What To Do With 48 Hours In Sydney, Australia:
Australia has many different sights to see and places to visit. However, on a tight traveling schedule here are the must do things in Sydney in just two days!
Once the absolute amazement of Australia wears off, be sure to take some time and drop your luggage off at your hotel, airbnb, or hostel. Your adrenaline is definitely pumping at this point, but the jetlag could hit later on, so be sure to continuously drink water and lets be honest, you’ve been sitting on a plane for quite awhile so get cleaned up. Once you’ve freshened up and unloaded your bags, the fun begins. Start by ditching the rental car and honestly just take the public transportation. It is SO easy, affordable and reliable! Plus you wont hit any traffic, so that is always a plus!
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Sydney? The Opera house! You will definitely want to check this place out, especially if you can catch it during sun down with the harbor bridge in the background. There’s a gift shop to check out and a (really expensive) opera bar with a great view. While wondering around the city center, be sure to find Frankie’s Pizza! This is hands down the best (and cheapest) pizza all around the city, surrounded by a complete dive bar! They serve cold beer at a great price, too! Once you’ve experienced the first evening in Sydney, be sure to get an early and good night sleep because tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day.
Rise and shine and skip the hotel breakfast, there are too many great cafes to try instead. Personally, I suggest heading out to Bondi beach (via the Bondi Junction train) and finding Speedos Café for a beautiful view of the ocean and a modern Australian cuisine for everyone to enjoy. Bondi is an absolutely huge beach, filled with people from all over the world, lifeguards and water sport activities to rent throughout the day. Once you have soaked up some sun, definitely take the walk from Bondi to Coogee beach, which takes about an hour. Along this walk you will see the infamous ‘mermaid pools,’ which are filled with ocean water, so be careful though, the water splashing over the side can be a bit dangerous. Bondi beach has a lot of great local shops, restaurants and bars that are worth checking out, most even have happy hour drink specials!
Once you decide to leave Bondi, head back into the city center for another round of drinks or coffee, of course. I highly suggest going to the Shangri-La Hotel, located in ‘The Rocks.’The Blu Bar is located on the 36th floor and is great for dessert and drinks. This view is absolutely incredible, and honestly, cheaper and better than paying to go up in the Tower Eye located on Market Street. This was definitely one of the highlights of my trip!
For your third and final day, I recommend finding a quaint café (which isn’t hard) and enjoying a flat white or long black with a pastry. Cafes are at every corner, especially in the city, so finding the perfect cup of coffee is very easy and will always have you coming back for more. Manly Beach is a quick twenty-minute ferry ride from Circular Quay. This fun and exciting beach town is great for a secluded afternoon away. Collins Flat Beach is a secret treasure that is tucked away and only a twenty-minute walk from the Manly Wharf. This is an absolutely stunning beach with a great view of the Sydney Harbor. Before you catch your ferry back, definitely take some time and walk around this beach town! After the time spent in Manly, be sure to go to Regents Place in Sydney’s CBD for some delicious lunch and soft serve ice cream from Aqua S. (Earl grey milk tea is my absolute favourite)! A sweet last stop before its time for the airport.
Really take the time to soak in everything you do and see because its not every day you get to travel to Australia! These are a few of the most memorable places I was able to visit on my first trip to Sydney. A huge thank-you to my friends Mia and Scott for hosting me!