Rose Garden.
As an alternative to walking around the gardens, as I know that isn’t for everyone, you can board the FastFerry to Manly Beach. It is about a 15 minute boat ride and reveals further views of the area. I highly recommend visiting Manly Beach for a stroll down the main strip of shopping and restaurants, a walk on the beach or grabbing a bite to go and eat on the bouldering rocks that feed into the ocean. I love both activities, so if you have extra time in your trip these can serve as fillers for spare time!
Night
Take a break at the hotel, I know it was a long day! Freshen up and prepare to head out for dinner and drinks. I don’t set particular restaurants in the itinerary because there is too large a selection is a city like Sydney!
Day Two: Sydney Itinerary
Morning
Have breakfast and coffee near your hotel. Today will be all outdoors so you will want to be well fueled! You can take public transport to Bondi, but it will take significantly longer, so I recommend just using Uber. Don’t forget sunscreen, water, a bathing suit and a towel. If you are visiting during the summer, you will want to get an early start on the Bondi to Coogee Cliff Walk. This walk is around 6 km, but you do NOT have to do the whole thing! It can also be completed backward, depending on where you want to end.
If you don’t want to do the whole hike, I recommend starting in Bronte Beach and Baths and walking to Bondi, or vice versa. The reason I stress completing it either way is because it depends on what you are looking for! Bondi is beautiful and the Bondi Icebergs are very famous. However, this brings more tourists. If you are looking for a beach that is less crowded and less touristy, you should start in Bondi and end in one of the surrounding beaches listed next.
The Cliff Walk offers viewpoints from cliff edges into the beautiful Tasman Sea. You will walk through several beach towns and pass the famous Beach Baths along this trail. Water, restaurants, restrooms will be easily accessible throughout the day.
I recommend doing at least one leg of this walk, if not more. I have included the map at the end for you to pick your starting and ending point. The ending point will be where you have lunch and relax on the beach for the afternoon!
Afternoon
No trip to Sydney is complete without a full day on the beautiful beaches! I would recommend taking this afternoon to choose which beach you want to end your walk in.
Recommendations:
- Bondi Beach and Icebergs: Offers beach and baths (Icebergs). Most touristy of the options, but it is an iconic beach that is touristy for a reason. You will see LOTS of skin here, people of all sorts, beautiful waters, and plenty of restaurants. Try Bondi Surf Seafoods if you decide to stay here.
- Coogee Beach: Less crowded than Bondi but I don’t like the baths (rock pool) as much as Bondi or Bronte. However, it is a beautiful spot with plenty of beach. For lunch, check out Brazura.
- Bronte Beach and Baths: Your best option for a less crowded beach than Bondi, while also having a nice rock pool and surrounding area to explore. Head to Cafe Salina for lunch.
- Gordon’s Bay: Best for snorkeling! This is a very small beach and can get crowded in the summer, but if you love exploring the world underwater, this is a great spot. The map below shows where to enter the water to see the best sea-life and coral.
- Mahon Pool: This is south of Coogee and is not part of the Cliff Walk, but is a very cool ‘bath’ to check out while in the area. Maroubra beach is where Mahon Pool is near. This pool is less swimmers and more of a hang out. It is also so natural and a great photo-op!
Night
Uber back to the hotel after your day on the coast. Get your shower and rest after the long day. Tomorrow will be a more laid back day, so if you are looking for a night out, I would do that tonight!
The CBD area, which should generally be walking distance from your hotel if you are near the Opera House, offers the most restaurants and bars. Two trendier areas are Marrickville, which is a renovated warehouse area with lots of breweries and restaurants. Surry Hills is also trendy and offers cocktail bars, nightlife and restaurants.
Be sure to check venues for concerts or festivals as well.
Review the restaurants and bars to plan strategically to have dinner, drinks and a night out in one area so you don’t have to Uber too much.
Day Three: Sydney Itinerary
Morning
Start your morning with a stroll inland from the harbor area toward Hyde Park. There are several coffee shops around the park – like Jardin St. James and The Hydeaway. Have breakfast and coffee here and have a nice walk through the park and the surrounding areas. Be sure to see St. Mary’s Cathedral.
When you are finished in the park, start making your way toward the Queen Victoria Building, just two blocks over. QVB is an exquisite historical building in Sydney that has the most beautiful architecture inside and out. It opened in 1898 and has been very well-kept. Here, there is plenty of shopping and dining to spend hours.
Afternoon
Depending on how long you spent in QVB, you may have a few hours left of the afternoon. North of the Opera House is Watson’s Bay, which is an old fishing village. You can either ferry from Circular Quay to Watson’s Bay or Uber about 20 minutes through the suburbs.
Once there, you can start a short walk called the South Head Heritage Trail. It starts from Camp Cove Beach. This trail passes through several sights as well as offering Sydney skyline and harbor views throughout. The peak of the walk is Hornby Lighthouse where you will start to loop back. Depending on how early the suns set while you are there, this is a beautiful place for a sunset. You can also take Cliff Street down to the Gap Lookout. You can walk right up to the lookout without a trail.
Take a look around Watson’s Bay Boutique Hotel and grab a bite or drinks here before heading back to the city.
If you are not interested in making the trip to Watson’s Bay, you could spend the afternoon on one of the beaches you visited yesterday and wished you could have stayed longer. If you didn’t make it to Mahon Pool, that would be a great option as well!
Night
After you go back to the hotel to get ready for the evening, think about any areas you have loved and find a good restaurant! There is so much to choose from in this bustling city, you really cannot go wrong!
Day Four: Sydney Itinerary
Morning
Depending on your flight time, you may have some time for a last breakfast in Sydney. Grab any souvenirs you may want to take home with you. I always love collecting stickers, ornaments and post cards for scrapbooking. Make sure you have all of the photos you need in this iconic city!
Take a quick ferry over to Manly Beach if you did not already visit. This would be a great place to spend the last few hours if you have the time.
I hope you had the best time in Sydney and that you feel like you saw what the atmosphere truly has to offer!
I aim to provide activities that allow you to see the tourist attractions, but also get a broader feel for what a city has to offer past the tourism.
Thank you for your support, it is appreciated much more than you know!
