Today’s traveller is opting for quick getaways and a desire to maximise their travel experiences. Are you looking for simple ways to reenergise and reinvigorate? What better choice than to jump on a plane, head to a new and exciting destination for a fun-filled weekend in Sydney.

Sydney Opera House at night — Immerse yourself into the heart of Sydney

Day 1 - Getting to Sydney

Flights to Sydney - Nil cost. How is that possible? We were able to do this using Virgin Velocity Points. Get your points working for you. We all spend money everyday on the boring things like groceries and bills. You shall find the points add up very quickly and routes to Major cities aren’t a big outlay in points.

Get creative on how to get to your next destination. — Get creative on how to get to your next destination - Sydney here we come!

Timing of Events

This one is fairly important. Know what is going on where you are headed to. Events and festivals may change the pricing e.g. accommodation and the number of people there, so be aware of what events are happening at the time of travel. You shall notice for events such as an international music act (we all see the drama caused by a Taylor Swift concert!), it may drive up the prices of domestic flights. Just keep tweaking the dates to see if the price of the flight drops (Check my tips of saving money for booking flights).

For us, we wanted to head to Sydney during Vivid and specifically chose to go in its second last week. The Vivid festival is a culmination of lights, music, art and ideas.

Vivid stretches across the city - Exhibit next to the Harbour Bridge

Sydney Vivid is a creative’s dream. Our flights to Sydney were easy to book through reward points during the festival time. A quick 1+ hour flight and we were right in the heart of the action.

Where to Stay in Sydney?

With a city that is built around a majestic harbour; a traveller is spoiled for choice for accommodation. For a short stay, and in the case of Vivid, where road closures were the case, we chose to stay right in the heart of the festival - at Circular Quay.

Keep an eye on what’s happening for accommodation choices in Sydney… — Keep an eye on what’s happening for accommodation choices in Sydney

I booked fairly in advance for Vivid - around 6 weeks out and directly with the hotel, as I have a member’s card (to get access to hotel accommodation discounts and discounted dining). The hotel room had views to the Sydney Opera House - devine outlook.

View from the Hotel Room - overlooking Circular Quay and Opera House - spectacular! — View from the Sydney Marriott Hotel Room - overlooking Circular Quay and Opera House - spectacular!

As time progressed closer to the festival, I did check on-line to see how pricing was tracking for hotels. Around 3 - 4 weeks out from our visit, there was a price drop, so be sure to phone your hotel to see if they can at least price-match with anything on-line. It is a fairly competitive market, but did notice the closer you booked to the festival, the higher the prices became.

My advice is to do a little planning to make sure you get the best price possible. Remember that with Booking.com you can book a room and cancel for free (if that is in the terms) on the off-chance a better deal pops up. In the end, some 3 star hotels were charging more than a 5 star hotel for rates; so broaden your searches to include high end accommodation too.

Getting Around Sydney

Circular Quay

Is home to the ferry terminals and gateway to access beautiful locations around Sydney. Basing ourselves at Circular Quay made it easy to get around by either walking or catching a ferry. Transport to the hotel was simple. It was cheaper for us to get a Shuttle Bus service directly to our hotel door for two people then going on the Air Train, however is much quicker to use Air Train, after you take in the travel time of dropping off all of the people door to door. Walked from our hotel to Circular Quay and grabbed a ferry to Watson’s Bay, which took about 30 minutes to get there.

Ferry to Watson’s Bay

The trip to Watson’s bay is so worth it!. Gives you prime position to take perfect pics of the Harbour Bridge and to travel right past the front of the Opera House! Cruising the harbour is a must. There were discounted deals for the nightly harbour cruises to get views of Vivid.

Sydney was heavily booked during our visit in June, so we had organised lunch at Doyle’s restaurant using Open Table a few weeks in advance.

There are a few dining alternatives at Watson’s Bay. Dependent on what you want out of your experience, there is the Iconic Doyles restaurant, Beach Club Boutique Hotel and Doyles Fisherman’s Wharf Cafe as you get off the Ferry.

Best option truthfully?

Get Fish and chips instead from Doyle’s cafe. Restaurant prices (tourist prices) apply at Doyles and was quite a lot considering it was just fish and chips. We asked our waitress to take a photo, and she turned the camera towards her thinking we wanted a photo of her!!! We could not stop laughing. Poor thing, she probably gets asked all the time for her photo, but was not not our agenda!!

Outlook over Watson’s bay - amazing!

Next stop, spontaneous visit to Star Casino. A HUGE casino at Pyrmont easily accessible by return ferry via Circular Quay. The Ferry stops at Luna Park on the way, another perfect photo opportunity of a Sydney Landmark!

Make sure to stop off at the infamous Luna Park in Sydney

Tried our luck stretching the travel dollar at Star Casino - don’t recommend that as the best way to stretch your money - Lost! Again! We signed up for the Star Club Card which gave us a small injection of casino dollars to start. When we played it builds up reward points.

Darling Harbour Sydney

Arrived Sydney at 9.30am and by 3.30pm had already squeezed in a lot, but felt very chilled. Next stop off to Darling Harbour for some relaxing afternoon drinks.

Heading to Darling Harbour - over the Pyrmont Bridge. — Heading to Darling Harbour - over the Pyrmont Bridge

A leisurely stroll over the Pyrmont bridge, which brings you into the heart of Darling Harbour. It was getting more packed as the crowds descended upon the city centre. Plenty of alfresco dining and bars to have a cheeky Pinot or two! If you are in Darling Harbour on a Saturday night, they also regularly display fireworks at 8.30pm. Outlook is incredible.

