Sydney Australia Holidays
Sydney
Holidays
The most beautiful harbour city on earth — the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach, world-class food and a lifestyle so good you'll spend the whole flight home planning your return
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Flight Time
22–24h from London via Dubai, Singapore or Hong Kong to Sydney (SYD)
Best Time
September to November (spring — warm, dry, wildflowers) and March to May (autumn — cooler, less crowded); December to February is peak summer (hot, busy, expensive)
Country
Australia
Suppliers
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Sydney Holiday Guide
Sydney is best explored over 4–5 nights — enough time to see the main sights (Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Bondi Beach, Taronga Zoo), explore the neighbourhoods (Surry Hills, Newtown, Paddington, Glebe, The Rocks) and take a day trip to the Blue Mountains or the Hunter Valley wine region. Sydney is the main international gateway to Australia — most long-haul flights from the UK arrive at Sydney Airport (SYD), 8km south of the CBD.
Getting around: Sydney has an excellent public transport system — trains, buses, ferries and light rail, all accessible with an Opal card (a reloadable smart card available at convenience stores and newsagents). The ferry network is particularly good — ferries connect the CBD with Manly, Taronga Zoo, Darling Harbour and the inner harbour suburbs. Uber is widely available. Taxis are metered and reliable.
Getting from the airport: Sydney Airport is 8km from the CBD. The Airport Link train (approximately £12 one way, 13 minutes to Central Station) is the fastest option. Taxis and Uber are approximately £30–40 to the CBD.
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Average Temperatures
Jan
26°C
Feb
26°C
Mar
25°C
Apr
22°C
May
19°C
Jun
17°C
Jul
16°C
Aug
17°C
Sep
20°C
Oct
22°C
Nov
23°C
Dec
25°C
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Call 01282 960 460Top 8 Things To Do in Sydney
The harbour, the beaches, the walks, the food and the extraordinary energy of Australia's greatest city.
Sydney Opera House — One of the Great Buildings on Earth
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most recognisable and most celebrated buildings of the 20th century — a UNESCO World Heritage Site designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and completed in 1973, with its distinctive sail-like shells rising from the tip of Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour. The building contains five performance venues (the Concert Hall, the Opera Theatre, the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse and the Studio) and hosts over 1,500 performances a year — from opera and ballet to contemporary music, comedy and theatre. The best way to experience the Opera House is to attend a performance — tickets are available for most shows and the experience of watching a performance in one of the world's most beautiful buildings is extraordinary. Guided tours of the building (including backstage tours) are available daily. The view of the Opera House from the Harbour Bridge or from a ferry on the harbour is one of the most spectacular urban views in the world.
Sydney Harbour Bridge — Climb to the Top of Australia
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world's largest steel arch bridge — 503m long, 134m high and containing 6 million hand-driven rivets. The BridgeClimb experience (a guided climb to the summit of the arch, 134m above the harbour) is one of the most exhilarating activities in Australia — the view from the top, over the harbour, the Opera House, the CBD and the surrounding suburbs, is extraordinary. The climb takes 3.5 hours and is available in various formats (day, twilight and night). For those who prefer to keep their feet on the ground, the Pylon Lookout (at the southeast pylon of the bridge) gives a similar view for a fraction of the price. The walk across the bridge (on the pedestrian and cycle path on the eastern side) is free and gives excellent views of the harbour and the Opera House.
Bondi Beach — The World's Most Famous Beach
Bondi Beach is the most famous beach in Australia and one of the most famous in the world — a 1km crescent of golden sand in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, 8km from the CBD. The beach is patrolled by the Bondi Surf Bathers' Life Saving Club (the world's first surf lifesaving club, founded in 1907) and is safe for swimming between the flags. The beach is at its most atmospheric in the early morning — surfers in the water, swimmers doing laps in the Bondi Icebergs ocean pool (built into the rocks at the southern end of the beach), joggers on the promenade and the first cafés opening for breakfast. The Bondi Pavilion (the Art Deco changing rooms at the centre of the beach) hosts markets, exhibitions and events throughout the year. The Bondi Farmers Market (every Saturday morning) is one of the best in Sydney.
Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk — The Best Urban Walk in Australia
The Bondi to Coogee coastal walk is the best urban walk in Australia — a 6km cliff-top path along the eastern suburbs coastline, passing through Tamarama, Bronte, Clovelly and Gordons Bay before ending at Coogee Beach. The walk takes 2–3 hours at a leisurely pace and passes some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in Sydney — dramatic sandstone cliffs, hidden beaches, ocean pools carved into the rocks and views back towards the city. The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition (held annually in October/November) lines the walk with over 100 sculptures by Australian and international artists — one of the largest free outdoor sculpture exhibitions in the world. The walk is best done from north to south (Bondi to Coogee) in the morning, with the sun behind you and the sea in front.
Manly Ferry — The World's Great Short Ferry Journey
The Manly Ferry is one of the great short journeys in the world — a 30-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay (in the heart of the CBD) to Manly (on the northern beaches), passing under the Harbour Bridge, past the Opera House and through the heart of Sydney Harbour. The ferry runs every 30 minutes throughout the day and costs approximately £4 each way — one of the best value experiences in Sydney. Manly itself is a relaxed beach suburb with a long surf beach (Manly Beach), a sheltered harbour beach (Shelly Beach, excellent for snorkelling), a pedestrian mall (the Corso) lined with cafés and restaurants, and the Manly Scenic Walkway (a 10km coastal walk to Spit Bridge). The combination of the ferry journey and a day at Manly is one of the best days out in Sydney.
Taronga Zoo — Wildlife with a Harbour View
Taronga Zoo is one of the best zoos in the world — not just for its extraordinary collection of Australian and international wildlife, but for its setting: a hillside site on the northern shore of Sydney Harbour, with views over the harbour and the CBD that are among the best in Sydney. The zoo is home to koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, Tasmanian devils, platypuses, echidnas, saltwater crocodiles, snow leopards, gorillas, giraffes and over 4,000 animals in total. The Sky Safari cable car (which crosses the zoo from the lower entrance to the upper entrance) gives spectacular views over the harbour. The zoo is accessible by ferry from Circular Quay (12 minutes) — the ferry journey is part of the experience. The koala encounter (a close-up experience with koalas, available by booking in advance) is one of the most popular activities at the zoo.
The Blue Mountains — Ancient Canyons 1.5 Hours from the City
The Blue Mountains are a UNESCO World Heritage wilderness area 1.5 hours west of Sydney — a vast sandstone plateau dissected by deep canyons, with ancient eucalyptus forests, dramatic waterfalls and the extraordinary Three Sisters rock formation at Katoomba. The mountains get their name from the blue haze that hangs over the valleys — caused by the fine mist of eucalyptus oil released by the millions of gum trees. The best base for exploring the Blue Mountains is Katoomba — a Victorian-era town with excellent cafés, restaurants and guesthouses, and the starting point for the best walks in the area. The Giant Stairway (a steep descent into the Jamison Valley, 900 steps) and the Federal Pass (a valley floor walk through ancient forest) are the classic Blue Mountains walks. The Scenic World complex at Katoomba has the world's steepest railway (the Scenic Railway) and a cable car over the valley.
Sydney's Food Scene — The Best in Australia
Sydney has the best food scene in Australia — a reflection of the city's extraordinary cultural diversity and its access to world-class produce (the Sydney Fish Market, the second largest fish market in the world after Tokyo's Tsukiji, supplies the city's restaurants with the finest seafood in the southern hemisphere). The city's restaurant scene ranges from the fine dining of the CBD and Surry Hills (Quay, Tetsuya's, Sepia and Momofuku Seiobo are among the best restaurants in the world) to the casual dining of Newtown (the most diverse food street in Sydney — Thai, Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Lebanese, Mexican and everything in between), the Japanese restaurants of the CBD (Sydney has the best Japanese food outside Japan) and the beach cafés of Bondi and Manly. The Saturday morning markets at Bondi, Glebe and Paddington are the best places to experience Sydney's food culture.
Explore Sydney on the Map
Key areas, beaches and attractions across the island.
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