The Journey

A day trip into the Blue Mountains from Sydney by public transport is totally possible and makes for a lovely day out. We jumped on a train from Sydney Central Station, they leave every 30 mins, you can just use a contactless card or phone at the barriers and you’re good to go! Actually this wasn’t that obvious, they should make a bigger deal about this, for many countries UK/US etc you would need to buy a ticket for this length of journey, which is a real hassle, so well done transport NSW! Just stop banging on about Opal, it’s confusing!

Must admit I loved the trains, 2 deckers with quiet carriages front and rear. I recommend grabbing an upper deck on a quiet carriage unless you are a very chatty person ;-) .

The journey takes a couple of hours and is a great way to see some of the countryside that surrounds Sydney. 

Katoomba

Katoomba seems like a nice place, we mostly skipped it and walked directly to Scenic World, but I wouldn’t mind going back and checking it out, I’m sure it is a nice place to wander around. The walk to Scenic World took us about 40 minutes, there are a few cafes along the way in Katoomba so stop here if you need some refreshments and obviously put some sunblock on!

Scenic World

I actually think Scenic World is more geared towards families, not walkers or nature loving couples. However if you can handle the queues and the bustle it can offer some impressive views. I was actually quite shocked at how busy it was, weirdly reminding me of commuting on the London Underground but with longer queues and more waiting. I’m not great at either queuing or waiting but could definitely see that if I’d managed to come at a quieter time, I would have had a fun time.

As it was I enjoyed all three ‘rides’ once I got on them. The Scenic Skyway offered the best overall views of the Katoomba Falls and the Three Sisters. The Scenic Railway was just a steep fun ride that descends into the valley through a tunnel. The Scenic Cableway was our route back out of the valley and was a nice way to take a final view of the wonderful scenery all around us.

From the Skyway East station there is a nice walk called the Prince Henry Cliff walk. Unfortunately after just starting out on this walk, the heavens opened and we had to abandon it. To be honest, to do these walks justice you would need to start your day quite early, which would probably also avoid the queues so definitely something to keep in mind.

Once you descend into the Jamison valley there are nice elevated boardwalks that make for easy walking. What surprised me most was the number of dinosaurs down in the valley. Again, I guess a nod to families with kids that get bored with ‘oh another tree’ and so throwing in some animatronics makes sense. From how much the kids got excited by these prehistoric monsters, they do seem to know their demographic.

After a few dinosaurs and some aimless walking around, it was time for for another long queue for the Scenic Cableway out of Jurassic valley. Luckily some more great views from the cable car saved the day…

Journey Back

We were running late on the way back so we ran much of the way back to the station. I don’t recommend this! Give yourself plenty of time, the road is steep in places so running up them wasn’t much fun.

Summary

Being able to get to the Blue Mountains so easily and cheaply from Sydney is fantastic. I’m eager to do this again but next time I will definitely just do one of the many hiking routes that start in Katoomba. I’ll leave Scenic World to the kids and the dinosaurs, they seem quite happy.

Let us know in the comments about your experience of Sydney!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more posts about Melbourne, Sidney, Bali, and many other places we’ve travelled to and follow us on Instagram!

Anna & Morgan

The Wandering Hustlers is a travelogue made by Morgan and Anna - two digital nomads, wandering the world.

Sydney is, apparently, the prettier sister of Melbourne.

And indeed, with more than 10 million overnight visitors in 2023, this is a tourist haven and the most visited city in Australia.

As we moved forward from our first Australian destination, Melbourne (check out the 5 best things to do in Melbourne here), we experienced the magnificent city of Sydney. With great positive impressions of the city, here are our top 5 things to do in Sydney:

1. Visit the Sydney Opera House

2. Marvel at the Sydney Harbour Bridge and explore the Rocks

3. Walk around the Botanical Garden

4. View Sydney from high up & explore the CBD

5. Relax on Sydney’s marvellous beaches

Below I will dive into each of these experience, and what you can expect.

01. Visit the Sydney Opera House

Ok, this one is a no-brainer. By far, the most popular attraction of Sydney is the Sydney Opera House. This architectural marvel does not disappoint, as it’s equally impressive from afar as it is when seen from up close.

Once you’ve taken all the *obligatory* selfies with the Sydney Opera House, here’s what else you can do around the area.

