Hi Everyone

I am going to New Zealand where I will be spending lots of time with a friend who resides there. Then I am off to Sydney. Is there anyone on this wonderful travel forum from Sydney?
I could certainly use some advice re accommodations(central location only) & even better to meet people from there. It would also be great to do mini-trips outside of sydney if possible.
Patricia Thank you

I live near Melbourne but holiday in Sydney for a few days each year.
We usually stay in Manly so I haven't many specific hotels to recommend.
If you gave us an idea of the type of accommodation you like and a price it would help.

This web site may give you an idea of hotels and prices. We use it when we are looking for accommodation around Australia

http://www.wotif.com/hotels/australia-sydney-hotels.html

This website may give you an idea of suburbs in Sydney.

http://www.sydney.com.au/hotel-by-suburb-region-location.htm

We have stayed in The Rocks area, Darling Harbour, Elizabeth Bay and the Central City at various times and they are all pretty central. The Rocks area is closer to Circular Quay where you find the many ferries for trips around the harbour. It is also a short walk to The Opera House, The Botanical Gardens and the city. The Harbour Bridge is close too. Elizabeth Bay is a good walk to the city and as well there is a bus service that would get you into the city very quickly.

The http://www.sydney.com.au/ also gives you an idea of harbour cruises and tours you might take.

When we are in Sydney we like to take the ferry to Manly and to walk to the surf beach. The ferry travels past many suburbs and parks so you get an idea of the size of the harbour.

We like wine, so a trip to the Hunter Valley is often on our itinerary.

I know Marta has stayed in Sydney and will very likely have some advice for you. She blogged while in Australia and if you scroll down you will find her time in Sydney.

http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/marta/archives/cat_australia.html

LizS has a blog, with lots of photos too, of their time in Sydney. It will make your mouth water!

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/2007_adventures/2007/04/sydney_1.html

I am sorry but I haven't learnt how to post without the long web links

I hope this helps
Jill

quote:

When we are in Sydney we like to take the ferry to Manly and to walk to the surf beach.

Note that Fletch says surf beach. This is not the harbour beach the ferry arrives in, at which some disappointed travellers have stayed after disembarking and wondered what the attraction was: but follow the crowds that will walk across the narrow peninsular to its ocean side and restaurants along hte beach front.

I lived in Sydney for a few years, and learnt nothing of holiday accommodation.

BTW. Some like Darling Harbour in Sydney. I see it as a tourist trap with expensive average restaurants.

Thank you Jill & John. Thanks too for the web sites. Did you ever hear of this company & if they are reputable:????
www.aussieassist.com

I would like to stay somewhere that is both well-located(have no clue re anything about Sydney) & accessible to exploration,restaurants & shopping.
None of these areas are familiar. I would like to stay somewhere nice-not too expensive but reasonable.

Since I will be there from Feb 9-26,do I have enough time to do another city,ocean drive from melbourne etc?
I really appreciate this

Fletch: any places in the $100-$125 range in Melbourne for a couple nights? We will be there in mid-march next year.

Joanne, what sort of things are you looking for in terms of (a) accommodation and (b) things to do?

Hi Patricia,

Yes, I stayed 5 days in Sydney a couple of years ago. Jill, thanks for recommending my blog. We also have some notes on our main Slow Travel website on Australia and New Zealand. Leslie's travel notes for Sydney will be helpful .

We stayed in the Central Business District (CBD) and found it a good location. I'd also recommend the Rocks which is near many of the top sites as Jill mentions. We stayed at the The Blacket. It was fine but I was a little disappointed in it. I thought I'd like the smart black interiors but it ended up being a little too dark for us. Location wise - it was great. It is an old bank building and the room we had was one of the loft rooms. I'd probably look around a bit more. I've seen the Russell Hotel recommended a lot because it is a great location and economical for the location.

Leslie's notes has the main items to do. I highly recommend the ferry to Manly. Also check out what is playing at the Opera House. We bought tickets on line for a performance and really enjoyed it. There is a wide variety of different items performed at the opera house. We saw the Gilbert and Sullivan "Pirates of Penzance" which was a lot of fun.

I'd also recommend taking Sydney Explorer bus. It is an all day pass that lets you get on and off the tourist bus. There are two lines and you can see many of the tops sites using the bus. We used it one day to get out to Bondi Beach along with a nice tour of the city.

We didn't have enough time to get out of town. If you have the time, I'd look at either a trip to the Blue Mountains or Hunter Valley for wine tasting.

