Sydney Travel Guide

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While Obama's In Oz, Travolta Pops Up On Qantas

November 17, 2011 at 2:30 PM | by | Comments (0)

The never-ending saga of Qantas and the rebuilding of a reputation continues and today the process got a boost. While Barack Obama was touring Oz, John Travolta made a surprise appearance on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne. He wasn't a passenger but he was in the business class cabin of the B767.

We know that the Saturday Night Fever star is a world ambassador for the flying kangaroo and actually has a retired Boeing 707 parked in his driveway. We also know that he has been featured as a captain in the in-flight safety announcement. Now, he turns up to present the most frequent flyers with Qantas' top status, Platinum One. Unfortunately, this was a one-off presentation; he was just in town for a 91st birthday bash Qantas decided to throw for the elite status flyers.

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Inside the Qantas Business Lounge at Sydney Airport

May 31, 2011 at 9:35 AM | by | Comments (0)

Last time we were at Sydney Airport, we took you inside the Qantas First Lounge, with its living plant wall, Neil Perry restaurant, and Payot spa. You didn’t think it was the only Qantas lounge at the airport, though, did you? Oh no—the airline seems to love its airport lounges almost as much as we love visiting them. That’s why, when we were passing through recently, we dropped by Qantas’ Business Class Lounge to spend a few hours working, wine-tasting and washing up before our big hop across the Pacific.

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Katy Perry Holds Up Her Flight for Over an Hour in Sydney

May 5, 2011 at 2:27 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you thought commercial airlines were bad, try flying with Katy Perry. The pop singer kept her entourage and band waiting on the tarmac in Sydney for more than an hour yesterday before she finally showed up, still in her pajamas.

The crew was heading to Brisbane via private plane where Katy played a concert for a sold out crowd at the Queensland city's Entertainment Centre, after which she tweeted, "YO BRISBANE! You were HELLA fresh tahnight! See you in a week, trick!" During a gig in Sydney earlier this week, Perry admitted she didn't like one of Australia's most beloved snacks, Vegemite spread. She even revealed that she once threw up after eating it.

Katy's 117-date world tour ends in Dublin in November. You can find date and ticket information at Ticketmaster.com.

[Photo: DailyMail]

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Oprah Took 249 Audience Members on Sydney's Harbour Bridge, Didn't Break It

December 13, 2010 at 9:39 AM | by | Comments (0)

So, do all the stories about Oprah's adventures in Australia make you want to book a trip Down Under yet? We're betting that answer is "nope," but obviously the Aussies are betting that it's "ohh yeahhh" instead. Thanks to Winfrey's galavanting around—from helicoptering out to see the Twelve Apostles in Victoria to hosting her show at Sydney's Opera House, she's really aiming to give those who watch her final season a good look at Australia's greatest sites.

Tour operators are gearing up to offer Oprah-centric packages in January, when the Aussie episodes air. Surely her most recent escapade (and world record) will be included: Oprah took 249 of her audience member trip buddies up onto the walk of the Sydney Harbour Bridge with her, creating a record and some photo ops in unflattering grey jumpsuits. It looks scary and thrilling, but it's kinda like a walk through Times Square—we don't know anyone who's ever been to the city who hasn't done it, whether they wanted to or not.

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From Travolta's Qantas Jet to Private Helicopters, Oprah's Audience is on the Move

December 9, 2010 at 9:06 AM | by | Comments (0)

Oprah has left the building. In fact, Oprah is finally down under in Australia, after announcing to her audience back in September that they'd all get to go the other side of the world to celebrate The Oprah Show's final season. So how are things going? Well, aside from the fact that the Travolta jet was cancelled on account of his child being born, Oprah isn't wasting any time. She's got 300 people with jet lag, and they're out helicoptering around.

According to Australia's International Business Times (who are bothering with Oprah why?), Winfrey and the gang are traveling in style: "nine helicopters have left Essendon Airport this morning to pick up Oprah and her lucky audience from Melbourne to be flown to the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. They will be touring Twelve Apostles which is only accessible by air."

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A New Sydney, Australia Water Park Will Be One of World's Largest

September 17, 2010 at 9:09 AM | by | Comments (0)

Sydney already has plenty of sun and sand, but apparently there’s a need for some fun in the water outside of the area’s famous beaches. As a result, Wet ‘N Wild is spending $80 million to bring slides, tubes, and wave pools to the citizens of New South Wales. This isn’t going to just be some minor attraction either, as they’re promising that this place is going to be one of the top 10 largest water parks in the world.

The park will be located on the western side of the city, and will sit on about 60 acres of land. Builders have signed a 50-year lease for the land, so they’re really committed on this thing being a hit. Let’s just hope that if they build it, they will come.

