We toured Australia from 01 May – 07 May 2013 (Autumn) for 7 days with 1 child (5 yrs old). Here’s a summary of our Sydney / Blue Mountains Itinerary. The Airline we took was Scoot Airlines and the flight hours was about 8 hours. 

We visited 4 main locations: Sydney City, Thirlmere, Katoomba, Leura in the Blue Mountains and a total of 25 places. Our Accommodations were Mercure Sydney and 3 Sisters Motel.

Great Moments:

• Tasted several good food that I specially selected from good reviews.
• Saw and walked on many things we didn’t see before, such as ships, submarine, trains, bush trail, cliff rocks, coastal rocks.
• Learnt many things from educational visits to exhibitions and museum.
• Experienced a late autumn with autumn colours. (We tried to in Taiwan but it was only the beginning and was still quite warm).
• Tried one of the steepest railway in the world.
• Saw some amazing scenery from up high and took several scenic photographs.
• Nice and Friendly Australians who provided us lots of help with information or volunteer useful help.

What Was Bad:

• When we could not find the place we want successfully and needed help from asking.
• Wasted time when the transport we were waiting for is not on time or limited by scheduled timing.
• Tasted food that was not nice.
• That it turned dark too fast at 5 plus pm and we lacked time to finish our sight-seeing.
• When we argued what to order or where to eat
• Constantly watching over our active boy who would wander away from us and scolding him for not listening.
• Rude staff who replies condescendingly when you ask too many questions (just because we are Asians?). Surprisingly, we encounter them often at tourists spots when they are supposed to be the one offering help.
• Temperatures at 11-17 Degrees Celsius for a day in Sydney and dropping to 10 in the evening in the Blue Mountains. We did not expect the temperature to drop so much all of a sudden and the clothes we prepared were not adequate. I thought it would just be cool at 19-22 degrees and I had checked the weather forecast before we went. We ended up wearing four layers and it was still cold.

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7-DAYS FAMILY ITINERARY FOR SYDNEY | BLUE MOUNTAINS

DAY 1 ( SYDNEY )

• 1115 — Arrival in Sydney International Airport
• 1200 — At Sydney Airport Link to take train to our hotel near Central Station.
• 1255 — Check in Mercure Sydney Hotel
• Lunch at Ziggly Cafe in Broadway Shopping Mall
• Walk along Circular Quay, alongside the Rock towards Sydney Harbour Bridge
• Walked the Sydney Harbour Bridge
• Train to Town Hall and walk to Chinatown, Dixon Street.
• Short walk in Sydney Chinatown.
• Searched for Kura Japanese in Haymarket and ate dinner there.

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DAY 2 ( SYDNEY – Fish Market / Kids Attraction )

• National Maritime Musuem / Whales Exhibition
• Lunch at Sydney Fish Market
• Walk to Pyrmont Bridge to cross to Darling Harbour
• Wildlife Sydney Zoo
• Darling Quarter Playground
• Sydney Tower Eye
• Dinner in BBQ King opposite Paddy’s Market

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DAY 3 ( SYDNEY – Powerhouse / Bondi Beach)

• Powerhouse Museum
• Paddy’s Market
• Taiwanese Lunch in Chinatown, Dixon Street
• Paddington’s Market
• Start Coastal Walk from Bondi Beach to Bronte
• Reached Bronte Beach
• Took Bus and Train / Returned to Darling Harbour
• Fireworks in Darling Harbour

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DAY 4 ( THIRLMERE – THOMAS TRAIN / WATSONS BAY)

• 0921 — Train Journey from Central Station to Campbelltown Station
• Taxi from Campbelltown Station to Thirlmere (Original Plan – Train from Campbelltown –> Picton –> Taxi to Thirlmere)
• Explore Trains at Trainworks Transport Museum in Thirlmere
• Day out with Thomas Section / Lunch at Thirlmere
• Taxi to Picton Station / Picton to Campbeltown Station / Campbeltown to Circular Quay Station
• Ferry to Watsons Bay (Original Plan -Was to have done this on the first day we arrived but lack time)
• Arrived at Watsons Bay / Dinner
• Ferry back to Circular Quay

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DAY 5 ( BLUE MOUNTAINS – KATOOMBA)

• 0818 — Train to Katoomba Station in Blue Mountains
• Arrived Katoomba Station / Bought Tickets at Blue Mountains Explorer Bus Company
• 1040 –Took Blue Mountains Explorer Bus
• Arrival and Check into 3 Sisters Motel
• Lunch in Katoomba Town – The Yellow Deli
• Took Skyway Across Jamison Valley
• Took Scenic World Cableway Down
• Walked Scenic Walkway, experience Rainforest
• Took Scenic Railway, World’s Steepest Railway
• Sunset at Echo Point
•  Dinner at Unique Patissiere (Malaysian Cuisine)

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DAY 6 ( BLUE MOUNTAINS – LEURA )

• Walk to Echo Point
• Take Bush Walk – Three Sisters Track to Three Sisters Lookout
• Reached Three Sisters Lookout (Standing on one of the Three Sisters’ Rock)
• Took Blue Mountains Explorer Bus to Leura Cascades
• Walk down to Leura Cascades / Bridal Veil Falls
• Took Blue Mountains Explorer Bus to Leuralla Toy and Railway Museum
• Took a walk in Leuralla Beautiful Gardens
• Watched the Trains move at Outdoor Railway Museum
• Took Blue Mountains Explorer Bus to Leura Village
• Lunch at LilyPad’s Cafe
• Shopping at Leura Village
• Blue Mountains Explorer Bus to Chocolate Gallery
• Playground fun at Chocolate Gallery
• Blue Mountains Explorer Bus to Katoomba Town
• Dinner in Sawyne (Korean Cafe)

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DAY 7 ( SYDNEY )

• Taxi to Katoomba Station
• Train from Katoomba to Central Station in Sydney
• Arrived at Central Station
• Transfer to Airport Link
• Arrival at Sydney International Airport
• 1220 — Back to Singapore
• 1840 — Arrived at Singapore

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:: Tips on Travel in Sydney ::

1.Visa

• A Visa is needed to enter Australia as long as we are not residents. We applied ours via Ja-Travel Agency at SGD$10 each.

3. Travel By Public Transport

• We travelled to various attractions in Sydney using public transport such as trains, buses, light rail, taxi and ferry. Navigation is made possible by the Apps- Google Maps.
• More information on our experiences is in this post: Travel Sydney by Public Transport

4. Food & Drink

• Food in cafes and restaurants generally costs at a range of AUD$16 – $19. Small eateries in Chinatown Area are cheaper.

5. Clothing for Hike & Walk About:

• Bush Walk Hike on Blue Mountains: Wear comfy walking shoes with good traction as some areas are extremely steep and rocky.
• Autumn in Sydney and in the mountains : Waterproof & Windproof Jacket with Hoods (Rain occurs) / Layer Fleece Sweater over normal clothing / Thick weatherproof pants
• Sun Protection: Sunscreen / Sunglasses. The sun rays are often glaring.