Learn about Sydney Opera House

At the entrance of the building, in an underpass looking area, there are a few panels exhibiting details about how the Sydney Opera House came to be.

If you are a fan of 70s modernist architecture, you will find the history and information about the construction of this architectural piece, fascinating.

Book a show at the Opera House

If you’re staying in Sydney for a few days, and can afford the time and money to go on a performance at the Sydney Opera House, do it! Should you be reading this post before your trip to Sydney, I’d highly recommend looking at what’s available now, and reserving your spot early on, as most shows get sold out, especially the popular ones.

“Do I need to dress up to watch a show at the Opera House?” - you may ask. In our experience of watching an awesome performance of “Best Opera" excerpts, a smart dress code is optional. There were plenty of people dressed up for the show, but equally, there were many that were watching the show in a casual attire.

Grab a drink at the Opera Bar

One popular place for a drink is the Opera Bar. This relaxed bar offers food and drinks day and night, with occasional live music. Check it out, if you want a non-pretentious relaxed experience on the river. For a full, more formal dining experience, the Opera House’s official restaurant is called Bennelong, and offers modern fine dining. Bear in mind that reservation may be required.

Check out the Circular Quay

Should you decide to venture further from the Opera House for a drink, the Circular Quay may offer more options (not as many as the Rocks area described in the next section, however.)

This is essentially the place where Sydney’s passenger ferries depart, with multiple destinations such as Manly beach, Sydney Olympic park, and more.

02. Marvel at the Sydney Harbour Bridge and explore the Rocks

Fairly close to the Opera House (Australian, non European way of “close” considered here) is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This engineering masterpiece is very visible from the Opera House, and you can get great snaps from there (2 in 1 bonus touristic here).

However, should you wish to explore the bridge from a closer point, one thing you can do is to start walking from the Opera House to the Bridge, passing through the area of the Rocks - which is a neighbourhood of historic laneways in the shadow of Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Grab a drink or dinner at the Rocks

Earlier I mentioned that the Rocks has more food & drink venues. Indeed, you have plenty of options here, as this area is popular. It may be a bit on the touristic side, however the area is very nice, and provides a somewhat European and historic vibe, in a sharp contrast to the more modern and business areas of Sydney.

Going up the bridge

Bear in mind that you may not be able to get up on the bridge from the northernmost Rocks area. While we tried to go up on the bridge from the Dawes Point Reserve, we couldn’t find the entry point to the bridge, which may be as we were there after 6pm.

Follow the instructions on the official NSW government map of access points to the bridge.

Activities at the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Now you’ve somehow managed to climb up the bridge (congratulations, by the way), you can enjoy the views of the bay from the Pylon Lookout.

Enjoy the the largest steel arch bridge on the planet while walking in your pace, or take part of a bridge climbing session - a popular activity for tourists. On the other side of the bridge, there’s Luna amusement park, which you may have seen on Sydney postcards and souvenirs.

Whether you decide to explore the Sydney Harbour Bridge by foot or climb, or simply decide to marvel at it from afar - one thing is certain, the Harbour Bridge is an impressive structure, and one of the defining landmarks, not just in Sydney, but worldwide, too.

03. Walk around the Botanical Garden

While this activity may not make all everyone’s charts for things to do in Sydney, for us, this was a really pleasant area to enjoy views of Sydney as well as the nature.

Views of the harbour from the Botanical Garden

Located to the east of the Opera House, the Botanical Garden stretches and allows for about a 20 minute straight diagonal walk across itself. On its west and north points the views of the harbour are fantastic, and you can continue to satisfy your snap-taking craze with even more pictures of the Opera and Bridge.

You can also combine the visit to the Botanical garden with visit to the Art Gallery of NSW and St Mary’s cathedral (see more below).

Also check out the drone footage of the Sydney Harbor which we will be posting to our Instagram account soon.

Beware of the ibis

One thing we found out is that the super quirky and awesome looking Australian Ibis is considered almost a “pest” by the locals as it’s literally everywhere and is very cheeky in its behaviour. If you decide to sit down in the garden and do a picnic or grab a snack, most certainly you’ll a new “friend”. The ibises are not dangerous, so I will leave it up to you to decide whether to feed them or ignore them, as the locals do!

