Wedding in Sydney, Australia - Where after?

hodgey66

Hi all

Looking for some tips and inspiration really. My best friend is getting married in Sydney 28th October, as soon as i got the invite last year i decided I'm making the most of it and plan on being away for around a month including the wedding which takes up about 10 days.

My initial plans are:
- Fly to bangkok for a few days and then to syndey. Cheaper than flying direct and also get to see bangkok.

- spend 10 days in sydney then fly to indonesia, bali?

- spend a week to 10 days around bali then head to vietnam

- a week in vietnam then head home

Thoughts on the above and recommendations for making the most of this short trip.

Thanks

BT Bob

For me, the Harbour Bridge climb is a must-do. Not cheap (but then, nothing will be, given the exchange rate) but worth it - and preferably a twilight-climb. Also a tour of the Opera House is worth a look. You might look at the Sky Tower as well.
If you have free time over a weekend, The Rocks market is a great place.
You could visit Bondi, but only to say, "I've been to Bondi". Much better to visit Manley or Watson's Bay. Both easily accessible by ferry from Circular Quay.
If you have the time, Melbourne is only an hour's flight away, so maybe worth a day or 2, or even a trip to Hobart for a couple of days.
Ayers Rock is about a 3-hour flight and, IMO, worth visiting for a couple of days. If you stay at amy of the hotels in the Ayers Rock resort, you'll find them relatively expensive, but the organised trips to Uluru & (even better) Kata Tjuta are very good.
Obviously, you won't fit all of this in - you might not be interested in any of it - but there is loads to do.
Realistically, you won't get much further afield in the limited time you have. Don't underestimate just how big Australia is......

hodgey66

Some great pointers thanks very much. Just want to make the most of my time out there so theres some great suggestions.

Are the flights expensive such as to melbourne?

BT Bob

The Sydney to Melbourne route is really busy - there's flights all the time (bit like trains here). Check out Jetstar or Webjet.

Flights to Ayers Rock were a bit more pricey, but (at the time) only Virgin flew that route. I believe there may be more competition now...

As always - Google is your friend...

domtheone

Can't really add much to Bob's excellent post.

Taronga Zoo is nice (if you like that sort of thing) and a trip to the Blue mountains isn't too far from Sydney.

There are some great walks around the harbour area (Manley/Watson) with some great views and, fantastic little coves/beaches.

everett_psycho

Definitely do the blue mountains if you like nature. Grab an opal card and it's only $2.50 on a Sunday return, it's a long day to get there and back and you'll only get 1 good walk in but the place is really impressive.
In October it will be spring so keep that in mind that Sydney (and more Melbourne and Tassie) won't be that hot then
You can always fly up to cairns to do the barrier reef and whitsundays as that will be a bit warmer.
Australia is huge, I've just spent over 2 months driving from the south west to the north east and missed loads, I'd thoroughly recommend western Australia but in the time frame you have you wouldn't even start seeing it and it'll be expensive to get to from Sydney.

huntere

Bali is VERY interesting - not always for the right reasons. Research thoroughly where you are going. Sounds exotic but some areas are hell. Its a  very cheap popular Australian tours destination.
I thin Australia has a whole lot more to offer than Bali or Bangkok.
Vietnam/Cambodia and Laos have excellent reputations

everett_psycho

I've been told a few times that Bali is Australia's equivalent to the Spanish and green islands. Aussies and backpackers pretty much go there to blow off steam or save money, but like all those places there's good and bad areas, researching will definitely help.

It's looking increasingly likely that I'll be living in Melbourne soon so might be able to give some better pointers once I get down there and find my feet a bit.

rampant

I'm doing a trip next year and going to the Glass Mountain range (up from Brisbane)

everett_psycho

So in the last month I've pretty much covered the entire East coast of Australia very briefly. Personally I'd probably hack Sydney down to 5 days, then see if you can head up to Brisbane and from there head north to do a trip on the whitsundays and Fraser island and maybe see the barrier reef in cairns then fly to Bali from there, maybe a few days less in Bali to cover this lot. It's not that cheap to do ask this stuff but everyone I've spoke to said the whitsundays and Fraser are completely worth the money.

I'm also currently living in Sydney for a couple of months so can try and help with any questions you have about the area.