Sydney: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Sydney is a city of 5.6 million people in Australia (New South Wales), 58 m (190 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD), 9 km (6 mi) from the centre. Our booking partner lists 2,587+ places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Sydney runs from about 9 h 57 min a day in late June to 14 h 27 min in late December (computed for -33.87° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Sydney is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD), 9 km (6 mi) from the centre, whose 12,999-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft.
Flights to Sydney: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Sydney · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 2,587+ places to stay in Sydney (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 734 with a star rating, the largest group is 4-star (494), and 110 are five-star. Across 536 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.3 out of 10. Guests have left 1,116,156 reviews in total.
Hotels in Sydney: the full picture, and book
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Art Gallery of New South Wales | 428,748 | 2021 |
The busiest is Art Gallery of New South Wales at 428,748 visitors in 2021. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Sydney
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Newcastle, 117 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Canberra, 247 km — flights · buses · car rental · tours
- Central Coast, 51 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Wollongong, 68 km — buses · car rental · tours
Twin towns and sister cities: San Francisco, Hakkâri, Nagoya, Wellington City, Guangzhou, Florence, Portsmouth, Milan, Islamabad, Dili, New Delhi, Manila, Mexico City, Seoul.
Common questions
Which airport serves Sydney?
Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD), 9 km (6 mi) from the centre.
How big is Sydney?
About 5.6 million people live in Sydney, across 12,145 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Sydney in?
Australia/Sydney, currently UTC+10.
What currency is used in Sydney?
The Dollar (AUD). Traffic drives on the left.
How many hotels are there in Sydney?
Our booking partner lists 2,587 or more places to stay in Sydney, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Sydney?
Newcastle (117 km), Canberra (247 km), Central Coast (51 km), Wollongong (68 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.