Sydney Harbour, SydneyCredit: Destination NSW
Sun setting over the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney.
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Feel your senses come alive as you absorb the energy and the natural beauty of Sydney. Rediscover the joys of life as you plunge into the ocean, trace the paths of the city’s Traditional Owners, scale new heights or delve into the city’s vibrant multicultural dining scene.
Hydrate your soul
Stock up on Vitamin Sea as you dive into one of the dozens of ocean pools dotted around the city, such as Bondi Icebergs, Bronte Baths or Freshwater Rockpool, where sparkling seas have revitalised Sydneysiders since the 19th century. Or breathe in the crisp salt air and feel the sun and the breeze across your skin as you learn to sail across Sydney Harbour with EastSail. You’ll feel like you’re part of a living postcard as you bob along surrounded by countless yachts on the glittering harbour.
Tune in to an ancient heartbeat
Reach out and feel the sacred rhythm that beats strong and proud beneath the buzz of the city. Expand your horizons as you come to learn of the deep connection Sydney’s original inhabitants have with the harbour and its foreshores on Dreamtime Southern X’s The Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming Tour (Illi Langi). Cross Circular Quay for an Aboriginal Bush Tucker Tour through the Royal Botanic Garden’s Cadi Jam Ora garden. Or be transported back in time as your Barangaroo Aboriginal Cultural Tours guide explains how the Gadigal people, the Traditional Owners of the land now known as Barangaroo, used the native trees and plants in this harbourside headland for food and medicine.
Savour a new flavour
Feed both your hunger and your appetite for discovery on a foodie tour of Sydney’s multicultural neighbourhoods, from classic Vietnamese in Cabramatta to Afghani street fare in Merrylands. Get your hands on just-caught fish and learn how to showcase the incredible flavours of the ocean’s bounty at a cooking class at the Sydney Fish Market’s Sydney Seafood School in inner-city Pyrmont. Taste a new ale on an odyssey through the inner city’s craft breweries with Dave’s Brewery Tours, or seek out hidden bars in the heart of the city on a Drink & Discover Secret Bar Crawl with Local Sauce Tours.
Mahon Ocean Pool, Maroubra, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
A sunrise swim at Mahon Ocean Pool, Maroubra. For media use only in Australian markets to promote NSW.
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Mahon Ocean Pool, Maroubra, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
A sunrise swim at Mahon Ocean Pool, Maroubra. For media use only in Australian markets to promote NSW.
Dreamtime Southern X, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Margret Campbell performing a smoking ceremony at Blues Point Reserve, Blues Point in Sydney as part of the Dreamtime Southern X experience.
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Dreamtime Southern X, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Margret Campbell performing a smoking ceremony at Blues Point Reserve, Blues Point in Sydney as part of the Dreamtime Southern X experience.
Soak up a glamorous sunset
Feel the excitement in the air as the sun sinks down behind Sydney Harbour Bridge, setting the scene for a night full of possibilities. Take a dip in Crown Towers Sydney’s infinity pool and catch the moment when the city lights glitter to life from the dining hub of Barangaroo. Bask in the last rays of sunshine from a rooftop bar such as Smoke in Barangaroo, or a waterfront watering hole like the Wharf Bar in Manly. Fill your glass with sparkles at Opera Bar, at the foot of the Sydney Opera House, as locals loosen their ties, then feast on fine fare at Bennelong, under the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
A feast for your senses
Invite Sydney’s dazzling harbour views to the table when you dine at some of the city’s finest restaurants. Toast the Sydney Opera House from Quay, across the water from the iconic building in the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay, or Cafe Sydney, on top of Circular Quay’s grand Customs House. Feel on top of the world at Crown Sydney’s fine-dining restaurants, including Nobu Matsuhisa’s Nobu or Oncore by acclaimed British chef Clare Smyth, in Barangaroo. Or sip sparkling wine and devour fresh seafood at beachfront and harbourside restaurants like Coogee Pavilion, Doyle’s on the Beach at Watsons Bay or the Boathouse Balmoral Beach.
Conquer the world together
Feel your love soar as you take to the skies for romantic moments that’ll bring you closer. Soak up spectacular views over the harbour and the city’s Northern Beaches on a Sydney Seaplanes flight to the lush Hawkesbury River, where you’ll find treasure at Broken Bay Pearl Farm. Or whisk away your partner away to pretty Pittwater for an unforgettable lunch at outstanding restaurants such as Cottage Point Inn or Berowra Waters Inn. Get your hearts pumping in unison as you stand hand in hand atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge on an adventure with BridgeClimb, then cosy up together in a restaurant in The Rocks for a date night you’ll never forget.
