Travel and Local Info

Sydney is a major international gateway to Australia, with direct flights from 99 airports in 27 countries.

Our venue, the International Conference Centre Sydney, has excellent information about getting to the venue and things to do while you are here.

Note that the ICC is large, and our conference is located at the northern end, immediately opposite the Sofitel Darling Harbour. For this reason, you will probably want to use “Iron Wharf Place” or “Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour” as your destination when navigating, rather than the ICC to save yourself a 500m walk.

From the Airport

Sydney Airport is about 12km south of the ICC.

International arrivals come in through T1. You can get to the city via taxi or rideshare from right outside the T1 arrivals area (Uber or Didi 15-25 min). If you’re coming in on a domestic connection, you’ll arrive at the domestic terminals (T2 and T3), which are separated from T1 by the main runway.

You can also get the T8 train to Central and then get the L1 light rail (30 min). You can access the train from the northern end of the T1 arrivals area (turn right as you emerge from customs and immigration and follow the signs). Like all public transport in Sydney, you can use your credit card or Apple Pay / Google Pay to tap on and tap off the train.

Currency, Tax, Tipping, and Payment

Australia uses the Australian Dollar, which is worth about 0.65 (i.e. roughly 2/3) of a US dollar, about 0.55 (i.e. roughly 1/2) a Euro, and about 4.65 (i.e. roughly 5) RMB, so the mental arithmetic is not hard for these major currencies.

Contactless payment through credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay are near universal. Many people do not carry cash with them and some places don’t accept cash. If you have a card that can make contactless payments and/or your phone set up to use Apple Pay or Google Pay, you should be able to avoid cash entirely while visiting.

Workers do not depend on tipping for their wages. Tipping is considered a gratuity only and should be reserved for cases where you were really delighted by the service or the meal.

Climate

It will be summer in Sydney, so you should expect the weather to be warm to hot. According to historical statistics, the mean daily maximum is around 27C (80F), mean humidity about 62%, and there are about 8-9 rainy days per month, so you should expect rain on about one day in three. The sun is very strong in Australia, including in Sydney, where the average UV index in January and February is 11-12 (“Extreme”). So you should definitely bring a hat if you plan to spend time outdoors. Pack your swimsuit.

Local Transport

Sydney has excellent public transport, and ICC Sydney is well served for access from across the public transportation network, including bus, train, light rail, taxi, water taxi, ferry, or a pleasant walk from the city centre (see our Getting Around page). It is possible that you will not need public transport for your entire stay depending on accommodation choice, other than connection to and from the Airport. Public transport is easily paid for using Sydney Opal card or direct tap-on/tap-off using credit card or phone pay.