What NOT to do in Sydney – 7 mistakes tourists make

There is too much to see and do in Sydney to waste your time on tourist traps, bad tours and overpriced attractions. Here’s what not to do in Sydney, and how to avoid the mistakes that oo many Sydney tourists make.

Sydney, New South Wales, is indisputably one of the greatest cities on earth. It is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty, top drawer beaches and enough urban energy to keep those with creative, cultural leanings very happy.

It is also a city that is largely welcoming to tourist, with a wealth of attractions, activities and tours showing off the best of what Sydney has to offer.

But many visitors to Sydney make some awful choices. They get drawn towards the tourist traps, stay in the wrong areas and go to notoriously duff bars and restaurants. If you’ve got a limited time in Australia’s greatest city, then it’d be a shame to waste it on the overpriced, inconvenient and unmemorable.

Here are X things you shouldn’t do in Sydney, but thousands of visitors do anyway. And, more importantly, some better alternatives that will stop you making the same mistakes.

What not to do in Sydney: Climb Sydney Harbour Bridge

Yeah. Let’s go straight in with the big one, albeit with a proviso. Climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge is actually pretty good. It’s enjoyable, and there are fantastic views from the top. But it is an expensive experience, and that money might be better spent elsewhere.

The standard Bridgeclimb costs $328 (at time of writing). For that money you can do a genuinely superb half day harbour kayaking tour, plus a day tour to the Blue Mountains.

As for that proviso, if climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge genuinely excites or interests you, do it. You won’t regret it. Just don’t climb the bridge because you feel you ought to.

Sydney tourist traps: Madame Tussauds

This advice applies to any city in the world: Do not waste your time looking at waxworks in Madame Tussauds. There is nothing to be gained by wandering around vague approximations of celebrities. This is particularly the case when some of them are Australian celebrities the rest of the world doesn’t care about. Tickets cost $37. Spend that on a Sydney Cricket Ground tour, a true crime tour or a guided walk around the historic Rocks district instead.

Worst things to do in Sydney: A generic harbour cruise

There are dozens of harbour cruises available in Sydney, and the generic ones leaving from Circular Quay offer little more than the ferry rides. If you just want to see the harbour on a boat, get the Manly Ferry, Parramatta Ferry or Watsons Bay Ferry.

That’s not to say all Sydney Harbour cruises are rubbish, however. You just need to pick one that adds something extra. That might be a cruise plus Taronga Zoo entry, a lunch cruise aboard a tall ship, a whale-watching cruise, a hands-on sailing experience or a sunset dinner cruise.

What not to do in Sydney: Stay in Manly

The Manly ferry takes half an hour to get to the beachside suburb of Manly. It’s a great journey, but not one you want to take repeatedly to see the rest of the city.

That, in a nutshell is the problem with staying in Manly. There is plenty of good Manly accommodation. There is also plenty to do in Manly. Guided snorkelling, bike tours, kayak hire and North Head walking tours are all on the menu.

But you stay in Manly to enjoy Manly, and perhaps the Northern Beaches. If you stay there to enjoy Sydney, the repeated ferry journeys quickly become a chore.

Sydney’s worst tourist attractions: Chinese Garden of Friendship

There’s nothing especially wrong with the Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour. It’s just difficult to understand why anyone would bother to pay $12 to visit a relatively small garden in a city brimming with natural beauty spots. Go enjoy Sydney Harbour National Park instead. Or, further afield, Lane Cove National Park and Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park.

Or, quite frankly, any one of hundreds of more appealing outdoor spaces in a city utterly blessed with them.

Sydney tourist mistakes: A Hunter Valley day tour

The Hunter Valley has plenty of lovely wineries, and a Hunter Valley wine tour is well worth doing. It’s just not really worth doing from Sydney, as it involves a two hour-plus drive each way, and that drive back after a day wine-tasting can be a bit grim.

You can do a Hunter Valley day tour from Sydney if you wish – they cost $219. But it’s a far better experience to stay a night or two in Hunter Valley accommodation and do a small group or private tour from there.

What to avoid in Sydney: Going out in Kings Cross

Kings Cross is famously Sydney’s nightlife district, although licensing restrictions have seen the late night energy partially shift elsewhere. But the Cross can be a pretty grim place to go out, with a glut of strip clubs, brothels and bars with an unpleasantly drug-heavy, aggressive vibe.

When there are scores of great small bars in neighbouring Darlinghurst, the city centre, Surry Hills and the Inner West, a night in Kings Cross is a poor choice.

Try a secret bar tour to find some of the best, or a Balmain pub walking tour if you prefer atmospheric neighbourhood boozers.

What is worth doing in Kings Cross, however, is a walking tour that delves into the crime gangs, dodgy entrepreneurs and chancers that gave the area its reputation.

More New South Wales travel

Tackle the Sublime Point Track in Wollongong.

Go surfing at Blueys Beach.

Swim at Bayview Park in Sydney.

How much does the Double Bay ferry cost?

Where to stop on a Port Macquarie to Ballina road trip.