Random Things To Do In Sydney, Australia

Oh Australia. I find myself in a lockdown thinking of places I’ve been and adventures to go on. What came about was this, some random things to do around Sydney, Australia.

When I had first drafted this post it was very early in the pandemic shut down and my opening line was, “Today we’re going to talk about Australia. Not about them kicking all the cruise ships out and closing their borders, but instead about some of the fun lovely places I’ve been able to visit there.”

I happened to be on a ship outside of Australia when the whole world shut down. Ironically just a week before that shut down we were in Sydney going about our business as if nothing was different. If you’re following along with your pandemic timeline, yes, that does put me in Sydney the same time that Tom Hanks was there and got COVID. No, I didn’t see him, and no, I didn’t get COVID.

And, while Australia did kick all the cruise ships out (everybody did though, so it wasn’t just them), overall I have loved visiting Australia. And, no visit to Australia can be complete without Sydney. This post is going to focus on some random things to do in the Sydney area. There are a number of lovely options to circumnavigate Australia on a cruise in 2024 & 2025 to check out as well.

Note: This is by no way a complete list of things to do around Sydney. There is SO much to do I have only scratched the surface of it. Think of this more like the thoughts of someone in lockdown daydreaming about doing things again.

First Off, A Bit About Australia:

Australia is both a country, continental land mass, and the worlds largest island. It is located in the southern hemisphere and English is it’s main language. It uses the Australian Dollar (AUD) and is part of the British Commonwealth. It is divided into six states that each have their own capital. The capital of Australia is Canberra. Sydney is the capital of the state of New South Wales.

They have a population of about 24.6 million and is about 7,741,220 sq km. Austrlia is home to some delightful creatures like kangaroos and koalas. It is also known for having a whole lot of other creatures that can kill you, and if you do a quick Google for “How many species in Australia can kill you?” it comes up with this delightful answer: “In Australia, there have been around 140 species of land snakes and about 32 species of sea snakes identified, of which about 100 are venomous; although only 12 of these species could result in a wound that would actually kill you.” So, well, there’s that.

Alright, onto the touristy stuff.

Navigating Sydney

Sydney as a whole is a fairly walkable city if you are staying within the downtown area. The Sydney city limits are very spread out, but once you are downtown it’s pretty easy to navigate around. Topographically there is a bit of a hill in the middle of the downtown area so if you are planning on walking around a bit know that it’s not all flat. The city is well kept with wide enough sidewalks and crosswalks. There are a number of pedestrian only areas throughout the city that feature shopping, dining, entertainment, or sometimes a mix of venues.

By Cruise Ship

If you come into Sydney on a cruise ship wake up for the sail in. It is always worth it. So beautiful sailing by the Opera House and going underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

There are two places for cruise ships to dock in Sydney. You will either dock right next to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, and Circular Quay, or you will dock over in the White Bay Cruise Terminal. How do you know where you will dock? There is mostly only one way to know for sure: if you are on a larger cruise ship you will be at the downtown dock because you won’t fit underneath the Harbour Bridge to be able to get to the White Bay terminal. So, if you are on any of the “mega-ships” you will find yourself docked right downtown.

If you dock at the White Bay Cruise Terminal you get to sail underneath the bridge which is fairly cool and then you will have a shuttle bus to bring you over to the Darling Harbour. From there it is about a 25 minute walk to get to the bridge, Opera House, and Circular Quay.

There is a public transit network, as well as taxi’s, and app services such as Uber and Lyft.

The Most Popular Things to Do In Sydney

While pretty much any top 10 list of Sydney would include going to the Sydney Opera House and doing the Sydney Harbour Bridge bridge climb, I haven’t actually done those things. I’ve walked around the Opera House but as of yet haven’t been in. I’ve always been too cheap (and a bit scared of heights) to do the bridge climb…(but it is super expensive). I’ve pretty much always assumed I’ll always get to go back to Sydney over and over again. For the first time in a long time though I don’t know when that will be and I have found myself with a bit of regret for not just doing those things while I was there. Alas, you live and you learn.

Darling Harbour

If you are on a cruise ship that is at the White Bay Cruise Terminal, Darling Harbour is likely where your shuttle bus will drop you off. This is a super fun area with a ton of restaurants, an aquarium, a mall, and so much good people watching it isn’t even funny. The majority of restaurants all have an outdoor dining area or an outdoor patio area. While this might not have the fame of Sydney Harbour, it’s still gorgeous and has such a great atmosphere.

Taronga Zoo

Distance From Sydney: 3 km and can be reached via ferry.

Cost: Adult: $49 (AUD), Child: $29 (AUD)

I have not been here myself; however, it is a highly respected zoo and nearly everyone always goes “you haven’t ever been there!” when they ask me about it. If you want to check out some animals and stay pretty close to downtown, this is the zoo for you.

Manly Beach:

Distance from Sydney: About a half hour on the ferry from Circular Quay (right by the Opera House)

Cost: $9 AUD each way on the ferry, plus lunch, activities

There are two beach areas that are incredibly famous in Sydney: Bondi Beach and Manly Beach. Bondi is probably a bit more famous, so today we will talk about the slightly less famous Manly Beach.

