What to pack for Sydney

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Luggage and bags: Travel light. I once read that the key to packing light was pack as lightly as you can and then removing half of it. One bag should be enough for anyone on a week tour. I know most people do not agree with my travel style to Australia but I go for as long as I can each time and keep returning.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Bring Sun block or purchase it immediately upon arrival. I also recommend bringing your favorite comfortable shoes for walking. Sydney is a city that you can easily walk and walk and walk in. You will be happier with comfortable well broken in shoes.

Photo Equipment: Of course you should bring your camera. Small compact digital point and shoot cameras are great because you whip it out and shoot when the time is ready and it does not require great effort to carry it. I find the canon d10 underwater camera to be a great option in a place like Sydney. You are protected from the spray on ferries and the sand of the beaches.

Miscellaneous: The power outlets here in Sydney are of the style of two slanted blades. See the pic for an example.

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Luggage and bags: We brough a regular sized suitcase

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: Since we were visiting in Spring I knew I had to be prepared for any type of weather so I brght some summer type clothes as well as jeans, a jacket and a few sweaters in case it was chilly (and it was on some mornings).

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: SHampoo, Conditioner, lotion, razor, shaving cream, body wash, q-tips, toothbrush, tooth paste, deodorant and brush.

Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: Bathing suit
Unbrella

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: .
Pack as lightly as you can. It is still best to try layering but be sure to have at least one warm jacket. Also wise to bring mittens/gloves, bonnet and scarf. It can be very cold especially at night and early in the morning.

Sydney is a nice place to do long leisure walks so be sure to wear a good, sturdy and comfy shoes.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: .
Eye drop - for your dry and itchy eyes.

Plastic Strips (Band-Aids) - bring lots and lots of these medical wonder ;0)

Lip balm - your lips could easily get chapped with the cold weather.

Oil, lotion - for moisturizing, prevents you from having those dry and itchy skin.

Sunblock - winter does not neccesarily mean NO sun! Australian ozone is notorious for it's damaging effects to the skin, apply as needed.

NOTE: For this I prefer buying in Australia. The one I brought from home does little to prevent dry/burnt skin :0(

Photo Equipment: .
For Digital Camera Users, bring a high capacity memory cards as there would be many photo opportunities.

Miscellaneous: .
All of the above are of course available in Sydney. Bring nonetheless to save time, effort and money.

Miscellaneous: I love the DK travel books and they are the guides I use because I am such a visual person and they provide beautiful pictures with great maps, history and pertinent information, like opening hours, price, etc. I will buy my guide a few months before and read it from cover to cover and familiarize myself with the history and the places to visit. I like to map out a "rough" itinerary with places of interest to me and I will mark my guide with stickies for further reference it I need it.

I also carry a journal with me to keep my thoughts and impressions fresh and to list information that pertains to the location I am visiting.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: We were there in winter and the temperature hovered between 18 to 21*C

2 layers, jeans and a weather-proof winter coat (or bring an umbrella) was fine.
Once you're in the city centre, most places are accessible on foot. Lots of walking to do so bring comfortable (and broken in!) walking shoes / loafers.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Winter is also flu season and they had a very bad and deadly strain of the flu while I was there. I prepared by pumping up on vitamin C and brought those along. 500mg in the morning and another 500mg in the evenings to boost the immune system.

Definitely bring moisturising lip balm and body lotion too.

Miscellaneous: Bring an empty water tumbler or buy a bottle of water there and just re-use it. Tap water in Sydney is drinkable. No point wasting money on bottled water. A 600ml of Mt. Franklin spring water can cost up to $A3.50 at some establishments! To give you an idea of how much that price is inflated, a 1 litre bottle of the same thing cost $A1.79 at Woolsworth!

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Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: If like me you grew up with pictures of bronzed beauties always on the beach beware it does rain in NSW and how. I come from the West Coast of Scotland a country renowned for its precipitation and I was shocked to see the volume of water that can fall from the sky. In all seriousness it made driving conditions almost impossible. This I suspect is particularly true in their winter months, I was there in late november. You have been warned take a raincoat, particularly in the winter months.

Luggage and bags: I always travel with a day pack and one under-the-plane soft bag only. After this Sydney trip I am reviewing whether I want to get a pack with wheels. I think it would be better. I don't travel with big backpacks because, although I am young at heart and stay in backpackers or campgrounds, I avoid sticky questioning by immigration types by looking more professonal, including my bag.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: In the city people can dress very fashionably indeed. Sydney is a city of suits and power dresses. However, all kinds of styles can be seen and truly everyone will fit in. Of course, no clothes are needed at the nude beaches I list. It is the norm for girls to sunbathe topless with a thong or g-string bottom at most regular Sydney beaches.

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: No need to bring except maybye sunscreen (suncreme). I found that overpriced compared to the USA. Woolworths supermarket and Coles supermarket have limited generic brand toiletry products that are very cheap.

Camping/Beach/Outdoor Gear: Outside of the Sydney area on the ocean beaches many invest in a cloth windscreen which you set up around you when sunbathing to keep out wind and any blowing sand.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: If you are going to the Blue Mountains in winter you will definately need warm clothes!! It gets very cold up there! As well as comfortable shoes, as there is a lot to see, and you will spend a lot of time walking! In summer, I was told you would need a hat to cover your eyes

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Bring insect repellent

Photo Equipment: Just don't forget it!! And bring an extra film reel as it is hard to find here!