Auckland NZ and Sydney AUS hotels and sights

I haven't been to Australia. In Auckland, we stayed 3 nights at the Travelodge Hotel Auckland Wynyard. Very clean, helpful staff, great location and a large room. It is right in the midst of the downtown sights and by the dock for the ferries. Comparatively speaking, the rate was excellent.

Jules m,
thank you, this looks like a good Auckland option

The Mondumo tour I took in New Zealand stayed at this hotel. It was very nice and well-located.

QT Auckland Viaduct Harbour
4 Viaduct Harbour Avenue, Auckland
(entrances on Viaduct Harbour and on Customs Street West)
https://www.qthotels.com/auckland/

I actually just flew back home to Australia from Auckland on Saturday.
Sorry I am no help re hotels as we travelled by campervan. We did stay at a cheap ($USD60 a night) near the airport our first night due to a hiccup picking up the campervan. But I doubt you want to stay in the 'burb of Mangere.

What would I do if I had 4 nights in Auckland?
Well I probably wouldn't stay in the city, it's a very nice city but there is much to see elsewhere.

Purely my choices on recent experiences.

Number one option would be doing the 2 hour trip to Hobbiton even if you haven't seen The Hobbit movies. I hadn’t but I loved this place. You need to book in advance and it does cost quite a bit, about $USD70 a person. I thought it well worth it.
Instead of heading back to Auckland afterwards I would head to cute little Te Aroha for the night. It's an old spa town. It has some lovely walks, not sure of your fitness but there are some big Kauri (giant native trees) not far into the forest. There is a nice little museum costs $USD3. Gives a good insight into the town history. This is only really an option if you have a car. There are plenty of options to get out and back tours to Hobbiton from Auckland if you don't have a car.

Number two option, only if you have a car.
Up the East Coast about 90 mins away is a lovely little town called Waipu. Magnificent coastline, great beaches. Interesting town history. Check out the Scottish Museum $USD6. Head out to Waipu Caves. You can pay $USD26 to do the Milky Way glow worm cave tour or be like us and go 2kms further up the road and self guide yourself for free in the Waipu Cave (12kms from town). You need a light and spare shoes as it is wet under foot. Piece of cake no more than 100 metres and plenty of glow worms.
A bit of a local secret is a beautiful waterfall in the Waipu Gorge. Easy little jaunt from the road, you might get wet feet again if you want great photos.

Number three option closer to Auckland (45 mins) if you do want to stay in the city but again needing a car is Piha Beach. Lovely black sand beach. Great rock formations. Nice hilly forest drive to get there.

Sydney.
Again I am no help with hotels.
When I visit Sydney I don't stay in the city but head up to either Katoomba or Blackheath in the Blue Mountains. Plenty of speccy scenery up there. Nature aplenty.
Mechanical options near Katoomba offer some cool experiences.
A train runs from the city up into the Blue Mountains so you can get there without a car.
I usually just do the city stuff on the days of arrival and departure as I find Sydney city too big and crowded to hang about too long.

Probably not part of your plan but I thought I'd throw them out there anyway.
Cheers.

Renee
Thanks for the hotel recommendation. I will check it out.

Eatsrootsandleaves
Thanks for the Hobbiton recommendation. I have heard of this before and sounds quirky and fun. We won’t be renting a car so will be using uber for short trips and maybe a tour or two. Ant thoughts on Waiheko Island day trip?
Outside Sydney, a train trip to the Blue Mountains sounds nice. I’ve also seen there are tours that go there.

Just popping on to say that I think you will really enjoy your Azamara Cruise. I’ve gone on them twice and each was a very positive experience.

I took my children to Waiheke Island 24 years ago. We caught the ferry then the local bus out to a lovely beach. So it is very doable without a car.
I didn't get there on our recent trip.
24 years ago we visited the Auckland Museum and were very impressed. My wife and I turned up at the front door a week and a bit ago only to find it locked. Unfortunately during works they uncovered asbestos and had to close it temporarily. I am sure it will be open again soon.

There are some alternative transport options to get to Piha Beach and the surrounding forest areas if you don't have a car. I believe Zippys run a shuttle bus and I think there may be some public buses out to those parts. It is quite a beautiful spot and in Feb the weather should be nice for a swim or splash. Also misses the summer school holidays so during the week it shouldn't be too crowded.

I recently spent 4 weeks in Australia, returning home a month ago today. We finished our trip with 5 nights in Sydney and never ran out of things to do. We didn’t go to the Blue Mountains because my friend wasn’t interested. We stayed at Adina Apartment Hotel in Surry Hills. The hotel was very nice and I loved the location.

What is your budget for hotel?

Sydney Museums (I'm a museum lover)- these are some that I visited, walkable (a distance for some) from the hotel I choose. Should be easy to find info to see if to your interests - generally popular places:
Australian Museum
Australian National Maritime Museum
Anzac Memorial
The Rocks Discovery Museum
Susannah Place
Art Gallery Of New South Wales

Sydney Zoo is excellent - terrific exhibits of Australian animals. Access is by ferry - easy and good views from harbor

Sydney Opera House has guided tours of the inside if interested. You can also walk into the building, but won't see the theater areas on your own. (unless things have changed....)

