Travel to Sydney

Sydney is a popular place for people to visit when they arrive in Australia. The city, however, is large and it`s just not possible to walk everywhere and see everything. A rental car is the perfect solution, but many people worry about how and where to find one, with minimum hassle. Having a rental car from the very beginning is a useful way to go. You`ll find that it`s easier to get to and from your hotel and there`s no trying to find the rental company in a taxi that is charging by the minute.

Advantages of Renting a Car

There are quite a few reasons to rent a car, whether you are traveling for business or pleasure.

Get a Car at the Airport

The best place to rent your vehicle for the time you are in Sydney is right at the airport. It gives you full access to a car, right from the start and you`ll be free to go wherever you want from the airport, even if you choose not to head straight to your hotel. If you have friends or family in the city, this is the perfect way to reach them and avoid making them come pick you up.

By picking up your vehicle as soon as you get off the plane, you can load your bags up and head out without any hassles. There`s no waiting for a taxi or trying to find a hotel shuttle that will get you where you need to go, mixing up your luggage with other people`s. Instead, you can fit everything into your vehicle and head off, to wherever you prefer, even stopping to eat before going to the hotel, if you like, and unpack at your leisure.

Another advantage to this is lower costs. If you are going to drop a rental car off at a different location, you`d have to find a taxi to take you to the airport, or, if you chose to leave the car at the airport, you`d probably pay a fee for this. By picking up your car at the airport, you can return it there for no extra fees.

Tips for Arranging a Rental Car

It is always a good idea to call ahead and book a vehicle. The Sydney airport can get pretty full and there`s no guarantee that the car you want will be there when you arrive, so having it set aside before you arrive is best. If, for some reason, they are out of the vehicle you requested, you should get upgraded for no charge.

Double check your booking the day that you leave for Australia, just to be sure. It also helps to check online to find out where the rental car company is and to head there once you`ve collected your luggage. Rental cars are extremely useful for getting around, particularly if you are used to driving and aren`t accustomed to the public transport in Sydney. It can save you quite a bit of money over taxis, as well.

In Sydney there are various techniques in use to control stress management. The techniques used by Stress management Sydney are very effective and are used for those who suffer from psychological and physical stress. There is stiff competition brewing in every field today and hence the pressure and stress on the individuals have increased to keep pace with the fast moving technology and the business around.

There are more people in the market now who are looking for assistance on stress management and want to know the techniques of overcoming it every passing day. The psychologists in Sydney have developed many stress management techniques which have been successfully implemented by many people there.

The psychologists Sydney have suggested three very useful and effective steps that can be used to manage stress. The first step that they advise to use is the action-oriented method. In this method the trouble that leads to stress is recognized and then the required change is made to that problem which leads to a stress free life. The next approach advocated by the psychologists in Sydney is the one that is emotionally and psychologically oriented. In this case the person who is stressed tries to look at the situation which caused stress in a different light and hence successfully tries to overcome it. In this case you can look at the situation that caused stress in a humorous way and from a different point of view.

The third approach advised by the Psychologist Sydney is the approach that is acceptance oriented. This approach makes you to focus on overcoming the stress which could have been caused due to certain issues in the past. There are many other techniques for stress management which is available to ease and manage stress. Some of these very common techniques which are generally used by all are meditation, positive attitude, self talk, exercise and breathing, self management, self understanding, conflict resolution, autogenic training, diet and breathing and stress ball apart from rest. This technique if used effectively helps an individual to improve his behavioural techniques and overcome his emotional struggle.

With the help of these techniques for stress management you can control the feeling of emotional outburst which again is caused due to stress. In such a situation the heavy and deep breathing technique really proves to be helpful in reducing stress and thus helps the body to get back to a stress-free position. The stress management technique which seems to be most popular and more commonly used is the music therapy as it has proved to be effective for both long and short term conditions.

The other techniques suggested by psychologists in Sydney are self hypnosis, yoga and meditation. The autogenic technique of stress management is a relaxation technique. In this therapy you need to take up a sequence of sessions which advices and teaches to relax the breathing, limbs and your heart. Apart from these stress management techniques you should also make an effort towards proper time management which can further help you to reduce stress.

Sydney Harbor is one of those tourist icons that embody what Sydney is. So in every trip to Sydney, going out to see and visit Sydney Harbor is one of the first things you would want to do. As such, it is no wonder why Sydney Harbor is one of the most photographed landmarks in Australia, if not in the whole world. A trip to Sydney is never complete without getting snapshots in front of the Harbor Bridge from the Opera House, or from wherever it might be.

Aside from the thrill of going out to see the Sydney Harbor, from a Sydney local's point of view, there are actually 4 top practical and surefire ways to enjoy Sydney Harbor. The first way to enjoy Sydney Harbor is to just walk around it. To do this, one has to get down to a train session called Circular Quay which is right in the CBD on the edge of the water.

There are buses, trains and taxis, all of which will take visitors there. Otherwise, you can take a walk depending on where your accommodations is. From there you'll pass by some beautiful parkland and some pretty major tourist stops, tourist attractions, tourist icons that are within that walking distance to that area. If you go around to the east you'll walk towards Sydney Opera House. Towards the west, you will reach an area of Sydney called The Rocks which is old Sydney town. It was the first British settlement area in Sydney. When you had enough of walking around you can then just walk back to Circular Quay.

The second way to enjoy Sydney Harbour is by taking a ferry when taking in the sights and sounds of the city. There are a number of ferry services , most of which are public transportation that operate in and around Circular Quay.

It's amazing that for the price of a simple public transport ticket, one can spend as much time as one likes cruising up and down and going from one place to another. An example of a very pleasurable ferry ride to take is the Manly ferry. Its a 30-40 minutes travel time gives you to spend a lot of time to enjoy the length and breadth of the Sydney Harbor. 

The third way to enjoy Sydney Harbor is by taking the good-old-fashioned Harbour Cruise. The best times to do this is during summer months when the weather is usually very good. There are plenty of private companies that put up Harbor Cruise entertainment in a lot of different forms. But most of them are eat and drink occasions ranging from simple sessions for coffee or morning tea, to more advanced visitors coming in for a lunch cruises, dinner cruises with full buffet, big seafoods cruises, big drink packages and a lot more. Booking can be done either by booking for an organized package, or by dropping by Circular Quay where there's a number of booths and stalls of companies offering different Harbor cruises and their schedule.

The fourth and final way to enjoy Sydney Harbour is by swimming in it. But while Sydney Harbour is a great place for a swim, it is in fact a port that is not any different from any other shipping port. As such you cannot swim directly in it, or get in the Circular Quay with your swimming gear in tow because it is full of ships, boats and ferries. But all is not lost because there are some spots in the area that are really great for a swim. If you are out on the suburbs, the Camp Cove is the best destination. So, when you find yourself in Sydney to, do try any or all of these suggestions on how to enjoy the Sydney Traveler.

Sydney is Australia's premier holiday destination and the first port of call for many international visitors. The good news is that many of its major attractions are free and with the Australian dollar at bargain basement, most are amazingly cheap.

Here are 7 suggestions to help you get the most out of your visit to Australia's largest city:

1. Circular Quay.

Circular Quay is the heart of Sydney and your introduction to the beautiful harbour. It is a great place to start your exploration and you will be fascinated by the excitement and buzz of this area. All ferries leave from this focal point and you are within walking distance of the Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. It is great place to relax, enjoy a meal in one of the many restaurants or stroll around and enjoy the ambience.

2. The Rocks.

Nestled alongside the south portal of the bridge is one of the first settled areas of Sydney known as "The Rocks" This historical and fascinating area filled with old buildings, pubs and shops is a great place to visit for souvenirs, a meal or a drink. Weekend markets are very popular for those looking for a bargain.

3. Walk over the bridge.

The entrance to the walkway over the bridge is just behind The Rocks and best of all it's free. This amazing walk will provide you with some of the most breathtaking views in Australia as you look down on the Opera House, yachts and ferries in the harbor and in the distance, the entrance to the Pacific Ocean.

4. Ferry to Toronga Park Zoo.

Toronga Park Zoo is one of the finest in Australia. You will be able to view all the Australian native wildlife including the elusive platypus. It is worth spending a day here and its location on the north shore of the harbor allows spectacular views of the Sydney skyline. Take the ferry from Circular Quay.

5. Ferry to Manly.

No visit to Sydney would be complete without taking a ferry from Circular Quay to the oceanside resort of Manly. The ferry ride is one of the most popular trips for visitors to Sydney and allows spectacular harbor views. I particularly love Manly. Its main beach on the Pacific Ocean is a mecca for surfers, swimmers and sunbathers and the main street is a popular place to enjoy a meal, go shopping or just soak up the ambience of the area.

Here's a suggestion. Try to time your return ferry trip to Sydney to leave Manly just before sunset. You will be rewarded with the golden glow of the late afternoon sun shining on the sails of the Opera House and the setting sun highlighting the black silhouette of the bridge. A magic holiday moment.

6. Take a tour of the Opera House.

Tours of the Opera House take place regularly during the day and this is the only way for you to experience the true beauty of this iconic Sydney landmark. Better still, enjoy a live performance in the main concert hall. It will be a holiday memory I promise you will never forget.

