Essential City Information
Experiencing Sydney is easy, as well as memorable. Here’s a few of our top tips...
Arriving and departing
Sydney International Airport is the gateway to Australia via all of your favourite airlines, and amazingly, only 8km (5 miles) from the heart of the city.
Incoming passenger cards are required to enter Australia, but airline crews hand them out before landing.
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Visas
Not an Australian or New Zealand citizen? Then a visa will be needed to enter the country. Visit the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs website for up-to-date information about applying for a visa before you get here.
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VACCINES AND QUARANTINE
Specific vaccinations aren’t required to enter Australia, but visitors travelling from a yellow fever-infected country need to present a yellow fever certificate.
We love our beautiful country and our unique ecosystem – it’s what keeps visitors coming back time after time. To protect it, the Australian Government is strict with quarantine. Straightforward checklists are available and worth checking to avoid delays on arrival.
Currency, credit cards and ATMS
Australian currency comes in both notes and coins. We like a bit of colour, and our notes - $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100, are all easily identifiable. The coins are: 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and $1 and $2. Currency exchange services are at the airport, around the city centre and at most banks and Australia Post offices.
Most major credit cards are widely accepted in Australia (note: Diners Club is not often accepted). Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) are easily found throughout the city and will accept most common cards including UnionPay.
In Australia, a Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 10% is included in the purchase price of almost all consumer goods and services. However, there’s tax-free shopping at Sydney International Airport, and a Tourist Refund Scheme.
Climate, seasons and time zones
A city known for its ideal all-year-round weather, Sydney gets sunshine most days of the year. But as with any destination, it’s good to check the local forecasts before departure. A reminder on Australian seasons:
- Summer – December to February
- Autumn – March to May
- Winter – June to August
- Spring – September to November
And we’re neatly situated in the perfect time zone for contact with the rest of the world across the start and end of the Australian working day: Sydney is 10-11 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) (11 hours ahead during Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (AEST) runs from October – April.).
Languages
Our official language is English. But Sydney is truly multicultural, with more than 1.2 million residents who speak a different language at home – in fact, there’s more than 250 languages spoken here. Walking through town, it’s common to hear a multitude of languages spoken in shops and at attractions – including here at BESydney. Give us a call.
