2 weeks in Sydney - what do we do?

[HolidaysinSydney]

Off to Sydney early August; mainly to see DH parents who have been in poor health; especially his mum. We have been there about 6 times; it will be winter so I am not supper excited but keen to see mother in law.

2 adults, 2 teen girls. What do we do with our spare time, apart from sleeping 😅, reading and seeing relatives. Teens enjoy nice food. Have done main sights.

We are spending some days in Seoul on the way there which will be interesting and fun for the teen girls who are into Korean stuff; wouldn’t mind extending it and maybe see more of SK.

https://www.sydney.com/events?10741-end_date=2026-08-28&10741-start_date=2026-08-05

Last year it was very wet, rained a lot more than normal for August, hope you get better weather this year. Obviously you've seen all the big sites, we always go to the harbour when we are over, even though we've all seen it hundreds if not thousands of times. We had intended to go on the aboriginal tour at Barangaroo, 10:30am lasts 90mins, but we could never get up and out of the door early enough (my in-laws live a long way out West). Not a personal recommendation, but it's something a bit different you could consider doing. We did the treetops adventure (like Go Ape) in Western Sydney and basically had the place to ourselves, since all the Aussie kids are in school, so that was a really nice outing. They also have a hanging coaster thing but we didn't try that, next time we go maybe. They have other locations for the treetops adventure that may suit you better, not sure where your in-laws live. We usually go for a swim at Sydney Olympic park, they have like a lazy river and small water slide, as well as the pools, so it fills a good chunk of time. We did the aquarium on a wet day, which is pricey but central for getting good food in the city at the same time. The Archibald is on at the Art gallery of NSW, which is usually worth a visit. We also did ferry out to Manley last year which was nice, you can walk round north head from there, alternatively ferry to Watsons Bay and walk around South head. I used to do these with visitors when we lived there. Previous trip we went up to the Blue Mountains, even if you've seen Katoomba, there are other spots like the red hand caves and Norman Lindsey gallery which are a bit more off the beaten track, I am sure you can't haven't quite seen it all.

Thank you. That is very helpful; will check what you recommended. I hope the weather is good.

I am not supper excited about this trip; which is unfair for DH who is aussie. I just want a holiday in the beach and sun.

We go every 2 years, my in-laws are getting older and we never know how long we may have them, so winter summer holidays are a frequent thing in our household. I am not a huge beach person myself, but the kids like it obviously so we've done the Maldives on the way back before for beach/sun time, kind of a convoluted route involving multiple airlines if you want to avoid backtracking, but worth it. Last year we did Tokyo as a stop over on the way back and so went to Majorca for a short 4 days in May 1/2 term for alternative sun and beach time. Just got to make it work somehow.

Same, we go every two years to see in laws as they are getting old and have more health issues; we are stopping in SK and we had a summer break already. I guess I am a bit spoiled; I hate winter and when we come back days will be shorter. I suffer from SAD.

August by Aussie standards is the second coldest/wettest month of the year in Sydney, so sun and beach might be a stretch. Expect temps of 8-18c.

If you wanted warmer weather you would need to head to Cairns/Tropical NQ.

As for Sydney - there is so much to do.

Bridge Climb
Opera House behind the scenes tour
The Rocks - visit & lunch
Taronga Zoo Roar & Snore (glamping overnight stay)
Luna Park (bit meh but ok for teens)

Thanks.

We did the bridge climb. Not sure the kids will be that excited about Luna park 😅 . I will look at the other things you recommended.

teens are 19 and 16. Perhaps we should spend a bit more time in Seoul; shorten Sydney ☺️

We only spent a brief time around Sydney when went in August as weather is like our early spring / late autumn. We did a whale watching tour, we went from Port Stephens and saw about 150 whales and dolphins but think you can also do them from Sydney. We did Featherdale breakfast with koala but kids were 11/12 and Blue Mountains / Glendale for kangaroos. If you can fly up to Cairns for a week or so then it's much warmer like 25C and can do Great Barrier Reef, hire a car and go to Atherton Tablelands, Daintree, Port Douglas, drive along coast is great and saw cassowary.

Ex Sydneysider here. Yeah it’s going to be cold. Imagine UK early spring and that’s about right. The rain and wind can settle in for days on end and it’s a bit miserable but the bluebird days are still lovely but not beach sunbathing weather.
I think the best bit of Sydney is discovering restaurants and bars but obvs not great for teens.
If you enjoy walking then the walk from Watsons Bay around South Head and explore the tunnels is great and you can stop for seafood at Doyle’s before getting the ferry back.
Coogee -Bondi walk is good too and again a lunch at North Bondi Fish after watching the surfers.
Ku Ring Gai is a nice drive (1hr) and some fascinating caves with Aboriginal hand prints then up to Palm Beach to walk up to the lighthouse and some Home and Away silliness
Blue Mountains is awesome on a sunny day and Scenic World cable car
Hunter Valley great food and wine and lots of kangaroos around just hanging out. The circular cycle round the vineyards is great too. Good place to stay overnight.
Go to Thai Pothong in Newtown. The food is great and it’s always busy as hell and they have a random display of massive Transformers in the foyer including an 8 ft Optimus Prime. 🤣

Have you ever done a bike tour of Sidney? We did one and it was absolutely fab.

This is great. Thank you

Couple more for you.
Manly ferry and then North Head walk. Finish off with a lunch at the Pantry (my fav Sydney lunch stop) and some shopping in Manly.
Whale and dolphin boat trip. Although you can see them sometimes on the Bondi Coogee walk. Bring binoculars.
Icebergs at Bondi is a true experience. Maybe Boys pool after a walk around the harbour.
Surfing lessons?