Sydney in mid-March - questions

[ginger lea]

Hi. Land based vacation in Sydney in Mid - to end of March. Some questions:

1) anyone familiar with the Novotel Darling Harbour Hotel? What's it like? In walking distance to shops, restaurants, etc.?

 

2) Will it be warm enough in March to lay in the sun - and possibly go to the beach?

 

3) Are Capri/Crop pants a good choice for this time of year?

 

4) How much is Taxi fare from SYD airport to Darling Harbour if there is no shuttle available?

 

5) Best place for inexpensive souveniers for kids/family/coworkers?

[boards]

I can answer your last question and that is the location of the hotel you are asking about in Darling Harbour is amongst the most inexpensive place to buy souveniors. They have great mall and some reasonably priced restaurants too. We stayed at the Crown Plaza (Nov/Dec.) and got a pretty good price for 5 days. You had to pay up front for the deal though. We really enjoyed the location. It was a healthy walk into downtown and we did it everyday and we are not kids (70 & 66). It was great.

[The_Big_M]

1. It's not in the city, but right beside the city and in a very convenient location. Right in the middle of a leisure/tourist area, on the waterfront, short walking distance to most city based locations, entertainment centre, casino, chinatown and so on. Tram/light rail/monorail station is very close, and rail station about 1-2 km away.

 

2. Definitely - unless you get a cold/wet day as Sydney weather does vary. The overall season is still warm though.

 

3. Depends on personal preference! :-) But if you like them, the climate should be fine for them.

 

4. Depends on travel time as during business peak hours the journey will take longer and cost more. I'd say around AUD50 for it.

 

5. Darling harbour has lots of shops but they can be better quality/expensive. If you're looking for Chinese nicknacks, try Paddys market near Chinatown, which should be less than 10 minutes walk away.

[ginger lea]

Thank you for your replies.:)

[PeggyCTB]

My husband and I will be disembarking the Milllenium around 9:00AM on March 29. We will have spent the previous day in port. We have a flight to Hawaii leaving around 9:00PM. Does anyone have any suggestions how we can spend this day bearing in mind that we will have three large suitcases? Tours offered by the ship all get to the airport around 2:00PM. Thank you.

[boards]

There will lots to see right there at the Circular Quay. You won't have enough time to see it all. I don't know what you do with the luggage though.

[turtlemichael]

PeggyCTB, I just did a google search and found this place. It is in central Sydney and about a $AU10.00 taxi ride from the cruise terminal. Can't vouch for them but they may be worth investigating via an email. A Sydneysider might have some better ideas.

 

http://www.travellers.com.au/default.asp?action=article&ID=112s

 

Another idea would be to get a day room at one of the hotels which would give you a base and the opportunity to freshen up before heading out to the airport around 5.30pm. You'd need to check via email with the various hotels.

 

My husband and I will be disembarking the Milllenium around 9:00AM on March 29. We will have spent the previous day in port. We have a flight to Hawaii leaving around 9:00PM. Does anyone have any suggestions how we can spend this day bearing in mind that we will have three large suitcases? Tours offered by the ship all get to the airport around 2:00PM. Thank you.

[The_Big_M]

Any names? That link is giving me a 500 server error.

[PeggyCTB]

Turtlemichael, thank you for the link. Unfortunately, that facility is closed on Sunday.I have e-mailed the visitors center at the Rocks. Perhaps they will have some advice.

[turtlemichael]

Any names? That link is giving me a 500 server error.

 

Oops, a stray letter got into the address. Here is a corrected one:

 

http://www.travellers.com.au/default.asp?action=article&ID=112

[turtlemichael]

Turtlemichael, thank you for the link. Unfortunately, that facility is closed on Sunday.I have e-mailed the visitors center at the Rocks. Perhaps they will have some advice.

 

Good idea PeggyCTB. If you get a response please let us know as it's a question occasionally asked about Sydney.

[PeggyCTB]

I did receive a response from the Visitor's Center at the Rocks. Apparently, there is storage available daily at Wanderers Travel, 810 George Street,Sydney.That site is www.wanderers-travel.com. We hope this works.

[Globaliser]

And at worst, there is baggage storage available in all three of the main terminals at Sydney airport, and it's pretty quick to get back into town by public transport unencumbered by bags.