We spent a few days in Sydney in December 2017 before our 12-day Australia-New Zealand cruise. We arrived in Sydney the first day around noon and embarked the cruise at Sydney Harbor on the third day afternoon. So, we didn’t really spend 3 full days in Sydney.
(Click here to see all our trips.)
Day 1: Sydney Harbor, Opera House
We arrived in Sydney around noon. We were traveling with relatives and friends, so we arranged transportation to take us from the airport to tonight’s hotel, Sydney Harbor Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay.
Rei wanted to sit at the front passenger seat. The chauffeur said, “That’s my seat!” Yes, they drive on the left side in Sydney. It’s pretty confusing for us. We had to be careful crossing the street, making sure that we were checking the correct direction.
The Marriott Hotel was right by the Sydney Harbor, and we had a fantastic view of the harbor and the famous Opera House! We left the luggage in the hotel room and went out to explore Sydney Harbor on foot.
The Sydney Harbor was bustling with tourists. We had an excellent view of the Harbor Bridge. The weather was a bit cloudy, but it’s cool and great for sightseeing.
We booked a guided tour to see the interior of the Opera House. The inside was spacious and had many elegant wooden structures. The guide gave us a detailed introduction of the opera house. It’s modern and very different from the other opera houses we visited in Europe.
The surrounding area was very verdant. We also saw some Australian White Ibises and Australian Magpies moving around. They were not afraid of people.
After dinner, we went to see the Opera House Night Show. They projected colorful arts on the sails of the Opera House, celebrating Australian culture and arts. All projections were brilliant and extremely beautiful. I took many photos. This is definitely not to be missed.
Day 2: Taronga Zoo, Queen Victoria Building
Taronga Zoo is a world famous zoo with many iconic Australian animals and birds. The visit would require a harbor ferry ride and a gondola ride, which made the experience even more interesting.
From the ferry, we got to see Opera House, Harbor Bridge and other Sydney buildings from a different angle. The weather was sunny today, and we could take better photos.
People were all more interested in native Australian animals. Koalas and wombats were considered “must-see.” They were so cute! Ferocious Tasmanian Devils were also very popular with the tourists.
Famous Australian birds included Emus and Kookaburras. They both had beautiful plumage. There were also several very colorful lorikeets. The most amazing birds were actually Tawny Frogmouths. They were so cute and looked like toys!
We spent many hours in the zoo and had lunch there. Taronga Zoo is a great attraction and a must-see for tourists visiting Sydney.
Sydney Harbor had several ferry routes. After the zoo visit, we took a different ferry route for more sightseeing, and then went to the Queen Victoria Building, a large and famous shopping center. This was definitely one of the most fancy shopping centers we’ve visited.
We had a delicious seafood dinner. After dinner, we walked around the city. It’s Christmas time, and there were many festive decorations.
Day 3: The Rocks
We were embarking the cruise this afternoon, but we still wanted to do more sightseeing before that. We still haven’t visited The Rocks, so that’s today’s destination.
The Rock is Sydney’s colonial neighborhood. The area is on a rocky ridge, and thus the name. There were many historical buildings in this place. Cadman’s Cottage was one of the surviving buildings of colonial era. It was a former water police station and sailor’s home.
From here, we had a close view of the Harbor Bridge, and could see people climbing the bridge! We didn’t spend extra money to climb the bridge. We heard that it’s not an easy climb, and it’s very windy high up.
We then walked to the Observatory Hill in The Rocks. This was a great location that provided an unobstructed, panoramic view of the Sydney Harbor. There was a Hans Christian Andersen bust celebrating the bicentenary birthday of Andersen. There’s also a time ball dropping daily at 1pm.
We walked a lot this morning, and we still needed to return to the hotel to pick up our luggage before embarking. On the way, we had a quick photo stop at the Government House and its beautiful garden.
Afterwards, we embarked the cruise to Tasmania and New Zealand. This was the end of our 3-day Sydney short vacation.
