Sydney Australia Tips?

[jtannerchs]

Hi all,

We are going to Sydney, Australia in a few days for 2 weeks with our 2 year old (27 months) DD. We will be staying in an apartment in Bondi Beach. It's going to be their winter. We will likely rent a car for 1 week of the stay and can do some nearby day trips.

Anyone been, or live there and have some tips or advice? Things like restaurants (toddler friendly ;-) ), shopping, day trips, activities to do with 2 year olds, grocery stores (we can cook some meals), etc? We will also be celebrating our 10 year anniversary there...with the 2 yo. Haa haa. It's all good though, and we are getting really excited!

I would definitely love to see/touch? some koalas (I know that is probably corny, but I really want to!)

TIA for any info you might have!

[niccig]

My parents live in Brisbane, so I don't know Sydney too well.

Staying in Bondi, you'll have access to lots of restuarants. Australians love outdoor cafes and love good food. I would say most are kid friendly. Food prices are higher than they are here, but there's no tipping, unless you're in super fancy restaurant. Eg. when we visit my parents we would never trip and they live in very toursity area - DH has problems with this, but min. wage there is much higher than here, so servers do get paid well. My Dad tells him to not tip as it gets servers used to it, and average Aussie won't do it.

Supermarkets - look for Woolworths, major chain.

Trips - go down to the Rocks and walk around the Sydney Opera House. You could drive out to see the Blue Mountains. Take a boat trip on the harbour. I don't know if they let you touch koalas and kangaroos at Taronga Zoo - some places don't because concerned about stress to the animals. If they do let you hold and have a photo, they will swap the koalas out frequently so not held by too many people. Gas, or Petrol, is more expensive than here.

I don't know about public transport in Sydney, but there should be buses from Bondi to downtown Syndey/Rocks/Opera House.

Look on Trip Advisor and other travel sites for more updated information. Sorry, I don't know much more.

Nicci

[nrp]

I "studied" abroad in Sydney in college, and then DH and I lived there for a few months when we were first married.

Even in the winter, Sydney is pretty mild. And around Bondi there are great walking paths that meander along the coast. As niccig said, there are lots of great cafes and restaurants with a patios - the Thai food in particular is amazing - every little hole-in-the-wall is great.

Public transportation is pretty good - buses and trains and ferries. Think about going to the harbor and taking a water taxi across to Doyle's for seafood - really fun.

The acquarium is of course incredible - will be great with a toddler.

The Paddington Market on Saturdays is also great for picking up unique souvenirs, and easy to wander around with a stroller.

Also as niccig suggested, the Blue Mountains would be a great day trip. The Hunter Valley wine region near Sydney you could do in a day as well, or you could find a nice B&B for an overnight.

I'll try to think back some more - I'm sure you will have an awesome time! PM me if you have any specific questions.

[jtannerchs]

Great tips! Thank you!

Nicci, in all my "koala frenzy" I never thought about how that might be upsetting to the animal. They probably don't like being touched by crazy people all day long. Even if they do allow it, I think I'll just stick to the regular gawking. Also, thanks for the tipping information. Sounds just like Europe - we just round up, but don't necessarily give an extra 20% tip.

Nrp, thanks for the restaurant tip for seafood. A water taxi sounds like fun. I'll be sure to check out the Paddington market.

[bluestarfish18]

I lived in Syndey when I was younger, but don't remember too much about everyday things (groceries, directions, etc)...we're talking 20 years ago.

I do rememebr the aquarium being top notch, and Taronga Zoo is still a favorite place to touch koalas, roos and joeys. There used to be a wombat named Matilda that kept escaping from her habitat, so every so often you'd see a random furry beast running being chased by keepers.

Darling Harbor is great for touristy stuff, like boat cruises and seafood.

You're going during perfect weather...it's not quite too cold yet, but not hot hot hot like it is in the summer. Have fun!

[niccig]

Don't worry about touching the Koalas if they LET you do it. The zoo keepers have it all under control and you will not stress them out - they rotate the animals pretty frequently as I've been told. My parents live near the Crocodile's Hunter's Australia Zoo and I think it was 15 mins and then a new koala, and they only let you hold them long enough for their photographer to take a photo, and then the handler takes the koala back.

You might also get to touch a kangaroo - at the Australia Zoo they have a field with kangaroos lying around mostly, and you can feed them and gently pat them. Again, it's fine as the zoo controls how it's done. I don't know if Taronga Zoo lets you do this or not.

Have fun on your trip..

Oh, advice for the flight. It's a late night flight from the West Coast. We normally board around 11.30pm. We keep DS up, we eat a late dinner at the airport, and he's normally asleep before the plane takes off. They serve dinner on the plane about an hour into the flight. We tell them we don't want any food as we just ate, and we try to sleep. They don't serve breakfast until a few hours before you land - so there is a long stretch with no food. I pack plenty of snacks, sandwiches that don't need to be cold - for DS and me it's vegemite, fruit to eat etc. We eat this when we wake up as it's normally before they serve breakfast. They do hand out snacks,but having my own means I can feed DS something that I know he will eat. You can't bring any fruit/sandwiches into Australia, so I throw away what we don't eat.