I was in Sydney and Melbourne in May.
Flew Airasia into GoldCoast, then took Virgin to Sydney and then Jetstar to Melb and back to GC.
Weather was chilly then as it was mid-end autumn, I think. Spent most of my time in Sydney, with a few days in Melb and GC.

Sydney is a more happening place.
Melb would be more Cultural.
GC is basically a resort city.
Brisbane is a short drive from GC and a decent riverside city.

Most places in Sydney are within walking distance in the city centre. Darling Harbour etc.
Best place to stay would be around Chinatown area.

If you planning to stay at YHA, suggest you sign up for Youth Hostelling International card, can get from YMCA, I think. Get the international card and I think you can get discount. Book early esp weekends.

Theres 2 YHA in Sydney, 1 is at the railway station, the other is nearer Chinatown.

I stayed at the railway 1. Very clean and decent. Can cook also in the kitchen.
There's another hostel opposite the Railway 1, can't quite remember the name, nice place also with Big Screens TV in the lobby lounge.

In Sydney, you can also take the discover Sydney tour bus.
It's a hop on hop off bus that takes you to all the main tourist spots in Sydney.
Theres 2 lines, red and blue. 1 is for the city area, while the other bus goes to Bondi etc.
At bondi, there's a walk that can take you from Bondi to the next stop, going around the cliffs next to the sea. Beautiful scenery.

To get a view of the Opera House from the sea, just take a short ferry ride from the ferry terminal to darling harbour. Quite Cheap. Nice view, esp at night, though pics turn out crappy.
Although if you going for the blue mountains tour, most companies include a river cruise back from Olympic Park in the evening, so you can skip that.

Best place for pics would be Darling Harbour Area, esp night scenes.

Try out the seafood market in Sydney. Interesting place.

Cheapest place for food would be Chinatown.
Although during lunch hours, sometimes you can get promotions in some of the hotels/restaurants etc.
Average would be AU$10/pax/meal.

For Coles, you can find it in the city. Some of the things are cheap (their own brand), similar concept to Tesco etc.

This post has been edited by Quasar: Nov 2 2008, 12:15 AM

My Syd-Melb flight was abt AU$70-80.
Jetstar and Virgin flies syd-melb.
Check their site for fares.

I also thought of taking bus/train, but it's actually cheaper to take flight if you can get cheap tickets and it's definitely faster.

Sydney's seafood market is called Sydney Fish Market.
They sell both raw and cooked seafood/meals.
It's within walking distance from the city centre.


This post has been edited by Quasar: Nov 2 2008, 12:17 AM