Sydney Travel Money Guide

Sydney is Australia's most expensive city and one of its most cashless — you'll tap a card or phone for almost everything, from the morning flat white to the ferry. The thing to budget for here isn't cash, it's the prices.

How much cash to bring to Sydney

A rough daily budget for a comfortable mid-range trip:

• Food — A$50–90/day (a casual meal is A$20–35; a coffee around A$5)
• Local transport — A$8–20/day (trains, buses and ferries, capped daily)
• Sights & beaches — A$20–60/day (a harbour cruise, attractions, Bondi)

Paying your way around Sydney

• Tap your own bank card on transport — Sydney's Opal system reads contactless cards and phones directly, so you don't even need to buy an Opal card. Fares cap daily and weekly.
• Ferries are the best-value sightseeing — the Manly ferry is a harbour cruise for the price of a transit fare.
• Cards everywhere — cafés, shops, taxis and bars are all contactless; many places are card-only.
• A little cash for markets — Paddy's Markets and the odd weekend stall still like it.

Neighbourhood cash notes

• CBD & Circular Quay — entirely card; tap on at the ferry wharves and stations.
• Bondi & the beaches — cafés and surf shops take cards; bring a few coins for some beach parking meters (or pay by app).
• The Rocks — the weekend market stalls mostly take cards now, but a little cash doesn't hurt.
• Darling Harbour — restaurants and attractions are card-friendly.

One Sydney habit

• Leave the Opal card behind — just tap the bank card you'd use anyway; the daily cap protects you from overpaying. And ride a ferry at least once: it's the cheapest great view in the city.