Sydney is organised around a harbour, and the single best planning decision here is to treat the ferry network as transport rather than as an excursion. It is cheap, frequent, and it turns the commute between two parts of your day into the thing you remember.
Four days covers the harbour, the beaches and a day out of the city — the Blue Mountains being the obvious one. Five lets you slow down, which this city rewards.
Sydney is larger than it feels from the centre. The beaches people picture are a real journey from the harbour, and an itinerary that treats them as adjacent will lose an afternoon to transport.
The harbour is the organising feature, with the ocean beaches on a separate axis to the east and north.
Seasons are inverted: December is high summer and July is winter. Sydney's winter is mild rather than cold, which widens the useful window considerably.
Autumn, and the best conditions of the year
Warm days, low humidity, the sea still warm from summer, and the holiday crowds gone. The single best window for this city.
Spring, warming up and quiet
Comfortable and green, with the beaches reopening in earnest towards November. Good value before the summer peak.
Winter, which is mild and often clear
Cool rather than cold, frequently sunny, and much cheaper. Too cold for comfortable swimming for most people, but the walks and the city work perfectly well. Whale migration passes the coast during these months.
Peak summer: hot, humid, crowded and expensive
The beaches at their best and everything else at its most expensive. January is the domestic holiday month. Humidity and occasional heatwaves make the non-beach parts of a trip harder work.
A four-day trip needs Premium; the free version covers one destination for up to three days, with real places from open data either way.
