Sydney

Our HAL cruise will stop at Sydney from 7:00 to 6:30 on Wednesday, October 24th. We have a city tour planned when we return to the city in November, but is there something fun and/or exciting to see or do near the pier that day? I don't think we will be able to get off the ship until late morning so we have about 5 hours to enjoy. Are there stores nearby?Appreciate any and all suggestions!

If you are doing a city tour on your return to Sydney, I'd recommend going to Taronga Park Zoo for your October 24th visit. It has a great collection of native and non-native animals and the views of Sydney are spectacular. Depending on the ship you are on, you will dock at Circular Quay or Darling Harbour. If you are at Circular Quay, you can easily take the ferry from there to the zoo. If you are at Darling Harbour, you can get to the ferry at Circular Quay quite easily by water taxi, land taxi or foot.

If you want to shop, I'd recommend a stop at the Queen Victoria Building. It's quite close to Darling Harbour and not far from Circular Quay either. There are some decent shops there, but the main reason to go is for the architecture and decorative arts.

A bit off the wall perhaps but if it is a fine day and you enjoy a walk by the sea with art thrown in you could take a bus to Bondi and stroll along the cliff top to view the 2012 Sculptures by the Sea.

http://www.sydney.com/events/sculpture-by-the-sea

Cheers Colleen

Either go to Taronga Park Zoo - ferry from Circular Quay, or Manly , ferry also from Circular Quay .

If you are doing a city tour on your return to Sydney, I'd recommend going to Taronga Park Zoo for your October 24th visit. It has a great collection of native and non-native animals and the views of Sydney are spectacular. Depending on the ship you are on, you will dock at Circular Quay or Darling Harbour. If you are at Circular Quay, you can easily take the ferry from there to the zoo. If you are at Darling Harbour, you can get to the ferry at Circular Quay quite easily by water taxi, land taxi or foot.

I second that. Taronga Zoo is by far the most amazing zoo we have ever been in. And the ferry ride there and the views back are worth the time and money. And you can easily do it in that time. You can see all my pics of our visit in January of this year here http://web.me.com/jimbellomo/Down_Under/Home.html

Have a wonderful time. We did!

Jim

The Zoo is amazing, great views, large, great exhibits. May not be able to cover it in 5 hours its so big.

Luna Park is a fun outing.

Walk around, plenty see for free.

Fairy to Manly beach. Great trip, great views, nice beach in a nice town.

I would do the Bridge Climb, once in a lifetime experience.

If the ship docks in Circular Quay, you are right in the middle of things, that is of the CBD.

If it docks at Barangaroo Wharf, walk over to Darling Harbor. Shopping is ample in both places. Prices are way higher than in the USA.

If not on your city tour itinerary, the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife Sydney next door are good places to see native Australian animals. Both are in Darling Harbor.

I second that. Taronga Zoo is by far the most amazing zoo we have ever been in. And the ferry ride there and the views back are worth the time and money. And you can easily do it in that time. You can see all my pics of our visit in January of this year here http://web.me.com/jimbellomo/Down_Under/Home.html

Have a wonderful time. We did! Jim

THANKS, Jim! Just looked through your Sydney pictures. Will go back to look more closely at those, plus many others as we prepare for our now-booked Jan. 20-Feb. 3, Sydney to Auckland cruise on the Solstice for early 2014. Appreciate the excellent range of pictures and the postings. Lots to see and experience there in these two great countries that will be first for us and other couples from Central Ohio traveling with us.

Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 74,533 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Thanks - great ideas here. Can one do the Bridge Climb on their own, or is it a guided tour type thing. I couldn't do it myself, but DH and others may be interested to know. Also - how far is the bridge from cruise dock(s)?

BridgeClimb is a company that run trips over the Harbour Bridge. They're quite expensive at ~$200 per person (depending on time of day), in groups, and it takes about 3 hours.

Depending on your ship and berth, the Harbour Bridge is right in front of you, about 10 min. walk, or about 20 min walk from Barangaroo.

Adventurous types could do the outside tour of the Sydney Tower while the meek like me wait for them on the viewing platform behind glass.

http://www.sydneytowereye.com.au/

The Tower is in walking distance to both piers or can be accessed via the Monorail - to be torn down in the future.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/monorail-to-be-torn-down/story-fnb5f12x-1226308015370