We were left with two choices which are Taiwan and Australia, but we took a risk with Australia even though we don’t have visas yet. My husband even called Mabuhay Miles while he was in Jakarta so we spent thousands on that international call because we had no idea about a toll-free number. But at the end of the day, we were still happy because even though we added the phone bill, mura pa rin yung airfare namin, kapresyo lang ito ng Davao trip ko.
After purchasing our plane ticket, I bought our travel insurance and started searching about “How to Apply for Australian Tourist Visa” in the Philippines.
Two months before our flight, we booked our hotel and I chose Hyde Park Inn because of the good reviews, location and it has its own kitchen.
When I applied for our visa, this is my submitted itinerary
Day 1: Manila to Sydney Flight
Day 2: Explore Chinatown
Day 3: Sydney Tour
Day 4: Bondi Tour
Day 5: Blue Mountain
Day 6: Taronga Zoo + Luna Park
Day 7: Sydney to Manila
But during our trip, there are a few changes. We did not go to Chinatown anymore because we discovered that there were few tourist spots that we could visit near our hotel. We no longer visited Luna Park because we were so tired already.
Day 1: Manila to Sydney Flight
On the day of our trip, our internet connection was fixed after one week of no connection so I was cramming. This was the only time that I purchased our tour tickets via Klook. I printed our vouchers and off we went to NAIA. We checked in, ate dinner, and waited for our flight. The flight is on time.
Sydney Big Bus Hop-On Hop-Off Sightseeing Tours (Open-Top) - Essential Ticket 48hrs
Taronga Zoo and Sydney Harbour Hopper Ticket - 1-Day Hopper Pass with Taronga Zoo Entry
Blue Mountains Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus Pass with optional Scenic World Tickets - Lyrebird Pass
As of this writing, I couldn’t find the exact links of the activities I purchased and Klook is giving me these options.
Manila to Sydney 8 hrs and 35 mins
After 8 hours of traveling, we arrived at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport; we went to immigration, got our luggage, and went to customs. Then we went straight to the Airport Train Station and purchased our Opal Card here.
We went to Hyde Park Inn to drop our luggage, ate lunch, and went back to the hotel for check-in.
We took a rest and started to explore the tourist spots near the hotel or Museum Station like Hyde Park, Anzac Memorial, Australian Museum, St. Mary’s Cathedral, and from afar, we can see the Sydney Tower.
I purchased a Big Bus Tour Sydney Hop On Hop Off ticket via Klook. This tour has 2 routes, Sydney Route and Bondi Route so I bought the 48-hour ticket to cover the two routes.
For Day 3, we traveled to Circular Quay via train, and from the train station we just walked to the Big Bus. The duration of the Sydney Tour is 1 hour and forty-five minutes so we enjoyed the view while listening to the pre-recorded commentary.
After the tour, we ate snacks and started our walking tour at the Sydney Opera House and Botanic Garden. Dito pa lang ubos na energy namin.
Day 4 was another Hop On Hop Off Tour and we took the blue route which is the Bondi Tour. The first bus started at Central Station but we did not go there and just waited at the Australian Museum bus stop.
Australian Museum is a few minutes walk from our hotel so while waiting for 9:45AM, we visited Hyde Park, Hyde Barracks, and St. Mary’s Cathedral.
The Bondi Tour duration is 1 hour and 30 minutes, there are 14 stops but we are only interested in Bondi Beach. We explored the beach, ate lunch, and waited for the bus so we could go back to Sydney.
We went back to our hotel for a quick rest then we went back to the Australian Museum Bus Stop so we could continue our Hop On Hop Off tour. We explored Darling Harbour Tourist Spots.
We woke up early because we needed to be at the Central Station before 6:23AM. We wanted to ride the first train going to Katoomba Station. Travel time is 2 hours.
I purchased the Lyrebird Pass which includes the Hop On Hop Off Bus and Scenic World Tickets. We had unlimited rides on the Scenic Skyway, Scenic Railway, Scenic Cableway, and Scenic Walkway.
I purchased the Taronga Zoo + Hopper Cruise ticket so we had a Taronga Zoo ticket, Round Trip Ferry Transfers, and 1 Day Access to Manly-Watsons Bay Ferry. We traveled to Circular Quay and walked to Wharf 6, this is where we are going to claim our ticket and ride our ferry.
After exploring the zoo, we took advantage of the Hopper Cruise Tickets so we were able to visit Manly and Watson’s Bay.
Since this would be our last time to tour, we spent more time in the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge before we went back to our hotel.
Our Sydney to Manila flight was so early so after our breakfast, we checked out and traveled to the airport via train. Late nag-open ang check-in counter so natagalan kami sa pagcheck-in at sa Immigration. Nagmamadali kami sa pagkain ng lunch and pagbili ng last minute pasalubong. Nakakastress yung pauwi namin, parang kulang sa oras.
Sydney to Manila 8 hrs and 15 mins
Even though our last day was kind of stressful, I can still say that our Sydney Australia trip was a stress-free trip, why? We did not get lost. We were able to go from point A to point B without asking for directions. We did not miss rice because there was an Asian restaurant near our hotel. Our room has a kitchen so we were able to save money on food. The voucher tickets that I purchased saved me time in doing our itinerary.
Sydney seems cashless society because some stores and restaurants do not accept cash. Good thing that our credit card did not fail us. Prior to our trip my husband went to the bank to buy Australian Dollars pa for our pocket money na hindi rin naman pala namin magagamit.Well, ginastos ko yung iba to buy pasalubong.
And because of our stress-free trip, we planned to go back to Australia and visit another state. If money is not an issue, for sure nakabalik na kami kasi may valid visa pa kami kaso no budget pa. Hehehe!
Australia is the third continent that I have visited.