Coogee Pavilion, Coogee Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying tapas at Una Más restaurant on the middle level of the Coogee Pavilion, Coogee,
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Coogee Pavilion, Coogee Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying tapas at Una Más restaurant on the middle level of the Coogee Pavilion, Coogee,
Hawkesbury River Credit: Destination NSW
Hawkesbury River. This is the high res copy of this image.
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Hawkesbury River Credit: Destination NSW
Hawkesbury River. This is the high res copy of this image.
Be moved by powerful stories
Laugh, cry or wonder at stories that bring you and the rest of the audience together at theatre and shows in Sydney. Watch more than 60,000 years of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture spring to life in contemporary dance at a Bangarra performance in the Walsh Bay arts precinct, where you can also thrill to tales brought to life by the Sydney Theatre Company. Lose yourself in a musical at the Sydney Lyric Theatre or explore a wide range of comedy, music, dance and more at the Sydney Opera House, including performances by Opera Australia and Sydney Dance Company.
Go wild in the city
There’s nothing like seeing some of Australia’s astonishing wildlife up close for you to recapture your childhood fascination with the natural world. Gaze up at slow-moving koalas in eucalypt trees at Taronga Zoo Sydney, a short ferry ride away from the city centre, or at Wild Life Sydney Zoo, in the waterside entertainment hub of Darling Harbour. Feel a surge of adrenaline as grey nurse, Port Jackson and wobbegong sharks swim past you during the cage-less diving experience Shark Dive Xtreme at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, also in Darling Harbour. Take yourself out of the ordinary when you encounter kangaroos, Tassie devils and wombats at Sydney Zoo, near Blacktown on the city’s fringe, and platypuses and crocodiles at the Australian Reptile Park, an hour’s drive north of Sydney on the Central Coast.
Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Bangarra Dance Theatre performance, Sydney.
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Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
Bangarra Dance Theatre performance, Sydney.
Taronga Zoo, Mosman Credit: Destination NSW
Couple meeting a koala at Taronga Zoo, Mosman in Sydney.
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Taronga Zoo, Mosman Credit: Destination NSW
Couple meeting a koala at Taronga Zoo, Mosman in Sydney.
More Inspirational Stories
Mulwala Water Ski Club, MulwalaCredit: Destination NSW
Mulwala Water Ski Club located in the Riverina Murray region in Mulwala, offers an outdoor bar and casual relaxed dining overlooking Lake Mulwala. Learn to water ski on a world-class, private, twin lake the Max Kirwan Ski Park.
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Cool off with an adventure: NSW is a watersports playground
Mulwala Water Ski Club, Mulwala Credit: Destination NSW
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Hot sands, wild rivers, bays with towers of coral and waves that curl like a rockabilly quiff – NSW is a paradise for adventure on and under the water. For adrenaline-chasers, there are world-class waves and whitewater runs, foils and jet boats built for speed, and reefs home to sharks and turtles. For the quiet adventurers, try paddleboard expeditions, fishing for rainbow trout and bass in pristine rivers, and colourful snorkelling spots.
Your next adrenaline hit
Surfing may be the famous action-hero of the NSW watersports scene, but the state’s rivers, lakes, bays and beaches also host a huge diversity of aquatic adventures to get the heart racing. Take in Sydney Harbour’s icons, while spinning, splashing and thundering past in a jet boat with Oz Jet Boating or Thunder Jet Boat. In Western Sydney, Penrith is a hub for adventure. Penrith Whitewater Stadium, purpose-built for the 2000 Olympics, is uniquely set up for both beginner paddling and intense raft adventures, as well as kayak courses where you can test yourself against Olympic times; Cables Wake Park teaches you to wakeboard via zipline (jumps and obstacles included); and Jet Pack Adventures lets you feel like a water-powered Iron Man.
In Brooklyn, on the Hawkesbury River, Jet Ski Safaris will take you around the bends of the river at 30 knots, while Fliteschool Manly and OzFoiling (with multiple locations on the Mid North Coast) will teach you how to cruise the coastline via eFoil, a motorised surfboard that glides above the water like an elegant seabird. Outside of Sydney, on the Murray River, encounter one of the greatest and oldest waterski clubs in the world at Mulwala Water Ski Club.
