Sydney is one of the best locations in the world to see whales breaching the water and performing their acrobatic frolics above the waves. This amazing natural phenomenon is something you must see at least once in your life.

If you’re as fascinated as I am by these magnificent creatures, the easiest way to see them is on one of the organized Sydney whale watching tours.

I’ve selected the 5 top-rated tours that I believe are the best in Sydney. Each has its own distinct features, and I’m sure you can find one that is perfect for you.

Be sure to see our reviews of Blue Mountains Tours, Sydney Opera House Tours and Best Hunter Wine Tours.

Best Whale Watching Tours In Sydney

	Sydney: Ocean Whale Watching Experience	Sydney Whale Watching Cruise	Sydney: 3-Hour Whale Watching Tour by Catamaran
Location:	1A Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo NSW	Circular Quay Wharf 6, Sydney	Sydney NSW 2000, Darling Harbour
Start:	3:00 PM	9:30 AM	8:30 AM, 1:00 PM
Duration:	2.5 hours	2.5 hours	3 hours
Includes:	2.5 hour cruise, all-weather indoor lounge, informative commentary, free second try if you don’t see whales	2.5 hour catamaran cruise, onboard commentary, underwater microphones, children’s activity pack, children’s onboard play area, tea and coffee	Whale watching cruise, expert guide, live commentary, complimentary tea and coffee
	More Information & Booking	More Information & Booking	More Information & Booking

Quick Answer: The 5 Best Rated Whale Watching Tours In Sydney For 2024

1. Sydney Whale Watching Cruise
2. Sydney: Taronga Zoo & Whale Watching Cruise
3. Sydney Whale Watching Cruise with Breakfast or Lunch
4. Sydney: 2½-Hour Whale Watching Cruise
5. Port Stephens Small Group Whales & Dunes Combo

Best Sydney Whale Watching Tour Reviews

1. Sydney: Ocean Whale Watching Experience

This is the best cruise to take if you want to guarantee seeing whales in Sydney. If you don’t see any whales on your first trip out, you get a voucher for a second go at no extra cost. This provides a 95% chance of seeing whales during your visit to Sydney.

During your cruise through Sydney Harbor, your experienced guide will provide an informative commentary. You get spectacular views of Sydney’s skyline from the sea and ample opportunities to take great photographs.

The outdoor viewing deck provides great panoramic views. But if the sky turns grey, don’t worry. There’s also a spacious indoor lounge to keep you warm and dry whatever the weather.

And whether you’re indoor or outdoor, when a whale breaches the waves, you’ll be there to see.

Tour Information & Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

2. Sydney Whale Watching Cruise

This is a great whale watching cruise from Sydney if you want to see the main landmarks of Sydney from the ocean and search for whales, too.

Get your camera ready for when you pass the Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Fort Denison, and Shark Island.

From May until November, humpback whales pass Sydney during their annual migration. As you sail out into the Pacific Ocean, watch out for whales and other sea life, such as seals, dolphins, orcas, minke whales, and fairy penguins.

Underwater microphones allow you to listen to the eerie whale songs, while your crew provides an onboard commentary to help you understand what’s going on.

If you’re traveling with kids, the crew will hand them a children’s activity pack to keep them occupied while you observe the wonders of nature surrounding your catamaran.

As they color in those dolphin noses, I’m sure your kids will agree this is the best whale watching in Sydney.

Tour Information & Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

3. Sydney: 3-Hour Whale Watching Tour by Catamaran

This is my favorite tour. If you love Mother Nature, this is the best tour for you to learn about whale migration in Sydney. It’s a great way to see and learn about all the unique wildlife of Australia in one day.

The comfortable, indoor lounge means that you won’t get caught out if it rains, and outdoor viewing decks allow a great 365⁰ view when the whales swim past during whale season in Sydney. If the weather permits the deck wraps around the boat so no matter where the whales are you can see them.

The double decker boat also gives you a better view and allows you to see the whales from farther away. No matter where you are on the the boat you will be able to hear the onboard marine biologist’s commentary.

If you don’t have a great camera or forget it, high quality whale photos are available for you to buy. Don’t worry if you don’t see any whales on your first time out. If you don’t see whales, you get a second cruise at no extra charge.

Tour Information & Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

4. Sydney: 2-hour Express Whale Watching Cruise

You get excellent value for money on this whale watching cruise. With 2 hours out at sea, you have a good chance of seeing lots of whales breach the water.

Each cruise takes only a limited number of people leaving lots of space for you to stretch your legs and get into a good position for some wildlife photography.

