Sydney is well known for its spectacular New Year fireworks show. If you think they look impressive on the television, just imagine how stunning they are in real life! Remember, December is the middle of summer in Australia, so you wouldn’t be rugged up in your winter woollies. Summer can be hot in Sydney, but that means the air is still balmy even at midnight. So instead of being surrounded by eskimos, you’ll be in a crowd of girls in light summer dresses and strappy sandals, and guys in open-neck shirts and pants – probably clutching a bottle of champagne!
However if you’re planning to holiday in Sydney over New Year, you need to plan well in advance! The best place to stay in Sydney is in the city or on the North shore (near the Harbour Bridge), where you can get the best view of the fireworks – but they double or even triple their room rates over New Year. In spite of the cost, they’re often booked out a year in advance. If you’ve left it late, be cautious about accepting a suburban hotel. Sydney is very spread out. Sydney’s main Harbor, where the fireworks display is centered, is very close to the coast. Most Australians still live in houses on big blocks of land, so the city is bigger than you’d expect. Sydney stretches all the way to the Blue Mountains. If you book a hotel out in the Western suburbs or on the Northern beaches, the commute to the CBD could be well over an hour – and getting back to the hotel after midnight would be difficult. Although special buses run after midnight on New Year, there is huge demand for the service and you may have a long, long wait.
If you’re left with no option but a suburban hotel, there is a 9pm show (mainly for families) – for me, it’s not quite the same as actually seeing in the New Year at midnight, but the fireworks are just as spectacular.
If you’d like to see the midnight fireworks and can’t get a CBD hotel, look for accommodation in King’s Cross, Potts Point, Rushcutters Bay or Woollomoolloo. These suburbs are close to the harbor, and there are some good places to view the fireworks.
The other good option is the Eastern Suburbs. You can see the fireworks from the cliffs near Bondi (Dover Heights) or from various places all the way along the Eastern Harbour foreshore between Watson’s Bay and Rose Bay. You’ll need a car to get to the viewing points – it’s true you can get there by public transport, but services after midnight are limited so you may not be able to get home! If you drive, take a picnic and make an evening of it, because you’ll need to arrive early to get parking.
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