After 48 hours in transit, we officially ended the South America portion of our trip and arrived halfway across the world in Australia. We spent most of our time here in Brisbane, visiting with Vikram’s family (which will be covered in a future post), and we also visited Sydney for three days.

Our first recommendation for Sydney is take more than three days! But if you’re like us and have limited time to spend here, you can still see the main sights without getting exhausted. Here are our experiences and recommendations for how to make the most of your time there.

Day One

We arrived around 2 pm to our AirBnB apartment in Surry Hills, a DC-like residential neighborhood filled with row houses and parks but very accessible to the city center.

After settling in, we walked downtown to cross the Sydney Harbor Bridge, providing our first views of the city’s famous harbor and opera house.

You can do a more adventuresome walk across the bridge’s frame for a steep (and ridiculous) $200, but it’s free to walk across the normal pedestrian path. For $13, you can climb up one of the pylon’s and get nice views as well.

Once we crossed the bridge and back, we strolled through The Rocks, the quaint and historic center of Sydney. The winding path through this neighborhood popped us out at Circular Quay, the heart of Sydney Harbor and where all the ferries and boats dock. From there, it was a quick hop to the Sydney Opera House for spectacular close-up views.

For dinner, we explored Surry Hills and found a small Nepalese restaurant—though there are tons of other options waiting for you!

Day Two

Our second day began with breakfast at Bourke Street Bakery, a small corner bakery filled with fresh breads, roasting coffee, and sweet delicacies. Be sure to try (in our opinion) the world’s best mocha here!

Then we spent most of the day doing the popular Coogee to Bondi walk.

One of the best and most unique aspects of Sydney is that clean and beautiful beaches are right there, side by side with the very metropolitan city. From Coogee, we walked along the water on a cliff path to the world-famous Bondi Beach. This walk was one of the highlights of our entire trip so far—you get awesome ocean views and can explore many beaches and watering holes along the way.

After a late seafood lunch by the beach, we met Vikram’s cousin for drinks in Surry Hills. He drove us around Sydney for a nighttime tour of the sights, and then we had homemade noodles and Wagyu beef at Chef’s Gallery in Chinatown.

Day Three

We had a repeat breakfast at Bourke Street Bakery (seriously, the mochas were addictive), and then walked towards Darling Harbor to visit Sydney’s Fish Market. The market had all types of imaginable seafood—from fresh fish and octopus to oysters and abalone. Along the back wall, there were tanks of huge lobsters and crabs bigger than your head.

You can buy anything you want, and they’ll prepare it for you there. We opted instead to buy some ready-made sashimi, seaweed salad, and fresh oysters to munch on at the nearby docks.

After lunch, we walked through the city center and the Royal Botanical Gardens to Mrs. Macquarie’s Point for a new viewpoint of the harbor and opera house.

We then took a ferry to Manly, a popular ride because it provides a cheap tour of the harbor. Manly has another beach, and then we just hung out at a cafe and then a microbrewery. We had dinner and drinks in Surry Hills, and the next morning we were back at the airport.

Sydney was a bit of a whirlwind, but we had a great time and plan to be back again!

Travel Notes

• Sydney is a fairly expensive city—expect American-like prices for food and lodging.
• Do the Coogee to Bondi walk! You can go in either direction, or make a full day of it and go back and forth. Added bonus: it’s free!
• Public transportation is pretty good in Sydney, and you can get an Opal card at the airport upon arrival.