Visit the Art Gallery of New South Wales

One of the more impressive galleries is the Art Gallery of NSW. Its displays of contemporary, modern & indigenous art receive positive reviews, and it may worth checking our its classical-style building, founded in 1871.

Once you are at the gallery site, you can also explore the St. Mary’s Cathedral, a 15-min walk from the Art Gallery.

04. View Sydney from high up & explore the CBD

Another “must do” is the Sydney Tower Eye - the second-tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere.

While we left this for the last thing to do, as we were not sure about it, I now think it is worth a visit (if you don’t mind the 35AUD fee, that is).

The views are truly spectacular with a truly 360 degree photo possibilities.

Get ready to take some pictures, or simply enjoy - you’re truly in one of the highest places in the Southern Hemisphere!

From the tower, you can continue to explore the heart of Sydney’s Central Business District (CBD), and it’s many malls and modern shops, hidden in-between the many impressive shiny business buildings. Bear in mind, that Sydney is not like Melbourne in this respect, and there are no laneways with street food here.

Nevertheless, the CBD is an important part of Sydney, and for those that want to full Sydney experience, it’s worth paying a visit.

05. Relax on Sydney’s marvellous beaches

Sydney has multiple beaches, close and far from the city. The most popular ones are Bondi beach, and Manly beach. We checked them both, and below is more about our experiences.

Bondi Beach

This beach is considered one of the closest ones, as it’s only 20-30 minutes by car from Sydney’s CBD. It did seem rather nice, and not too crowded (the picture below is taken on a Friday). Also, should you want to grab a drink/food with a beach view, the Bondi Pavilion is great place to do this (although it may be busy at times).

Manly Beach

This is worth a full day-trip! Hint: it’s not the beach…
The best thing about it is that you can combine it with another must do thing in Sydney: getting the ferry from Sydney to Manly.

While we found the beach itself rather touristy, we absolutely loved the walk in the Sydney Harbour National Park and its surrounding walks (picture below).

Summary

Beach lovers will find both beaches rather nice. For a more natural, walk-filled day, go to Manly beach. For a quick, “mid-week” city beach getaway, Bondi beach is your bet!

Either way, enjoy and grab some 50+ sunscreen, this is the Australian Sun!

Bonus: Trip to the Blue Mountains

If you love nature and/or have more than 3 days to visit Sydney, then visiting the Blue Mountains National Park is a high recommendation from us. Stay tuned as our next post will cover going to the park by train from Sydney, and the Scenic World park!

Conclusion

Sidney has a lot to offer for tourists, as well as digital nomads. Should you find yourself in Sydney, don’t forget to check the main landmarks, but also the famous beaches of Sydney. For those with slightly more time, you can venture out on a day trip to Blue Mountain or spend a day at Manly beach.

Which are your 5 things to do in Sydney? Let us know in the comments below!

The Wandering Hustlers is a travelogue made by Morgan and Anna - two digital nomads, wandering the world. Stay tuned for more posts about Melbourne, Sidney, Bali, and many other places we’ve travelled to and follow us on Instagram!

You know a walk is going to be good when even in the carpark you are accosted by the screeches of Cockatoos and the melodic calls of beautiful Rosellas. 

Starting at Grants Picnic Ground, where there’s ample parking, you can pick from a variety of walks of varying distances. We did the outer loop which starts with the Lyrebird walk and ends with the Coles Ridge Track. Head north in the car park to pick up the start of the Lyrebird walk, it’s not very far from the cafe so ask if you are unsure.

The first part of this walk is a treat for parrot lovers. The tree canopy seems alive with them, a good pair of binoculars would have been handy at this point! The juxtaposition of the spectacularly tall Eucalyptus trees with the large tree-ferns is a wonder for a European like me. That, along with the cacophony of noises coming from the dense foliage, kept me fascinated for the whole walk.

Initially the walk is very easy going but does start to meander downhill, never getting too steep but definitely makes you start to think, ‘What goes down…’ And yes, the climb back up is steeper and more tiring so pace yourself!

We weren’t lucky enough to see a Lyrebird, however we saw Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Crimson Rosellas and Australian King Parrots so we didn’t feel hard done by at all.

The last part of the walk is wide, open and easy going. A nice respite from the hard climb and a great end to the walk.

