Tips for Visiting Sydney and Melbourne City

Sydney

If you’re gonna tour Sydney City in one day or two, it is advisable to buy Opal card. And you can reload it in every station. You can use it in bus, subway and ferry. You have to tap in and Tap out the card, but some doesn’t require to do it, like in Manly Beach.

On the other hand, if you have seniors with, in my opinion, it’s better to use Uber. Since they get tired easily and you don’t want then waiting in every stop and walking to far to get to the station.

Stay hydrated when getting around the city. Don’t buy water on some store that’s like $10 for 1 liter of bottle, unless you really need water, and that’s the only option you have. They have store, like Woolworths, and it is cheaper to get your water supply here for only $0.70-$0.90 aud per 1 liter.

Woolworths also have all the goodies you want to bring home, like their Tim Tams, which always on sale or some Kangaroo Jerky if you want one. Or a quick snack for a day.

Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay, The Rock and Harbour Bridge are very close and can be done by feet, which is very convenient.

Circular Quay is where all the ferries are. If you are going to Manly Beach, Taronga Zoo and other spots by ferry. Again you can use your Opal card here.

There’s like a private and public ferry. The green one they called it government ferry, I guess the white are the private ones and are expensive, like $22 aud one way. An uber driver told us that the government ferry is just $3 aud one way, but when we asked about that, it was $7 aud. Maybe because we don’t have Opal card?

Once you get to Taronga Zoo, just wait for the bus that will take you to Taronga Zoo, again use your opal card here. Or if you already have your tickets, you can ride the cable car to Taronga Zoo. Be aware of the last ferry going back to Circular Quay (check the timetable here)

If you’re going to Taronga Zoo, better buy your tickets online as it has discount compare to the counter.

The Kaola Encounter in Taronga Zoo is limited. So if you’re planning to experience this one, better get this first once you arrived. It is just near the entrance of the Taronga Zoo.

We stayed in a hotel that is besides Woolworths and 12mins from Sydney Opera House, and also a 5min walk to Queen Victoria Building. And near the Town Hall subway and in front of bus stop. Though, the rooms are just so so, but were out most of the day anyway.

Melbourne

Melbourne is Just 1hour and 30mins from Sydney by plane like budget airlines which are Tiger and Jetstar. You can also take an overnight bus or train for around 11hours.

We stayed at Victoria Hotel which is a 5min walk to Flinders Street Station. Because we availed some tours and Vicotria Hotel is one of their pick up location or in St. Paul Cathedral which is in Flinders Street.

We availed s tour going to Great Ocean Road since I’m not comfortable driving a right hand car and well, not comfortable driving in other country. We chose a reverse itinerary for the Great Ocean Road from Hit the Road Tours. And a tour to Philip Island to see the and feed the Kangaroos and Penguin Parade. But you can also opt to drive on your own, at least you don’t have a limited time to visit the spots. But if you’re traveling by yourself, or don’t really want to worry about the driving stuff, then I guess the tour will be more favorable for you.

Melbourne City is very easy to tour around cause most of the spots are close to each other. Like the Flinders Street Station, Yarra River, Federation Square, St. Paul Cathedral and Hosier Lane and National Gallery of Victoria

Melbourne also have the City Circle Tram #35, which you can hop on hop off around the city for free. And one of the stop of the tram is where you can see the Victoria State Library.

Souvenirs are just along the Flinders street, just choose your pick.

Budget wise, it will depends on where you’re coming from. But for the food the average range is like $6-$10 for a meal, snack can be around $3-$4. There’s also Bread Tops if you’re craving for some croissant for your breakfast or other breads. Noticed that there’s a lot of Milk tea stores in Melbourne City. Oh and maybe try Haigh’s Chocolates, but it’s kinda expensive.

Lastly, Australia have a different power socket, some hotel, may lend you one but some may not. If you ever need one, you can always buy it in Woolworths or some hardware store.