I will be in Sydney in July. Because I overlap with the Pope's visit (How could I have been so dumb especially since we just survived a papal visit in Washington, DC, where I live?), I ended up with a reservation at the Ibis near Olympic Park. It's not the most convenient, but there are trains to the harbor and also to the Blue Mountains, so I assume I'll do just fine.

I have a ticket to an opera at The Sydney Opera House one night.

I occasionally visited the Sydney Olympic park.

It is a large area with lots of venues, but I don't remember where the IBIS is. Looking up the Hotel Ibis site did not give an exact location either. But I think it is in the park and not just near it.

So I tried the Sydney Transport Infoline and that gave me a large number of locations in the Olympic park, but I could not work out which was the closest to the IBIS.

There does not appear to be a direct rail line into the city. It seems you have to change at Lidcombe and the journey to Circular Quay would take about an hour.

Alternatively, you might take a 15 minute walk to Concorde station. See the Olympic site transport.

I am concerned that you will be quite isolated out at the Olympic Park. It may be good for visiting sportspeople that will be spending their time at the park, but not so good for seeing the sights of Sydney.
I advise you to check again carefully with your hotel.

Marta-thank you. I quickly went on the hotels' websites & I think Blacket is less expensive than Russell. I will look into Blacket.

There are also 3 travelodges'-one is on Wentworth,another is on Phillip St & the 3rd is on York st-which is the best location of the 3-does anyone know?

I will be going to Sydney in February for about 17 days. I am trying to decide what to do-is it a good idea to go to Melbourne & do the Great ocean Rd??? or go to Cairns?
I could hook up with APT tours or this company(does anyone know them) aussiesassist.com
Thanks for any help
How much in advance do I need to book a hotel in Sydney?

I would say the Phillip St has the best location; my only concern would be that it shares its venue with the NSW Rugby Leagues club. It could get rowdy after a game, but there should not be one in February.

The York St one is a short walk away.

The Wentworth St one is less well located, and not far from the Central Station area which you would do well to avoid at night.

I don't know aussieassist.

Cairns is really hot in February. It is the rainy (monsoon) season. I like the Great Ocean Road, and you would need a week at least to do it justice. If you decide to do it then I provide more information on what to see. I have posted about there before and could find the posts.

quote:

Originally posted by pattysue:

I will be going to Sydney in February for about 17 days. I am trying to decide what to do-is it a good idea to go to Melbourne & do the Great ocean Rd??? or go to Cairns?

Well, I think Melbourne is a far better option than Cairns., but then I think Melbourne is a better option than Sydney. (Actually, I don't think there's a lot do to in Cairns ... if you are going up that way, keep going to Port Douglas).

If you go to Melbourne, there is loads to see and do. The Great Ocean Road is good. Depends on how much time you want to spend inside vehicles. If you stopped in Melbourne, there's Ballarat, Geelong and Bendigo as day tours, but the city itself has lots to do.

I think AAP tours are fine. But remember that Australia is huge. Sydney and Melbourne are a LONG way apart. Sydney and Cairns are almost worlds apart. Personally, I'd fly between any of them and stick to just two.

quote:

Marta-thank you. I quickly went on the hotels' websites & I think Blacket is less expensive than Russell. I will look into Blacket.

That surprised me. I thought it was less. The location for the Russell is excellent since it is in the Rocks area. It is a good deal for that area. Do check the reviews on Trip Advisor for the Blacket. I took a quick look and they seemed to be very fair. It is a good deal but we did find it a little dated, hip decor but dark, and service a little aloof. One other item to be aware, they have a nightclub in the basement. We faintly heard a bit of the music. It is open until 'late' which is early in the morning. We were there on a Saturday night and there was a lot of activity in the area with people clubbing in the area.

Also since you are going to be in Australia for 17 days, have you considered looking for a rental? You would probably need a car if you take a rental. Are you planning on staying the whole time in Sydney? Or are you going to stay in two areas such as Sydney and Melbourne. What are your interests? This will help us make suggestions.

I second the Rocks area. In addition to its proximity to transportation and the fact that it's close enough to walk downtown, it has a fair number of restaurants and pubs from which to choose.And some small boutique-esque kinda shopping and a Saturday AM market. You're within a 10-12 block walk of Queen Victoria Mall and the city Center, can walk to the Opera House, Botanical gardens, even over to Darling Harbor if you like.
I always stayed in the Harrington House (now the Stafford Rendezvous)on Harrington Street, just one or two short blocks from Circular Quay. Straightforward, no frills but clean and ample rooms and the 4th floor and above have great views of the harbor, Opera House. When I was there during the 90's there was no on site restaurant or bar, but since it's changed hands some things may of changed - of course, you're in The Rocks and don't really need another restaurant or bar!

