Boat ride across the harbour to the zoo? Bondai (the northern beaches are quieter Manley (you can get a nice long ferry ride there) and Dee Why (sp)). Walk though the botanical gardens, Darling Harbour for more of a bars / restaurants scene. There’s a restaurant (revolving) at the top of a tower that I can’t remember the name of – great views. Day / overnight trip to the Blue Mountains?

Bridge climb is amazing – but don’t know if you can take children. The zoo with all the native species is fun, mainly for discovering just how many things can kill you out there.

Circular Quay, Opera House, Botanic gardens, another shout for the bats, you get very close to them. The Rocks market is pretty good if you are there on a Sunday. Feery from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour to get great view of Bridge from the water. take ferry to Watsons bay and visit The Gap, great views from there back to downtown, and a great Restaurant is Doyle’s on the beach.

Bondi is a litte overrated, but worh seeing, take bus there then walk to Coogee along the cliff walk and bus back from there.

I did enjoy Taronga zoo, but its a zoo….. better exploring other places – train to Katoomba for Blue Mountains, very do-able in a day.
I never tired of the Bridge/Opera house view and the walk along from Circulay Quay.

+1 for Taronga Zoo, we really enjoyed it whilst we were there, spent most of 1 whole day in there.

We also caught the train to the blue mountains, worth the trip if you like a bit of walking or on a budget, the train was about £15/20 quid return for 2.

The bridge climb was also good but only takes up half a day.

It’s six years since I was last in Sydney. It’s an amazing city. I’m extremely jealous. I’d have to go along with what others have said, the bridge is a fantastic experience and one of those iconic landmarks you can say you’ve been on. I’ve checked the photos and there were some kids on our tour. They look older than nine though so worth checking. Booking in advance is also a must. Of all the beaches I’d go with Manley. It’s a bus ride to, what I believe is a, very over rated Bondi. Conversely, you take a ferry to Manley which is worth the trip in itself. Finally I’d go for a day trip to the blue mountains. There are plenty of operators that offer day trips if you don’t want the hassle of finding your way by train.

Finally, one to throw out there. In the past 18 months or so I’ve started trusting the views of trip adviser more and more and going for whatever is top rated at the time. So, at #3 in things to do in Sydney, how about, “Bike Buffs – Sydney Bicycle Tours”?

Another vote here for the bridge climb.
Get the ferry to Manly. No point in paying for a proper tour as you get the same views off the ferry.
Fish and chips at Watson’s Bay
Don’t go down Oxford St. late at night unless you want to open a 9yo’s eyes to the wider world.
See if a game of AFL is on in town. Very family friendly and not expensive.

Crown St and the Surry Hills area is very nice for food and coffee shops.

Ferry trip to Manly across the harbour and the views is just great. Ferry tour is also good. Instead of going on the Bridge walk which is expensive you can go to the bridge museum which is free and then there is a viewing platform up one of the towers that again is free or very very cheap. You get all the great views and history at a fraction of the price.

Bats in the botanic gardens are great.

Bus tour is pretty handy to see the history and learn more about the city in only a few hours. You can easily do this with jet lag and then work out what you want to see more of

Yeah we did this – it was good. We took a local train out too rather than be bundled up in a ‘tour’ for the duration of the day.

I thought Bondai looked like Blackpool with added extra sun.

+1 for Manly over Bondi. Wasn’t the best day to go but Bondi but definitely prefered Manly.

Just reminiscing …. the trip we did to the Blue Mountains included lunch and a visit to a zoo on the outskirts of Sydney where you could make a fuss of a Koala and have your pic taken etc… then it detoured back via the Sydney Olympic site and ended with a 1 hour boat trip back to the harbour going under the Bridge.. was a great day out. well worth it..

Also they do Harley tours of the city , which looked fun but not too sure if suitable for a 9 year old TBH

+1 for the Aquarium too.

Pretty much all the beaches are better than Bondi. Bronte is my favourite and has a nice natural sea pool if you/your grand daughter are not strong swimmers or happy in surf. If that’s the case it’s also worth checking out some of the eastern suburbs harbour beaches which can be lovely. Keep in mind it may well not exactly be beach weather in April as well. The aquarium is good for poor weather days as are some of the galleries and historical sites. Just a wander around The Rocks is a nice insight to Sydney’s early history.

A walk (or taxi ride) up to North Head is a nice thing to add on to any trip to Manly, amazing views across the harbour, down the coast and out to sea.

Good call – North Sydney RSL is better than most and has amazing views back over the harbour – I had my leaving do there (gulp) nearly 12 years ago….