7. Take a harbor walk.

Sydney has many wonderful harbor walks, but my favorite is a walk from the Opera House to Kings Cross. It requires only a moderate level of fitness and there are plenty of places to stop and admire the views of the busy harbor as well as parks and gardens. Kings Cross is a perfect place to finish your walk. It is the city's nightlife and restaurant mecca, but late at night can be a seedy and sometimes unsafe area. During the day however, this cosmopolitan suburb is a venue to relax, enjoy a coffee and experience one of most vibrant areas of this great holiday destination.

Today the Harbour Bridge has many uses. Firstly and probably primarily it is a major road between the northern suburbs, populations of Sydney and the Sydney Central Business District. There are six right lanes, three to four lanes either way of thick traffic, particularly during peak hour it could get very congested. So it is a big thing the fact that there is traffic there. There is also a train line that goes each way across it for the same kind of thing.

There's also a pedestrian access on the eastern side, you can actually walk by pedestrian access and we'll talk a little bit about that in a minute, about how you can do that. Hundreds of commuters actually walk across Harbour Bridge to get to and from the city to go to work everyday. So this is a serious pedestrian thoroughfare to get from the north side down to the south. Interestingly enough, also there's every year in Sydney they have a running event, a marathon running event called The Bridge Run or The Bridge Marathon. What this is, is as the name implies it is a running event of varying lengths, but a key focus of the running event is actually running across the Harbor Bridge.

I have participated in this and it is fantastic event and it really is something, and they close up all the traffic obviously. And as far as the eye can see, thousands of people running across that Bridge embarking on their marathon or half-marathon or fun-run, varying distances are available. So that is another use, and that is really only once or twice a year that they run those runs and it causes a lot of problems for the traffic, because you have to re-route it in different ways. But it is one of the ways, that Sydney siders use their bridge, it affords magnificent views as well.

When you are actually on the bridge walking across it, beautiful views of the Harbour and the foreshores by following the northern or the southern side is pretty good. Another big one which you have probably seen on television is New Year's Eve. Now what Sydney has done in every since well it will be many years now, since well before 2000, is that the Harbor Bridge itself because it so such a public high icon, thousands and thousands of fireworks are actually fired from there at midnight on New Year's Eve. It's a focal point there, it is zoomed all across the world and very much from Sydney, at midnight everyone knows to look to the Harbor for the fireworks that run 15 to 20 minutes. And really is a New Year's Eve spectacle.

The Sydney Harbor Bridge is one of those icons of Sydney, it is one of the best known tourist icons in the world really and it is true to say that almost everyone is familiar with it. When you think of Sydney, along with the Opera House in Sydney Harbor, we think about Sydney Harbor Bridge.

A little bit of history on the Harbor Bridge. Sydney Harbor Bridge joins the Sydney CBD to the northern suburbs of Sydney, which is north Sydney, which is again a business area. But to the northern suburbs which is essentially a link to those residential areas. The Bridge itself is 503 metres long, so it is a fairly long Bridge and it is 134 meters above the sea level, so it is a very high Bridge.

Now, some interesting trivia this Bridge was opened in 1932 and this quite interesting story that comes along behind it. The story goes that on the 19th of March 1932, it was a huge occasion after many years of building this Bridge, an enormous crowd had gathered on the Bridge itself and around Sydney's foreshore both on the CBD side and the north Sydney side.

People had gathered to see the official opening of this Bridge. One of the ceremonial things that was to happen, was that the Premier, the head-of-state for the state of New South Wales would declare the Bridge open and would slash a ribbon, which was sitting across the Harbour as a ceremonial signification of opening the Bridge. There is a fantastic idea, but there was certain people that had a different idea. At the time there was a para-military group called the New Guard, who firmly believed amongst other things (they were firm Monarchists) that it was appropriate that a member of the royal family would actually open the Harbour Bridge by cutting the ribbon.

So vehemently did they believe this, they took real offence to an Australian head-of-state actually cutting the ribbon. A General by the name of Capt. Francis de Groot, who was a representative of this group was on horse back and he positioned himself quite close to where the ribbon was waiting for Premier Lang to arrive. Just before the Premier got there, de Groot mounted on his horse galloped forward, pulled out his sword and slashed the ribbon, and declared the Bridge open in the name of the decent citizens of the New South Wales.

De Groot was subsequently arrested and taken to a psychiatric hospital, where they found him sane, but he faced a fine and a charge for offensive behavior in a public place. Anyway, interesting little bit of trivia in the history of the Harbour Bridge.