20 Tips for Traveling to Sydney and Enjoy Australia
Ferri in Luna Park, Sydney, Australia
Sydney is not the capital of Australia, but as if it were. With permission never asked to Canberra, this city usually is the first destination point of those who travel to Australia , that gigantic continent island in the Antipodes.
Visiting and moving around Sydney during the two or three days that we can (and should) dedicate to this city at a minimum is very simple. However, if you are visiting Australia for the first time , there are a number of things that you should consider before even buying the plane ticket.
Here you are, written from Australia, thanks to being selected as finalist of the #BlogueroGold Awards for the American Express card, 20 tips for traveling to Sydney that cover the most important aspects, and some curious, of what awaits you in this fascinating city .
1. Visa
Australia received fiscal year 2015 to 6.6 million foreign visitors and half of them went through Sydney. Almost all of them, depending on their nationality, needed some type of visa to enter the country.
If you are reading this you are probably from Spain or some Spanish-speaking country (but welcome readers from the US to China), so you need to apply for a visa to Australia before leaving your country .
The website of the Australian Immigration and Border Protection Department contains a list of all visa types and the countries to apply for, each with its own procedures. If you want to travel to Australia for tourism with a passport from Spain , you have to register on their website to start the process, which will consist of filling out an online form and sending it.
In a period of hours or days, you will have your visa in the inbox. Since the whole procedure is electronic , you do not need to print the final document, but you do not have to have it handy when you land.
2. Flight time
Sidney is on the other side of the world and there are no airlines offering direct flights from Spain . Look for the combinations you are looking for, at least you will need to make a flight of at least one stopover and more than 24 hours of flight time.
I arrived in Australia with Iberia Express from Madrid to Amsterdam, with Cathay Pacific from Amsterdam to Hong Kong and with the same airline from Hong Kong to Sydney. In total, 27 hours since I took off from Adolfo Suarez Madrid Barajas Airport until I landed at Kingsford-Smith Airport.
Cathay Pacific: touch screens, good food, USB, plugs ...
Follow the usual tips for long flights : hydration, exercise and try to sleep something on the plane, synchronized with the time at the destination, to try to minimize the Jet Lag.
3. Quarantine
The fauna and flora of Australia are peculiar and extremely sensitive to external influences, which could lead to epidemics or diseases between animals and plants with disastrous consequences for their ecosystem. Therefore, there are a number of limitations and prohibitions as to what you can introduce in the country, whether in carry-on or checked baggage.
The Australian Department of Agriculture website lists items that, because of their animal or plant origin, can not enter the country or require prior permission . For food, the best advice I can give you is that you bring nothing and if you do, declare it in the corresponding form, which will be delivered on the plane, along with the Immigration.
I tell you about it as a personal experience, but half a sandwich of ham and a sandwich that I was traveling with did not cross the border.
4. Outbound flight
It is a tip, not an imperative requirement because you may not be asked, but you may and at any time it will be mandatory, as in New Zealand, to have a ticket out of the country before entering it.
The first time I visited Australia (May, 2007) I had already bought my ticket for my departure flight and this second time (September, 2015), too. Unless you are traveling to Australia to look for work there or have a visa that allows you to be in the country 12 months, most of those who visit Australia have already bought the return ticket.
5. Currency
The currency of Australia is the Australian Dollar (AUD) and at the moment it is one of the few currencies against which the Euro can boast with superiority. In October and September the average was from 1 EUR to 1.59 AUD. We will see what lasts.
The Australian dollar bills in circulation are $ 5, $ 10, $ 20, $ 50 and $ 100, although the latter have not yet seen them. You can see your design, and everyone else's, on the Reserve Bank of Australia website .
The Australian dollar currencies , and their fractions, in circulation, are 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and $ 1 and $ 2. If you are interested in numismatics, or if you just do not want to get hitched, you can see their design on the Royal Australian Mint website .
Coins and banknotes from Australia
As a curiosity, while all the Australian coins have on the reverse the image of the sovereign , Her Majesty Elizabeth II, only the $ 5 bill counts on one side with her regal effigy.
Practical advice
How to change our money? You can do this both in banks and in Money Exchange and the best option is always to visit several sites because there are fees and commissions, open or covert, that make the change oscillate. And at the airport, change only the minimum necessary in any of the two money changers that operate there.
With the cost of food, accommodation and attractions in Australia , you do not need to carry many coins or small bills. They will give you change without problems for small purchases even if the tickets are 20 $ or, depending on what you are buying, up to 50 $.
