Sydney's Sightseeing Bus

Posted on the 15th February 2012

A couple of weekends ago the weather was beautiful in Sydney so I decided to do something I’d been thinking of doing for ages and I took the “Hop On Hop Off” City Sightseeing Bus. I’ve taken similar bus excursions in cities all around the world and I wanted to compare Sydney’s version, particularly so that I could recommend it to my passengers (or not).

The Harbour Bridge, Sydney's most famous icon, snapped from the open top City Sightseeing bus

The Sydney service actually has 2 bus routes which overlap, and a ticket which allows you to get on and off buses from either route all day costs $35. There’s a recorded commentary played as the buses pass specific landmarks which tells some interesting history and facts and fiction about the city.

The main City Red buses circle Sydney’s CBD, Darling Harbour and Kings Cross. Although you can join the bus for the first time anywhere, it’s worth starting at stop 1, Circular Quay because before the bus departs there’s a good introductory talk from a host who gets aboard.

Queen Victoria Building, Sydney's most beautiful Shopping Arcade, on George St

The route passes down George Street, the commercial, entertainment and retail spine of the city. At the southern end of the city the bus loops east and passes along Hyde Park South and out along William Street to the foot of the famous Coke-a-Cola sign in Kings Cross. Being Sydney’s red light district, this suburb is busy and provides visual entertainment at all hours. On the harbour below Kings Cross the route takes in the Kuttabul Naval base, Harry’s Café De Wheels, a pie stand renowned for its pie floaters and the restored wharfs.

Up through the expressway cut under the Botanic Gardens, the bus then does a circuit of Macquarie Street, one of the most historic and beautiful streets in Sydney. With the Opera House at one end, Hyde Park at the other it includes sandstone facades of Museums, the State Library, Sydney Hospital and Houses of Parliament.

Sydney Opera House, at the end of Macquarie Street

Southward along Hyde Park and past the Australian Museum and St Mary’s Cathedral the route continues to Central Station, which is the best place to swap onto the Blue Bondi bus route. A western loop of the route goes out through Ultimo and Pyrmont with stops at the Powerhouse Museum, the Fish Markets and around Darling Harbour. Darling Harbour is redeveloped dockyards which have become a conference, exhibition and entertainment hub in the city.

Darling Harbour, on the western shoulder of the city

From there the route passes more of Sydney’s redeveloped wharfs through Barangaroo and Walsh Bay to loop under the Harbour Bridge and travel down through the historic Rocks to finish back at Circular Quay.

From Central the Blue Bondi & Bays Bus takes a loop through the CDB before heading out along Oxford Street. This is the heart of Sydney’s rainbow district, or Gay and Lesbian area. There’s a stop in Paddington a lovely historic Victorian suburb. Then the bus continues past Centennial Park and out to Bondi Beach, the iconic Sydney Beach suburb.

The route follows the coast up to Vaucluse with great vies of the ocean before following the Harbour back in to the exclusive shopping strips of Rose Bay and Double Bay, and back to Central Station.

So now that I’ve done it I think it was money well spent, and even though I’m a local and knew the areas very well I still learnt a few intriguing tit bits. When I’m travelling to a new city I like to take the city sightseeing buses as an introduction and orientation, and I can certainly recommend Sydney’s great open top buses for that.

And then when you want to get out of the city and discover the bush come with me on an Outback experience from Sydney.