You can definitely get a coffee at the cafe in the Grants Picnic Ground car park, however for a more luxurious treat, why not head to Sassafras village for a cream tea?! We dropped in to Dine Divine, a cafe set in a beautiful church. The clotted cream may not be up to Cornish standards but it was a lovely treat never-the-less.

There’s definitely more to explore along the high street here, fun shops ( a Bob Dylan children’s book caught my eye! ), Miss Marples Tearoom and Fortnums, a rather splendid restaurant with an airy, english-style conservatory.

All-in-all the Dandenong Ranges National Park is great area to spend a day with lots of options and the fleeting chance of seeing a superb lyrebird… sigh…

A map of the walks available in this area:

A map of the whole day!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more posts about Melbourne, Sidney, Bali, and many other places we’ve travelled to!

Anna & Morgan

The Wandering Hustlers is a travelogue made by Morgan and Anna - two digital nomads, wandering the world.

Melbourne is a big place, with lots to see and do. Should you have just a few days to explore Australia’s second-largest city, and want to see its highlights, here are the top 5 things you should do in Melbourne:

1. Explore the City of Melbourne

2. Visit the Royal Botanic Gardens

3. Try the amazing gourmet food scene

4. Explore the beach areas of Melbourne on a bike

5. Venture out of the city on a day trip

Check out my 5 Things to Do in Melbourne Google Map below to see the exact locations of all mentioned landmarks.

5 Things to Do in Melbourne Google Map

01. Explore the City of Melbourne

Probably the ultimate way to begin your Melbourne experience is to venture into its most urban and commercial centre - the City of Melbourne. This is what we did, and we were excited to find out many things to do, with a thing for every taste and fancy.

Venturing around the CBD

A great place to start your exploration of Melbourne is the Central Business District (aka CBD. Not that CBD!). At the very heart of the city, this area contains not only the tallest building in Australia (hint: Australia 108 is also the only building with more than 100 floors in the Southern Hemisphere), but also the city’s most eclectic foodie and cultural scenes as China Town is located here, too.

The landmark rail station that you can get off is Flinders Street Railway Station, a popular station to get off at and meet a friend, especially if you’re coming from the eastern suburbs and areas of Melbourne.

Check out the laneways

After the latest and brightest of Melbourne, you can go back to history and have a respite of modernity when you go to the laneways of Melbourne.

Being foodie havens and hubs of creativity, the many laneways of Melbourne have a lot to offer. Check out the official guide to Melbourne’s Laneways on the official site of Melbourne or check out this compact Google map of some of the key laneways.

Go shopping at the arcades

Melbourne’s Central Business District should be called Melbourne Shopping District really, as there’s much to do when it comes to shopping centres and arcades.

The top places to visit that have a unique historic feel are the Royal Arcade and the Block Arcade, both shown in my Google guide map here. Don’t miss out the Gog and Magog statue and displays at the Royal Arcade!

There are plenty of places to grab lunch in this area (if you haven’t already done so), including the Melbourne's GPO - another retail gallery shops & quaint restaurants, located in an elegant former post office.

Grab a drink on the Yarra River

And of course, after a long day brooding around, why not relax and grab a drink with a view at the Yarra River? We went to a bar just next to Evan Walker Bridge (bridge pictured below). The bar is not actually marked on Google, but you can find it easily - on the south side of the bridge, follow the steps down to the bar - you won’t miss it!

02. Visit the Royal Botanic Gardens

Now you are on the south riverbank, a fitting next stop would be the Royal Botanic Gardens of Melbourne.

This is a must see place in our opinion, especially if you’re not from Australia and this is one of your first encounters of the flora and fauna that this country has to offer.

Check out the Ornamental lake

This is a beautiful lake with many viewpoints, perfect for your instagram-ready snaps of you and your loved ones. Try the Taxodium Lawn for perfect photo angles and the area called Punting on the Lake on Google Maps for its many beautiful water lillies - the scenery is simply sublime!

Explore the many thematic gardens

The Botanic garden is full of many thematic gardens and special areas such as the Fern Gully, the Herb Garden, the Tropical Glasshouse and more.

Exploring the gardens fully may take some time, so if you want to fit a visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens on an already packed schedule, you can pick and choose the areas you’d like to see the most, and visit only these.

