Highlights
Optional activities include - The Sydney Harbor Bridge ◦ The Sydney Opera House ◦ The Blue Mountains National Park ◦ Bondi Beach and The Northern Beaches ◦ Harbor Cruise ◦ Coastal Walks ◦ Australian Wildlife ◦ Great Food ◦ Hunter Valley Wineries
Price
$296.00
per person.Includes
This price is based on two persons sharing a room for 3-nights in a centrally located 3-star hotel in Sydney. It includes a transfer to your hotel on arrival at Sydney. Prices for a single room and a longer stay in Sydney or the state of New South Wales are also available. To add sightseeing options, either create a Wish List by selecting from the attractions below, or if you don't have the time to complete a Wish List, click for a free custom itinerary, based on your planned traveling dates. Prices are subject to future changes in US$ and AU$ currency exchange rates.
Days 1 - 4
Sydney
Sydney is Australia's largest city, a thriving cultural center with great concert halls and galleries, museums and amazing restaurants and cafes. Wine lovers will enjoy a day trip to the nearby vineyards of the Hunter Valley. We’ll guide you in making the best choices according to your own interests and preferences.
Day 4
Departure Day
Our team will work with you to help you decide what your next vacation stop is going to be. Either in Australia or perhaps flying to New Zealand for the next stage of your travel adventure. If your visit comes at the end of your vacation, today you will return to the USA. Re-cross the International Dateline and arrive on the same date that you leave Australia.
Our travel professionals on the team here at New Zealand and Australia Vacations have first hand personal experiences of all the destinations mentioned on our website. If you are inspired by this vacation package, get them to help you create a version that’s more tailor-made to your special and specific requirements.
Phone 888-277-2293 or by email HERE.
The Blue Mountains & Wildlife
The Blue Mountains
The Blue Mountains National Park is one of seven national parks that make up the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.This wonderland of sandstone outcrops, deep ravines and hazy blue eucalypt forests boasts luxury retreats and stunning views.
Today, your guide will take you off the beaten track to visit remote lookout locations and discuss the history, flora and fauna of this magnificent region.
At 7.00- 7.30AM depart from your hotel by coach and travel directly to the Blue Mountains with your first stop of the day at Calmsley Hill, a working farm that is also a home for Kangaroo, Emu, Wombat and Koala. Enjoy morning tea with time afterwards to wander at leisure and enjoy the wildlife that lives here.
From Calmsley Hill continue to the Blue Mountains and visit an outlook points for stunning views of the Jamison Valley.
Continuing on, arrive at Eaglehawk Lookout, a remote lookout point away from the crowds for views of the famous 'Three Sisters' rock formations.
The "character" of the Three Sisters changes throughout the day and throughout the seasons as the sunlight brings out the magnificent colours. Here your guide will discuss the legends behind this famous rock formation and time available for you to take some great photos.
Your coach then makes its way around the mountain valleys towards the village of Blackheath and your lunch venue the Hydro Majestic.
The afternoon is spent visiting a selection of dramatic lookout points. Once you see the view from Govetts Leap you’ll know why it’s one of the most famous views in Australia, with a magnificent waterfall that drops nearly 600 ft to the base of the cliff. If you’re not mesmerised by the dancing waves of water spray it produces, you’ll be transfixed by the sweeping views down the valley to the Grose Wilderness.
Next stop is the delightful Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens our last stop, where we enjoy the sweeping views of Sydney in the distance before travelling down the Bells Line of Road to arrive back at your hotel approximately 4.30 - 5.00pm.
The 'Three Sisters', Blue Mountains.
Govetts Leap, Blue Mountains.
Meeting a kangaroo with a sweet tooth.
For Food Lovers
Eating Out in Sydney
Downtown cafes and restaurants in places like 'The Rocks' and 'Darling Harbor" have some great eateries. But for a better opportunity to mix with the locals and to enjoy food the way they do, don't confine yourself to downtown. Take an Uber out to Ashfield (20-minutes) for some of the best Chinese you’ll ever enjoy, and at bargain prices. Or even closer is Leichhardt, the Italian area where you get the best Italian food in Australia, some would claim the world. Or maybe Portuguese food at the suburb of Petershem. Whatever your taste, Sydney prides itself as the food capital of Australia and out of town places like Newtown, Enmore and Marrickville offer a more alternative side to Sydney great food scene.
Indigo Cafe in the stylish Sydney suburb of Double Bay.
If your serious about your food, you'll enjoy this article from local publication Insider Guides Australia.
" Australia is a multicultural nation, and nowhere is this more evident than in our food culture. Sydney is home to a large number of nationalities, which, luckily for us, show off their national talents through the delicious form of food.
Deciding where to eat out in Sydney can be tough, with almost every international taste catered for. You should have no trouble finding a travel favourite or food from back home. The city tends to have different cuisines cluster together in areas. As a brief outline, Haymarket is the city’s Chinatown, while the nearby Liverpool St in the CBD houses the Spanish Quarter. A little further out of the city, the suburb of Leichhardt will provide an array of Italian restaurants, while Lakemba serves up great Lebanese.
There are also plenty of options to suit the student budget. Chinatown and local pubs are often a good bet, offering cheap lunch deals and dinner specials. Serving both food and alcohol, pubs are the great location to bridge the gap between eating out and staying out, and Sydney is known for its vast amount of pubs – there are usually over 10 to each suburb! For those wanting to party, there are plenty of popular nightclubs, bars and dancing spots to be found in the nightlife districts of Oxford St in Darlinghurst and Kings Cross.
But nightlife in Sydney is not just about drinking, contrary to what some local students might say. The increase in late night eateries and dessert bars around Sydney and the outer suburbs means you can now head out after 10 pm and find a quiet place to unwind.