Watch out for dolphins, seals, minke whales, orcas, and fairy penguins, as well as the main event—humpback whales.

You’ll hear expert commentary from the experienced guide about the life cycle and habitat of humpback whales, especially when you encounter a pod of whales.

And while you eat your breakfast or lunch cruising through Sydney Harbor, on your way to see the whales, why not take a few snaps of the largest city in Australia.

You get a much better view of Sydney from the sea and can take stunning photographs. If you’re looking for great whale watching Sydney deals, this one is for you.

Tour Information & Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

5. Port Stephens Small Group Whales & Dunes Combo

If you want to combine your whale watching in Sydney with a bit of Australian fun, this is a great tour for you. After being transported from Sydney to Port Stephens, you’ll board a cruise boat and head out into the Pacific Ocean.

Aboard, you can help yourself to coffee and tea or buy a drink from the licensed bar. If you want to go for a dip, you can swim in the boom net attached to the ship.

Your professional guide will provide a full commentary about humpback whales and the fight to stop hunting in these waters. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to spot the whales migrating through these waters from the spacious viewing deck.

The cruise will terminate at the Nelson Bay Marina, where you’ll have the opportunity to explore or grab some food (not included). Nelson Bay is a seaside resort popular with Australians.

From the marina, you’ll board a large 4-wheel-drive vehicle to explore the sand dunes around Stockton Beach. When you find a tall enough dune, you’ll have the opportunity to try your hand at sandboarding.

Tour Information & Booking

100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience

Sydney Travel Guide

Every winter, during the whale watching season in Sydney, thousands of whales migrate from Antarctica to the warmer waters around New South Wales to give birth to their young.

According to the Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA), 33,000 whales made the journey in 2018, and their numbers are growing.

Although Sydney was founded less than 250 years ago and began life as a penal colony, somehow it has grown to become one of the greatest cities in the world.

There are few other major world cities as modern or as multicultural. Its most famous cultural landmarks are less than 100 years old, yet they are recognized worldwide.

How you spend your time in this culturally rich city is entirely up to you. But, because I want you to have fun, I’ve put together this brief travel guide to introduce you to the basic facts and features of Australia’s largest city.

Airports & Entry

In 1770, Captain Cook landed in Botany Bay, and British colonial history began. When you land at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport, you’ll follow in his footsteps because the runways protrude into the same bay on land claimed from the sea.

Although Australia only has a population of 25½ million, Sydney Airport handles 42½ million passengers every year.

It is so busy that the roads around the airport become gridlocked when too many flights land at once, and a second international airport is under construction to better handle this congestion.

Sydney Airport has 3 terminals, and international flights arrive at Terminal 1. At peak times, customs, immigration, and the taxi queue can take more than an hour. The terminal is on 3 levels: arrivals, departures, and offices.

You can find food outlets and stores both airside and landside of immigration and security. Note that for some strange reason, the prices are cheaper upstairs in departures than downstairs in arrivals.

A great place to eat is the food hall in the central area departures, landside, just before security. That’s where you’ll find the best selection of food outlets at the most affordable prices.

When departing, there is a maze of duty-free shops after customs. However, note that you can avoid this labyrinth by taking the shortcut to one side that bypasses the shops.

If you want additional comfort while waiting for a plane, there are 8 luxury lounges you can enter for a fee.

When arriving, you can exchange currency at the airport, but you might want to wait. The airport bureau de change charges higher rates than those found around Sydney.

The easiest and quickest way into Sydney is on the train, which takes 13 minutes. The Airport Link train service offers trains running every 10 minutes.

You can take a taxi from the airport into the city, which would be a 25-minute ride in light traffic, but I wouldn’t recommend this.

During peak times the roads from the airport can become jammed, and you’ll end up stuck in traffic for a long time.

Likewise, there are regular bus services, but they’re slower than the train. There is a good selection of quality rental car services at the airport.

Planning Tips

There are many interesting things to do and see in Sydney, but it’s a big city, so it’s best to carefully plan your visit. Here are 5 tips I hope will help.

Tip #1: Decide what you want to do in Sydney before planning when to go

If you prefer mild weather, September to November is springtime in Sydney. It’s the most comfortable season for sightseeing, and it’s also when the Royal Botanic Garden looks its best.

If you’re a sun worshiper, November to February brings the summer sunshine to Bondi Beach. But if you’re into the cultural scene, March sees the annual Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, which is one of the most popular festivals in the world.

And for 3 weeks around the end of May and beginning of June, you can experience the Vivid Sydney Festival.

