Sydney’s Culinary Delights: 8-Day Vacation to Sydney

Our three-week trip had us visiting the east coast and southern areas of Australia, and went off without a hitch. Our excursions were with experienced guides and small groups. We took in stunning views, native wildlife, tasty food, and iconic areas.

The hotels were top-notch, all with (fantastic) breakfasts included and well situated for easy walking to local sites. Transportation transfers were ready and waiting when we arrived at all our destinations, with prompt delivery back to the airport(s).

We met so many friendly people along the way, too—native Australians, along with other tourists from near and far, all willing to share their knowledge and friendship. It was a truly wonderful trip from start to finish. We could have easily stayed another week or two!

Zicasso’s tour operator and our travel agent did an awesome job with this trip of alifetime! Highly recommended and we hope to use their services in the future.

Our trip to Australia was incredible! Zicasso's tour operator put together a very thoughtful, well-paced itinerary. Our transportation always met us on time and with a good attitude. We enjoyed the diversity of experiences curated for our stay.

They took our bucket-list items and created an itinerary that allowed us to see almost every one! We were grateful to have a tour of the Historic Rocks in Sydney, a boat cruise harbor tour, watch "Carmen" at the Sydney Opera House, take a sunset camelback ride in the desert to see Ayers Rock, snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, and get a private tour of a wildlife habitat (this was so special because we got to interact with some of the animals and learn from their keepers directly).

The only occasion on which I wish we'd had more time to spend was at Kuranda Village! There was so much to do and see, but we had an Army Duck tour and Aboriginal experience booked, which I really enjoyed because we got to ride through the jungle and enjoy performances from the Pamagirri community. Taking the Skyrail up and the train down was also a sight to see.

We enjoyed the intimate nature of tours, allowing us to ask questions about history, architecture, and daily life, and engage with our tour guides in a meaningful way. Highly prefer this style of private/small tours to the bigger bus tours. Our accommodations were impressive--from the luxurious hotel on George Street in Sydney to the desert resort in Uluru to the lodge on Captain Cook Highway in Port Douglas! We got to experience a range of climates. There was never a dull moment.

Even though the itinerary seemed jam-packed, we had just the right amount of time to rest and reset between activities and travel. Having such a detailed and professionally done itinerary gave us real peace of mind. The coordination of hospitality was also impeccable. Our hotels always communicated seamlessly with our pre-arranged transportation and tours. The trip was fun and totally stress-free! We were constantly delighted and charmed by this country and its people.

I really thought the Zicasso travel partner was fabulous and so thorough and easy to use. I would rate it the best travel app. It had my itinerary down to the minute detail, info on how to contact various people if there were any questions, and was so easy to navigate.  I would rate my trip to Australia my favorite so far. I recently went to Japan through a different travel agent and was able to compare the difference. Our travel team was so much better! 

My husband and I went to Australia to drop off my daughter, who was doing an exchange study in Sydney. We started in Melbourne and had a full-day tour to Phillip Island, with a moonlit animal sanctuary and penguins. I would recommend the penguins. I saw thousands of penguins. What an experience! I did not like the sanctuary part. Tickets were sold out for the koala petting and there were not very many animals to see. I have heard there are other sanctuaries/zoos in other parts of Australia that are much better.  

The Melbourne food tour was fantastic! Our tour guide did a wonderful job of explaining Melbourne's history with the food. We flew to Cairns, to Port Douglas, and had two excursions: a boat ride with snorkeling in the Great Reef Barrier and a Daintree safari.  The full-day cruise with snorkeling was wonderful, with so much food! The Daintree tour was a bit long and could have been condensed into half the time. I probably would not recommend that tour. 

Finally, we went to Sydney to drop off my daughter. We did the bridge walk, which was fantastic. Each person was so well protected and the safety checks were top-notch! 

Our trip went without any problems and our drivers were well-coordinated and on schedule. I would use this company for future trips to Australia. I plan to visit New Zealand and would use them again.

Thanks to the amazing, perfectly planned Australia and New Zealand vacation itinerary provided by Zicasso's travel agency, and specifically the travel agent and her wonderful colleagues, this was the perfect vacation. We were well taken care of and flights were planned within the countries, with someone always greeting us at the next stop to move us through to our next adventure.  

We were always busy and saw the most wonderful things... a sunset dinner cruise on Sydney harbor, the march of the penguins at Phillip Island (she arranged for us to have a front-row seat!), snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, and touring the rainforest with an Aboriginal guide was very interesting! She arranged for many tours and activities, like a jet boat ride up the Dart River, a helicopter ride onto a glacier, and a TranzAlpine train ride in New Zealand. We also had a first-time-ever encounter with a pod of orca while on a boat tour in New Zealand. The whole trip was an unforgettable experience!

We wished we had taken the travel agent's advice and stayed longer. There was so much to see. We packed a lot into our four short weeks thanks to them. We highly recommend using them to plan your Australia and New Zealand itinerary.

Zicasso’s travel agent absolutely knocked this vacation itinerary out of the park for our family! We appreciate SO MUCH how the travel agent listened to our wants and interests, and then prioritized these things to create a fantastic trip for us!

New Year’s on the Sydney Harbour water was brilliant and each hotel we stayed at was 100% perfect. Transportation was top-notch and the personalized tours were incredible.

We will definitely utilize this travel company when we visit New Zealand and we will recommend them to all of our friends!!! It was an AMAZING EXPERIENCE!

Zicasso’s trip planner did an excellent job. Communication and the quality of the experiences were everything we'd expected and more, especially in New Zealand. The accommodations were first rate; the highlight was the lodge in Queenstown. The guides and drivers were professional and knowledgeable, especially those in Queenstown and Auckland. We loved the dedicated website for reference, as well as the detailed booklet and maps for both countries. 

For future itineraries, I would add another day in Queenstown and a full day in Christchurch. If days were limited, I would recommend one less day in Auckland and/or skipping the drive/train from Franz Josef. 

The only complication was the day we spent 10 hours going to and coming from Milford Sound.  I recommend doing Milford Sound by plane/helicopter from Queenstown, which would also permit seeing the glaciers/southern alps from the air. The only things we missed were the zoo in Auckland and the Blue Mountain day tour in Sydney. Next trip!