Sydney

We will be sailing on the Noordam in September and have limited time in Sydney, arriving at 7:00 a.m. At the White Bay cruise terminal.

I know this is not enough time to see this beautiful city but that is what we have to deal with.

I don't want to use the shore excursions Noordam is offering (overpriced and not really of interest)

My question is.. Are there sights near the ship we can enjoy? We are avid walkers and coffee drinkers, so something in that vein would be good. Our second choice would be something a short taxi ride away, although waiting for a taxi off the ship is not too appealing.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

For a start for ideas, the current edition of the CC list of things to do in Sydney is here.

When my sister and I had an in transit day in Sydney because we were doing a B2B we enjoyed a very nice day. We walked out of the terminal with the idea of walking to the bus and taking it to the Balmain East Wharf and taking the ferry to the Quay. Instead of going to the bus we decided to take the first road we came to and walk through the suburb. We did get lost but asked a passer by to point us in the right direction and he offered to accompany us which was nice as he chattered about the area. I think that we could have easily found our way by ourselves. We finally come to the main shopping street where we got a bus to the Wharf. The walk is hilly but manageable, the streets and buildings were interesting and the main street had numerous places to have a coffee. The trip on the harbour was lovely and once around at Circular Quay we decided to go to the Opera House and do one of their tours. Returning to Circular Quay we took a ferry to Darling Harbour where we had food. There were a number of things to do there. On that day there was a shuttle bus from Darling Harbour back to the ship but if that is not on offer then I would suggest a ferry back to Balmain East then the bus and a return walk or taxi to the ship.

You could walk to the famous bridge and it doesn't cost much to go up to the top of the pylons. Great place for photos.

As you are avid walkers, you have a couple of options.

Walk from the ship heading west along the right hand side of the access road (dont follow this road to the Anzac Bridge - cars only) then keeping to Roberts street walk straight ahead until getting to Victoria Rd. turn left and catch a local bus into the city or continue along Victoria Rd, following it onto the Anzac bridge and continue towards the city. There will be plenty of locals to help you with the best pedestrian direction once on the bridge.

Alternatively, when on Robert St, swing right onto Mullens St and follow all the way to Darling St, Balmain. Turn right on Darling St and follow all the way to the end and catch a ferry across the bay to Sydney at Circular Quay. This is a very long walk but buses are frequent along Mullens and Darling. Plenty of coffee shops along Darling St.

You could walk to the famous bridge and it doesn't cost much to go up to the top of the pylons. Great place for photos.

It's a very long walk to the Harbour Bridge from the White Bay cruise terminal. You are probably thinking of the Overseas Passenger Terrminal which is at Circular Quay.

It's a very long walk to the Harbour Bridge from the White Bay cruise terminal. You are probably thinking of the Overseas Passenger Terrminal which is at Circular Quay.

I was thinking of the Overseas terminal, but we walked from the Hilton Hotel to the bridge (Hilton is across the street from the Victoria Building).

DW and I bike and walk a lot. Walking 4-5 miles is routine for us.

Yes,

I see White Bay is far from the bridge.

http://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/transport/white-bay-cruise-terminal

I was thinking of the Overseas terminal, but we walked from the Hilton Hotel to the bridge (Hilton is across the street from the Victoria Building).

DW and I bike and walk a lot. Walking 4-5 miles is routine for us.

 

 

Yes,

I see White Bay is far from the bridge.

http://www.sydney.com/destinations/sydney/transport/white-bay-cruise-terminal

Yes, over 6km and half of it not very pleasant walking. In fact there is very little that is close to White Bay. Balmain itself is pretty, with good cafes and restaurants, a couple of excellent bookshops, supermarket, and interesting shops. But other than that, nada without a taxi or bus ride. :(

We will be sailing on the Noordam in September and have limited time in Sydney, arriving at 7:00 a.m. At the White Bay cruise terminal.

 

I know this is not enough time to see this beautiful city but that is what we have to deal with.

 

I don't want to use the shore excursions Noordam is offering (overpriced and not really of interest)

 

My question is.. Are there sights near the ship we can enjoy? We are avid walkers and coffee drinkers, so something in that vein would be good. Our second choice would be something a short taxi ride away, although waiting for a taxi off the ship is not too appealing.

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

For your day in Sydney is it just the one day in transit on Noordam, or are you disembarking the ship and flying out that day?

It is unfortunately an in transit day and not only that we are in at 7am and out at 4 pm.

I am starting to think we may have to go with a shore excursion after all.

Any thoughts about the Koala Sanctuary park? it is combined with a drive through Sydney and ending with a Parametta cruise.

It is unfortunately an in transit day and not only that we are in at 7am and out at 4 pm.

 

I am starting to think we may have to go with a shore excursion after all.

 

 

Any thoughts about the Koala Sanctuary park? it is combined with a drive through Sydney and ending with a Parametta cruise.

It really depends on what you want to do with your day. You could be off the ship around 8am and walking away from the Terminal. Back by 3 will give you 7 hours.

