Students on a Budget - Cheap Eats and Dates in Sydney Australia

Need to celebrate your anniversary, but out of cash? No time to earn money due to other commitments? Fear not, money isn’t everything when it comes to romance. In fact, the most romantic things are the simple things in life. You really don’t need to spend money to enjoy your time in Sydney, and if you take the time to look around, you will realise this.

The following is a list of places you should visit with your respective partner (or perhaps, you partner to be!) before you regret it. While this article may only apply to those who reside in Australia, it’s good to know about these options if you are ever traveling here on a vacation.

Now…I used to go to school in the North Shore. Every day I would travel across the Sydney Harbour Bridge by train, with marvelous views of the water and the city every morning and every night. However, as I started to get older, I started to get desensitised by the views. When I looked at the bridge, at Luna Park, Circular Quay - there lacked an emotional feeling that should really be present within me. But luckily… having been buried in books back at uni, and not been over the bridge in a few years, the beauty of the city is starting to invoke a sense of pride, and a sense of honour of being an (Sydney) Australian.

So here are a few places to explore while you are in the city. I’ll be writing up another guide to do with the inner suburbs of Sydney later on. If you have an area which you wish to see in Grad Tips, make sure to leave a comment!

Circular Quay:

Circular Quay is a great location to just soak in non-food/restaurant culture, with a large array of street entertainers along the Quay. I especially like the guy with the large silver bongo-like instruments. However if this isn’t your thing, then you can take a walk down to the Opera House.

Starting from Circular Quay, you can take a quick or long stroll along two paths: a) towards the Opera House / Botanical Gardens, or b) the Rocks on the west side of the Quay. Should you choose to go towards the Opera House at night, visit the Opera bar for a great bar atmosphere. Otherwise, walking down that direction during the day will reward you with a waterside stroll through the Royal Botanic Gardens towards Mrs Macquarie’s Point where many people camp out for Fireworks during NYE.

The Rocks:

The Rocks is the home of many restaurants, bars, eateries and the like. This means that to fully get immersed in this area, you’ll need some money to do so. What many people don’t know however, is that there are night markets every Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm. You can stroll around in the markets and look for various trinkets and doodads. Make sure that you listen to your partner, perhaps you can surprise him/her by buying something cool at the markets that they found cool. And the best part is that you can haggle! Well, in theory anyhow.

Walk across the Harbour Bridge:

Starting from The Rocks, you can work your way towards the Bridge stairs in Cumberland Street (just look out for the signs) just off King George the Fifth Basketball Court. The walk on the Bridge itself is fairly scenic - and even though I traveled across it on the train every day of my life as a kid, I would still take the opportunity to jog or walk across it when the opportunity presented itself. Once across the bridge, you can chill out at Bradfield Park (just underneath the bridge, facing Circular Quay, opposite Luna Park) - If you feel daring, you can even pack a picnic for the day and spend your day eating and watching the city from afar.

China, China, China Town:

A completely different area to go is China Town, which at times can be a bit shifty, but on the whole, it provides plenty of quaint and frugal opportunities. Paddy’s Markets is one place where you can spend hours on end, similar to the Rocks Markets. Above it is Market City, where there are very cheap meals up in the food court. Personally, I like getting Lemon Chicken and Rice. If you fancy something cheaper and more filling, check out Chinatown itself, there are plenty of Chinese bakeries which have rolls and buns for $1 each. Just 3 of these can easily fill you up! I recommend the Shallot Buns or the Glazed Pork Buns, around $1.20 each in the Sussex St Arcade.

Darling Harbour Area:

Just off Chinatown is the ever famous Darling Harbour. While the restaurants and cafes around the area may be a little outside of your frugal price range, you can still soak up the views while strolling around, whether it be morning, afternoon, evening, or night. My favourite cheap meal is just in Harbour Side, at Wok On Inn - Where you can get substantial sized noodle dishes for less than $15!

Finally, Museums, Galleries, Historical Sites:

The Art Galleries, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum, Powerhouse Museum, as well as many other historical sites within The Rocks are either free to enter, or very cheap to get in. I recently checked out the Powerhouse museum with my partner, and we got in using our student discount for $5. Best part was, it was the Sydney Design Festival 07, and we received a card which entitles us to free entry whenever we want as long as we presented the card before the festival ended. Make sure that you visit the websites of your destinations first as well - while it may seem like spontaneity reigns supreme, it is much more organised to be spontaneous and well informed, than to be spontaneous, and to make things up as you go.

So… where will you go for your cheap date out in town? Discuss below!

frugal, budget, love, dating, australia, sydney

Popularity: 16% [?]

Technorati Tags: frugal, budget, love, dating, australia, sydney