The Opera House in the evening light, surfers at Bondi Beach and a coastline that never ends – Sydney is the start of every trip to Australia.
Photo: Photoholgic (Unsplash)
Full disclosure: I've never been to Australia – it's the country I hear the most about and know the least. Friends who've been all start in Sydney: the ferry to Manly with its view of the Opera House, the coastal walk from Bondi to Coogee, the Blue Mountains a day away.
Then it's up the East Coast: the Hunter Valley for wine, Port Macquarie for koalas, Byron Bay with its lighthouse and surfers, the Gold Coast, Brisbane. If you want to go further, you end up in Cairns for the Great Barrier Reef – there's a separate page for that.
Australia is far away (a 22-hour flight) and expensive, but easy: English-speaking, safe, hire cars or campervans on good roads. For a first visit, everyone recommends three to four weeks covering Sydney, the East Coast and the reef – plus a stopover in Singapore or Dubai to split the jet lag.
Sydney: The Rocks or Circular Quay for the view, Surry Hills for cafés, Manly or Bondi for the beach. East Coast: campervan or motels.
I almost always compare hotels, apartments and guesthouses on Booking.com – with genuine reviews and usually free cancellation.
See places to stay in Sydney & the East Coast Compare on Hotels.com Holiday rental on Vrbo