5 Ways to have CHEAP fun in Sydney!

This post is obviously aimed at those with less money than myself. Money is not an issue for me. In fact, sometimes I think I might have too much money. But as I type this from the comfort of my yacht, I do realise that not everyone is as financially blessed. So I wanted to help these poor souls have some fun. Something to distract them from the holes in their shoes and the microwave dinner waiting for them at home. I'm sure there is some sort of fun to be had without spending a lot of money. Surely? Well I paid some people to go find out and here's what they came up with....

1 Bondi ---> Coogee Coastal Walk

Easily number one TOTALLY FREE thing to do when visiting Sydney. The entire walk is around 6km so, depending on how fast you walk and how good you are at resisting taking a million pictures (which can easily happen), this walk can take anywhere between 2 hours to 18 hours. The walk takes you past multiple beaches. Some big and some small but each boasting their own qualities.

Most of the beaches have all the facilities one can expect including changing rooms, picnic areas and refreshment stalls.

MY FAVOURITE BEACH

Everyone knows Bondi Beach. It's very famous. And it knows it. Frankly, it's a little to big for it's own boots. This beach has let it's reputation go to it's head and it now believes it's own hype. I much prefer the understated and down to earth vibe of Gordon's Bay. A smaller less egotistical beach on the final approach to Coogee. Check out the pics below...

My tip for You

Many people start the walk in Coogee and end in Bondi. I think this is a mistake and here's why.

Depending on the time of year and day of the week, getting out of Bondi Beach by public transport can be a real challenge. I've waited in queues for the bus that rivalled those for Space Mountain.

The arrival in Coogee is up high and the view of the beach from above opens up in front of you.

And finally, a well deserved schooner on the rooftop bar of the Coogee Pavilion is the cherry on top of the coastal walk cake.

Check these out...

Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk Official Website - http://www.bonditocoogeewalk.com.au/

Coogee Pavilion Website - http://merivale.com.au/coogeepavilion

2 FREE Walking Tours of Sydney CBD.

Walking..?!?! Burning calories..?!? Exercise..?!? I'm on holiday..!!

- Fictional Angry Lazy Reader

Yes walking places is awful and society is desperate to replace it with segways, hoverboards or the chairs from WALL-E... but these tours are actually really very good. The tour guides are very well informed and have limitless stories and factoids about Sydney and it's history. I did this on my 2nd day in Sydney and I'm glad I did. I learned a lot of things I didn't know about Australian history and saw some pretty cool spots.

It was almost good enough to distract me from the horror of having to use my own legs to move through space. The girl that took us on our 3 hour tour of Sydney's CBD was very funny. She knew the area very well and had tonnes of interesting and funny facts. I won't list these facts and stories here. You'll have to go take one of the tours. The tour is essentially free as there is no mandatory charge...however, at the end the guide does declare that despite there being no official price...donations are gladly accepted. This appears to be a good approach as I saw people handing over a variation of $10, $20 and even some $50 notes. But the cheapest option is to do what I did and slowly move behind a tree until everyone leaves..!!

There's no need to book a tour just how up and

Tour Hours - 3 hour tours begin at 10:30 and 14:30 from Town Hall square every day

1.5 hour tour of the Rocks begins at 18:30 from Cadmans Cottage (waterside) every day

Official Website - http://www.imfree.com.au

3 Sydney Pylon Lookout

The Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Star of the Sydney Harbour. Towering 134m above sea level, it is an incredible structure and definitely one you want to climb and reach the summit of. The only issue with this....is that the cheapest option you'll find to do this is around $250 AUD. To be fair the climbs operated by BridgeClimb Sydney are absolutely fantastic and well worth the price of the ticket. But enough of this rich people talk, we're talking about the cheapest of the cheap..!! So let's save some cash and visit the Sydney Pylon Lookout...!!

This is the South Pylon of the bridge. By entering the pylon from the traffic level of the bridge and climbing the stairs you will first reach a small exhibition centre where you can learn about the history of the bridge including a short movie about the history of the bridge. You can do what I do and pretend to be interested in all this to distract from how tired you are from the first flight of stairs. Once you've caught your breath you can pay $13 to climb another flight of stairs to the lookout area. This is an amazing 360 degree view of Sydney Harbour which includes the city, the Opera House and a side view of the Harbour Bridge. This is actually arguably a better view than the view from the top of the bridge. The reason I say this is because the view from the top of the bridge...doesn't include the bridge because you're on it..!! This is similar to why some people who visit New York City choose to take their photos from the top of the Rockafella Centre instead of the Empire State Building. This way they have an equally impressive view of the city which includes the Empire State Building...!! The other thing is that, due to safety reasons, you cannot take any loose items on the Bridge Climb which includes cell phones and cameras...yes EVEN a GoPro that is attached to your body. So any pictures of your climb will have to be purchased after the climb.

So if you want $1,000,000 views for $13 then get up that pylon and take that Opera House selfie ASAP..!!

Official Website - http://www.pylonlookout.com.au

4 Public Transport on a Sunday

As the beach boys so eloquently said , "We get around-round get around we get around" and in Sydney they get around using Opal Cards.

Opal Cards are the Sydney equivalent to London's Oyster card, Brisbane's GoCard, Melbourne's Myki card...etc. It allows you to travel around Sydney by bus, train, light rail and ferry.

Throughout the week this card is generally considered to be a financial black hole sitting in your pocket HOWEVER...this all changes when the clock strikes 00:01 on Sunday morning..!!

THE MOST YOU WILL SPEND ON A SUNDAY USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT IS $2.50..!!!

This is pretty incredible as you can travel as far as the Blue Mountains...AND BACK for just $2.50..!!

This also means a ferry trip to the Manly and back will only cost you $2.50..!! This 30/40 minute ferry ride gives you the chance to photograph the city, Opera House and Harbour Bridge from angles that are only possible from the water. Plus Manly is just delightful for a spot of lunch..!! These are just two of the things you can take advantage of on Super Savings Sunday. So if I were you, I'd forget all that 'Sunday - the day of rest' nonsense and cram in as much as you can..!!

Official Website - https://www.opal.com.au

5 Free Fireworks Display at darling Harbour

Who doesn't like fireworks?? Dogs and other animals that have no idea what's going on. That's about it.

So if you're a human reading this, you're in for a treat. If you're a dog you might wanna just stop reading now and Google bones or 'how to finally catch your tail' or something.

Darling Harbour is a great area in Sydney with plenty of places to spend money and have a great night. There is, however, a FREE way to enjoy the harbour. Every Saturday Night at 9pm the harbour boasts a very impressive FREE fireworks display.

Find yourself a spot on the Pyrmont Bridge for the best view.

Around Christmas and New Year, the fireworks committee (just made that up) step it up a notch with a fireworks display every night from the 13th to 24th December. This is an absolutely perfect way to top off your Saturday night in Sydney.

And the best thing is, this is something both men and women can enjoy. Men like to see things explode and girls love pretty colours and sparkles. Everybody wins..!! Check out the website for specific details about Christmas and New Year events....

Official Website - http://www.darlingharbour.com/whats-on/fireworks