Stop by the Shrine of Remembrance

Although technically not in the Botanic Garden, the Shrine of Remembrance is a good landmark to see if you’re in the area. The monument commemorates the fallen from the World Wars with a spectacular moment (we, as Europeans, find the sheer scale of it rather massive). The monument also has good views of Melbourne city where you can take even more beautiful snaps.

03. Try the amazing gourmet food scene

It’s no secret that Melbourne is a haven for foodies.

We were told that the specialty cuisines that the city simple excels at are Asian and Italian. We explored the Asian cuisine in particular, and we can’t agree more.

Here are some great places for lunch and dinner we tried and tested:

• Brunetti - Italian cuisine

• Hochi Mama - Asian Fusion cuisine

• Dodee Paidang - Thai cuisine

• Hu Tong Dumpling Bar - Chinese cuisine

• Coffee - we tried Patricia Brewers & Wall Coffee.

04. Explore the beach front areas by bike

Melbourne has an expansive coastline with many beaches to enjoy, closer and further from the city.

Hiring an Uber / Lime bike

A fun way to explore the ocean front of Melbourne is by bike. The city and suburbs are bike-friendly, with plenty of bike lanes, especially around the beach areas. You can get the usual Lime/Uber electric bikes popular in other areas of the world, too. The bike arm of Uber is now Lime (or vice, verca, who knows), which means you can use your usual Uber app, as well as the Lime app, to pay and get one from the street. The Lime app would work better, as it’s the native one to the bikes.

Other means of transport are easily accessible, too. Trams are another great option to travel around, and for those staying a bit further from the city, trains are the fastest way to go in the city.

Point Ormond Lookout

After hiring a bike, we rode a long way on the coastline between St. Kilda West & Elmwood beaches.

One good stop with a view is the Point Ormond Lookout. On a good day, you’ll have a good view of the city and the beach.

St. Kilda & Elmwood Beach

On our journey, we explored the more “suburban” beaches slightly further away from the city. They still had a lot of visitors, and Elmwood especially, was a rather popular destination for locals as well as tourists. Tip: stop at the West Beach Pavilion for a beverage and a view, it has a great location straight on the beach!

05. Venture out on a day trip

Greater Melbourne’s area of approximately 9900 km² of suburbs spread tens of kilometers on each side. The area has certainly got a lot to offer, including a

Should you have the desire and time to go out on a day trip, you’ll be truly spoilt for choice (and I really mean it). Hiring a car to visit these places is the recommended choice, as public transport will significantly increase your journey.

We were fortunate enough to be in the area for multiple days and be guided by our friends living locally, Hayden & Steph, and we managed to visit the places below. We’ll be writing about some of these places separately, but here’s the one-line summary for each:

Dandenong Ranges National Park

~1h drive
Want to see a rainforest? This is your place! We trekked fropm the Grants Picnic Ground area (picture above) and there are other forest areas to explore, too.

Check out our article detailing our adventures at the Dandenong Ranges below:

Healesville Sanctuary

1.25h drive
Great zoo, perfect to get you familiarised with typically Australian mammals and many birds.

Mornington Peninsula

1.75h drive
Amazing beaches on both bay and ocean sides. Expensive area with quaint houses ending at Portsea town.

Yara Valley Wineries

Depends on your location
A must do thing in Australia in general is to try the many delicious wines. Yara Valley is popular region for wines. We tried a couple of wineries on our route to Healesville Sanctuary which were about 1 hour drive from Melbourne.

Melbourne has certainly a lot to offer to everyone. For a full exploration of the area, you’ll need more than 5 days, but the 5 things to do above are a great start.

And of course, the locations of all the places above can be found on my 5 Things to Do in Melbourne Google Map.

5 Things to Do in Melbourne Google Map

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more posts about Melbourne, Sidney, Bali, and many other places we’ve travelled to!

Anna & Morgan

The Wandering Hustlers is a travelogue made by Morgan and Anna - two digital nomads, wandering the world.

This is a blog about travelling as a digital nomad, hustling, working from anywhere in the world, and simply visiting beautiful places in the world without spending a fortune.

We’ve embarked on the journey of building the business of our dreams while seeing the places of our dreams. This is the dream.

Join us on the Wandering Hustlers journey.

- Morgan & Anna

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