If you choose to go to Balmain East Ferry Terminal and take a ferry around to Circular Quay as suggested by cassamanda, you could then choose to take another ferry to the Zoo for Aussie animals and great views of the Harbour or to Manly, a Harbour beach suburb with great cafes and shops along the esplanade.

You could take a bus to Bondi see the city, see the suburbs and finally the beach with places to eat and shop.

Sydney is easy to do by yourself.

Why not go to Darling Harbour? The Australian Wildlife Park, aquarium, wax works, IMAX, Chinese Gardens, shopping and multiple restaurants on the water. You could possibly go by water taxi.

All good suggestions above for the OP.

I would not go to the Koala Park. Very small and smelly. The tour most likely would take you over the Anzac and Sydney Harbour bridges then basically motorway after that.

A better tour would include the highly respected Featherdale Wildlife Park about 50 minutes to the west of Sydney. The city of Parramatta is halfway between Featherdale and Sydney. The Parramatta river opens out into Sydney Harbour and is a very nice ride on the regular fast ferries that commute between Parramatta and Sydney. This would show you how Sydneysiders love living by the water.

However, the above requires lots of travel and if you have never been to Sydney before then i would go with the suggestions by the previous posters.

Why not go to Darling Harbour? The Australian Wildlife Park, aquarium, wax works, IMAX, Chinese Gardens, shopping and multiple restaurants on the water. You could possibly go by water taxi.

At least they are all fairly close to each other and White Elephant {oops Bay}.

We spent 5 days in Sydney pre-cruise in January and my favorite thing was the tour of the Opera House. They have an early bird tour, if I remember correctly, I think they were at 9:00 and 9:30. Not only did they give you a discount, but the group was very small (around 8 people) and we were able to go into every venue in the opera house, a few of the most interesting halls close for rehearsal around 10am. The inside was just as fascinating, maybe more, than the outside. Since the opera house is right at the Quay, you could take the ferry across to the Taronga Zoo, if animals are of interest to you. It sits on the harbor just across from the opera house and a combination ticket is available right at the ferry dock. For one price you get a ferry ticket, cable car ticket (the zoo is built on the hillside, and you cable car it up on the way there and make your way down the zoo to the water to ferry back), and the zoo ticket. Sydney is a very lovely city, and the people are terrific. I'm sure you will have a great time no matter what you do.

We spent 5 days in Sydney pre-cruise in January and my favorite thing was the tour of the Opera House. They have an early bird tour, if I remember correctly, I think they were at 9:00 and 9:30. Not only did they give you a discount, but the group was very small (around 8 people) and we were able to go into every venue in the opera house, a few of the most interesting halls close for rehearsal around 10am. The inside was just as fascinating, maybe more, than the outside. Since the opera house is right at the Quay, you could take the ferry across to the Taronga Zoo, if animals are of interest to you. It sits on the harbor just across from the opera house and a combination ticket is available right at the ferry dock. For one price you get a ferry ticket, cable car ticket (the zoo is built on the hillside, and you cable car it up on the way there and make your way down the zoo to the water to ferry back), and the zoo ticket. Sydney is a very lovely city, and the people are terrific. I'm sure you will have a great time no matter what you do.

The Opera House is awesome. We were lucky when we were in Sydney and saw the opera, "la Boheme," which was wonderful.

Wow, thank you all for your suggestions. On Cassamonda's advice, we have decided not to do the Koala park. Tripadvisor had conflicting reports on the Park and it sounds like the excursion will involve some uninteresting motorway driving.

We'll look more carefully into the other options everyone has given us.

Thanks again!

At least they are all fairly close to each other and White Elephant {oops Bay}.

? Hmmmm

The Opera House is awesome. We were lucky when we were in Sydney and saw the opera, "la Boheme," which was wonderful.

Did you do the behind the scenes tour, it is worth doing if you can.

Did you do the behind the scenes tour, it is worth doing if you can.

No we did not do that tour.

Wow, thank you all for your suggestions. On Cassamonda's advice, we have decided not to do the Koala park. Tripadvisor had conflicting reports on the Park and it sounds like the excursion will involve some uninteresting motorway driving.

 

We'll look more carefully into the other options everyone has given us.

 

Thanks again!

Btw, there is a very nice up close Koala exhibit at the Taronga zoo and for a fee you can get your picture taken with one. You cannot hold him, but can get your picture with one.

Hi all we are also doing a BTB in 2017 we are from Perth and don't know Sydney very well.Do you think the Blue Mountain cable/train be doable in 1 day.

Thanks Sharon

Hi all we are also doing a BTB in 2017 we are from Perth and don't know Sydney very well.Do you think the Blue Mountain cable/train be doable in 1 day.

Thanks Sharon

Doable but tight in that not a lot of time to just have a look around

Doable but tight in that not a lot of time to just have a look around

Thanks for that I thought as much,might just come in a couple of days early to fit it in.

Thanks for that I thought as much,might just come in a couple of days early to fit it in.

I'd look at an O/N in the Mts and do the Caves as well.