"Yoj" wrote in message
news
"Julie Cook" wrote in message
...
DH and I made airline reservations for Sydney tonight!! We arrive Sunday,
November 13th and will be there until Saturday, November 19th. Not as
long
as I'd like to spend for a trip that takes so very long to make but I
realized I really didn't want to be gone from the cats for much longer
than
that.

Do any of you have recommendations for hotels in Sydney? Joy, I know
you've
been there as well, you might have some advice for me.

So much to do to get ready in so short a period of time! I hope that I'l
be
able to meet some rpca friends while we're visiting!

Julie

If you don't plan to drive, the Pacific International Inn on George Street
is a good place to stay. It's reasonably priced and the location is
wonderful! You walk out the front door of the hotel and there's a bus
stop.
You can get almost anywhere in Sydney by bus. As you walk out the door,
you
are facing a street that ends at George Street. Go a couple of blocks up
that street and you come to the railroad station. There are two or three
Internet cafes within a minute or two walking, and a convenience store a
couple of doors down. The restaurant in the hotel serves breakfast and
dinner.

It's old, and built like a maze, so it's easy to get lost, but I think the
advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I stayed there on my first two
trips. On my last trip I stayed in the Travelodge Wentworth Avenue. It
was
newer and nicer, but the location wasn't nearly as convenient.

Incidentally, I wouldn't recommend driving in Sydney. People who live
there
avoid it if possible, and it's easy to get lost. On my last trip, a
friend
who lives in one of the suburbs of Sydney picked me up at the airport and
took me to my hotel. He had his son drive, because he figured his son
knew
the city better than he did. We still got lost.

I would concur - especially since we drive on the "wrong" side of the road.
The inner city wasn't designed for traffic (it wasn't designed at all - it
just sorta happened), and as such they are narrow roads that are all
virtually one way, and you can't turn left or right for miles and miles if
you want to turn around. The inner city has a pretty good public transport
system, and if you are doing the "tourist" thing you should be well catered
for. If you get desperate, there's always taxis - and they aren't *that*
expensive (at least, compared to Melbourne!). However, most of Sydney's
tourist spots can be seen by the red "Explorer Bus". I think there's two or
three that do the tourist circuit, and you can buy a ticket and get on and
off as many times as you like, I think they are timed to arrive at each
destination every fifteen minutes or so, so you never have to wait for long.
And you always get the "feel" of the city by walking around.

Places not to go: Redfern (the "ghetto" suburb) and George Street by
yourself late on a Friday or Saturday nights. Its generally a safe city, we
don't hear about muggings, but places in Redfern are really slummy and
George Street just gets the usual drunken louts on Friday & Saturday. King's
Cross is the red light district (and where the Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras is
held), and whilst also fascinating (if gaudy) by day, its "party central"
with all its seedy underbelly, and I wouldn't go there at night by yourself
either.

What do you like to see and do during your holidays? We may be able to
reccomend some palces to see.

Yowie