Stop in at Fortune o' War Pub on George Street and have a Tooey's, Guiness or VB for me, will ya? Boy, I miss Sydney...ENJOY!

I had a lot of difficulty getting a hotel at all with the pope in town and that is how I ended up at Olympic Park. I know it is not the best but I will just have to go with it. The only difficulty will be the night I go to the Opera House. If I have to take an expensive cab, I will take an expensive cab. That is all there is to it.

Re Melbourne Question: Been busy. We will be flying in from Canberra on Sat. Evening staying until Tuesday am when we take the train to Adelaide. We will have been in Jinabyne at a horse show for the few days prior. We just want something clean and reasonable since we only have a short time to explore the city. We need to kill the three days before heading for horse farm visits in Adelaide and later Perth areas.

Melbourne website

Joanne, this site should give you a few ideas for things to do. There are also accommodation links. There's the zoo, the beach, good shopping (and the Grand Prix in March, if you are into that sort of thing). Ballarat (an hour by car or train) has Sovereign Hill, which is good if you have kids.

I'm not terribly familiar with hotels in Melbourne, but I have heard that The Hatton is very nice ( might be a bit above the price range you mention though).

My sister often stays at the Downtowner Hotel on Lygon Street when she comes to Melbourne and says its good. It's certainly in a good location. Lygon Street is the Italian strip in Melbourne and has loads of good restaurants.

We usually stay at a club when we are in Melbourne (about once/ twice a month) but if it is booked out or we want somewhere cheaper we look at http://www.wotif.com/. Sometimes it is only to give a guide to prices at the time and particularly the locations. We then usually contact the hotel and sometimes get a better price.

We have stayed at the Davis Avenue South Yarra apartments quite often if we don't need to be right in the city. We haven't stayed at the city ones but if they are the same quality they would be good.

The Davis Ave ones are a short walk to trams and railway station that will get you into the city easily and quickly. I think they are cheaper. They are near Toorak Rd & Chapel St which some people love for fashionable / hip clothes and cafes. It is also not far from the beautiful Botanic Gardens.
They have other apartments in South Yarra (on Punt Road) but not as close to public transport.
http://www.punthill.com.au/

We stayed in this hotel a few months ago - comfortable bed and clean, but very tired furniture. It is right in the heart of the city (with some building opposite) so may not be quiet during the day. It is a short walk to Chinatown which has some great yum cha at lunch time and good places for dinner. The Money Order Office (MOO) restaurant is in a little lane next to the hotel and has good food.
http://cityhotels.breakfree.com.au/default.asp?action=article&ID=42969

We have stayed here too - one is up near Victoria Market - an interesting visit for tourists. The other in the middle of the city. Not sure what they are like now as it was a while ago.
http://www.accorhotels.com.au/melbournehotelibis

We used to live in Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne so know it fairly well.

Jill

This is my review of the Melbourne Stamford Plaza

I was looking at all the reviews on various hotels. I think I'm going to forget Russell & Stafford rendezvous.
Does anyone know of the Hughenden Hotel(Paddington & Woollahra area)-is that a good location or far out?
The Stellar hotel on wentworth has the best reviews but someone mentioned that it's not a good area-too bad. There is also the Diamant Boutique Hotel on Kings Cross Rd(Potts Pt)-any comments on these various areas please?

I decided to do both Melbourne & Sydney-there is lots to do to keep me plenty busy (if I could just find a hotel)
For Melbourne there were excellent reviews on Citigate melbourne on Flinders st-is this a good location?
Basically for both sydney & melbourne I want a well-located hotel (I don't want to be subjected though to any noise at night).
Thanks for your input-you are all so nice!

Flinders St is one of the busy streets in Melbourne - cars and trams, but in the heart of the city. I imagine the windows will be double glazed.
It is opposite Flinders St Station which is the main suburban station, and nearly opposite Federation Square where there is a large Visitor Information Centre.

A block away you will find many arcades with cafes and shops as well as the main large department stores of Myer and David Jones.
The Circle tram runs down Flinders St (it is a free tourist tram), and it is easy to catch a tram to most parts of inner Melbourne from nearby.

The Arts Centre - Gallery and Theatre are a short walk from Flinders St and are safe to walk from after shows.

I think you would be quite happy and comfortable there.

Thank you Fletch-so I will stick to that hotel in Melbourne then.

Now I have to find in Sydney-like I said,reading all the reviews I am going to forget stafford,russell etc. Hotel Stellar had wonderful comments but is Wentworth st central but someone said it is a bad location? Then there is Diamant Hotel-on Kings Cross Rd & Hughendenhotel in paddington & woollahra. Any comments please?