This is “an annual festival of light, music, and ideas”, which attracts over 2 million people to its many outdoor events and exhibitions.

Tip #2: Buy unique Aboriginal artwork and gifts

For 65 thousand years before the British came to Australia, the Aborigines roamed the land and developed their own rich culture and traditions.

If you want a truly unique souvenir from your visit to Sydney, look out for where you can buy art or gifts with an Aboriginal look. For example, you can buy fantastic digeridoos and indigenous art from the Spirit Gallery in The Rocks.

Tip #3: Ware the Sydney sun!

The Australian sun is infamous for leaving visitors red in the face. Don’t forget to use a strong sunscreen and drink plenty of water on the beach.

You’ll find drinking fountains throughout the city, so carry a reusable water bottle to help you stay hydrated.

Tip #4: Book in advance

Sydney is a popular tourist destination, so tours and hotels often become fully booked, especially from September to March.

Many reputable tours offer full refunds for timely cancellations so book early to avoid disappointment.

Tip #5: If you smoke, watch out for smoke-free zones

Public smoking is restricted in Australia. Smoking isn’t allowed in bus and train stations or on public transport.

It’s also forbidden in any food outlet and in many public places, like sports grounds, recreation areas, and playgrounds. Sydney is a great place to go if you’re trying to stop smoking!

Restaurants & Eating Out

Food in Sydney is an incredible cultural experience. Before colonization began in 1788, the indigenous Australian population were hunter-gatherers with a cultural history stretching back 65,000 years.

The traditional food they still sometimes eat—now colloquially referred to as bush tucker—is unique to Australia.

Traditional Aboriginal cuisine is dominated by gathered wild plants, such as bush tomato, passion fruit, and saltbush.

Where meat is used, it comes from animals found in the bush, such as lizard, snake, crocodile wallaby, and kangaroo. And because they are nutritional, 2 key components of bush food are caterpillars and grubs.

The Europeans who colonized Australia each added their own dishes to Sydney’s menu, as did the Asians. Today, 43% of Sydney’s population were born overseas and 38% speak English as their second language.

This means the restaurants found around this multicultural city prepare authentic meals that represent dozens of cultures from all around the world.

If you want to try bush tucker, get down to The Royal Botanic Society Sydney. One Saturday afternoon in the middle of each month, Aboriginal guides help you use a traditional coolamon to gather native vegetables, seeds, berries, and fruits from around the gardens.

Then the guides demonstrate Aboriginal food preparation techniques and offer you a taste of bush tucker. You must book in advance, and it costs AU$85 per person.

But if your visit to Sydney doesn’t correspond with one of those dates, Gardener’s Lodge Café in Victoria Park, a vegan restaurant, serves bush-inspired vegan food and offers information about Aboriginal food.

And occasionally Regional Bushfoods Producers set up food stalls around Sydney to make bush tucker available to anybody brave enough to give it a try.

For those who want to skip the grubs and caterpillars and go straight for the meat, there are several restaurants around Sydney where you can sample a Skippy burger, crunch on crocodile spring rolls, or eat an emu pizza.

The budget-friendly option is to grab a Kangaroo burger from Moo Burgers at Manly Beach or Bondi Beach for AU$17.

But if you want more choice, then The Australian Heritage Hotel in The Rocks offers pizzas with emu, crocodile, or kangaroo topping.

The people we think of as “Australian” today—the descendants of British convicts and colonists—have their own food traditions.

Because the Australian colonial economy revolved around sheep and cattle, lamb and beef are the core ingredient of many traditional Australian dishes. And a popular way to serve meat was in a pie.

Traditional Aussie meat pie contains minced beef or lamb in a rich, dark gravy. Its pastry is light and flaky, cooked until golden brown.

A great place to grab your traditional Aussie tucker is Harry’s Café de Wheels, a chain of mobile fast food outlets with branches in the main tourist hotspots specializing in Aussie meat pies and hotdogs. Founded in 1938, Harry’s is a Sydney tradition.

Their signature pie is named after their founder, Harry “Tiger” Edwards. Harry’s Tiger Pie contains chunks of lean beef and is served with mashed potatoes, mushy peas, and dark gravy.

Of course, I can’t talk about food in Sydney without mentioning seafood. Sydney is not only an important seaport, but Sydney Fish Market is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

You’ll find fresh seafood on the menu in many restaurants around the city. If you want an Aussie specialty, why not try traditional fish and chips from Bottom of the Harbor on Balmoral Beach.

But if you’re feeling romantic, then you’ll find 30 varieties of local oyster at The Morrison in the CBD.

