Especially for Kids

Kids can have fun at plenty of places in Sydney, but my choices below are particularly suitable for youngsters. (All are reviewed in full above.)

At Taronga Zoo, an all-time favorite with kids, the barnyard animals, surprisingly, get as much attention as the koalas. If your kids want hands-on contact with the animals, though, you'd better head to Featherdale Wildlife Park, where they can get their photo taken next to a koala and hand-feed and stroke kangaroos and wallabies. (You can't pet koalas in New South Wales.) Even more interactive are the exhibits just crying out to be touched and bashed at the Powerhouse Museum.

The sharks at Oceanworld in Manly and at the Sydney Aquarium in Darling Harbour are big lures for kids, too, and the thrill of walking through a long Plexiglas tunnel as giant manta rays perch over their heads will lead to more squeals of excitement.

Another outing for both adults and children is to crawl around inside boats and submarines at the Australian National Maritime Museum.

And what kid wouldn't enjoy a day at the beach? Sydney's got plenty to choose from, including Bondi and Manly.