Journey to the land down under: First stop, Sydney, Australia!

Hola! I am currently in Costa Rica for some fun and sun with my best girlfriends, but while I wait for their arrival, I decided to write about my experience visiting Australia for the first time.

Last August, I braved the approx. 24hr journey (6hrs for JFK to LAX, 2 hr layover in LA, then about 16hrs from LAX to SYD) and finally visited the land down under: Australia! Over the course of 10 days, I got to experience Sydney, Gold Coast, Melbourne and a short (day and a half) stay in Auckland, New Zealand (post on those other cities coming soon).

The journey started off with 3 days in Sydney. As could be expected, after a 24 hr journey, we were quite exhausted by the time we got to the hotel. We stayed at the Four Point Sheraton Darling Harbour, which at the time cost me just 4,800 SPG points + $90 per night (but now currently goes for 6,000 points + $110/night or $276/night for a standard room).

I initially hesitated on booking this because Four Point Sheratons in the States are usually nothing to write home about, but it had an amazing value at the time and was right at Darling Harbour, which is where I wanted to be. Plus it had solid reviews on tripadvisor. Boy am I glad I booked it! This hotel was perfect! It is a Starwood Category 5 hotel, which is normally reserved for Westins or Grand Sheratons in the States. The location was bar none, amazing! Service was great, and our room was large and well appointed. Plus, due to my Super Platinum (Plat 75) status at Starwood, not only were we allowed to check in upon landing at 9am, I also was able to use my suite night awards to upgrade to a suite with an amazing view of Darling Harbour from the balcony.

 

To be completely honest, at one point during the cab ride from the airport to the hotel, I thought for a quick millisecond, “did I just embark on a 24 hour journey only to land in a place that looks like where I am coming from (New York)?“. Initially, Sydney looked very much like New York. But that was only upon first glance. So glad that thought held no validity!

After napping for a good 4 hours or so, it was time to explore the sights and sounds and take a stroll around Darling Harbour.

 

After walking around the harbour to our heart’s content, it was time to come back to the hotel to get dressed for dinner at the Sydney Tower!

 

The Sydney Tower 360 Bar and Dining experience is one I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend. It’s called 360 because while you dine, the floor literally revolves 360 degrees quite slowly so you get to have a true full view of Sydney from the tower. It was gorgeous! Picture simply do not do it justice. Not to mention, the food was also quite tasty. We opted for the 3-course late dinner.

 

The next day, it was time for some more Sydney exploration. On the menu? – Darling Harbour, Sydney Anzac Bridge, Sydney Fish Market, Sydney Harbour, Sydney Opera House and viewing some aboriginal art!

Tip: Not only is there plenty to do and see at Darling Harbour, the Anzac Bridge and Fish Market are walking distance, and the Sydney Harbour and Sydney Opera House are just a short easy train ride away, making Darling Harbour a truly great central location to explore Sydney!

 

It was such a beautiful day at the harbour that day. It was fun getting to explore the Opera House and take in all it’s magnificence in person. I have long been looking forward to visiting this wonderful place, so it was a bit of an emotional, albeit exciting, moment for me!

 

I am a big fan of broadway shows/plays, so while in Sydney, not only did I want to visit the Sydney Opera House for sightseeing, I just had to make sure to catch a show as well! Yet, I wasn’t looking for a traditional Opera. So getting to watch South Pacific was perfect!

 

Overall, my trip to Sydney was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed myself and can’t wait to be back. I have a lot of unfinished business, such as visiting Bondi Beach! Though I’ll likely spend most of my time when I go back to Australia in Brisbane and Perth, having already visited Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast.

Meanwhile, check out more of my pictures from my time in Sydney last year below!

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