10 Best Budget Friendly Things to do in Sydney, Australia

1.  Stay in a Hostel
If you're flying from the United States, a round trip ticket is going to set you back quite a bit.  One way to offset the cost is to stay in a hostel.  Hostels aren't for everybody obviously, but they are a great option for traveling on a budget.  Hostels can be found for less than 40$ a night, making a week long stay more than feasible.

2. Bondi Beach Coastal Walk
Bondi Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world and for good reason.  Take this walk up many steps and cliffs for some great views, and enjoy the beautiful beach while you're here.

3. Check out Beautiful Sydney Harbour
This picturesque setting is home to the Sydney Opera House and views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  If you like architecture the bridge and the Opera House should keep you interested.  Enjoy watching the many boats and ferries moving around the harbour.  There might not be a better place in the world to enjoy a quick bite to eat.

4. Royal Botanic Gardens
This free garden is within walking distance to the Opera House.  The flowers here are breathtaking in the right season, and you can get some amazing views and pictures of the Opera House and bridge from here.

5. Manly Ferry
The Ferry to Manly is one of the best deals going in the harbour.  The 12$ round trip ticket gets you great views of the harbour and the ocean and takes you out the the beautiful northern beach area of Sydney.
6. Darling Harbour
This harbour contains many tourist attractions and shopping spots.  While shopping could set you back, this harbour is a people watching paradise.
7.  Grab a Bite From Playfair Cafe
This nice sandwich shop in The Rocks is a cheap place to get great food. Its also located in one of the bnest Sydney neighborhoods, The Rocks.
8. Have a Drink in The Rocks 
One of the best neighborhoods in Sydney, The Rocks is an amazing place to eat, drink, be merry, and make tons of new friends.  If you like having a night on the town, there is no better place then The Rocks.
9. Find a Group and Try the Mission Room Escape
This is a much higher priced activity then most of my recommendations, but 9 people can get in at a little over 30$ each.  This great activity has you solving a mystery and riddles to escape the room in a set amount of time. There might not be a more exciting thing to do in Sydney.
10. Visit St. Mary's Cathedral
This beautiful cathedral is a great example of gothic architecture, and has some beautiful stained glass windows that will wow any visitor.

Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and any traveler will be amazed by all its beauty.  Don't be scared of the flight price, because there are many cheap places to stay, cheap food to eat, and cheap sights to see.  Any trip to Sydney will be a memorable one.

How Airports and Airlines Take Your Spending Money and How to Stop It.

So, Airport travel sucks.  You have to stand in line and check in.  You have to stand in line to go through security.  You have to stand in line to get on the plane.  You even have to stand in line to get off the plane.  Then, if you checked luggage, you get to stand around and wait for your bags to come out.  If you rented a car, and it's busy, guess what, now you're standing in line at rental car company.  Talk about frustrating.

That's not fun stuff, and it is no surprise that people hate flying.  If you're on a travel budget, airports and airlines can make it hard to budget correctly.  Even if you do budget for all the extra airport costs, that money could have been better spent actually enjoying your vacation.  Here are some tips to help you avoid spending extra money at the airport that you should be spending on your vacation.

Avoid Checked Bag Fees if you Can:

There are very few airlines that don't charge for checking luggage.  Allegiant even charges for a carry on bag.  Southwest Airlines and Virgin America don't charge for your first check bagged, and Southwest actually doesn't charge for the first two. If flying with checked baggage, use these airlines to avoid those fees.  If you're on an airline that does charge for a checked bag, try to avoid it.  A carry on bag plus a personal item carry a lot of stuff.  One can easily get 7 days worth of outifts into a carry on and one drawstring bag.  It is much cheaper to do some laundry at a destination, then paying for a bag.  Not spending 50$ on checked bags means you could eat at a pretty nice restaurant.  There are tons of things you can do for 50$.  So save that money next time and don't check a bag!

Airport Food is Expensive:

Flying is stressful, takes a long time, and one is going to be pretty hungry after hours of flying.  Airport businesses know this, and if you have a long layover, its nearly impossible not to eat.  Not to mention if you're thirsty and need some water, which can set you back three plus dollars a bottle.  There are ways to avoid this.  I recomend food that will fill you up.  My two favorite things to take with are beef jerkey and nuts.  Both are high in protein and will keep you fuller longer.  They also aren't as bad for you as most food you'd decide to get at the airport.  Water is trickier because you can't take liquids through security over three ounces.  However, it is possibe to take an empty nalgene bottle with you.  Once you're through security,  you can fill it up.  Lots of airports are even installing water bottle filling stations. Now you didn't spend  twenty dollars for your airline meal, and you saved another five dollars on drinks.  That adds up to anther fifty dollars to add to your vacation budget. All you did was bring some food with you and an empty water bottle.

