Sydney travel info

At half seven in the morning, green-and-yellow ferries nose into Circular Quay one after another. Office workers file off holding coffee cups, while on the steps beside them tourists jostle to photograph the Opera House roof. The water flashes under the Harbour Bridge, and the gulls keep an eye out for anyone opening a box of fish and chips. In Sydney, the morning commute looks like someone else's postcard.

Bondi Beach is half an hour from the city by bus, Manly half an hour by ferry, and plenty of people head into the surf on their lunch break. The sun here is fierce: the summer UV index hits 11 or 12, and half a day out without sunscreen will have you glowing by dinner. In the water, the local rule is simple: swim between the red and yellow flags.

The day starts at a cafe. A flat white with a thin layer of silky foam, smashed avocado on sourdough, a meat pie the size of your palm. Being south of the equator, the seasons run backwards for northern visitors, so Christmas happens on the beach and July means winter coats.

Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD)