Travel Guide: 24 Hours in Sydney, Australia

As the largest city in Australia, Sydney has a never-ending number of things to do, see, eat, and explore – from the stunning coastal walks and beaches to the busy hustle in the central business district. With all the options available, here is a condensed timeline of the ultimate guide of how to spend your time in Sydney, if you only have 1 day in this beauty city. Looking for a most detailed travel guide? Wait for my 3 Day Itinerary travel guide for Sydney that is coming soon!

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7:00AM – Fuel Up!

If you need to know anything about coffee in Australia is that it is filled with local coffee shops. There’s one at almost every single corner, so don’t fret. Order yourself a flat white from anywhere, as I found them all to be delicious every where I went! But if you’re in the Potts Point area, definitely stop by L’Expresso House. It’s super cute and their coffee was so smooooth.

7:30AM – Breakfast? Take your pick!

In Sydney, breakfast/brunch is a big ‘thing’ and people take it seriously. There are numerous spots you can go for breakfast no matter where you are. Be sure to go to The Diver Café (a cafe locals frequent near Coogee Beach) or Gypsy Espresso (in Potts Point). If you go to Gypsy Espresso, please do yourself a favour and order the most basic, but delicious, item on the menu: the avocado & tomato bruschetta (see below to drool).

8:30AM – Walk it Out

Lace up your running shoes and get ready to do the famous coastal walk, the Coogee to Bondi coastal walk. Make your way to the East side of the city (take the public bus for ~45 mins or cab for ~10) and start off at Coogee Beach. From here, you’ll be walking about 6km on a paved trail along the east coast of the city. On the way, you’ll pass by 4 beaches before you reach the most popular beach, Bondi Beach. This is honestly the most scenic and beautiful walk I’ve ever done! It’s easy and popular amongst tourists and locals. Many locals use the trail as their running track, which I would totally do as well!

11:00AM – Brunch before Beach

Once arriving at Bondi Beach, find your way off the trail and into the nearby strips of restaurants and bars – as you’re going to be hungry after that long walk. Preach Café probably has the prettiest menu I’ve seen at Bondi, and their ‘pokecado’ sounds delicious!

12:00 PM – Chill Out

...Or sweat it out haha. It's now time to hang out at Sydney’s most iconic beach! Don’t forget to apply sunscreen and be safe out in the water. Swim/surf within the designated area, or you’ll risk being on an episode of Bondi Rescue lol!

1:30PM – Sweet Endings

Cool off from your time at the beach with ice cream from Gelato Messina. They have really interesting flavours, including an Aperol one!

2:00PM – Stroll through the City

Afterwards, take a cab back to Darling Harbour. The area has a lot of benches to sit outside and enjoy the sun. There are kid parks around if you have children and also bars with a lot of patio seating. You can check out the newly renovated ICC Sydney, which is Sydney's convention centre, as well as Tumbalong Park and Chinese Garden of Friendship. Next door, check out Queen Victoria Building. It's filled with a bunch of cute shops and boutiques. Thinking of having another little snack, wander through Australia’s largest Chinatown! If you fancy, you can stop in at Chinatown Noodle King for soupy noodles or an order of dumplings.

4:30PM – Happy Hour

My favourite time of the day – happy hour haha. With the cost of living in Australia, it’s only normal to look for deals especially when it comes to drinks! So when it's happy hour, I was honestly the happiest haha. The most typical happy hour menu I’ve seen would be a $5 price on any beer, wine, and bar rail drink! That to me is a big win! A couple spots I really enjoyed was The Argyle, Munich Brauhaus, and The Royal George. You can find a comprehensive happy hour list all around Sydney here.

6:30PM – the Main Stop

Can't spend a day in Sydney, without seeing the two most iconic attractions in the city! So make your way to the Sydney Opera House, grab a glass of wine at Opera Bar, and cheers your eventful day as the sun sets into the horizon behind the Harbour Bridge. Pure bliss. // There are three other great spots for a lovely sunset photo. Back around Darling Harbour, head to the Hickson Road Reserve (a boardwalk in front of Park Hyatt Hotel), which has a beautiful view of the Opera House in addition to a nice ‘under the bridge’ photo op of the Harbour Bridge, like this lady. In addition to this viewpoint, one of my fave viewpoints was at Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair (the viewpoint of the first picture in this blog post). Another notable viewpoint is the Pylon Lookout (on the Harbour Bridge looking out on the Opera House), but it costs 15 AUD.

7:00PM – Dinner on the Water

Board your dinner cruise with Captain Cook Cruises and be prepared to wine & dine. There is no better way than to end your day sailing off into the night on a boat with these stunning views! I’d highly recommend getting the dinner with wine pairings option. Not only do you get first access to the boat, you'll have a nice window seat while you indulge in a delicious 6-course meal. If you're lucky, you’ll also feel a slight sway to the movement of the water from the wine haha // Captain Cook also hosts lunch and sunset cruises, which are great options depending on what fits your schedule or floats your boat ;)