City tours
Harbor tours are offered in abundance; most providers drop out of the circular quay.
On the ‘Sydney Harbor Explorer’ and ‘Sydney Harbor Highlights Cruise’ tours, passengers can disembark and disembark at a specified number of landing stages. These tours depart from Circular Quay No. 6. The ‘Sydney Harbor Explorer’ tours depart every two hours, the ‘Sydney Harbor Highlights Cruises’ every hour.
Bounty Cruises offers five different sailing boat tours in Sydney’s harbor, on board the replica of William Bligh’s sailing ship Bounty, which was recreated for the film ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. Depending on the time of day, the tours include either lunch, dinner, buffet, early dinner or brunch and take place daily.
Phone: (02) 92 47 17 89
Bus tours
The Great Sights South Pacific bus company offers so-called ‘Inside Sydney’ tours, which take half a day to visit the Sydney harbor, the beaches in the north and the coastal town of Manly; participation in a harbor tour is optional. Departures daily at 8:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. from the Coach Terminal at Star City Casino, Darling Harbor.
Phone: (02) 92 41 22 94
Tours
At the Sydney Visitor Center you can buy a city map (The Rocks Self-guided Tour), with which you can explore the approximately 31 buildings and sights of the old town The Rocks yourself on a tour. The so-called heritage walk takes about half a day and leads to the historic buildings in the area. It starts at the Visitor Center, a former seafarers’ accommodation, and ends at Cadman’s Cottage.
The Rocks Walking Tours offers a 90-minute tour of all historic sites three times a day (twice a day on weekends).
The 59 km Harbor Circle Walk takes four days. This offer is primarily aimed at sports enthusiasts. There is also a two-day walk over 27 km and a number of even shorter tours.
Phone: (02) 92 47 66 78
Website: http://www.rockswalkingtours.com.au
Trips
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Valley is one of the most important wine growing regions in Australia with more than 70 vineyards. The area attracts many visitors, especially during the grape harvest in February and March; most of the wineries are open to visitors every day for the rest of the year. There are also numerous restaurants and hotels in this area. Two of the most popular wineries are Lindemans, one of Australia’s largest wine producers, and Rothbury Estate, which is almost as famous for its concerts as it is for its wine.
A day tour at Rothbury begins with a morning champagne breakfast followed by a hot air balloon flight over the valley. Two hours’ drive from Sydney is Cessnock, the gateway to the Hunter Valley with the area’s largest visitor information center. The three-hour train journey from Sydney to Newcastle is an alternative option.
Telfon: (02) 49 90 44 77 (Wine Country Tourism)
Website: http://www.winecountry.com.au
Blue Mountains
The dramatic forest landscape of the Blue Mountains National Park is particularly interesting for nature lovers. There are numerous bush paths in the cool eucalyptus forests, whose blue haze gives the mountains their name. Very active visitors can go mountain climbing, mountain biking or horse riding.
The area’s most famous attraction is called Three Sisters, and is an interesting rock formation named after an indigenous legend.
The easiest way to explore the Blue Mountains is by car, but trains also regularly depart from Central Station towards Katoomba.
Telfon: (1300) 65 34 08
Website: http://www.visitbluemountains.com.au
Manly
Bathing and surfing culture began in New South Wales right here on Manly Beach when newspaper publisher William Gocher was the first to oppose the public bathing ban in 1902. Today, the beach promenade is particularly popular with inline skaters, joggers and cyclists, while swimmers, sun worshipers and surfers can be found on the white sandy beaches south of the city and the golden beaches further north.
Manly is just a short ferry ride from Circular Quay, but can also be reached on foot from Sydney via the Spit Bridge and the Manly Scenic Walkway. This hike can take up to four hours, but it does offer breathtaking views of the landscape and the luxurious houses of one of the most exclusive residential areas in Sydney.
Telephone: (02) 92 40 87 88 or 1800 06 76 76 (only within Australia)
Website: http://www.sydneyvisitorcentre.com