And finally, don’t forget that the huge cultural diversity in Sydney means that you can find some of the best ethnic specialty restaurants in the world within this one city.

If you want to eat authentic Chinese, Greek, Vietnamese, Italian, or Filipino cuisine, you’ll find an excellent selection in Sydney.

Note that many restaurants and stores in Sydney close earlier than you may be used to. Many food outlets close around 9:30 pm, and stores as early as 7 pm, especially around the CBD.

Nightlife & Entertainment

Sydney is famous for its nightlife, especially when it comes to celebrating its large and vocal gay and lesbian population. You’ll find drag shows and gay and lesbian nightclubs aplenty around the city.

It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight, you’ll find a warm welcome from the LGBT community in this culturally and ethnically diverse metropolis.

If you want to find bars open until 4 am and wild nightclubs, wander through the area from Darlinghurst to Potts Point. Along Oxford Street in Darlinghurst, you’ll find the highest concentration of pubs and bars in Australia.

This is also the setting for the annual Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, which attracts hundreds of thousands of people to the city every March and is one of the largest street festivals in the world.

If you’re interested in Sydney’s famous LGBT scene, check out ARQ on Flinders Street. This nightclub is where you’ll find the drag queens and gay celebrities.

A well-known live music venue in Darlinghurst is Oxford Arts, where you can listen to international bands, DJs, and indie electronic producers.

But if live music is your thing, you can find a more active scene for live performances in Newtown. King Street in Newtown is famous for the number of Australian bands to emerge from its live music venues.

Lively bars and clubs can also be found around The Rocks, Circular Quay, Kings Cross, and Darling Harbor. In Darling Harbor, you will find The Star, which is Sydney’s only casino, and Home.

Home is a popular nightclub with 8 rooms spread over 3 levels where you can dance to electro, EDM, trance, techno, and spinning house.

Getting Around

Sydney boasts a well-developed public transport system, so it’s easy to get around by train, light rail, bus, or ferry. To use public transport in Sydney, you must use a pre-paid smartcard called an Opal Card.

You can buy and top up an Opal Card from convenience stores, post offices, newsagents, and many other participating outlets.

To use the card, you tap it on the reader when you board and also when you alight from the vehicle.

The easiest way to get around Sydney is on the City Circle. This is a train service that runs in a loop around the most important parts of the city and crosses the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

The local transport company provides a handy Trip Planner that you may use to plot your train journey. A limited Light Rail Network runs from Central Station to Dulwich Hill and is useful if you want to visit Chinatown or the Australian National Maritime Museum.

While not as fast as the trains, the Bus Network reaches everywhere the rail network cannot. Some private bus companies, like Sydney Bus Tours, offer hop-on, hop-off services that circle around the key attractions in the city.

Occasionally, it’s faster to take a ferry from one spot to another. Ferries from Circular Quay to 8 tourist hotspots, such as Luna Park and Taronga Zoo Sydney. Again, the local public transport company provides a handy map.

It’s also possible to walk, take taxis, or hire a car. However, Sydney is a very busy and spread out city, so realistically you’d be better off taking a train.

Accommodations

Because of Sydney’s efficient public transport system, you can stay anywhere you like in the city and still visit all the attractions you want.

However, the different regions of the city do have their own distinctive character which may influence where you decide to stay.

The Central Business District (CBD), The Rocks, and Darling Harbor are the oldest parts of the city as evidenced by the narrow streets originally built when Sydney was a penal colony.

A hotel here would put you within walking distance of many key attractions, and you’re at the heart of the public transport network.

You can find accommodation to suit any budget within the CBD, from the plush Park Hyatt Hotel, with its views of Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbor Bridge, to the basic budget hostel—The Grand Hotel Sydney. However, the CBD is not a great area for bars, cafés, and restaurants.

For visitors who prefer a more active nightlife, look east from the CBD. Darlinghurst and Potts Point are the two best places to stay for late-night bars and nightclubs.

Darlinghurst is also a key site for the annual Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. But if you’re into live music, Newtown is the location of the most live music venues and has a reputation as the cradle for emerging musical talent.

The two best areas for artistic types are Paddington and Surry Hills. These trendy areas host art centers, exhibitions, and boutique restaurants. Paddington is also only a bus ride from the beach.

If you’re in Sydney for the beaches, the two best places to be are Bondi and Manly. Bondi is the most famous beach in Australia, but the beach and surrounding area are very commercialized.

It gets crowded in summer and is not the best place to be unless you’re a dedicated surfer. Manly is less crowded than Bondi and only 15 minutes by fast ferry from the CBD.

