It’s New Year’s Eve and there are MANY people already taking claim over viewing spots at 9:30am. I stayed at the Pier One Hotel and the only way to get there is to take the train to Circular Quay station and then walk for 10-15 minutes.
During the 9:30am walk to the hotel, spots were already beginning to fill up. No photos were taken here because I was carrying luggage.
Pro Tip: If you’re going to Sydney and want to view the NYE fireworks, either get there early or pick a spot FAR from any station. It was very crowded by the train stations. If you walk along the harbor west of Circular Quay, you can find a less crowded area that still provides restrooms and food vendors.
The area by the Pier One Hotel didn’t start getting too crowded until 7pm so you don’t have to try and spend the whole day there. The pictures above were taken at 9:30am.
Be prepared to be locked inside the harbor area if you go early. They do this to prevent overcrowding. Absolutely no in/outs. Even though the gates are locked, you can still go around to access the same locations. It’s just a big inconvenience. The guys at the gate there were arguing to get through but the police wouldn’t let them pass. I’m going to side with the police on this one in order to control the traffic. By them making me go around, I didn’t have to push and maneuver my way through a dense crowd for 1.5km. The walk was pretty nice since they closed the streets off for pedestrians. Most streets by the harbor WILL be closed on NYE, be prepared!
Luckily, I was staying at a hotel the provided me tickets to their NYE viewing party. It included an open bar and a ton of free food. I would have taken more pictures but my hands were full with the two previously mentioned items. The buffet effect when there’s free food/drinks. I just start shoveling it into my stomach and mentally prepare myself to be sick the next day.
Sydney provides two fireworks shows for NYE. The first show is at 9pm (mostly for families) and a bigger show at midnight. Be prepared for an amazing show.
Lol I was on the tenth floor of the tall building photo called “7pm Sydney”. Fireworks were amazing this year
Great spot!