Find a wave
With reliable breaks on some of the world’s most picturesque beaches, NSW is a premium spot on the international surf circuit. Surfers with their own board and years of experience behind them can find world-class waves all up the coast while newbies can join in on a surfing lesson, all you have to do is choose which one and which beach. You can also practice on a perfectly shaped, perfectly reliable wave (with multiple options suitable for beginners or experts) at URBNSURF, Olympic Park’s surf park, and finish off with a meal at RAFI, the onsite Applejack-run restaurant and bar that overlooks the waves.
URBNSURF Sydney Credit: Applejack_Sandy’s_URBNSURF Sydney
URBNSURF Sydney
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URBNSURF Sydney Credit: Applejack_Sandy’s_URBNSURF Sydney
URBNSURF Sydney
Oz Jet Boating, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Experience the incredible speed of the red shark boats as they blast across Sydney harbour at high speed with Oz Jet Boating.
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Oz Jet Boating, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Experience the incredible speed of the red shark boats as they blast across Sydney harbour at high speed with Oz Jet Boating.
Explore NSW’s coral reefs
The pristine, ecologically rich seas of NSW have seen the development of 10 protected marine parks covering more than 100,000 square kilometres, offering a haven to wildly diverse range of sea life. Beyond those areas, in the harbour and the bays of the coastal cities, there are also vibrant ecosystems ripe for snorkel or scuba dive trips. Self-guided snorkelling can be done in most places along the coast and, provided you have the equipment and training, so can diving. Or learn the ropes with a tour. Woebegone Expeditions and Courses will teach you how to explore the reefs of the South Coast with safe, freediving techniques; Region X Snorkel Tours has you jumping off a kayak with a snorkel around Batemans Bay; and Ecotreasures fits in a headland walk between time in the aquatic reserve around Manly. For new divers, you can explore the lower North Coast with Jetty Dive Centre or the tropical far North Coast with Cooly Eco Adventures. While Sydney Underwater Scooters will set you up with a handheld swim-assister and show you the clear waters and underwater fauna of Sydney’s Gordon’s Bay.
Paddling sunrise to sunset
Every river, bay and lake has a different scene and a different story, and cruising on a kayak, canoe or stand-up paddleboard (SUP) lets you discover at your own pace. NSW is also full of explorers and local experts ready to guide you along the way. In Sydney, Sydney Harbour Kayaks and Sydney by Kayak will introduce you to the harbour at its multicolour best with dawn and dusk paddles. Manly Kayak Centre has both hire and guided options for kayaks and SUP, as well as giving you the opportunity to try your hand at SUPBALL, which is like polo but replaces the horse with a SUP. Cronulla SUP and Balmoral Paddlesurf let you explore less famous, but no less beautiful, beaches of Sydney’s south and north respectively.
On the Sapphire Coast combine your next river adventure with a story, like on Navigate Expeditions’ Aboriginal Culture Tour, where you journey into the land’s Indigenous heritage, or a Kayak and Shuck Tour where you visit the oyster farms. On the North Coast, social enterprise and SUP tour guides Wajaana Yaam Adventure Tours offers cultural eco-tourism on a paddleboard around the pristine waters of Solitary Island Marine Park. Not far away in The Tweed, Watersports Guru offers SUP lessons and hire, allowing you to cruise the waters Cudgen Creek while taking in the local birdlife – if you’re lucky you may even see a pod of dolphins.
Reel in a new experience
With pristine rivers and wild oceans, NSW is a dream for fishing for both newbies and those looking for the next big catch. Out on the oceans of the South Coast Kiama Charter Service will help you pull in your first deep-sea fish (go for blue-eye trevalla, gemfish or hapuka). While Port Macquarie Fishing Charters, Reel Ocean Adventures (in Tuncurry) and Evans Head Deep Sea Fishing Charters, provide the boats, deep-sea equipment and vibes on the North Coast. Inland, learn traditional yabbying in the bush at Narrabri Fish Farm, or set up your own line on NSW’s most epic jetties at Coffs Harbour, Lake Macquarie and Lake St Clair in the Hunter Valley. If you know the ways of a fly fisher, the Snowy Mountains and Blue Mountains are the hot spots.
Kayaking, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a day of kayaking on Sydney Harbour.
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Kayaking, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Friends enjoying a day of kayaking on Sydney Harbour.
Navigate Expeditions, Kalaru Credit: Destination NSW
Guests on a walking tour with Navigate Expeditions in Kalaru
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Navigate Expeditions, Kalaru Credit: Destination NSW
Guests on a walking tour with Navigate Expeditions in Kalaru