Botanic Garden is vast and city center - guided tours available

There are a number of good walks/hikes in and around Sydney. From the link below, I did the Congi to Bondi walk and Bradleys Head to Chowder Bay Walk. Not rugged hiking, but some ups and downs on rolling hills. https://www.sydney.com/things-to-do/nature-and-parks/walks/best-walks

Chinese Garden of Friendship surprised me. I'd lived in Asia and thought I knew a lot about Chinese Gardens by culture, philosophy and botany, but I had extra time and stumbled on a free tour of this small garden. Quite enjoyed it. Probably not a "must see", but if this is a particular interest, I can recommend a stop. https://www.darlingharbour.com/precincts/chinese-garden

Blue Mountains (mentioned above) is a popular day trip from Sydney by train. Because it is into a gorge for good hiking trails, trails can have many stairs. It is possible to walk along the top of the gorge from viewpoint to viewpoint or take a bus. Not sure I would find that appealing as an option with a limited number of days in the area - top of the gorge is sidewalks and crowds and views less stunning than going into the canyons (my opinion). https://www.australia.com/en-us/places/sydney-and-surrounds/guide-to-the-blue-mountains.html Some like the Scenic Railway, Cableways, Skyway, and Walkway. It can become very busy with long lines, but you do go down into the gorge. https://www.scenicworld.com.au/attractions/scenic-railway

I had over a week in Sydney - you will have no lack of things to do in a shorter time frame!

Auckland Museums (again from the museum lover) The obvious, but I enjoyed:
New Zealand Maritime Museum
Auckland Art Gallery (limited - but I can't pass up an art museum. I don't feel the need to return)
Auckland War Memorial Museum (currently closed)

I think I had five or six full days in Auckland - I took a couple ferry trips - a birding trip to Tiritiri Matangi Island, hiking - Rangitoto Island Summit Walk, Waiheke Island - wineries and hiking. Check the offerings from Fuller Ferries if you are interested. https://www.fullers.co.nz

ORDtraveler
Thanks for all the recommendations. Just what I was looking for. Our budget for a Sydney hotel is about $200 US,

Andrea
Thanks for the info on Alina in Sunny Hills. I am not familiar with that area, is it in a good location to get tonsights. We will be using uber or public transport to get around

Auckland-day trip to Tiritiri Matangi Nature Preserve
definitely Hobbiton
day trip to winery on Waiheke Island
Auckland Museum
I don't know if you can do a day trip to the Glowworm cave but if one's available, take it
Can you tell that I really loved this part of NZ?

Sydney-Taronga Zoo-be aware that there are two zoos in Sydney-we had purchased tickets online for the other one
We didn't do this but maybe attend a performance at the Opera House
We went on a Blue Mountains tour and don't think I would have missed much if we hadn't gone
4 nights in Sydney might be too much for me

From Adina Surry Hills https://www.adinahotels.com/en/apartments/sydney-surry-hills/ we walked to many places, took buses and trams, and after a performance at the Opera House we took an uber back because it was late and we were tired. We also took an uber from the airport and then back again. Surry Hills is a pretty cool area. We took a 10 day tour mid-trip and our tour guide told me that if he lived in Sidney he would want to live there. A plus is that it has a lot of restaurants. You could be there for weeks and never go to the same place twice. Of course there are restaurants in other areas as well.

Lucky for us the US$ is strong against the AUS$.

There are day tours from Auckland that include both Hobbiton and a glow worm cave. Many providers, here’s an example. Don’t panic at the NZ dollar price shown - much less in USD!!!
https://www.newzealand.com/us/plan/business/navi-outdoor-tours-new-zealand/

I have never seen a Hobbit movie. I went on the tour because of all the recommendations. The sets were cute and impressive. Lunch was terrific. Not really “me”, but a pleasant outing and something different. ( I had time for extras that weren’t “must sees” for me during my Auckland stays.)

The glow worm caves I found rather fascinating. I had spent time outside of Auckland where they are located and visited several different caves; a joint tour like posted above would give you a good experience of the glow worms if that is of interest to you.

Another day tour I took to the Cormandel Penninsula: https://www.everythingnewzealand.com/coromandel-day-tour-and-driving-creek-railway-auckland-1906/?gc_id=22149797004&g_special_campaign=true&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22149817104&gbraid=0AAAAAo0JpHZFgshhKBAbTmv1flylBk0yI&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6Mb9vuGyjQMV_SXUAR0LZCWEEAAYAyAAEgJ3ifD_BwE

Good point about Sydney’s Taronga Zoo above. That is the big one on the harbor.

As noted, there is a much more commercial “zoo”, Wild Life. Indoor, can get very crowded, I did visit, early AM. There were some good presentations and “animal encounters “, but check current reviews if you think you might be interested. It is next door to Sea Life - aquarium franchise (or general corporate enterprise - there are Sea Life’s in many cities on multiple continents.).

For 5 nights in Sydney post cruise, I am looking at the Meriton Suites on Sussex. Those of you familiar with Sydney, does this look like a good location? The studio suite is very affordable.

We stayed at the Meriton on Sussex a few years ago and to be honest, it wasn’t a wonderful experience. The rooms were a bit tired, the staff offhand and the location isn’t the nicest.
Actually, our favourite place to stay in Sydney is the Adina in Surry Hills, so I was interested to read Andrea’s recommendation. It’s not right in the centre of the city, but easy enough to catch the light rail to Circular Quay - tap on and off with a credit card. It’s just such a nice leafy area to stay in with lots of local cafes, pubs and restaurants, and a supermarket around the corner. And it’s moderately priced for Sydney.