We took a private 30 minute flight and it was gorgeous! The views can't be beat! The staff was…read morealso kind and helpful. We were picked up from our hotel and returned by a kind driver named Lincoln. Our pilot was also very professional and made us feel safe. Not much else to say--you'll never get views of Sydney like this any other way. So worth every penny.

So happy with Shire Shuttle Bus service. Very professional, reliable, and made me feel at ease with…read moreour transfer from Bondi Beach to Sydney Airport with 2 very large Longboards. They arrived on time with a large bus to accommodate our oversized surfboards. Frank (our driver) was super nice and helpful. Lucy was great in scheduling our reservation. She was prompt, polite and very professional with all communications phone and email. A great ending to our fantastic Australian trip. Highly recommend Shire Shuttle Bus.

If you are looking for the best tour guide in Sydney, you found him. Scott was simply the best…read more He spent time getting to know us and customized our tour for us - the end result was the best tour we have ever done. I will recommend Scott and Your Sydney Guide to all of my friends and family.

When you take first class (and probably business) United from Sydney, you have two options bc NZ…read moreand Singapore Airlines (SQ) both are part of Star Alliance. Do NOT go to the SQ lounge- it is soooo worn down and tiny. It's in desperate need of a face lift but bc it's the first lounge you see, you'll often see people just walk into that one. Sure, SQ lounge in Singapore was amazing but don't expect even an ounce of that luxury here. I'm glad I ventured out and moved over to the Koru lounge bc holy cow it's about 20 times nicer, with better food, drink stations, cleaner, and seating is much much nicer.

Amazing fresh food with a short order chef. Stylish coffee made to order by an excellent barista…read moreand then cocktails after!!! ( try the kiwi fruit martini for a decadent nz twist). Best koru lounge experience.

I bought a Gift card for my nephew in the sum of $5k…read more I asked if they had any brochures on Bali Indonesia which the travel consultant replied they run out. Otherwise its all good

G'day mates! Sydney is such a massive metropolitan city that can be overwhelming when you consider…read moreall that there is to explore. That's where the Sydney Blue Mountain Tour is really your best insider guide to some of the major sights and attractions in the city. The tour takes you around the land down under all the way to the land up over at the spectacular blue mountains. As far as travel logistics, the tour really makes things as smooth and easy as possible. They picked up our party of four at the corner of our hotel. After a couple of other pick-ups we were on our way to Featherdale Wildlife Park was our personal favorite of the tour. Everything about visiting the park is magical including the once-in-a-lifetime experience to get up close and personal in a photo with an adorable koala bear! They even let you pet the koala which is something of a rarity in Sydney due to strict animal handling guidelines. The tour does an excellent job streamlining providing tickets and wristbands to the park so that you can make the most out of the time there. Once you step into the park it is really sensory overload because there are so many free-roaming wallabies, active wombats, and singing birds to greet you. However, the tour strongly advises you make a straight path to the koalas and that really is the right move. Our tour got us to the park early and before the other tours arrived so take advantage of this priority access. The best part of all was the koala photo opportunity was included in the ticket! According to our guide Steve, the park will charge for the koala experience starting next year. Crikey! In any event, you'll get a little over an hour at the park but there is far too much to see including a crocodile, kangaroos, and so much more. I recommend getting the animal feed because it is so worth it and makes interacting with the animals really fun. It costs 2AUD to get a ice cream cone filled with feed to give to the wallabies, kangaroos, and wombats. Our tour passed out small souvenir koalas when we got back on the van! On our way to the next top, we were introduced to the boomerang and it's history in Australia. Eventually we made a quick pit stop for a volunteer in our group to try throwing the boomerangs. After that Steve explained how boomerangs were used by aboriginal tribes and all in all it was a cool demonstration. Steve also offered a variety of intricately crafted aboriginal boomerangs for sale for 25AUD which, compared to the pricey but cheap quality boomerangs on sale at the airport, these were a true value buy. We also made a stop at Lincoln's Rock which features a breathtaking view of of the mountains and tree supporting the Blue Mountains range. You really feel an exhilarating rush of the crisp air when you're at this elevated portion with a cliff's edge overlooking the mountain range. This is a great opportunity for group photos and our guide Steve was certainly up to the task. Prior to lunch we made a stop at Elysian Rock which is off the beaten path and not somewhere a lot of other tours know about - in other words, this was a special stop based on Steve's familiarity with the area. This gave us a nice view of the luscious green valleys. It reminded me of a green Grand Canyon. Lunch was held in the town of Leura. There were plenty of options but I would go to the initial cafe which has a 10% discount if you mention the Sydney Blue Mountain Tour. They feature various delicious pastries including a ricotta pie that was fantastic. Another restaurant option is the Leura Gourmet Cafe & Deli which has good sandwiches. Make sure you give yourself enough time at these vendors because service is slower in this affluent town where people really do know how to enjoy life. We eventually got to the Blue Mountains. For 39AUD you can purchase a wristband which gives you access to the three popular rides at Scenic World. While we ended up purchasing the rides, I have to say that only one of the three were unique and that was the railcar that travels on a 52 degree incline. Honestly, I don't think they are worth it. The biggest issue is the long, long queues to get on the rides especially for the tram that takes you back to the exit. From Scenic World we stopped by get an up-close look at the famous Three Sisters rock formations. They really do look like three womanly shapes perched upon the ledge. I personally enjoyed Steve's explanation of the aboriginal story behind the Three Sisters. On our way back to make our cruise we made a brief stop at Olympic Park to take a quick glance at some of the stadiums built during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Finally, we were dropped off at the dock which harbored the Fantasy River Cruise. The cruise has two drop off points at Circular Quay and Darling Harbour but we got off at Circular Quay to Darling Harbour. Overall the tour is definitely worth it to experience Sydney appropriately. Steve is also a fantastic tour guide. Recommended for sure!