Find a Ride:
One of the worst feelings I get when leaving the airport after getting back is paying for parking.  A week long vacation leads to at least a fifty dollar parking bill when I get back.  So, take the bus, find a friend, or even take a cab, they're all cheaper options then paying for parking.  Wow, another fifty dollars added to the vacation budget.  If you can manage to fly and listen to these tips, you could get at least one hundred dollars more to add to your vaction.  That's a good amount of money that is better spent enjoying your vacation.  Don't waste it at the airport.

Cultural Centers of Cities

As a budget traveller, one of my main goals is to experience the true essence of a city without spending a lot of time and money trying to find it.  Some U.S. cities have places that draw tourists and residents alike, and when picking a place to visit, these are the cities I most like to go.

 Cities like LA, Chicago, and New York have numerous bouroughs and neighborhoods that should be explored to get the true feeling of a city.  It would be really hard to expereince the culture and wonder that each of these cities brings on a budget.  You need to travel to different sections of the city, and it can end up costing a lot to expereince all of these things.

I'm going to give you a group of cities that I think have an epicenter of culture and action that make them easy for a budget traveler to manage.  These are the types of cities that I try to visit and expereince the most.  I feel that I get the most out of visiting these types of cities and get the most out of my money when visiting them.

Las Vegas is a city that caters to the tourist, it also has two main places to visit: The Strip and Fremont Street.  If you visit both of these places, you can get everything and anything you want out of the city.  You also don't need to travel much to get around them.  The strip is full of mega casinos and glam, while Fremont Street feels like old Vegas.  Going to both will give you a great view of what Las Vegas is.

Seattle is home to Pike Place Market.  I would describe it as bascially a permanent Farmer's Market.  The numerous stores and shops are full of a variety of products and surprises.  The Market is also close to the waterfront, where many restaurants and other shops also reside.  It is easy to stay nearby and be filled with days of things to do.

San Diego is one the most beautfiul U.S. cities. Its coastline and beaches are gorgeous and go on for miles.  San Diego can best be experienced in Balboa Park and La Jolla.  Balboa park is home to museums, botanical gardens, and the famous San Diego Zoo.  A tourist could easily spend two days exploring this park and everything it has to offer.  La Jolla is where the beaches are the most scenic in the city.  Surronded by cliffs and caves, the beach here is amazing.  The surronding area is full of great restaurants and food.

San Antonio's heart is the Missions including the Alamo and the Riverwalk.  The Alamo being right next to the Riverwalk really allows one to use this as base of operations easily.  A boat tour of the Riverwalk is a great way to visit the heart of town, and the Missions are a sight to see on their own.  The city has a lot of history and its very easy to experience it.

Sydney, Australia is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  It is also very easy to experince this beauty at Sydney Harbour.  There the beautiful Opera House lies.  There is great views of the Sydney Harbour bridge, and the Royal Botanical Gardens are also found here.  Take a boat tour, see the Opera House, and for the most daring, walk on top of the bridge.  The Sydney Harbour gives a person a great view into the city of Sydney and one could spend days there.

Cities with cultural centers make it easy for the budget traveller to stay and plan.  They give you a place to plan your travels around, and make your travels more fulfilling.

Olallie Mountain Trail

It has been a long time between blog posts and I'm sorry. We moved to Florence, Oregon, and I've also been adjusting to my new life as a full time dad. My laptop has also seen better days, the keyboard is done, so I'm writing this from a tablet.  I was back home in Iowa for the past week, and once I got back to Oregon, I knew I had to take a hike. I felt guilty about not keeping up with my hikes, and decided to try a longer and harder one then the ones I have done.

I chose the Olallie Mountain trail because it was close to Eugene. It is a moderate to difficult trail in the Three Sisters Wilderness.  This was actually the first hike I've done that required a wilderness permit.  Its a little form you fill out showing your plans and intentions for the hike. It gives the Forest Service an idea of how many people are out there and if people haven't returned.  Yep, it was a serious hike this time. The Olallie Trail crosses numerous streams that I had to walk across and at times the path is barely visible because portions of it go through thick bear grass.
   
This leads me to explain my emotions of this hike and what it was like.  The hike itself for me was full of fear and self doubt.  I am scared of heights, walking a narrow path on the edge of a mountain is terrifying for me.  The path was also surrounded by flowers which meant lots of bees. Bees also scare me.  I might have been a bit out of shape too. My pack was weighing me down, hurting my back, and my legs were burning.  There were numerous times during the hike when I could have given up. I didn't like the bees flying around me, I didn't like thinking that slipping could lead to a huge fall. I also didn't know if my legs and body could take me the whole way.  This self doubt is something that I experience all the time in my regular life. I'm sure everyone here has experienced self doubt.  This hike was a great way for me to face this self doubt.  I kept telling myself to go on and not quit. I didn't like the bees and I didn't like the edges.  My muscles were screaming for me to stop. I didn't give up, and the views I got were worth it.

Never doubt yourself and never give up, you will be very happy when you finally reach your destination.