Hi to all ozbargainers,
I have my relatives visiting Sydney during Christmas period to New Year's eve, included 2 adults and 1 teenager.
General ideas about tourist locations I have received were Hunter Valley, Blue Mountain and a few scenery spots around Sydney (Opera House and such).
What are your suggestions on where to show them around Sydney or NSW, beside these well-known areas?
Thanks to all!
Where are your relatives from? I ask because if they are from an island then the beach is silly, but those other suggestions are great.
They are from Thailand. They don't get to go to the beach normally, so I wouldn't say no to that idea, but considering Bondi and Coogee are crowded nowadays, I'm not sure if there are other "secret" spots nearby?
Rose bay is pretty sweet. Or catch a ferry to manly ( stop at taronga zoo on the way?). Walk around to Shelly Beach - relatively calm there. Get some fish n chips
ferry to manly is a good way to take them to a beach, and show them the harbour from a boat for not much $
Tarongo Zoo is a good idea for Thai visitors. They can take some photos of the ticket price list and amaze their friends back home with how much it costs to go to the zoo here…
@mgowen: Don't forget to highlight the absence of local vs foreigner prices…everyone gets ripped off equally here! ;)
NSW is pretty big. Byron Bay is a popular spot with foreigners, but if you're going that far you should probably fly.
When we have O/S visitors we usually go to some of the following (depending on time of year and what they like doing).
Ferry trip
Zoo (wife gets BOGOFF vouchers from somewhere)
Bondi (because it has the name) and usually go to the big cake shop for coffee & cake.
Aquarium (more vouchers).
Blue Mountains - Hydro Majestic for coffee and a proper bushwalk somewhere plus all the touristy stuff.
Bundeena or Wattamolla in the Royal National Park.
Bushwalk in RNP.
Cycle Lady Carrington Drive RNP.
Camp Cove or Neilsen Park or one of the harbour islands.
Any of the museums or art galleries.
Restaurants - because the food is very different.
BBQs with big chunks of cow or whole fresh fish or prawns.
Somewhere that they can see Koalas or Kangaroos up close (ish)
Most of our visitors want beaches or the bush but they are from Germany / Austria
A good starting point is one of the Sydney Guide Books - pick them up at the airport or many locations e.g. Circular Key. They might even be available in Thai but I'm not sure.
There's heaps of things in Sydney but many people want to see other attractions. My list for visitors often includes:-
Manly - Ferry ride, nice walks etc
Harbour Bridge Pylon - great views at a fraction of the cost of the Bridge Climb
Blue Mountains (I live in Glenbrook) - Pulpit Rock, walks around Wentworth Falls. I hesitate to recommend the 3 Sisters as it's a tourist trap but if you go visit late in the afternoon for better lighting. Avoid Norman Lindsay Gallery etc. Good route is the loop encompassing Bells Line of Road and GWH linking at Mount Victoria.
Botanic Gardens - Sydney and Mt.Tomah
Parramatta Ferry and then visit locally e.g. Park etc
Wisemans Ferry, or St.Albans - couple of nice pubs rather than crappy Beer Barns.
Museums if interested?
Canberra day or overnight trip - vastly underrated as a destination and at that time of year you should have good access to Govt Buildings.
Featherdale Wildlife Park - I reckon it's the best overall after visiting all those close to Sydney.
Royal National Park and surrounds
Southern Highlands
Bathurst (track), Jenolan Caves, Mudgee (wine) - a nice 2 day trip.
Nimbin.
I was going to write the exact same thing. I just came to post this and you'd already done it. Great place.
Palm Beach - Iconic, close to Sydney
Pebbly Beach- South Coast: Kangaroos swimming in the ocean, unmissable
Pacific Palms - Four hours north of sydney, pristine beaches, quiet, beautiful family town.
Royal National Park - Amazing, beautiful.
Mungo National Park - Rural NSW, history, culture.
Laurel Hill - Sugar Pine Walk beautiful towering pines - Australia's apple capital.
Fish Markets for fresh seafood