Vivid Festival

As nightfall descended, the city became alive with lights, music and art. After seeing the Vivid Exhibit at Darling Harbour, it was time for us to head back and check in and get changed - (yes! hadn’t even checked in!) That’s called living in the moment :)

You can walk from Darling Harbour back to Circular Quay - which we opted for. Takes around 10 - 15 minutes, otherwise choose a taxi or Uber for a quick return to the Quay.

Sydney Vivid has been delighting tourists and city goers for over a decade. It continues to get bigger and better with each passing year.

Vivid is the LARGEST LIGHT FESTIVAL in the world!! (Runs for 3 weeks over May/June)

The city came alive with lights and music! — Sydney comes alive with lights and music!

We had joined up with friends for the day, as found out they were also in Sydney for the same weekend. Thousands of people came out to look at the wonders of the cityscape - dancing images across the opera house and Harbour Bridge, a sea of lights, circulating across Circular Quay and the Harbour. In addition, there were exhibits, some that were interactive, which stretched from the Rocks District, through the Quay Grand and on into the Royal Botanical Gardens. Later in the night, we stumbled across Squires at the Cruise Terminal and found a table. We sat down, front row seats to Sydney’s greatest landmark - the Opera House, taking in the enormous artistic canvas of the Sydney landscape, the sweet sounds of music and banter of passers by. We grabbed some bar food here and was fairly reasonable in terms of costs.

Front Seat views over the Opera House - Priceless!

Seated at Squires - The Opera House Sails acted as a canvas for the Austral Floral Ballet.

Our final venture was a walk past the Opera House and on into the Royal Botanical Gardens, winding our way through the tracks and taking part in fun, interactive exhibits.

Festival Cost - FREE!

Sydney Vivid was awe-inspiring!

It was late into the night, so we headed back to our hotel room to sit on the window ledge, looking out over the whole of Circular Quay, taking in the views from high above the skyline. Spectacular!

Day 2 - Exploring Sydney

May have opted for a bit of a sleep-in! So you have potentially more choices for Day 2 outings if not opting for extra sleep! Our hotel membership card included Buffet Breakfast!

Cost as Member - FREE (using certificate)

Grand Architecture of Queen Victoria Building

We put the walking shoes on again and decided to head uptown weaving through Sydney landmarks headed to Queen Victoria Building - a heritage listed shopping precinct, which occupies a whole block in George Street. The grand architecture is reminiscent of the style of the late nineteenth century - a true form of art. It is lined with boutique shops, Sydney finest fashions, art galleries and an array of gorgeous cafes and restaurants.

As we entered the building, we found an artist, who had taken up this spot as residency for more than 10 years. He was busy creating mini masterpieces that he kindly offered to onlookers for free. Donations welcomed for his creative efforts. Stunning artwork and a fabulous opportunity to pick up a piece to highlight your visit to Sydney.

This artist has been creating masterpieces outside the QVB building for 10 years. Beautiful works!

The QVB is exhilarating and absolutely worth the visit.

Cost for wandering - FREE! unless tempted to turn your window shopping into a purchase!

Onward again - now through the City heart - headed to Hyde Park - another Sydney Landmark. This is the perfect location to get a great photo of Sydney Tower, which commands the city skyline.

Across the road from Hyde Park is the Gothic Styled - St Mary’s Cathedral, which was built in the mid 1800’s. A majestic piece of architecture. There is no entrance fee to the Cathedral, though donations are welcomed for upkeep and cleaning of the Cathedral. (Will be a small cost if you want access to the Cathedral Crypt).

Cost - FREE (keep your walking shoes on though!)

If you have opted for an earlier start to your day - suggest you take a quick trip out to Bondi Beach. Bondi is Australia’s most famous beach, framed with white sands, sandstone cliffs, blue ocean waters and rolling surf. Day was magic Winter weather! Sometimes traffic can take a while to get out to Bondi, but the Sunday traffic was slow.

Best and cheapest option for us was Uber.

Take a walk on the golden sands toward the southern end of Bondi beach to Iceberg Pools - the most photographed swimming pool in the world!

Iceberg Pools, Bondi - The most photographed swimming pool in the world. — Iceberg Pools, Bondi, Sydney (always a magic view)

If you have time, do pop into the The Bucket List - this is a bar/eatery on the beachfront, set within Bondi Pavilion. Has a perfect outlook over Bondi and a nice way to take it all in.

View from The Bucket List - outlook over Bondi Beach…..Very relaxing!

Other Options to explore Sydney:

Time for an impromptu late lunch, so headed to the Rocks Markets - the oldest settled part of Australia and major tourist market. You shall find yourself weaving an intricate maze of cobblestone laneways, lined with international foodie trucks and browsing the stalls of the artisans presenting their wares; be it jewellery, soaps, indigenous art and other knick-knacks.

It had an exciting vibe as people meandered the streets, with a delectable aroma of gourmet food, sounds of the sizzling foods, sunlight streaming through the laneways and music gently playing in the background.

That’s moi’ wandering through the laneways…..

It was a tough choice, but settled on the Turkish Gozleme, plonking ourselves down on the kerbside taking in the Harbour Bridge as the scenic backdrop.

Return to the Airport - sad to say goodbye to Sydney!

We had pre-paid for a Luxury Sedan through Redy2go to pick us up directly from the hotel and drop off of us at the airport departure gates. Our driver - David was waiting for us at the hotel. May seem exuberant, but was very cost effective and no hassle for the four of us to get back to the airport.

Front row seats overlooking the Opera House

There you have it - DeeLuxe Travels tips for a perfect Sydney Getaway.

Taking in no less than 13 iconic landmarks and locations in less than 48 hours.

As we boarded the plane, we smiled at each other.

Two days felt like a week -

That is an Exciting Sydney Getaway!!

What’s your plans for the next Weekend Getaway?

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Wandering back from the Rocks and reflecting back on the Harbour Bridge. Magic day!

Sydney - Tips for an exciting getaway