Day trip to the Blue Mountains? Ok! Rather than heading up there on my own, I booked myself a tour…read moreonline through Activity Tours. They met me at Circular Quay and we headed off! I enjoyed the size of this tour... a family of 6 adults, 4 lively ladies from the US, a girl from the UK and myself on the bus for the day with our driver/tour guide, Steve. We stopped for a view of the Three Sisters, visited Scenic World (home of the steepest rail train EVER!), went on a short bush walk, had a yummy lunch break in Leura, visited Featherdale Wildlife Park, took photos at the Olympic stadium back in Sydney and ended with a ferry ride back to Circular Quay. Note: The "river cruise" described on the website is the ferry ride back. Your ticket price is included for the ferry. It's not a private boat, however, which you might think just reading the description. They also had boomerangs for sale on the bus handcrafted by a local. They were more expensive than the $6 ones you get from Paddy's Market, costing about $25, but handmade from a local vs. made overseas for cheap? There's really no competition there. They also advertise a wine tour to through Hunter Valley and chartered Sydney sightseeing tours. It's a small company with only 6 employees (at least as of February, 2014, that's the figure Steve told us!). They give a good tour! Tip: If Steve's your tour guide, ask him to do his kookaburra call for you when he points out a gum tree.

I think this must be a very busy airport with some very high income clientele because they had a…read morelarge selection of very expensive luxury brand stores and kiosk everywhere in the main hall. As for lounges, I'm a bit split. I will say that because of the way there terminals are laid out. I think I can appreciate how their lounges are at centralized. One side of the airport has one set of lounges and the other side has their own. Anyways, my issues with the lounges at least the Qantas business lounge and the Amex Centurion lounge was that both were lacking. Where I'm split is, is that really their fault or the fault with those who run the lounge. On that same note, the lounges are part of the airport so it has to be a part of the rating. This is something that I probably shouldn't take issue with but as someone fairly new to international travel I had been looking forward to for a long time. This was also at Auckland Airport in New Zealand by the way, they do smart passport border control whatever they call it these days. You scan your passport, get scanned by a camera and you move through the gate. Efficient? Very. Disappointing? Well for me yes because I had been looking forward to passport stamps.

It seems to be huge, so prepared to get your steps in for the day. It has fairly decent signage, so…read moreyou can find your way without having to ask folks. Great shopping here if you have money to spare. However I must say that closer to the gates, the food options are not sufficient. Neither are the charging stations or the amount of rest rooms. There is a lot of room for improvement in those areas.

What a great way to get advice and guidance for your travels to Sydney...the friendly folks at this…read moredesk are helpful and knowledgeable about everything from arranging a shuttle to take you from the airport to your hotel, to restaurant ideas and fun activities in the city. Different maps are also available, which definitely come in handy in the very walkable city.

Given that 24% of international travellers arrive in Australia without having booked accommodation…read moreand even more have not pre-arranged transport or are looking for help with attractions, tours and restaurant bookings, Sydney International Airport's latest offering, a free on-site, concierge service. Travel Concierge is a complimentary service staffed by trained concierge to assist travellers with every aspect of their trip from accommodation and transport to wining and dining and special events. The creation of Travel Concierge Sydney Airport provides a landmark for its premium travel services to arriving and departing passengers and visitors alike, enhancing Sydney International Airport's vision to provide excellence in customer service and facilities. The team of 25 professional concierges are on-site during airport operating hours, seven days a week and service a customer base throughout Australia and the world. They provide advice and book all types of accommodation from backpackers to luxury hotels and excel at developing entire travel itineraries. There's also a bank of eight self-help computers on site for those that want to browse the options themselves and an option for those not at the airport to register online at www.gnconcierge.com. They also offer 24 hour support from anywhere in the world with their toll free phone booking service 1300 40 20 60. Products and services offered include accommodation (three, four and five star hotels, budget, backpackers) bookings, flight bookings, shuttle bus tickets, hire car and limousine services, event ticket sales, attraction and tour sales, restaurant bookings, international calling card sales and travel and airport information.