To get to Manly Beach we made our way to Circular Quay, got an Opal Card (which is their card for public transit) and took one of the public ferries. It was $9 AUD each way, or about $6.45 USD. It was about a half hour on the ferry with some nice views of Sydney Harbour and the area around it.

When you get off the ferry you feel like you’ve gone into another city entirely. It has a very relaxed beach vibe, with walking streets, craft markets, wide sidewalks, a giant beautiful beach, a walkway winding along the water, and for those less inclined to get out into the waves, a sea water pool.

As we didn’t have a ton of time the group I was with opted to have lunch and do a touch of shopping. Where we went for lunch was far along the walkway that is by the sea, so we still enjoyed a lot of the views. And, along our walk, we saw three different weddings happening. There were some people surfing and in general having a nice day.

Like being in most vacation areas and outskirts of a big city, things seemed somewhat expensive. However, like with the perpetual math of travel, you have to do a little quick math. When we were in Australia the exchange rate was about $1.40 AUD to our $1.00 USD. This meant that if you bought something that had a price tag on it of $14 it was actually only $10 in US Dollars. However, even with this excellent exchange rate the lunch menu items still ranged from $13 AUD to $20 AUD. It was very good food, but a bit pricey for me to get much.

This beach is definitely worth taking the time to go to. If you want a nice relaxing family day, this is the place to do it.

Featherdale Wildlife Park

Distance from Sydney: 39 minute drive, or 1 hour 7 minutes on public transportation

Cost: Adult (ages 16+): $34
Child (3-15 years old): $19
Student: $29

I visited the Featherdale Wildlife park while on a shore excursion from the ship. It was on our way to the Blue Mountains. There are some big zoo’s, aquariums, and wildlife rescues throughout Australia. This country really embraces the fact that they have animals that are really specific to their ecosystem. This particular wildlife park is not far from Sydney, and had many animals native to Australia. These included koalas, kangaroos, wallabys, as well as a variety of birds, penguins, reptiles, snakes, and crocodiles. Some of the animals can move fairly freely throughout the park and you can even feed some of them.

This park is small in comparison to a place like the Australia Zoo (further north, by Brisbane, and started by Steve Irwin and his family). However, for something not far from Sydney this wildlife park was nice, accessible, and would be a fun outing with children.

Blue Mountains:

Distance from Sydney: 1 hour 30 minutes by car, about 2 hours by public transit

Cost: While there is no cost to go into the Blue Mountains themselves, Scenic World is $39 AUD per adult and $21 AUD per child.

The Blue Mountains is a region and national park not far from Sydney. They are known as the Blue Mountains because of all of the eucalyptus trees. Apparently when the sun hits the eucalyptus leaves it has a blue tint to it, hence the name. Eucalyptus trees are relatively common in Australia which is lucky because it provides both the habitat and the food for one of Australia’s most famous animals, the koala. So if you find yourself in a forest of eucalyptus trees you should look up – there might be some adorable furry little koala’s snacking on some leaves looking back down on you.

For my adventure to the Blue Mountains I was on a tour from the ship and our group went by bus. However, if you do not have a car or just prefer public transit you can also get there by train from downtown Sydney. You would connect through a city called Katooba and then make your way on local busses from there.

As we arrive into the Blue Mountain region we stop at a lookout point where you are supposed to be able to see the famed Three Sisters. The Three Sisters is a rock formation that forms three peaks. They are brilliantly situated with a huge kind of canyon behind them. The day that I was there when we went to the look out for the Three Sisters it was incredibly foggy, so at this point we were unable to see it.

We hop back onto the bus and head to the main event of this tour, a place called “Scenic World”. “Scenic World”. Scenic World has a railway that is crazy steep. (Take a look at the video below), a cable car, and a sky car. They have also built a few walking paths and look out points. While it is most definitely a tourist destination, they really have built some infrastructure that makes seeing some of the more breathtaking parts of this area accessible even without lots of hiking.

The day we went it was a little bit hectic, but absolutely worth it for the view. And, while the Three Sisters might be the famous part of this area, the waterfall completely stole the show for me. It was gorgeous.

For perspective, as I write “it was a little bit hectic” this was on March 6th, just over a week before the whole world shut down.

Even on the fairly overcast, foggy, and cloudy day that I was in the Blue Mountains they were beautiful. If you want to see some of the natural beauty of Australia or if you are traveling with people that need a day away from the city, this is a great option.

This Is Just a Start

There are so many random things to do in Sydney, Australia. Someday I will go back and I’ll go to the Opera House and I’ll climb the Harbour Bridge. These are just a few places to dream of and think of while we all wait for our chance to get the vaccine to help our world go back to normal. I know for me when it goes back to normal I am going to do my best to make the most out of every port stop.

Want to see where else you can see by cruise ship? Take a look at A-Z Around the World by Cruise Ship