If you plan to spend most of your time swimming and sunbathing but also want to visit the central attractions, Manly is the best place to be.

Weather

When planning a visit to Sydney, it’s important to remember that Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere.

This means its seasons follow the opposite order to those of nations in the Northern Hemisphere, like the USA and European countries.

When it’s winter in Wichita, it’s summer in Sydney, and when it’s fall in Fresno, Sydney is enjoying spring.

Because Sydney is on the coast, the ocean moderates the weather, making the city relatively cool in summer and warm in winter.

Sydney enjoys warm summers and mild winters, with an average daily high of 79⁰F and low of 66⁰F in January and a high of 61½⁰F and low of 46½⁰F in July.

The difference in day length between midsummer’s day and midwinter day is 4½ hours, with the longest day in December lasting 14½ hours and the shortest in June lasting 10.

During the summer, the water temperature reaches as high as 75⁰F, and Australians hit the beach.

Fall sees a drop in humidity and temperature, with fresh breezes and the possibility of spotting migrating whales off the coast making this the ideal season for a walk along the coastline.

Winter sees Sydney’s highest rainfall and a water temperature of 65⁰F. Australians still hit the beach, though they’re more likely to wear a wetsuit to surf. Spring sees higher temperatures and humidity, but it isn’t as humid as summer.

Attractions

While Sydney is not the capital city of Australia, it is the largest city in the country and the place where its colonial history began in 1770.

Consequently, here is where you’ll find many major museums, organizations, and government buildings usually found in a nation’s capital.

It is perhaps strange that many people outside of Australia would be unable to even name the capital city—Canberra—but most would easily recognize and name the 2 main landmarks in Sydney.

The 2 most iconic landmarks in Sydney are the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.

Like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Sydney Harbor Bridge has become a symbol of the city, but it is the twin view of the opera house and the bridge together that most visitors crave.

Sydneysiders call the bridge The Coat Hanger because of the shape of its distinctive arch. If you’re feeling brave, it is possible to ascend to the top of the arch and enjoy a 360⁰ panoramic view of Sydney Harbor.

When the Sydney Opera House was first built, its design was controversial. However, now it is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Sydney wouldn’t look the same without it.

It slightly resembles 2, 4-mast sailing boats side-by-side, but most refer to the sails as shells. Its structure is massive, rising to 220 feet at its highest point, and covers an area of 4.4 acres.

But you don’t have to restrict your visit to the outside of this iconic building. Every year, 350 thousand people enjoy a guided tour of the Opera House’s maze of corridors, orchestra pits, green rooms, and dressing rooms.

A great time to admire both Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge is at night during the Vivid Sydney Festival.

During this annual festival, colored lights and patterns are projected onto the Opera House’s shells and the bridge, giving them a more vivid and aesthetically pleasing appearance.

The festival runs for 3 weeks around the end of May and beginning of June.

If you’re interested in colonial history, the Rocks is a great place to explore. Adjacent to the CBD, the Rocks is an area frozen in time, a relic of the earliest days of British colonization.

You’ll find a labyrinth of cobbled streets, alleyways, and period buildings erected when Sydney was a penal colony. Watch out for the original Georgian townhouses, cottages, and warehouses, many serving as museums of 19^th-century life.

For those curious about the LGBT scene, consider checking out the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Holocaust Memorial in Green Park, Darlinghurst.

Green Park is in the heart of Sydney’s LGBT community and close to the Sydney Jewish Museum, making this an especially appropriate location for a monument commemorating those members of the LGBT community who died alongside the Jews, communists, gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other “Untermenschen” during the Second World War.

The memorial takes the shape of a giant pink triangle reminiscent of the cloth patch homosexuals were forced to wear on their uniforms in concentration camps.

If you’ve come to Australia to see some of the unique plant life, you don’t have to go bush. You can find many unique Aussie plants at The Royal Botanic Society Sydney.

Here you can take a relaxing walk past ponds filled with lotus blossoms, see cockatoos squawking in the trees, and admire the Wollemi pine. This lush park is where Sydneysiders bring their families for Sunday picnics.

But for those who want to get out of the city and see more of Australia’s landscape, the Blue Mountains are a great place to visit. Only an hour’s drive from Sydney, the peaks in this rugged wilderness rise to 3,280 feet.

Watch out for wallabies threading through the undergrowth and the eucalyptus trees that blanket the mountains’ slopes, ridges, and valleys.

And while you’re in the mountains, check out the Jenolan Caves. The cave system is so extensive that it is still being mapped.