Get yourself onto a ferry! But not just any ferry. The Manly Ferry. It happens to give you one of the best views of the entire Sydney skyline. With this ferry ride, you get an unobstructed view of the opera house from three different angles. Plus, you won’t have to deal with all of the (other) tourists, or worry about getting whacked in the head with a selfie stick. On top of all these perks, you get to end up at Manly Beach, one of Sydney’s most popular beaches.

Ferries run every 30 minutes from the Circular Quay. It costs $7.60 for a one way ticket, which you can buy at the booth. Another option is to use your Opal card but in this case, you only need to tap on. If you tap off, I would assume that it would charge you again! The ride lasts about 40 minutes but with the views you get, it definitely doesn’t feel like 40 minutes. You’ll have plenty of time to take pictures and share it on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook (they have free WiFi on board)!

You can also take the ferry at night (but check the schedule first – not sure what time it stops running). Not that I had time to do it, but next time I’m in Sydney, I will definitely put that at the top of my to-do list. I saw photos from someone’s yelp review and the Sydney skyline at night looked amazing. So make a whole day out of it! Take the ferry there, relax at the beach, have dinner somewhere in Manly, grab a drink or two, then take the ferry back. That way you can get a day view and a night view of the city.