For bus tickets , as always, the closer the amount is to what you are delivering, the better.
6. Drive on the left
In Australia, as a good ex-British colony, you drive on the left and that will affect you from the moment you step out the door of the Airport. Forget to look left when you cross a street and get used to doing it to the right. Or to both sides, that all precaution is little.
If you are going to rent a car or motorhome to travel around Australia (remember that you will need an International Driving Permit ), you will have the gearshift on the same side but not the pedals or the steering wheel. More than once, after a stop, you will go to open the door and sit on the "wrong" side when you return to the car. The most normal thing in the world.
Beyond taking precautions at intersections and roundabouts to get the right way out, what cost me the most is to stop giving the windscreen wipers when I just wanted to use the turn signal.
7. Sockets
The electricity in Australia is 230 v and 50 Hz and in Spain it is 230 v and 50 Hz, which is a good start because it does not need a current converter. Plugs are another story.
Neither are two-pin, nor are these round. Sockets in Australia are three-pin (one of them is just ground), flat and angled.
Problem and solution, plugs in Sydney, Australia
It is essential to bring an adapter or the battery of the mobile will last less than a candy to the door of a school. And if you do not want your mobile charger to have to fight with the battery of the camera, it is all right to put a multi-socket in the suitcase.
8. Education
At least speaking, a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon culture is the most educated in the world and greets you when you meet him walking on the bush . The " Hello, How are you doing? "," Please "," Thank You ", or the typically Australian" Good Day "will have to be part of your vocabulary since you step on Australian soil.
Or rather, as long as you pass the Immigration / Customs control satisfactorily because the officials who review your passport appear to have a plus in the salary if they are more serious than anyone else.
9. Climate
For a European, Australia is a rare place, but that is very rare. At first, it is far, but far away, so much so that for a long time the news of the animals that were discovered there seemed more fantastic stories than the realities of Nature .
In addition, they enjoy the opposite of the seasons . It is not that they are turned upside down, but the months that correspond to our Winter are those of their summer, those of our Spring, their Autumn, our Summer, their Winter and, of course, our Autumn, their Spring.
Actually, it is not as much of a mess as it seems although, as a country-island-microcontinent, the time and temperature of Tasmania is not the same as that of Cairns or Perth. Even the two-hour train that separates Sidney from Katoomba in the Blue Mountains can mean a temperature difference of ten degrees between the warm coast and the mountains , 1,000 m above sea level.
It is imperative to consult weather forecast websites such as Accuweather , before packing.
10. Distances
Notice of works on the tracks and use of buses in Sydney, between Penrith and Lithgow
When planning a trip by rental car or by public transport , keep it in mind. For example, the State of New South Wales (NSW) where Sidney is located, measures from West to East more than the distance separating Oviedo from Cadiz. I leave it there.
As nearly 9 out of every 10 Australian people live in areas near the coast, this also means that car or bus travel can be delayed by traffic jams at certain times of the day. In addition, the weekends are when the company of railroad of Sidney realizes works of maintenance and improvement in the ways, so that some sections can be cut, realizing the displacement in buses.
11. Prices
The first, on the front: Australia is not a cheap country and its prices are at the same level as those of the countries of Northern Europe .
Specials of the day at $ 10 at a pub, Sydney, Australia
As a reference, staying in Sydney in a shared dormitory of a hostel does not usually drop below 23 AUD, although a train ticket to go from Blackheath to the city in the Blue Mountains costs only AUD 8.80. Food prices range from 12 AUD for single courses and AUD 20 or AUD 25 for a simple dish plus drink, depending on where the restaurant is and its category.
Pay attention to the offers of the pubs , which they usually have, for example "Fillet Monday at 10 $", or "Pasta Tuesday at 12 $". Beer, draft or bottle can cost you about 6-8 $ more.
12. Schedules
Sydney is not Madrid and Australia is not Spain. Most Australians have the healthy habit of early dinner , which means around 7pm, and eat between 12 or 2 at the latest.
By extension, trading hours are similar to these customs and from 4 or 5 pm, it is rare that the store is still open.
13. Food
Beef steak for $ 10 at a pub, Sydney, Australia
As a country of immigrants that is, with their traditions the new citizens also brought their more local dishes. You could almost say that the typical restaurant is Asian , and there is no shortage of people with a place to eat sushi , pad thai or a good curry.
