Sydney Shores And Suburbs- Watsons Bay And Bondi Beach Tour

We had the pleasure of spending two days with Ben Barry, exploring Sydney and the beautiful Blue Mountains, and I cannot speak highly enough of the experience. Our first tour took us through Sydney's fascinating neighbourhoods and landmarks, including the historic Rocks district, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Rose Bay, Watsons Bay, Bondi Beach and many other wonderful locations. Ben's knowledge of the city's history, geography and local character made the experience particularly interesting. He has a wonderful way of sharing information that feels more like an engaging conversation than a conventional guided tour. Our second excursion took us into the Blue Mountains, including Featherdale Wildlife Park and Scenic World, offering an entirely different perspective on this remarkable part of Australia. Once again, Ben's knowledge, thoughtful planning and attention to detail made all the difference. What particularly impressed me was Ben's patience, flexibility and genuine consideration throughout both days. He was attentive to our interests and preferences without ever making us feel rushed. He struck just the right balance between showing us as much as possible and allowing us to enjoy each place at our own pace. Beyond his professionalism, Ben is simply a lovely person to spend time with — personable, considerate, knowledgeable and blessed with a great sense of humour. Both tours were thoroughly enjoyable, and I came away with a much greater appreciation of Sydney, its surroundings and the natural beauty of the Blue Mountains. Thank you, Ben, for your kindness, excellent company and for making both days so worthwhile. I would happily recommend your services to anyone wishing to discover Sydney and beyond with a knowledgeable and genuinely caring local guide. Highly recommended! 🇦🇺

Had a great day with Ben, picked us up from the airport in the morning and showed us the sights before dropping us off at the hotel for check-in. Ben’s knowledgeable and I highly recommend a tour with his services.

Owner, Ben Barry, picked us up in front of our hotel in his clean and comfortable vehicle and took us around all of the areas in Sydney. This is a perfect way to explore the city without crowds and was just what I needed with a bad back and using a cane. He was able to safely and carefully drive the city, answer any questions, and slowly cruised by or even stop by any points of interest that we wanted. This is his full-time job which supports his family, not something he does part-time. He has owned this business for 20 years. It was easy to contact him and ask questions through the Internet and found him to be quickly responsive to our inquiries. His prices are listed in Australian dollars, not US dollars so this is even more affordable than you might think. He made arrangements for a shared lunch at a lovely restaurant on the water. He took pictures of us and knew the best spots to take great pictures. This is the perfect way to spend your time in Sydney. If you’re only here for a short visit or the perfect way to start an informed longer visit.

A great full day tour personalized to suit my available time while covering the key sites and some beautiful scenery around Sydney city, beaches and suburbs. It included pickup and drop off at my hotel which was convenient for me. I learnt a lot about the history, significance of various iconic suburbs, locations and historical building/monuments on the tour. We also had time to enjoy a great lunch in Manly. A very knowledgeable and flexible tour guide - happy to recommend this tour guide.

The tour was amazing, Ben was very accomaditing with our request to change the itenary to our liking. Ben stayed with us all day and shared his knowledge of all the places we visited. Highly recommended this company, will definitely book another tour when we come to Sydney again. Ben made us feel like we are friends and very comfortable to be with. Thanks again for sharing your beautiful city with us.

We had an incredible day exploring Sydney on this tour! Ben was exceptionally knowledgeable—every stop came with fascinating insights, local history, and great stories that really brought the city to life. His communication was excellent from start to finish: clear, friendly, and always making sure everyone felt comfortable and engaged. The itinerary was well-paced, allowing us to enjoy iconic highlights like the Harbour, Bondi, and the historic Rocks area without ever feeling rushed. We especially appreciated the guide’s ability to answer every question with enthusiasm and detail. If you’re looking for a day trip that’s informative, well-organized, and genuinely enjoyable, We highly recommend this tour. It made my visit to Sydney truly memorable!

Ben arranged a wonderful day of sightseeing for us in Sydney. He picked us up at the cruise port for an 8-hour tour which included short walking tours around Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, Centennial Park and Bondi Beach where we had lunch. Much of the tour was driving around the city where Ben provided enough history to gain knowledge of all the main attractions as well as lesser-known ones. From White Bay, the Fish Market, Chinese Garden and The Rocks, to Harry’s Café de Wheels, Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair, the Gap and the Eastern Suburbs, Ben provided a lot of information that helped us plan the rest of our week in Sydney. This enabled us to determine where we wanted to go back and spend more time seeing our favorite attractions during our week-long visit. I highly recommend utilizing Ben’s expertise to help plan your visit.

It was a good day with Ben. He was very knowledgeable and showed us all of the sights. Beautiful day in Sydney!

Wonderful way to see the highlights of Sydney with Ben who was an exceptional tour guide. There was an excellent balance between driving through parts of the city and walking through parks and beaches. Tour guides make the day and Ben sure made ours, funny, knowledgeable, very informative, we spent a very enjoyable day with him. I would highly recommend this tour anyone who wants to see the highlights of Sydney in a day. Thank you Ben for a great day.

Just spent 3 amazing days with Ben. We toured Sydney and the Bondi Beach area the first day, then headed to the Blue mountains on the second, finishing with the reptile park and central coast on the last day. Ben was a joy to tour with. We saw far more than we could have ever covered on our own. It was the perfect way to see Sydney and the surrounding area in a short time! Highly recommend!

