Getting Around Sydney

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It is a common sight in Sydney to see cruise ships pulling into Darling or Sydney Harbor. It is an amazing sight though to see the Queen Elizabeth pull into Sydney Harbour. Wow, what an incredible looking liner. Being a true "liner" and not a cruise ship; the Queen Elizabeth has those fine lines and hint of elegance that ships today normally don't possess. I was so glad we were in Sydney to see such a sight.

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SYDNEY FERRIES
.There is no doubt about the convenience of the Sydney Ferry System.They virtually connect with Sydney Busses all over the harbour transport network. They all depart from the main ferry terminal at Circular Quay at the Lower end of Georget St. near the "Rocks area". Their are many different piers that are numbered of which the ferries come and go. Here you will find the many timetable boards on the Quay with designated Ferry numbers to which Piers, the departure times and destinations. Tickets can be purchased for single journey travel or multi journey with the purchase of daily or weekly tickets. These are for sale at the various Piers at the Quay.Also tickets can be purchased at PRE PAY ticket outlets at Darling Harbour, The Quay or manly terminals.
Depending on their destinations there are many ferries to choose from ie: Manly (large ferry) Parramatta (rivercats) and Watsons Bay (twin hulled ferry) most other smaller ferries are close Harbour popular destinations.ie: The Zoo, Milsons Point, Darling Harbour, Neutral Bay, Mosman.

For Special needs for hearing or speech impaired call 1800 637 500 for TTY (teletypewriter service).

Sydney has a better and cheaper way to travel on public transportation than Melbourne.

In Sydney, I bought a MultiLink 3 ticket for A$57. It covers 7 days unlimited travel pass on bus, train, and ferry. I use this ticket to travel on trains to blue mountain, and on ferry to Parramatta, Manly, and etc.

Sydney City Rails are good enough to get around Sydney, plus those ferry are so efficient.

Conditions: This ticket does not cover Sydney's tram and Monorail.

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Once there was the odd liner that made its way into Port Jackson but these days there seems to be a proliferation. While I was returning from a walk (see general tips) on the ferry one of them was leaving. I eagerly got my camera out and got some snaps of it going down the harbour. Thus satisfied I returned to the other side of the ferry only to be stunned by the same ship under the harbour bridge.
After my amazement that such a thing was possible I realised that it was, in fact, a sister ship that was leaving within five minutes of the other.
So, out came the camera again and I couldn't believe my luck when I photographed it not only under the bridge but in front of the CBD and the Opera House.
The ships belong to the Princess Line and these days regularly arrive during the tourist season.

If cruising is your scene, then the best place to start and end a journey in Sydney is at the Overseas Terminal. There are several great restaurants located here in the terminal itself, including Wildfire and also Doyles. It is also located just a short walk away from Circular Quay.

Holland America, P&O, Princess, and Radisson cruise lines all operate out of this location, so the best bet is to check with your favorite cruiseline to get the right time of a ship!

Finding affordable all day parking in the Sydney CBD can be a nightmare. Most of it is hard to get to and costs a small fortune. When weighing up our options for a meet in Sydney this week, Frank went on the net to do his homework. He came up with a brilliant choice. Not only was it super central to where we needed to be (circular quay) but it was very very cheap.

Normal rate for all day parking (which is 4+ hours) at the Sydney Opera House is $52, which to me is an absolute rip-off. HOWEVER ..... if you take advantage of their "early bird" fees, it comes to only $16 which is just fantastic.

Only restrictions on the early bird fees is that you need to arrive between 6.00am and 10.00am and leave between 3.00pm and 7.30pm. These hours were perfect for us, as they were just the hours we'd planned to be there. These prices quoted are for weekdays Monday to Friday. Weekend fees are a bit cheaper, between $15.00 and $35.00 for a full day, but with no early bird fees applicable on weekends.

This car park is easy to find, at the very top of Macquarie Street in central Sydney and is directly underneath the Sydney Opera House, which is central to most things, including circular quay, the Rocks area, Botanical Gardens and the Harbour Bridge.

Address for the Car Park is 2 Macquarie Street, Sydney. Once on the Wilson Parking website just search for Sydney Opera House to find all details

The public transport is expensive in Sydney & we used to walk around the city since the weather is nice.

If you would like to use public transport, do plan your route well. Go to Tourist information centre for consultation or buy the travel pass (day or weekly pass).

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Sydney is a major port for many cruise lines. Every day of our two week trip in February and March of 2010 except for two days, there were cruise ships docks at Circular Quay or at Darling Harbour. I couldn't imagine only having one day in Sydney. As much as I love cruising myself, it made me feel sorry for the passengers of those ships.