There are loads of hotels in Sydney at prices ranging from the reasonable to the very expensive, your best bet is to look at one of the internet hotel sites such as Expedia, Hotels.com, Wotif or Asia Rooms etc. to get some idea of the prices.
It's a long way to go for just two weeks, the journey is extemely tiring even if you have a stopover on the way, it often takes a few days to get over the journey, could you manage at least another week? Although I love Sydney I think that just staying there for two weeks would be too long. There is a lot to see but it is also very easy to fly to other places and it seems a shame to go all that way and just visit one place. If you fly with there with Quantas they do offer free flights within Australia and you could fly into Sydney and visit somewhere else (for example Cairns for the great Barrier Reef) and then fly back to the UK from Cairns.
Of course it's your choice and I expect there will be plenty to do to keep you busy in Sydney but OZ is such an interesting country with lots to see.
I did a four week tour of parts of OZ three years ago and didn't hire a car and it was quite easy getting around on planes, trains and busses.
If you do decide to go you will need to make your flight booking soon as January is pretty popular for holidays and flights could be getting filled up. There are no non-stop flights to Sydney the flight time is around 24hrs. I believe Emirates fly out of Manchester and you would have a stop in Dubai. Virgin also use Manchester but (though I am not sure )they have a very long stop in Singapore, otherwise you would need to fly to/from London.

We went for a month - Hong Kong - Brisbane - Alstonville - Byron Bay - Lennox Head - Surfer's Paradise - Gold Coast - Sydney - Alice Springs - Ayers Rock - Cairns - Port Douglas - Singapore.

We only drove for 2 days while we were staying with friends. The rest of the time we used public transport and internal flights.

Australia really is too far for 2 weeks IMO.

luci

I agree with the other posters - Australia is a long way to go for just 2 weeks. Equally, to visit only Sydney would be a great shame. If you don't or won't drive, then there are lots of tours you could take so that you could see more of the area. Think carefully about what you really want to do, but if you do chose Oz, then it's great!

Surely if its a case of Australia for 2 weeks or not at all then the two weeks is better than nothing? I have been to the Far East for a week only and I have gained so much from that. I agree it would be very tiring so I would probably allow for a stop over on the way back so that would hopefully help.

I'm not really sure Fiona, for most people Australia is a once in a lifetime trip and yes you might get a feel for the country and it's people in two weeks but there is so much to see I would think that it would be very hard deciding what parts to visit and you would have to make a very strict itinerary and keep to it, no wandering off to see something else that takes your fancy at the last minute. My first visit to Oz was just a few days in Sydney as part of a round the world tour and I knew I would be back some time but Sydney is only part of Australia, there is no much diversity in the country and to visit and not see as much as possible doesn't to me seem worth it.
You have to take into consideration that you will be travelling for the best part of four days, without stop overs just to get there and back and I on my last trip even with stop overs I found that I was dragging myself around on arrival and it took a good few days to get moving. Distances in Oz are huge so travelling from one place to another also can take up large amounts of time.
I suppose if you really want to go then you could visit two or three places in two weeks but I wouldn't stay in Sydney the whole time, it's a great city for a few days but not a two week holiday.

You're right Judith about recovering from a long flight. Even with a stopover of several days in somewhere like Hong Kong it is still an 11 hours flight to Oz and unless you are young and fit (sadly I'm neither young nor very fit!) the first day is usually lost in a tired haze. If the original poster is thinking of visiting Oz as almost a taster for a longer visit then perhaps 2 weeks would be fine, but realistically you do need more time. We went in 2006 and spent 4 weeks in Australia exploring just Melbourne, Sydney and the East Coast, including the Great Barrier Reef, with a couple of days visit to Uluru (Ayers Rock). We are now going back early next year for another 4 weeks, based primarily in Western Australia, although we will be visiting Melbourne (our friends with whom we travel have family there but we liked Melbourne so its no hardship to go back) and a few days in Sydney. Even then we won't have seen anything like enough and are already planning our next trip which will take in the Top End when it's not in the rainy season!

With the way work goes we can't ever have 4 weeks off in one go and perhaps Ian is the same. I don't fancy waiting till I retire to get there.

yup fiona.
2 weeks is the max due to work.

thanks for all your posts.

ian

I've been to Oz twice - once for 2 weeks (in melbourne) and once for a year
Yes the jet lag can be a pain but it wasnt too bad.
I didnt drive over there but there are loads of transport options(train, fly, greyhound, tours for all budgets).
2 weeks along the east coast, or 2 weeks in sydney with side trips sound pretty good to me.
In Sydney you could have several days doing the local sights, spend a day or 2 doing a wine tour, a trip to palm beach for home and away (theres a bus from the city) and a day or 3 in the mountains(easy to get to by train).

Accomodation will range from $300 for a week in a double in a hostel to $300+ a night at the shang ri la.
There are several apart-hotels in the city which might be a good option if you want to self cater a bit.

Hi Ian
Sydney has lots to see and do and day tours can be the way for you some of the places to see in the Sydney area
The city and shops and arcades
The beachs as it will be summer time at the time you will be here
Trips to The Blue Mountains
A harbour cruise
A day trip to the Hunter Valley where some of Australias best wines are grown
I do think you can find something to do each day have in Sydney
You should be able to book these tours from the hotel you choose and be picked up at the door if you stay in the city area

I can certainly recommend a company called Trailfinders. Some years ago I was fortunate enough to spend 3 months in Australia and they sorted all the arrangements out for me, including a ten day pass for the Greyhound bus from Townsville in Queensland down to Perth, stopping off at Ayers Rock, Alice Springs, Kalgoorlie, Coober Pedy and Adelaide. I started off with a few days in Sydney, then did a coach trip with Australia Pacific up to Cairns stopping off at various places. After visiting relatives in Townsville I got the Greyhound back down south and flew back from Perth via a stop-over in HongKong. As you have limited time available I think it may be worth talking to a company like this who are well placed to sort out an interesting trip for you.

I have used Trailfinders for my flights to NZ/OZ and and have used the successfully previously so can recommend them.

Sue

Even if you only have 2 weeks, i'd say go for it.

We went for 17 days with no stopovers.

Going out wasn't too bad, I made myself stay awake till 7pm local time and that seemed to work. Going back was more tiring, especially as we still had a 5 hour journey to go after reaching London In all it took us 32 hours from Cairns to home. Was it worth it? You bet it was

We managed to travel up the east coast using internal flights already booked, and all of our day trips were planned and booked in advance, it was unbelievable what we managed to fit into 17 days! Every day was a brilliant experience.

Having said that when we go again we will go for longer and have the stopovers - but even if you only have 2 weeks it is just about do-able.