Unfortunately, things are still a ways off before we’ll be plopping ourselves in the lazy river. The new park probably won’t be ready until the summer of 2013-2014. The place will probably be a hit with the locals, but if we head down under, we’ll probably be skipping the water slides.

[Photo of another down under water park: Jon... In 3D]

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Sydney Harbour's Express BridgeClimb is Made for Travelers with Little Time

Where: 5 Cumberland Street, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2000
July 9, 2010 at 10:44 AM | by | Comments (2)

One of the most sought-after tourist experiences in Sydney, and one that almost every visitor seems to do while in town, is climbing the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge with BridgeClimb. But it’s not just international travelers that come to admire the breathtaking views from the top of the “Coat Hanger’s” arch. Thirty-five percent of the over 2.5 million climbers who've scaled the structure since BridgeClimb began in 1998 have been Australians. Yeah, they seem pretty proud of it.

However, during a recent visit to Sydney, we were hesitant about booking a climb ourselves since the two traditional experiences—the classic Bridge Climb and the engineering fantasist’s Exploration Climb—last a whopping 3.5 hours. That’s a pretty daunting prospect for the small of bladder and the short of time. So imagine our excitement when we learned that the newest climbing experience at BridgeClimb, the Express Climb, takes only two hours.

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Inside the Qantas First Lounge at Sydney Airport

June 21, 2010 at 11:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

As we continue our Airport Lounges Series, we bring you an inside look at Qantas’s much ballyhooed First Class Lounge at the Sydney Airport.

Not only is the luxury oasis a sprawling complex of comfort with two deluxe snack bars, a restaurant helmed by one of Australia’s most famous chefs, and a spa with complimentary treatments designed to ease the stress of long-haul air travel, but the place is also just plain cool to hang out in thanks to its design by Australia’s golden boy designer, Marc Newson, who’s also responsible for the streamlined look of Qantas’ new A380’s.

On our way back from Sydney to Los Angeles last week, we got the chance to go inside the First Lounge and take a look around. Then we made ourselves comfortable, tried out a spa treatment, ordered practically everything on the restaurant menu, tasted all the Australian wines, and played around on the lounge’s free wifi. Yeah, we were a little early. So what? We did it all for you, and we’ve even got a photo gallery to prove it, as well as a video walk-through.

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High-Altitude, High-End Dining on V Australia

March 12, 2010 at 1:50 PM | by | Comments (2)

Let’s be honest, no one looks forward to airline food, but we’re kind of obsessed with it here at Jaunted. No matter how good it is, or how much R & D has gone into making it as palatable as possible, it’s not like eating on the ground. Part of that is because the altitude impairs taste buds, so passengers literally can’t taste much, but the dry, desiccated cabin air certainly can’t be good for the appetite either.

But when flying International Business Class, the highest class of service on V Australia, you can certainly expect some good eats (and drinks!) onboard.

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Take a Dip at This Beach Down Under for the Best Plane Spotting

Where: Kingsford-Smith Airport, Sydney, Australia
January 28, 2010 at 2:40 PM | by | Comments (0)

Headed down under? While it's the thick of winter in our hemisphere, they've got the sun of summer coming down on beaches like the ones at Botany Bay, which happen to be positioned within awesome viewing proximity to the jet action at Sydney's Kingsford-Smith Airport.

Pack your camera, swimsuit and towel and head to the following prime spots to catch A380s landing and taking off, and a whole slew of Qantas planes. After the jump!

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We're Dreaming Of A White (Sand) Christmas Down Under

November 20, 2009 at 2:25 PM | by | Comments (0)

Think a white, sandy Christmas might be better than a white snowy one? All you northern hemisphere people can be guaranteed a very different experience if you decide to celebrate Christmas in Australia, where temperatures can easily reach over the century mark and a swim at the beach is way more likely than a snowball fight.

The nice thing is that it's not even too late, if you decide skipping the drag of family festivities is what you want. There are still plenty of packages available to get you Down Under for a few days around Christmas time, including heaps of lastminute.com travel packages from LAX to Sydney, including airfare and accommodation for a week for around $2,000 for a five-night stay.

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V Australia Can't Wait To Get You Down Under With An Aussie Rock Band

October 23, 2009 at 8:58 AM | by | Comment (1)

The always spunky Richard Branson and his Virgin team are no slouches at putting together clever promotions, and this time his Aussie long-haul airline V Australia has got a smart one going called Jet with JET.

One jet, of course, is the plane that V Australia is going to fly you in from Los Angeles to Sydney. The all-capitals JET is the great Aussie rock band that will be on the plane with you, and then will perform at the Homebake Music Festival once they back to Oz.

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