Sydney Australia Itinerary on a Budget

Hi friends! Australia has always been one of my bucket list destinations and I am currently spending a month in the land down under. My first week here was spent in Sydney, so I thought I would write about some of the best things I did while there. The majority of the activities on this itinerary are free, so if you are interested in traveling on a budget, this will be perfect for you.

Accommodation

I stayed in two different hostels while in Sydney. The majority of times, with a hostel, you are getting what you pay for, which is cheap accommodation.

The first hostel I stayed in was Mad Monkey Potts Point. There were a few things I liked about this hostel: the location, a free gym membership during your stay, and free dinner every night. However, I would not recommend this hostel and I feel like you can probably find a better one in this area.

The second hostel I stayed in was Mad Monkey Coogee Beach. I really enjoyed my stay at this hostel. I thought it was so cute and it is literally steps away from the beach. It is also next to a ton of restaurants and shops.

Day 1

When I first arrived in Sydney, my sister and I decided to go for a walk and ended up at the Royal Botanic Garden. There is so much to see at the botanic garden, and you could quite literally spend hours walking through the different pathways.

Right next to the botanic garden is the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The art gallery is multiple stories and has a ton of beautiful art work. Best of all, admission is free.

After the art gallery, we walked to St. Mary’s Cathedral. There is a ton of interesting history revolved around this cathedral; if you want to learn more, you can click here.

My sister and I were starving from all the walking, so we ended up getting food at Thai Power. If you are ever in Potts Point, this restaurant is a must. Super tasty food and great prices for the portion sizes.

Day 2

On our second day in Sydney, we took the train over to Newtown and checked out the area. There are a ton of cute shops and restaurants here. We stopped for some lunch and coffee at Soul Brew cafe. This place was delicious. If you go, I highly recommend getting the breaky roll or pork belly baguette.

After lunch, we made our way over to the White Rabbit Gallery. The gallery had some really unique pieces of artwork and I really enjoyed it.

The last stop of the day was Darling Harbor. This area of Sydney is super cute. You can also walk over the bridge, which offers some great views.

Day 3

On day three, we walked over to the iconic Sydney Opera House. I don’t think I need to say anymore, as this is usually on everyone’s bucket list when visiting Sydney.

Unfortunately, we were hit by some bad weather, but we made the most of it and spent the rest of the day at museums. The first museum we went to was the Museum of Contemporary Art. This museum is very close to the opera house and has some amazing pieces of art.

After the MCA, we went to The Rocks Discovery Museum. Although this museum was pretty small, it had some incredible artifacts. It’s a great place to go if you want to learn more about the history of Australia.

Day 4

We started off day four with some coffee and breakfast from Colliers Sandwich Cafe. I highly recommend stopping here for breakfast or lunch, everything was delicious!

After breakfast, we made our way over to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This is another iconic bucket list item if you are in Sydney. The walk across the bridge offers some great views of the city. I recommend going early so you can beat the crowds.

Once we were on the other side over the harbour, we walked over to Wendy’s Secret Garden. This spot was recommended to Kiley and I by multiple people, and it did not disappoint. The garden offers gorgeous views, several different walking paths, and some spectacular bird watching.

We finished off the day at the Australian Museum. This was by far my favorite museum we went to in Sydney! The museum is huge and offers so many unique exhibits.

Day 5

Day five is when we moved over to the Coogee Beach hostel. After checking in, we grabbed some lunch and walked down Coogee Bay Road. This road has a ton of great restaurants and shopping. It also leads right down to the beach, which is where we headed next.

You can enjoy a variety of activities at Coogee Beach. This is also a great beach if you like beach combing. I found a ton of sea glass here. On the right side of the beach is the surf lifesaving club and an ocean pool, and to the left you can find a really cool spot called Giles Bath.

Giles bath is a perfectly sheltered swimming hole that is a great spot to take a dip in on a hot day. You will know you are in the right spot because there is a giant sign that says Baths!

Day 6

Whenever we told people we were going to Coogee, nearly everyone said to do the Coogee to Bondi Walk. Let me tell you, this walk (which is really more of a hike) did not disappoint! You’ll pass by several beautiful beaches, and the pathway is very easy to follow. I would highly recommend doing this walk in the morning since there isn’t a whole lot of shade.

Once we made it to Bondi, we had to stop and take a dip at the iconic Bondi Icebergs. There is a A$9 entry fee that will give you access to the two large swimming pools, a cafe, sauna, gym, and more!

You’ll pass by many beaches during the Coogee to Bondi walk, but the best one, in my opinion, is Gordon’s Bay. During the walk back, I couldn’t resist hoping in for a swim. The water here is gorgeous, and the spot reminded me a lot of Europe.

Day 7

We started off our last day by doing the Coogee to Marouba walk. This walk follows the coast south of Coogee, whereas the walk to Bondi is north. There aren’t a ton of beaches to stop at during this walk because most of the coastline is very rocky, however, the views are incredible.

If you need to satisfy your sweet tooth while in Coogee, the best place to do it is Kurtosh! The pastries here were the best dessert I had while in Sydney. I also recommend ordering their delicious hot chocolate.

I hope you enjoyed this Sydney itinerary and thank you for reading!

P.S. if you would like to check out some of my Bondi to Coogee walk pictures, you can click here 🙂