Travel Diary: Sydney, Australia

The world is open again. Time to dust off those passports!

When it comes to traveling, figuring out where to go and what to do can sometimes be the biggest hurdle. Well, last summer I had a chance to travel to Sydney, Australia with Vivid Sydney and Visit New South Wales for the 10-day trip of a lifetime. I’d never traveled down under and was really excited when they reached out with the opportunity. So I grabbed my best friend, packed my bags and headed down under!

I’m paying it forward by sharing our itinerary so you get a better idea of all the amazing things to do in Sydney.

Bondi Beach

One of the amazing things about my job is getting to have once in a lifetime travel experiences. Visit NSW made sure we had an amazing experience from the very beginning. We flew from Chicago t0 Los Angeles to Sydney on United Polaris. Which meant fully reclining seats, champagne and warm towels, and some of the best airplane food I’ve had so far. We also took the red eye flight which was honestly so smart. It made the 15-hour flight feel really natural and kept the jet lag from being an issue. We landed at 6am, checked into our hotel at the Four Seasons Sydney for breakfast and a little time to get settled. After which we headed out for lunch at Icebergs Dining Room and Bar on Bondi Beach.

After lunch, I did take a quick dip in the famous beach side pool. It was winter in Sydney (as a Chicagoan I use the word “winter” lightly lol) so the temperatures were in the 50-60’s for most of the trip. But the pool isn’t heated so be prepared for that.

After we left Bondi Beach, we headed back to our hotel to relax until dinner. (We’ll talk food in a second because it seriously deserves its own moment.)

Sydney Harbor Bridge

After resting up the night before, the next morning was all about getting active. We headed out bright and early to climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge which was walking distance from our hotel.

You guys have known me to bungee jump, sky dive, snowmobile… you name it. So this was right up my alley! The peak of the bridge is 400 ft above sea level and you can see the entire city from the top. It’s an absolutely stunning view that you just have to see! If you’re scared of heights, don’t worry, they take extraordinary safety measures. You’re literally strapped to the bridge the entire time.

There are no phones or cameras allowed with you on the hike—again, a safety measure—but the team will take pictures and video of your group throughout the whole climb. So make sure to budget a little extra for pictures and video if you want them.

See that flag up top? That’s the exact spot where we were standing earlier in the day!

After a few days in the city, we checked out of Four Seasons and made the 2-hour drive out to Hunter Valley to experience wine country. And if you’re wondering how the stay was at Four Seasons, it was amazing. They had champagne waiting for us in our rooms, the hotel breakfast every morning was the perfect start to the day. The staff were also really kind and welcoming.

Hunter Valley aka “Wine Country”

We checked into our rooms at Spicer’s Guesthouse and had an indoor picnic in front of the fireplace (on account of the weather). The staff had everything set up for us when we arrived and it was so nice to be able to grab a bite to eat after such a long drive.

After lunch we headed out to our private winetasting at Brokenwood Wine, a 5-star winery in the region. The staff walked us through their entire wine making process, walked us down to the floor so we could see it for ourselves and then we got to taste a variety of wine types and vintages.

One of the cool things about Brokenwood is they have a monthly wine club where members get a new bottle of wine shipped them each month. We got to try many of the wines from their lineup. I ended up buying one of my favorites to bring home and add to my own collection.

After our wine tasting we headed back to Spicer’s for a little r&r before dinner. The hotel has their own award winning restaurant—éRemo—on the property and every award is well-earned. Because dinner was amazing! (Again, more on that later.)

Once we were all stuffed to the brim on delicious food, it was time to turn in for the night because we had an early 4am call time the next morning.

HOT AIR BALLOON

I’d say we got up bright and early the next morning, but it was far from bright. Just early. Very very early. In fact, it was pitch black outside when we headed out for our sunrise hot air balloon ride with Balloon Aloft.

You guys know I love a little adrenaline with my travel adventures so I was very much looking forward to this experience. But if you’re not one for getting your heart rate up for no good reason (lol), don’t worry…I think you’d still love this! Yes, it’s high up, but you’re in a bucket with other guests and once you’re up in the sky and gliding, it’s a really quiet and peaceful view. It was absolutely amazing to watch the sunrise from the viewpoint. We also got too see quite a few kangaroos as they emerged for the day.

After our ride—which lasted about an hour—we headed back to basecamp where we were greeted with breakfast and champagne that’s included with every ride. I ordered the waffle topped with strawberries and ice cream.

Our time out in Hunter Valley, was brief but we made the absolute most of it. We tried 3 restaurants in the area, rode a hot air balloon, saw kangaroos, had a private wine tasting and watched the most one of the beautiful sunrises I’ve ever seen. So if you head to Sydney, maybe plan a day (or 2) trip out to the countryside. It’s an easy drive and you’ll get to experience another side of the region.

Wild Life Sydney Zoo

Once we were back in the city we headed to our new hotel for the rest of the trip—the Kimpton Margot Sydney. On our itinerary the next day was the most quintessentially Australian thing ever—hanging out with koala bears. But first we took a breakfast boat cruise around the Sydney Harbor. It was such a fun, laid back start to the day. We ate breakfast, blasted my 90’s R&B playlist, took in the views.

Afterwards we made the short walk to the Wild Life Sydney Zoo. We were able to see snakes, Tasmanian devils, and animals native to Australia like kangaroos and koala bears. I even got to hold a giant stick bug!

Koala bears sleep about 21 hours a day and never come down from the tree tops.

Food

Now, let’s talk about the food!

With the exception of London, I’ve never traveled internationally and found myself struggling to appreciate the local cuisine. I’ve always been able to find enjoyable meals. BUT as a Chicagoan and resident of a city with some of the best food in the world… my standards are high! It’s really hard to blow my socks off with food because the Chicago food scene is just unmatched.

But the food in Sydney was absolutely amazing! No matter where we went, a bad meal was nowhere on the menu. Everything I ate—from crepes, to pizza, to kangaroo (yes, you read that correctly)—was just phenomenal. I’ve never heard Sydney talked about as a foodie destination, but it needs to be discussed. It’s really that good!

5 stars. Highly recommend.

Vivid Sydney

But I can’t forget the reason we were there in the first place—Vivid Sydney! Vivid is an annual celebration of creativity, innovation and technology. For 23 days the city is transformed into hub for artists, musicians, thinkers and culinary giants.

During our 10 day trip, we got to experience a private 12-course dinner with a top South African chef, underground light shows and an epic drone show made up of 1000’s of synchronized drones. It was spectacular to see!

Vivid Sydney 2024 will take place May 24 – June 15, 2024.

I’m sure there are tons of other amazing things to do in Sydney, but this list is a really great start to build your itinerary from. Regardless of what you do, I’m confident you’ll have an amazing time. I sure did!

A very special THANK YOU to Vivid Sydney and Visit New South Wales for all of the amazing memories and a wonderful experience!

PACKING + CONTENT ESSENTIALS

What’s a trip guide without a list of all the best travel essentials? So here’s a roundup of everything I use to organize my suitcase when I travel, along with all of my essentials for creating content on the go.

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta