If you’ve been saving your leaves for the end of the year, it’s time to bust them out or risk losing them forever. Springtime is quick coming to Sydney and New South Wales, and that means great weather and blooming flowers everywhere.
From admiring over 100,000 tulips at the Tulip Time Festival to adventuring in the Blue Mountains, here are 7 activities in Sydney and NSW you can explore.
PS: Qantas Airways – Australia’s favourite airline – has multiple flights from Singapore to Sydney weekly, providing flexibility to your flight planning!
With an endless horizon of eucalyptus trees, you won’t need VSCO for your Blue Mountains pictures. The region encompasses 11,400 square kilometres of stunning lookouts, waterfalls, and walking trails – making it the perfect destination for nature lovers who want to try a bit of everything.
Immerse yourself in the wonders of nature by visiting one – or all – of the many gardens within the Blue Mountains: Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Breenhold Gardens, Everglades Historic House & Gardens, and the Leura Gardens Festival.
How to get here: 90 minute drive west from Sydney.
Since it’s spring aka flower season, be sure to stop and smell the tulips at the Tulip Time Festival. You’ll feel like you’re in a scene of Alice in Wonderland, as a rainbow of 100,000 tulips envelops Corbett Gardens in Bowral in the Southern Highlands.
Besides flowers, there’ll also be market stalls selling the likes of donuts, artisan handbags, and waterproof cosmetics. To max out on the experience, head to the festival on 22nd September 2018 to witness the street parade which will feature vintage cars, marching bands and floats.
Tulip Time Festival
Address: Corbett Gardens, Bendooley Street, Bowral
Date: 18th September – 1st October 2018
Time: Sun – Fri: 9AM – 4PM | Sat: 9AM – 5PM
Price: Adults $12 pp
Website
Don’t be surprised if you see a canopy of purple towering over you this spring. Those are courtesy of the jacaranda flowers – Sydney’s answer to the sakura.
These flowers only bloom in October and November, so if you’re looking for the best displays, head to places like Kirribilli, Circular Quay, Oxford Street in Paddington and the University of Sydney and stock up on OOTD shots that’ll keep your Instagram feed looking fresh for weeks to come! For those who plan on driving up to the NSW North Coast, make sure to check out the Grafton Jacaranda Festival as well.
While Bondi Beach is famous for its big waves and gorgeous sands, come spring, it’ll add another notch to its belt with Sculpture By The Sea.
True to its name, the event is the world’s largest free-entry public sculpture exhibition. So make a date here from 18th October to 4th November 2018 to enjoy over-100 trippy sculptures lining the 2-kilometre walk from Bondi Beach to Tamarama Beach. To help you navigate across the various routes here, be sure to use this map.
As the event is expecting around 500,000 visitors this year, it’s highly recommended that you take public transport, by train or bus to Bondi Junction, then an onward bus to Bondi beach.
Sculpture By The Sea
Address: Bondi to Tamarama Coastal Walk, Sydney, Australia
Date: 18th October – 4th November 2018
Time: Anytime during daylight hours
Free admission
Website
For those in Sydney and NSW during spring, you’re in luck as that’ll be in the middle of whale migration season! This is where thousands of whales migrate along the NSW coast, which stretches more than 2,000 kilometres.
For some of the best vantage points to see this spectacle, head north to Port Stephens where you can go on whale-watching cruises that start from $68/person. While you’re there, Port Stephens also offers other adrenaline-pumping activities such as quad-biking and sandboarding across the largest moving coastal sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere. Prefer being in the water? They have kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding packages among crystal blue waters too!
Pssst… If cruises aren’t your thing, hiking to the summit of Mount Tomaree also provides panoramic views of the coast and is great for whale-spotting.
You won’t have to travel to Hokkaido for fresh seafood because the Sydney Fish Market is the largest seafood market in the Southern Hemisphere and the world’s second largest in terms of variety!
That means you’ll be able to purchase the likes of squid, oysters and lobsters here. To get a behind-the-scenes look at the market, book a tour for just $35 and gain access to the auction floor and witness the shucking of oysters.
If you’re hungry from hauling all that seafood, head to restaurants nearby like Fisherman’s Wharf Seafood Restaurant and Fish Market Cafe which serve dishes using ingredients straight from the market.
Sydney and NSW are chock full of weekend markets, offering hours of chilled out shopping. Make sure your itinerary caters enough time for you to hit up treasure troves such as Carriageworks Farmers Market, Paddington Markets, The Rocks Friday Foodie Market and The Rocks Markets.
From rare and unique trinkets to gift your loved ones back home so they don’t get stuck with another kitschy souvenir, to farm fresh produce that’ll inspire a clean-eating diet while still tasting amazing. The weekend markets yield an abundance of goodies!
From nature walks in the Blue Mountains to strolling along Bondi Beach, the myriad of things to do in Sydney and Regional New South Wales makes it the perfect getaway whether you’re with the fam or with bae.
If the activities here have got you interested but you’re not reeaally the type to plan itineraries, CTC Travel has some curated tours you can look at, including a fully-guided 6D4N tour of Sydney. From just $1588, you’ll get to partake in activities like exploring the Blue Mountains National Park, going sandboarding in Port Stephens and visiting the Sydney Fish Market. Plus, the package price includes hotel accommodation and return tickets on Qantas!
We flew to Sydney via Qantas previously and were amazed by how comfortable their flights were, with luxuries like warm blankets and large pillows. Thankfully, you can now get in on this when you choose from the Qantas A330 or A380 when you head down to Sydney with Qantas.
From now to 24th September 2018, return flights to Sydney start from just $578! If you have a particularly strong case of wanderlust, explore the rest of Australia too! Qantas flies to over 60 Australian destinations, connecting you across the continent.
This post was brought to you by CTC Travel, Qantas and Destination NSW.
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