Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - With an 8 hr layover in Sydney - What would you do?

We have 8 1/2 hours in Sydney before going on to Auckland. After viewing several post, we are considering going on a tour of the Opera House, doing a quick viewing of the of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on a Pylon Lookout tour, and grabbing lunch at one of the recommended restaurants near or in Circular Quay. Also after reading some post I think we will take the train, if we have time.

I would love any input, if some think that we are being a little too ambitious, or if anyone thinks this to be a lame use of our time.

Thanks!

G'day ChicagoD, welcome to FlyerTalk and the Australia/NZ forum. :)

Your desire to fit three activities in say five hours is ambitious but may depend on the timing of the SOH tour. My mother and sister arranged a tour a while back; the one they recommended begins quite early IIRC, so check if you can reasonably get to Circular Quay in time for that early morning tour.
I believe they took the Backstage Tour (http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/BackstageTour.aspx).
DEPARTS:Daily at 7am
PRICES $150 per personThere is also the Essential Tour (http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/theessentialtour09.aspx)DEPARTS
Daily, between 9am and 5pm
PRICES Adults: $35 / Online $27.50 / Online Earlybird*$26and possibly others.


Sydney is almost as good an architectural tour destination as Chicago. ;)
I believe there is a fair amount of work still happening on interior renovations, closer to the architect's plan, in progress at present.

As you may have noticed, we get these kind of questions here all the time, so search is your friend (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/search.php).

If the weather is good, go to the Royal Botanical Gardens (http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/welcome_to_bgt/royal_botanic_gardens/tours_education/guided_tours), adjoining the Opera House.

Between the other side of circular quay and the Harbour Bridge pylon, it's worth walking through the historic streets and alleys of The Rocks (http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/aboutsydney/CityLocalities/TheRocksandCircularQuay.asp). I recommend you have a drink at Blu Horizon at the Shangri La, about 40 stories up and with a great view of the Bridge and part of the harbour. What a view, what a nice place to sit and watch. :) If you can't get into the Pylon, this is an even better view IMO.

There are some good places to eat around Circular Quay, although almost all are, naturally, touristy. Put Customs House on your list, even though it is relatively expensive, for its amazing view.

Please search for earlier, similar questions in case you find some other options that you might enjoy. Many people catch a ferry to Manly if there is time, or go somewhere near the areas I've just mentioned.

There are plenty of options, so first see if you can be at the Sydney Opera House (http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/) at the right time for a tour and work around that. I'm sure you will get some answers here, but you will find a lot of good (general activity/recommendation) answers already here in previous threads.

I recommend you have a drink at Blu Horizon at the Shangri La, about 40 stories up and with a great view of the Bridge and part of the harbour. What a view, what a nice place to sit and watch. :)This sounded fun, so I looked it up. Here are two links -- The VIEW (http://www.altitudesydney.com/) and the DRINKS (http://www.altitudesydney.com/content/pdf/cocktails.pdf). Looks great ^ Hope we get a chance to pop in while we're in Sydney.

And if you're too early for the blu horizon head to the rooftop bar of the glenmore hotel in the rocks, it's a bit of a sydney local secret and one of the best places for lunch and a few beers in the world (well, one of the best views anyway :))

Don't forget that before you travel you will need to apply for an ETA (electronic travel authority) to enter Australia (I think).

I did my ETA last week, and made a paper copy just in case.

I look forward to the views, and more importantly the Drinks!

Cheers!

I did my ETA last week, and made a paper copy just in case.

I look forward to the views, and more importantly the Drinks!

Cheers!

Sounds like the perfect stop over ^ A drink at the "Oprah" bar is also a good option if you don't have time to get up to blu horizon. If you find you have extra time (which I doubt) A trip up Centre Point Tower (http://www.sydneytower.com.au/) is also a good option.