Initial Entry Activities to Sydney

vhoythoy

We are planning to make an initial entry on Sydney probably around July 2014. Can you suggest (based on your personal experiences or otherwise) kung paano namin mamaximise yung short stay namin. I haven't done any research but maybe i can get some suggestions here. We only plan to stay around 3-4 days cguro.

Major concerns includes:

How much to budget for family of 3 (Husband, wife, 1.6 years old baby)
Any suggested accommodations/ hotel near the city
How far is the airport from the city
Transport suggestions
Places to go/ visit
Things to avoid
Things to do in our short stay
etc.

Thanks

JCsantos

How much to budget for family of 3 (Husband, wife, 1.6 years old baby)

Ikaw na lang mag compute ...

150-200$ Hotel accomodation

around 8-15$ for food each adult

30-50$ for train /bus fare

$$$??? for taxi

300$ for entertainment ( entrance, tour guides etc )

Any suggested accommodations/ hotel near the city

cheap check http://ibishotel.ibis.com/gb/australia/index.shtml

How far is the airport from the city

its a 10-15 minute train ride

Transport suggestions

Train

Places to go/ visit

St mary's Cathedral then Opera House ( a day ) , Darling Harbour ( a day ) if you have time go to the blue mountains
etc.

vhoythoy

Salamat

rara_avis

Hi @vhoythoy

My family (Husband + 17 month old son) will be making our initial entry in Sydney on Saturday. 6 days kami dun. Below are the breakdown of expenses so far:

Scoot Fare (two way, lap-child only, 25KG baggage upgrade, meals on board): 955.15 SGD
Travel Insurance: 81 SGD
Hotel for 6 days (Ibis Budget Hotel Sydney East, CBD area, 10KM from airport): 753.94 SGD (around 125 SGD per day)
Entrance fees for Sydney Aquarium + WILD LIFE Sydney + Sydney Tower Eye + Manly SEA LIFE Sanctuary + Madame Tussauds for 2 persons, free entrance for children 3-yr old and below: 147.65 SGD

Expected expenses upon arrival:

MyMulti2 Card for 2 persons, parang SMRT card dito sa SG, valid for 1 week: 108 AUD. I read mas sulit daw ito kesa sa bumili ka ng two-way ticket sa trains/buses.
Food: We will allocate 500 SGD for 6 days, ito yung part na hindi ko pa masyado na-research kung magkano ang estimated na gastos talaga. Kasya na siguro kasi ang sabi nila ang one serving sa Australia is good for 2 asians na daw. LOL! 😃

Aside from visiting attractions included din sa itinerary namin to activate our bank accounts with NAB, mag-register sa medicare and TFN.

Hope this helps!

kremitz

Kelangan po ba sabay2 mag initial entry?or pwede na ang main applicant ang mauna sa oz then sunod na lang kami ni baby?

rara_avis

@kremitz check your grant letter kung may conditions sa initial entry but most likely as long as lahat kayo nakapasok before the IED then walang problem kahit mauna pa yung dependent.

vhoythoy

<blockquote rel="rara_avis">Hi @vhoythoy

My family (Husband + 17 month old son) will be making our initial entry in Sydney on Saturday. 6 days kami dun. Below are the breakdown of expenses so far:

Scoot Fare (two way, lap-child only, 25KG baggage upgrade, meals on board): 955.15 SGD
Travel Insurance: 81 SGD
Hotel for 6 days (Ibis Budget Hotel Sydney East, CBD area, 10KM from airport): 753.94 SGD (around 125 SGD per day)
Entrance fees for Sydney Aquarium + WILD LIFE Sydney + Sydney Tower Eye + Manly SEA LIFE Sanctuary + Madame Tussauds for 2 persons, free entrance for children 3-yr old and below: 147.65 SGD

Expected expenses upon arrival:

MyMulti2 Card for 2 persons, parang SMRT card dito sa SG, valid for 1 week: 108 AUD. I read mas sulit daw ito kesa sa bumili ka ng two-way ticket sa trains/buses.
Food: We will allocate 500 SGD for 6 days, ito yung part na hindi ko pa masyado na-research kung magkano ang estimated na gastos talaga. Kasya na siguro kasi ang sabi nila ang one serving sa Australia is good for 2 asians na daw. LOL! 😃

Aside from visiting attractions included din sa itinerary namin to activate our bank accounts with NAB, mag-register sa medicare and TFN.

Hope this helps!

</blockquote>

Halos parehas pala tyo. Kami naman 2 adults plus 23 months old son when we IED by end of July 2014 (our target date). Wala pa kaming ticket, pero mukhang mas sulit nga kapag dito sa SG kumuha kasi may mga murang plane fare dito unlike diretso sa pinas. Right now i'm expecting around Php120,000 two way plane ticket para sa aming tatlo. Mura daw through IOM sabi dun sa PDOS pero i will check.

Hopefully makakuha ng mas mura ticket kasi mga 3-4 days lang kami. Another problem pa sa long travel kapag may kasamang baby, eh ung pag nag tantrums sa plane. Ung baby ko plagi pa naman kaya siguro better gabi para makatulog ng mahaba.

Message mo ako kung ok yan hotel na nakuha mo. Last time, sa Fraser Place kami sa KL and very happy ako sa services hoping na ganun din ung makuha naming Hotel sa Sydney. Pero dahil sa tight budget not sure na. Usually sa trip advisor ako tumitingin.

TFN and bank account sana maasikaso din. Tska ung conditions sa form 815 ko, kasi nga baka 4 days lang kami. Plus mukhang winter pa yata sa Sydney yan July.

