“You can’t come all the way to Australia and NOT see Sydney.”

(Location: Sydney, Australia)

In January of 2014, my mom came to visit for a few weeks. We live in Melbourne, and aside from the Australian Open, there is a lot to see in Victoria in January. Still, you can’t come ALL the way to Australia and NOT see Sydney. So we planned a whirlwind day trip – which is totally doable if you are wearing the right shoes:

• 9am departure, assuming no delays, gets you to Sydney by 10:30
• Airport Link (the train from the airport) runs every 10 minutes and is the quickest way to get to Central Station
• Here you can board the double decker hop on hop off bus. This is the best way to see the city if you only have a few hours. Take the Sydney (red) route first.
• Hop off at stop 19, grab some lunch at Darling Harbor, then cross the bridge and hop back on at stop 21
• Hop off at stop 23 and take in the views of the Harbor Bridge and Opera House
• Walk around Circular Quay. If you have time (and the seas are calm), take a ferry to Ft Dennison (canon fires at 1pm). If you have more time, take the ferry to Manly. If you have endless time, do the hop on hop off ferry.
• Once you are out at the Opera House, check out the Botanical Gardens and the view from Mrs Macquarie’s Chair
• If you have the time, visit the Sydney Tower and then hop on the Bondi (blue) route
• Walk south on the coastal walk to see the Iceberg pool
• Take the blue route back to Central Station and then transfer to the red route to Circular Quay
• Have a drink and some snacks at Opera Bar or Cafe Sydney
• Get the Airport Link from Circular Quay back to the airport
• Arrive by 8pm for the 9pm flight to Melbourne