CBD
FOOD
Avoid the constant temptation of fast food in the CBD by heading to Chinatown for some of the best food that this city has to offer! Don’t expect just Chinese cuisine either; this is the area for Malaysian, Japanese, Taiwanese and more. The best dumpling houses can be found tucked away in arcades.
NIGHTLIFE
Don’t be put off by the bars lining George St. Instead, check out the alleyways and hidden entries of the CBD. Thanks to a small bar revival, with a little investigation you can find amazing bars tucked away in the CBD. Highlights include Grandma’s Bar, a replica of your grandmother’s lounge room tucked under a guitar store that serves cocktails in cute teacups, the Baxter Inn and GoodGod Small Club, a ‘danceteria’, with DJs every night of the week and cocktails named after Chevy Chase!
EAST SYDNEY
FOOD
Not only does Sydney’s east offer an array of enticing food options, but these are also some of the loveliest beachside spots to dine at. Bondi is your best bet for a wide variety of choices – if you’re after a fancy night out (with fantastic views) check out Bondi Icebergs. Closer to the city, Darlinghurst is a good place to for cool bars and nightclubs – check out the little bars on Stanley St then head up to Oxford St for a night of dancing.
NIGHTLIFE
After eating delicious food and gazing out to sea, a drink is in order. Again, Bondi Icebergs is an excellent choice for a classy cocktail and B-grade celebrity spotting. For a more unusual tipple, check out Rum Diaries (which is just as it sounds, a rum bar) or for live music, make a visit to Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel, which features great beers on tap and a gig or DJ every night!
NORTH SYDNEY
FOOD
The north of Sydney is lucky enough to have a food option that stays open 24 hours and has good food! Maisy’s Café on Military Road in Neutral Bay is the perfect option for late-night dining. If you’re keeping more regular hours, check out the North Sydney Hotel for some of the best pub food that side of the bridge.
NIGHTLIFE
North Sydney’s nightlife, long ago a bit of a dead zone, has recently taken off with venues like Hugo’s Manly, Newport Arms Hotel and the Rag and Famish stepping up their game to offer bars and nightspots to rival Sydney’s inner city.
INNER WEST
FOOD
If you’re in the mood for Thai, Newtown’s King St will answer your prayers. Almost every second store is home to a Thai restaurant. The tricky part is finding your favourite!. If Thai won’t hit the spot check out the more unusual cuisines on offer – Na Zdrowie on Glebe Point Road offers amazing Polish food (and a vodka list longer than any you’ll ever have seen!)
NIGHTLIFE
The inner west’s nightlife is dominated by pubs. Newtown’s Courthouse, Enmore’s Sly Fox and Glebe’s AB Hotel are consistently popular and serve good cold beer for reasonable prices. If you’re after something a bit fancier, check out one of the many new small bars – from Corridor in Newtown, to Enmore’s Midnight Special and Glebe’s The Little Guy.
WESTERN SYDNEY
FOOD
Parramatta is home to an exciting mix of cuisines, boasting over 180 restaurants cafés and bars. Go to Church St for modern outdoor dining, George St for beer gardens and cool cafés and Harris Park for some of the best Indian restaurants in Australia.
NIGHTLIFE
There are plenty of great pubs in the area such as the Albion Hotel and the Roxy Hotel. The latter was developed into a massive entertainment complex, and it receives world class acts on a regular basis. The Parramatta Leagues Club is also an interesting place to check out. It houses various restaurants and bars as well as the Parramatta Eels NRL (Rugby League) club.
Beaches of Sydney
Places like Bondi Beach and Manly Beach are internationally known icons of the Sydney beach scene and well worth a visit. But if you have a day to spare, nothing compares to Sydney's Northern Beaches. It takes over an hour to get there and it's not all highway; the locals don't want a highway because they say it will ruin their special corner of the world. When you get there you'll see why!
So make an early start, cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge and head north to beaches with names like Avalon, Balgowlah, Bilgola, Dee Why, Mona Vale, Narrabeen, Whale Beach and the northernmost of them all, Palm Beach.
Two things to be aware of. It gets very busy on weekends during the Australian summer and these are all serious surf beaches, so if the surf is up, only competent and confident swimmers should be in the water. Plus surfers of course, because this is where some of Australia's best big-wave surf is found.
It's a great day out. There's excellent cafes and walking trails to enjoy and the sheer beauty of the region is breathtaking.
Our favorite - Whale Beach.
The surfs up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.
Opera House & Museums
See inside the world’s most recognisable sails on The Essential Tour at the Sydney Opera House. Experience this miracle of architecture and engineering. A work of art that came into existence against impossible odds, to become one of the busiest performing arts centres in the world.
The Opera House guide will take you on an engrossing journey, in a story to rival any opera plot with its dramatic twists and turns. Like the fascinating story of the architect Jørn Utzon who designed the building. At one stage, because of massive cost overruns and the technical problems of building the roof, he was fired from the job, but years later, when the true genius of his design was fully appreciated, all was forgiven and he was made an honorary Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) and given the Keys to the City of Sydney.
You’ll also visit one of the major venues – where live performance are presented every day. Some 1,500 performances, in every genre you can imagine, are staged each year to audiences of around 1.5 million. You will be inspired!
As well as the Opera House visit you might like to visit one of the world class museums found in the city. These include the Art Gallery of New South Wales (modern art), the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and the Nicholson Museum (antiquities). All are worth visiting, as is the Australian National Maritime Museum. History buffs will particularly enjoy the Hyde Park Barracks and their displays about the early settlers in Australia.
The Australia National Maritime Museum, Sydney
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.
The Sydney Opera House.