Salamat sa info's.

rara_avis

@vhoythoy initial entry lang ba kayo sa July? Parang I read di daw pwede sa IOM pag initial entry -- meaning two way ticket. One way lang daw pwede i-purchase sa kanila.

Red-eye flight yung kinuha ko sa scoot para oras ng tulog ni baby. Challenge talaga mag-long haul travel with a baby kaya nga I loaded lots of his favorite shows on my ipad to entertain my child, we rarely allow him to use the ipad.

Anyway, PM kita pagtapos ng travel namin.

kremitz

@rara_avis ok thanks po

tartakobsky

Maki-OT lang, kami rin may 2-year old na malikot haha, 13 hours na byahe, challenge talaga. First time na malayuan ang byahe.

vhoythoy

lakas umiyak ng baby ko rinig ng buong pasahero sa eroplano hahaha

rara_avis

RE: long-haul travel with toddlers.I did some research and many parents recommend giving benadryl or any anti-histamine drugs safe for babies an hour or 2 before the flight para tulog daw at di magkulit. Yung recommended dosage lang of course, some pedia's recommend this too. Nung una ayoko kasi parang I am "drugging" my child for my convenience pero now I am seriously considering this. When we travelled to PH for my son's 1st birthday, he wrecked havoc on the plane, lol! It was traumatic for us, putting it mildly.

vhoythoy

Nung binata pa ako at walang anak paminsan minsan naasar ako pag may batang maingay sa plane. Pero ngaun may anak na ako, i understand the the situation. Kapag mga infant pa talaga, minsan kahit anong gawin mo mag tantrums talaga sila. Di mo basta masasaway kasi nga hindi pa sila nakakaintindi. Yung baby ko, need talaga buhatin at ilakad sa loob plane para tumigil hehe. Dati naman sa NBI, sa haba ng pila nag tantrums hahaha. Naasar pa ung isang NBI clerk, bakit daw nagdadala ng bata. Eh, walang maiiwan sa bahay alangan naman iwan magisa. minsan2 pabayaan nalang, pero sa loob2 ko parang mga hindi nagkaroon ng anak. Now, kapag may mga baby na nag tantrums ako naeencounter, naiintindihan ko talaga mabuti. hehe

rara_avis

@vhoythoy, update lang kita. Kadadating lang namin last saturday from Sydney. Yung hotel na tinuluyan namin is okay na and comfortable in my opinion if you are not very fussy. Very basic lang ang features, one queen size bed, tv with local channels, a small desk on the side, a small bathroom na ang division lang ng shower and toilet bowl is a curtain. Walang bathtub, ang hirap magpaligo ng bata 😃 Walang REF to put food on kaya everyday kami bumibili sa coles ng fresh milk for my son. If your baby is formula/breastfed this will not be a problem. No microwave din so buti na lang we bought sterilizing tablets to clean baby bottles. Wala ding closet to put your clothes on. Tapos yung ilalim ng bed medyo maalikabok so medyo sablay ng slight sa cleanliness.

BUT yung cons naman is outweighed ng PROS dahil sa convenience ng hotel location. Sobrang lapit sa Kings Cross Station and Coles and madaming pwedeng kainan sa paligid. If we want to go to the CBD, two train stops lang. Yung taxi fare namin inabot ng 45 AUD pero nung pabalik ng SG, nag-shuttle na lang kami, 12 AUD per adult, walang bayad sa bata. Note lang na ang Kings Cross is red-light district sa Sydney and may mga shady personalities sa paligid. A drunk old guy offered my husband to buy pot when he was smoking outside the hotel and madaming adult bars sa paligid ng kings cross station pero relatively safe naman ang area compared sa mga sleazy areas sa manila na parang any moment pwede ka malaslasan ng leeg, LOL!

Yung 500SGD namin kinulang around 1K SGD ang nagastos namin in 6 days aside sa initial gastos. Mahal to eat out in Sydney ha as compared to SG, a meal sa isang cafe na hindi upscale would cost you about 15-20 per meal, di pa kasama drinks. PERO ang laki ng serving nila, ang isang serving nila kasya na sa amin mag-asawa. Hindi sa OA pero malaki talaga ang serving sa Oz kaya pakainin ang dalawang asians.

Ayun, hope this helps!

vhoythoy

<blockquote rel="rara_avis">@vhoythoy, update lang kita. Kadadating lang namin last saturday from Sydney. Yung hotel na tinuluyan namin is okay na and comfortable in my opinion if you are not very fussy. Very basic lang ang features, one queen size bed, tv with local channels, a small desk on the side, a small bathroom na ang division lang ng shower and toilet bowl is a curtain. Walang bathtub, ang hirap magpaligo ng bata 😃 Walang REF to put food on kaya everyday kami bumibili sa coles ng fresh milk for my son. If your baby is formula/breastfed this will not be a problem. No microwave din so buti na lang we bought sterilizing tablets to clean baby bottles. Wala ding closet to put your clothes on. Tapos yung ilalim ng bed medyo maalikabok so medyo sablay ng slight sa cleanliness.

Ayun, hope this helps!</blockquote>

Ah ok. salamat sa info, ano nga name ng hotel nyo? Magkano per day? kami baka mga 4 days lang. 3 kami pupunta hehe

rara_avis

@vhoythoy, see below:

Hotel for 6 days (Ibis Budget Hotel Sydney East, CBD area, 10KM from airport): 753.94 SGD (around 125 SGD per day)

</blockquote>