What should I pack for Sydney?

The sun is the thing people underpack for. Sydney sits under a thinner ozone band than any major European or North American city, and the Bureau of Meteorology regularly posts UV index readings of 11 to 14 in summer — that's the 'extreme' category, higher than Singapore despite being further from the equator. You'll burn in fifteen minutes on a December afternoon walking the Bondi to Coogee coastal path, even with hazy cloud filtering the light. Pack SPF 50+ sunscreen — it's the Australian standard, and pharmacies here don't stock anything weaker. Bring a hat with real brim coverage, not a baseball cap that leaves your ears and neck raw after three hours along the sandstone cliffs. Polarized sunglasses rated to AS/NZS 1067 are worth the investment: the glare off the harbour at Circular Quay around midday is physically painful without them, and you'll be squinting through every Opera House photo.

Sydney is not tropical. That catches people out. Right now — late May, early winter — mornings at Circular Quay sit around 8 to 13°C with a sharp southeasterly cutting across the water. Summer days hit 38°C during westerly heatwaves, then drop ten degrees in twenty minutes when the southerly change arrives. You can feel it hit: one moment the air is thick and still, the next it carries the smell of salt and a cold edge that makes you reach for a jacket. The practical answer is layers. A merino base or light fleece for morning ferry rides to Manly, a breathable shell that handles both the spray off the bow and a sudden afternoon squall, and two or three quick-dry shirts. Cotton stays clammy in the coastal humidity and feels cold against your skin by evening.

Bring shoes with actual grip. The coastal walks — Bondi to Coogee, Spit Bridge to Manly — cross uneven sandstone ledges worn smooth by decades of salt spray. Slippery when damp. The Rocks district is steep cobblestone. Surry Hills is a genuine hill. The steps down to Bronte rock pool are algae-coated in winter, and one wrong step in flat-soled fashion sneakers puts you on your back. For the beach, reef shoes or thick-soled sandals handle the rocky entry at Clovelly and Gordon's Bay where broken shells line the shallows and the water is cold enough in winter to make you gasp. If you're doing the Blue Mountains day trip, the Three Sisters circuit and Federal Pass have loose gravel descents where ankle support actually matters.

Australia uses Type I plugs — three flat pins angled in a triangle. Nothing from the US, UK, or continental Europe fits without an adapter, and the voltage is 230V. That means American hair straighteners and curling irons burn out in thirty seconds unless they're explicitly marked dual-voltage on the plug itself — not the box, the actual fine print on the device. Bring a portable charger: you'll drain your phone running Google Maps through the ferry network, topping up your Opal card, and shooting photos at the Opera House forecourt around 4pm when the winter light turns the sail tiles gold. Skip packing bulky items you can buy cheaper here — the Chemist Warehouse at Town Hall stocks 400ml SPF 50+ for about $12 AUD ($8.60 USD), Daiso in the CBD sells compact umbrellas for $3.80, and Kmart has rubber thongs for $5 that you'll wear to every beach.