Sightseeing for free, Sydney, Australia

Sydney is packed full of activities, museums and sights to see. It’s a wonderful city and I can guarantee you won’t get bored however long you decide to stay there. But some of these activities can take a toll on the back account, if you’re on a budget fear not most of my favourite things I got up to in Sydney were completely free, read on for my top free days out in Sydney.

Explore The Rocks – The rocks is the area of Australia that convicts first settled in and it’s packed with history dating back to 1788 ( that’s as old as it gets in Australian terms). If you’re keen to learn more about the first settlements in Australia head to the rocks museum entry is completely free and there’s tonnes to learn. Or perhaps you just fancy wandering the tiny streets checking out some of the many quirky bars, shops and cafes you can find here. There’s even a market on at weekends and a street food market on Fridays. 

Circular quay – Is any trip to Sydney complete without a day spent filling up your memory card with hundreds of pictures of the opera house and the harbour bridge that all look the same? No? I didn’t think so either. Be sure to head into the botanical gardens too, located just next to the opera house it’s the perfect place for a walk or picnic on a sunny day. Don’t miss Mrs Macquaries chair a short walk through the park to get some wonderful views and photos with both the opera house and harbour bridge together.  

Darling harbour- Darling harbour is where you’ll find several tourist attractions including the sealife centre, sightseeing cruises and so many restaurants. It can get very busy down in this area as it’s very touristy but if you’re after some peace and quiet walk around the boardwalk close to the water and you’ll reach deserted residential areas packed with places to sit and relax whilst you watch the world go by. 

Beaches – You’ve got a few beaches to choose from in Sydney the main ones being Manly and Bondi. Personally I prefer manly a quieter surf beach with a small town feel. If you get time you can also explore manly a national park areas around north head. Plus the ferry ride gives you some incredible views of circular quay.  Or maybe Bondi is more you’re scene with a cool vibe and a constantly busy beach you might even run into the Bondi rescue guys. You could easily spend a whole day at each of the beaches and all you’ll have to spend on is your transport but with a opal card it won’t cost you much.

Bondi to coogee coastal walk – Sydneys most popular walk, and it’s easy to see why, stunning views and lots of beaches along the way this walk could take all day if you stop at each beach. It was pretty cold the day I did it (and by cold I mean about 18 degrees, but that’s cold right Australians?) it took me 1 and a half hours each way with a few short stops along the way. The walk is pretty easy and suitable for people of all ages and capabilities, fully paved paths and a few flights of stairs you won’t have any rough terrain to deal with. It’s also worth mentioning that the second half of the path (after bronte beach) was badly damaged in the storms of 2016 so is currently being repaired but detours have been put in place.

Hiking through the blue mountains – The blue mountains so called because of the blue haze caused by eucalyptus oil are about 2 hours by train from Sydney, with an opal card this’ll only cost about $5 (yay for Sydneys transport system!). Once you arrive in the mountains there’s so many walks to choose from for all abilities. You could even take the train or cable cars down into the valley at Katoomba, or if you fancy a longer walk there’s plenty of those too. If like me big cities get too much for you sometimes this is the perfect escape. 

There’s so much to see and do in and around Sydney for a low cost you could easily fill up a week here doing these activities. However there’s so many excellent paid attractions too, pick a couple of favourites maybe that’s the bridge climb or the zoo with a view and fill the rest of your time with some free activities and you have the recipe for a good trip.