Noordam in Sydney
Circular Quay in Sydney, Australia is not just a tourist hub. It’s also home to the Overseas Passenger Terminal where the luckier of cruise ship passengers to Sydney dock. Sydney has another terminal called White Bay which is not close to anything. Sailing into Circular Quay is a great way to get a view of two of Sydney’s most famous icons – the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Once the ship docks you can also see both icons of the city from the ship.
Opera House
Circular Quay is pretty much shaped like 3 sides of a square or maybe a rectangle. The bridge sits out at the end of one side and the opera house out at the end of the other. The ship docks on the side with the bridge.
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Whether disembarking, just there for a port stop, or not even coming from a ship at all, there are lots of transportation options from Circular Quay. If you’re getting off the ship once you have left the building and start heading toward the far end of the quay you first walk past the taxi line.
ferries
The water edge of the end of the quay between the two sides is lined with a whole bunch of different ferries and water taxis. Water taxis take you where you need to go. The ferries have regularly scheduled visits to places like Taronga Zoo, Watsons Bay, Manly, Shark Island, Lane Cove River, Clifton Gardens and Darling Harbour. There are also boats there that take people out on boat tours and day cruises, some of which may include lunch or dinner as well as sight-seeing. Between May and November there are also whale-watching cruises. The ferries are part of Sydney’s public transportation system and the fare is cheap.
Circular Quay
You don’t have to take a ferry or taxi to go anywhere though. On the land side of that end behind the ferries there’s also a train station. This stop is on the city circle line, which also stops at Central Station. From Central you can catch a train to the airport, out to Sydney’s suburbs, to the Blue Mountains, or even an interstate train to other areas of Australia. The hop on hop off bus stops near the opera house so you can take a tour around town that way as well. The trains and ferries have a tap to pay system where you can just use any bank card that has a tap feature rather than having to buy a ticket or special card to ride them.
pathway through the botanical garden
Besides the opera house and the bridge, there are lots of other tourist attractions in the immediate area. There’s a free botanical garden on the side near the opera house, and Sydney’s oldest area called The Rocks is on the bridge side. Centerpoint Tower is just over a kilometer away, and there are other things within walking distance to see there as well.
Luna Park
There are museums and restaurants at Circular Quay as well as in nearby areas like The Rocks. Luna Park sits under the far side of the bridge. Overall there is way more to see and do at or near Circular Quay than a person could do in one day.
