Travel Recap: Sydney, Australia

Sydney was the third and final destination of our honeymoon in Australia. I wasn't expecting to love the city so much, but Sydney ended up being my favorite part of our time in Australia! 

In front of the Sydney Opera House

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tips and advice:

  • If you read my Great Barrier Reef travel recap, you know that I asked my husband if we should consider canceling Sydney to stay in Cairns, in part because I was worried about wildfires (as we were visiting in January 2020). I'm so glad we kept our initial itinerary because I ended up loving Sydney!
  • We flew from Cairns to Sydney, and the flight was just about 3 hours long. 
  • We aim to do one big excursion or activity in every city and to spend the rest of our time exploring -- in Sydney, we chose to do the Sydney Bridge Climb.
  • Check in advance what's open and if reservations are required! Some shops, restaurants, and bars close early or aren't open at all on certain days (like on Mondays or Tuesdays).
  • Coming from the U.S. East Coast, we typically got tired around 10pm every night.
  • Sydney was warmer than Melbourne and cooler than Cairns/Port Douglas.
The exact part in the The 1989 World Tour Live where Taylor Swift says "Now we may be in beautiful Sydney, Australia"

itinerary:
  • Hotel: Four Seasons
    • A genuinely lovely experience. The concierge was extremely helpful, and the hotel is huge and beautiful! And since we were visiting in January, there was a giant Christmas tree still up, which I loved because I love everything about the Christmas holiday. I don't normally enjoy buffets, but we ate breakfast at the Four Seasons buffet twice and it was delicious!
  • Day 1
    • We took an Uber to Bondi Beach and just walked along the coast, checking out Bondi Icebergs Club and wandering in and out of restaurants for snacks and drinks.
    • We ate dinner at Bennelong, which is the restaurant inside the Sydney Opera House. It was such a cool experience, and my drinks were so good!
  • Day 2
    • Breakfast at Four Seasons breakfast buffet
    • Big Bus Tour
      • With Big Bus tours, you buy a ticket and can hop on and off at different stops, giving you time to explore, and listen to a pre-recorded tour while on the bus.
      • I actually love taking the Big Bus tour in any city they operate because it's a great way to see parts of the city I might not have otherwise, to learn some local history and trivia, and to rest my legs and feet for a bit! So far, we have done them in Rome, Paris, and Sydney!
      • Sydney actually has 2 bus routes -- city and beach -- so we started on the city route and then switched to the beach route, where we got off at Bondi Beach to complete the walk to Coogee Beach (about 3.5 miles).
      • We had planned to walk back to Bondi Beach but were feeling lazy, so after getting ice cream, we Ubered back to a Big Bus stop to hop back on.
    • Climbed the Sydney Bridge at night with BridgeClimb Sydney
      • I cannot say enough good things about this climb! We chose the Summit night climb, and it was incredible. Part of me wishes we had also done the day climb just to see the view during the daylight as well. Neither my husband nor I felt concerned while completing the climb, as the pathway is very sturdy and you're strapped in, but neither of us are afraid of heights in general -- there were some in our group who were more fearful.
  • Day 3
    • Breakfast at La Renaissance Courtyard Cafe
      • Very cute place with such good food! I ordered the Nutella twist, creme brulee, and a macaron. We had to wait a little for seating to become available.
    • Captain Cook boat cruise
      • We had initially planned to visit and hike the Blue Mountains but were unable to because of the wildfires, so my husband booked a boat tour instead. It was great to see Sydney from a different view than the bus the day before. And the guide pointed out 42 Wallaby Way, for the Finding Nemo fans!
    • Dinner at Aria
      • My husband and I both agree this was the best meal of our entire honeymoon. Simon (our Great Ocean tour guide from Melbourne) had recommended it to us first, then the Four Seasons concierge suggested it as well and made the reservation for us. Plus a terrific view of the opera house, bridge, and harbor!
photo diary:

The Four Seasons lobby! Just one of the many reasons I loved Sydney so much ;-)

The first of many photoshoots in front of this tree. 
Jacket: J Crew | Romper: Goodnight Macaroon | Shoes: Sperry Satin Lace Boat Shoes (affiliate link)

Overlooking Bondi Beach and the Bondi Icebergs Club


I really wanted to dress like Mary-Kate and Ashley from Our Lips Are Sealed but just couldn't find the right tube tops or colorblock dresses.
Dress: Asos | Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Mirrored Clubmaster sunglasses in green mirror (affiliate link)

Dinner at Bennelong inside the Sydney Opera House.


That's what we climbed!

My poor husband was like "you want another photo with this tree?"

Waiting for our Big Bus to arrive!

Part of the walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach.

Climbing the Sydney Bridge with BridgeClimb Sydney!



Amazing way to see and learn about the city! Would do it again in a heartbeat.

My breakfast at La Rennaisance Cafe Courtyard :-)

On the day boat tour of Sydney. It actually rained a bit on this day, so fortunately there was an inside section of the boat, and we were happy that Australia was getting some much-needed rain! 
Sunglasses: Illesteva Leonard sunglasses in tortoise/pink (affiliate link)

View from dinner at Aria, with the opera house and bridge in the background

where to eat and drink:
what to do:
links I used or recommend:
From Sydney we flew to Queenstown, New Zealand -- you can read that recap here.

I can't recommend Sydney enough. It had everything -- interesting sights, was on the water, boat cruises, nearby hiking, delicious food and drinks -- and I hope I'm lucky enough to go back some day!

love from


Comments

  1. HCIMay 26, 2021 at 10:54 PM

    Sounds like you both made the most of your time in Sydney. These are wonderful pictures, and I'm glad you and your husband had a blast there. I was able to visit Sydney a few years ago, but didn't see anywhere near the number of sites that you did. Thanks to your blog post, I now know of more places that are worth visiting should I visit there again.

    This is my first time on your travel blog. I follow Jay Caruso on Twitter, and he linked your blog in one of his tweets. So I decided to check it out. And I'll say that I really what I've seen in your blog. I look forward to keeping up with your travel adventures, as reading about the experiences of fellow travelers helped me immeasurably in making sound decisions when planning out a trip. Well done, thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Sarah QMay 27, 2021 at 9:22 PM

      Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed reading it!! I feel the same way about reading about others' travel experiences -- I always appreciate seeing how others planned out trips and finding inspiration from their travels.

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