That yes, there is also the local version of the American fast food, and it is called " Hungry Jacks ", making the competition to the omnipresent MacDonalds. Or almost omnipresent, because in some areas, the " slow food " movement has managed not to install their establishments, KFC, Pizza Hut or Domino's.
Two more things. Keep in mind that, as a rule, the service is quite slow . Sit down to ask before being very hungry or you will be biting the napkin by the time the food arrives. And tips are neither included nor obligatory, but thank you, because the slowness is not at odds with that the waiters tend to be kind and attentive.
14. Alcohol
If you want to buy alcohol, you will not find it in supermarkets (although the Aldi from Lithgow sells it and probably in Sydney too) but in what are called " Bottle Shops ". Anyone who has visited Ireland or the United Kingdom will remember the off license , the shops authorized to sell alcohol .
Here they receive another name, the aforementioned " Bottle Shops ", and are usually part of the business of the pubs nearby. There are also chain stores that only sell alcohol , such as BWS , Dan Murphy or Liquorland .
Bottle Shop of a hotel, Blackheath, Australia
You can find wine from the $ 15 a bottle although the usual prices are above $ 20 . For beers, it can cost you from $ 4 a unit (with offers of 18 or 22 AUD per packs of 6 bottles) with brands like Fat Yak or Red or Green Label Coopers .
15. Tobacco
Smoke Flies: No Smoking within 4 Meters of the Gate, Blackheath, Australia
In addition, a recent rule has made that if there is smoking area in a pub or restaurant, you can not serve or consume food in them.
Smokers in Australia are aware of what smoking means and how harmful it is to snorer, so most often they go outside their homes to do it.
If you are still smoking, here you can find tobacco behind an opaque curtain or blind in many shops, from supermarkets to the Bottle Shops , but the price is about three times more expensive than in Spain . A packet of 25 grams of liquefaction costs $ 20, a friend of the nicotine tells me.
16. Fauna
20 of the 25 most venomous snakes in the world are in Australia . But the danger is not only crawling, it also has long legs (spiders whose sting is deadly), it approaches the beach (sharks and jellyfish) or is in the river (crocodiles).
It is not surprising that when one does camping or lives in the countryside , in the morning before putting on their shoes they tread, so they may have entered them during the night.
Giant killer lizard in Sydney, Australia (just kidding, it's just a little water iguana)
Anyway, it is quite unlikely that you see anything more dangerous than a kangaroo crossing the road at the last second. When one of these marsupials comes face to face with a car at full speed, it has to lose but the car will not be undamaged and is one of the most frequent accidents on the roads of Australia.
17. Tap water
Healthy and Free in Lithgow, NSW, Australia
You may ask for a glass of wine or a beer with your meal or dinner, but they will always ask you, or you will be served directly, a carafe of tap water .
Sometimes you yourselves can serve a bottle, or fill it, and with a glass you take it to the table.
For those of us who drink a lot of water as is my case, we are grateful - especially when temperatures have risen in October - so much so that water is free in bars and restaurants (at least tap water).
And, of course, think of all those plastic bottles that are not being manufactured because they are not being demanded and therefore it is not necessary nor to recycle. Win win for the planet.
And, yes, at least in Sydney the tap water is perfectly healthy .
18. Corner Stores
I can not think of how to translate " Convenience Stores " in a more descriptive way. Basically they are small neighborhood shops (although there are chains like 7 Eleven) which are open at hours when regular supermarkets have already closed.
They usually offer almost the same products as they, although in smaller variety and number, at a higher price . The advantage of buying when everything is closed has a price, an outsider.
19. Drinking water sources
In Sydney it is hot since the end of September, although in the corners in the shade and with currents of air you can remember me (with a smile, I hope). Fortunately, you only have to buy a bottle of mineral water once, because in Sydney, both in the center and in the surroundings, there are drinking fountains for you to refill when needed.
Water for drinking and refilling bottles, Sydney, Australia
I've seen them on Circular Quay between Pier 4 and the walk to the Sydney Opera House on Macquarie Street near the Intercontinental Hotel or as far away as Robertson Park near the Watsons Bay .
20. Free WiFi
As important for the traveler as the water is today the WiFi. If you do not want to buy a local SIM with a data plan and look for places to connect to the Internet for free , you're in luck because they abound in Sydney.
Circular Quay has free WiFi (although it is such a popular place that you can get in trouble) and just a few meters away the MacDonald's on Loftus Street also offers it, such as the Glenmore Hotel (and restaurant) in The Rocks , to name just a few Examples.
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