Sydney is a harbour first. Book the water, then the mountains.
Which harbour cruise actually goes under the Bridge. What a Blue Mountains day costs once Scenic World is in. Whether a June whale boat beats a sunrise kayak. Reviews of the tours you can book in and around Sydney.
The Opera House, a ferry deck, the Bridge arch and the Three Sisters.
The four bookings most first Sydney trips are built around, with what each costs and what the people who went say.
01The first morningOpera House Guided Tour with Entrance TicketInside the sails with a guide, concert halls included. About an hour, and the best-value booking in the city.
02An hour on the harbourMorning or Afternoon Harbour Sightseeing CruiseOut from the Quay past Fort Denison and under the Bridge. The cheapest way to see Sydney from the water.
03The climbBridgeClimb SydneyClipped onto a line up the arch of the Harbour Bridge to the summit flags. The splurge people talk about at home.
04The day in the rangesBlue Mountain: Small-Group Tour with Lunch & Scenic WorldEcho Point, the Three Sisters and the Scenic World railway in a small group, lunch included. Two hours west.
Sydney Harbour by ferry deck, kayak, jet boat or whale boat.
The harbour is the city’s main street. Four ways onto it, what each costs to board, and which one suits the time you have.
The tours Sydney visitors book most.
Every Sydney tour we have reviewed →The days more travellers take than anything else in and around the city, and what earns each one its place.
1
Opera House Guided Tour with Entrance Ticket
Go inside Sydney Opera House with an English, French, Spanish, or German-speaking guide. In about an hour, explore foyers and theater spaces, hear the story of Jørn Utzon’s design, and take in views from areas usually closed to the public. Access varies with the performance schedule, and the route includes about 300 stairs.
From · $33
Read our review →
2
All Inclusive Blue Mountain,Scenic World,Lunch,Koalas,ferry
from $204
3
Blue Mountains Full-Day Trip
from $148
4
Sydney Opera House Official Guided Walking Tour
from $34
5
Blue Mountains Small-Group Tour from Sydney with Scenic World,Sydney Zoo & Ferry
from $161
6
Blue Mountain: Small-Group Tour with Lunch & Scenic World
from $137
7
Big Bus Sydney and Bondi Hop-on Hop-off Tour
from $52
8
BridgeClimb Sydney
from $213
Blue Mountains mornings, Hunter Valley afternoons.
Sydney’s two classic day trips point in different directions. West: sandstone cliffs, eucalyptus haze and the Three Sisters from Echo Point. North: Semillon country around Pokolbin, with cellar doors close enough together to make a day of it.
From Circular Quay to the cliffs at Katoomba.
The harbour city, two beach suburbs with their own ferry and bus culture, the mountains, the wine country and the dunes up the coast. Six starting points and the best day out in each.
Australian wildlife within a day of Sydney.
Breakfast next to the koalas at Darling Harbour, wombats and kangaroos in the bush an hour out of town, and humpbacks running the coast past the Heads every winter.
Three things you can only do around Sydney.
Every harbour city has cruises. Few let you walk over the arch of the bridge, ride a board down a dune the size of a small desert, or follow the lanes where the colony began.
The Bridge Climb
Since 1998 climbers have clipped onto a static line and walked the upper arch of the Harbour Bridge to the summit, 134 metres above the water. Phones and cameras go in a locker, so the guide takes the photos. Dawn and twilight climbs cost more and go first, for good reason.
- 1BridgeClimb Sydney★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 2,633 reviews
- 2Sunrise Kayak, Opera House & Under Harbour Bridge★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 869 reviews
- 3Guided Daytime Summit Climb of Sydney Harbour Bridge★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 817 reviews
The Stockton Dunes
Stockton Bight holds the largest moving coastal dunes in the southern hemisphere, some 32 kilometres of sand on Worimi land behind the beach. Access is by four-wheel drive, so every sandboarding trip starts with a ride over the dunes before the boards come off the roof.
- 1Port Stephens: Unlimited Sandboarding & 4WD Sand Dune Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 540 reviews
- 2Unlimited Sandboarding★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 285 reviews
- 3Port Stephens Dolphin Cruise & Sandboarding Day Trip★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 219 reviews
The Rocks
The First Fleet landed at Sydney Cove in 1788 and the colony grew up on this sandstone ridge, built by convicts from the rock beneath them. In the 1970s union green bans stopped plans to bulldoze it. The lanes, pubs and bond stores survived, and the walking tours read them street by street.
- 1Sydney The Rocks Guided Walking Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,546 reviews
- 2The Rocks 90-Minute History Walking Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 1,092 reviews
- 3The Rocks Ghost Tours with Guide in Sydney★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 482 reviews
What a Sydney day out costs, from ferry fare to helicopter.
Every tour on the site, grouped by price. Plenty of the best Sydney days cost less than a harbourside dinner.
Harbour sightseeing cruises, Opera House tours, Rocks walks and zoo tickets.
Whale boats, dinner cruises, kayak mornings and the coach day out to the Blue Mountains.
The Bridge Climb, helicopter flights, small-group wine country and private guides.
When a southerly blows in and Sydney Harbour turns grey.
A southerly change can drop the temperature by ten degrees in an hour and push rain across the harbour, and the wettest weeks fall in late summer and early winter. Keep a roofed booking in reserve: the Opera House from the inside, the aquarium at Darling Harbour, a food walk with a table at the end of it.
By place: the city and the coast either side
By kind of day: water, bush, bridge or table
Fresh Sydney reviews, newest first.
Earlier additions →
Photography Essentials Workshop in Sydney Harbour Foreshore
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Half-Day Deep Sea Fishing in Wollongong – Weekdays only
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Paint and Sip Classes Sydney: Acrylic Art, Canvas & Wine
Read our review →![PJ Blue Mountains Supreme [Private Charter]](https://cdn.sydneyvisits.com/wp-content/uploads/pj-blue-mountains-supreme-private-charter-400x267.jpg)
The Top Ten Hidden Harbour Beaches Tour with Jen
Read our review →
Sydney One Day Tour with a Local: 100% Personalized & Private
Read our review →
Sydney Half Day Tour with a Local: 100% Personalized & Private
Read our review →
Sydney Opera House and Aussie Animals Private Tour
Read our review →
Private Tour Blue Mountains Day Adventure Wildlife + River Cruise
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