We had an amazing day with Ben. He is very friendly and knowledgeable. We were able to see some beautiful places and get photos. We’d definitely recommend Ben and his tour. Thank you!

It was a fun day. Our tour guide had knowledge of the area and was very pleasant. would highly recommend this tour. There is some walking but nothing extreme. Lunch was awesome on Bondi beach

Our tour was amazing! We saw great sights, learned so much about Sydney as well as got great suggestions for the rest of our trip. Ben was fabulous! We couldn’t have asked for a better guide or experience!!

Ben is an amazing wealth of information about Sydney and Australia. He is kind, considerate and was willing to answer all our questions. It was raining hard during our tour but still managed to include all Sydney’s highlights and beach’s, even had umbrellas for all four adults. He met us at the airport smiling even though our plane was 2 hours late. Just a top notch tour and really great man. Thanks again Ben

This was an excellent tour to get an overview of the metro Sydney city. Ben was excellent in providing information prior to the tour regarding pickup,tour inclusions etc.. He adjusted our pick up time and was there at our hotel to meet us. It is a full day tour in a very comfortable and clean van. A great value as there were four of us and we got to see the highlights of the city. We paired this with the blue mountains tour and were again happy and thrilled with overall tour. Be sure to do the cable car and tram into the rain forest. Both days Ben made arrangements for lunch and it was great both times. Great food selections. On the blue mountains tour he stopped at a local Ugg store on the way back to Sydney. Locally operated and the prices were incredible. He does not get a kick back. This was just a random request we made and he accommodated us. Overall Ben is a great tour guide with intimate knowledge of Sydney and the blue mountains. He is friendly and funny and has many antidotes to provide an in depth understanding of Sydney and the surrounding areas. Highly recommend Ben for his tours.

We had an amazing day! It was our first time to Sydney, and we got a fantastic overview. We saw numerous beaches and many unique neighborhoods. We were ahead of larger busses at some stops and got to visit unique locales that larger busses couldn't. There was a fantastic lunch at Bondi Beach. We learned some great history of Sydney. Ben provided insights into local wildlife. He also gave advice about additional activities for the remainder of our time here. Highly recommend!

This was a fantastic full day tour of Sydney. We got to see all of the must see sights (Harbor Bridge, Opera House, Bondi Beach, etc.) plus a lot of different areas of the city, and learned a lot about all of these sights/areas. Our tour guide, Ben, was outstanding——-knowledgeable, personable, accommodating, and a lot of fun to be with. Overall, this private tour was good value for money———-don’t miss it and absolutely do it with Ben!

The four of us had an amazing time on our Sydney and Bondi Beach tour with Ben. He took us through The Rocks and out to Watson's Bay past many pretty areas of Sydney Harbour. After a great lunch that is right in the middle of Bondi Beach we went on a spectacular coastal walk to Tamarama and Bronte Beach. Thanks for a fun day Ben and your local tips on things to see and do in Sydney and the Blue Mountains. We will highly recommend you to other friends visiting Sydney.

We actually did two tours with Ben -- the Sydney Full Day Private Tour and the Blue Mountains Tour and both were great! Ben has such a wonderful disposition and really enjoys what he does. His tours are thorough and informative. We are Americans visiting Sydney for only a few days and Ben packed so much into it!

We had a great time exploring Sydney with Ben, who offered us the chance to flex the day around our preferences and what we wanted to see. We had a good balance of guided time and a chance to explore some of the areas on our own. Ben is clearly passionate about Sydney and knows lots about the area. As we were only in Sydney for a short while we found this was a great way to see lots of the sights, including the beaches. We left with plenty of recommendations of other places to see but most of those will have to wait until next time!

My husband and I spent an entire day with Ben in Sydney. Ben is punctual, polite, a very safe driver, and well traveled tour guide. He is also the father of young children, so I am assuming he would be great with kids. He has an incredible knowledge of Sydney’s history, flora and fauna, and wildlife. He immediately picked up that I was interested in birds, so he named and pointed out several and identified their calls at so many of our stops. Ben showed us so many interesting places in Sydney that we would never have seen on our own, thanks to Ben I have some beautiful Sydney photos, videos of birds, and other unique Australian wildlife. We have had several “personalized” guided tours in various countries, and Ben is one of the best we have ever had. Kathy A

Ben was an exceptional tour guide. He had the tour all mapped out to enable us to see the major points of interest in the city and have some time to walk and enjoy the scenery. He has excellent knowledge of the history of the city and the settlers. Sydney and the surrounding areas are nothing short of beautiful. The beaches, the surf, the parks, the opera house, the wildlife (except the bats!) are not to be missed and you will come away with a lot of the history of the city. Thank you Ben for a great day!

Out guide Ben was great. He was very knowledgeable and fun. He did not rush the day. Would highly recommend.

We just finished our 5 star tour of Sydney with Ben Barry at Personalized Sydney Tours. What makes Ben so good? Well , his flex-ability! That is the key, especially for a city tour: timing the traffic, knowing where to park, knowing the open/close for the shops, dropping us at the airport) (after 8 full hours of learning and exploring Sydney, timing the weather (it got hot and humid) at Bondi beach. All perfect! and that is a major achievement for navigating us around such a large city. We didn't sit in traffic wasting any time at all! We even did things that weren't on the agenda. Because of the hot humid weather at Bondi we decided not to do the trail walk and instead we went to Centennial Park and saw the gray headed flying foxes hanging in the swamp trees (very large bats). It was amazing. Ben is a highly experienced guide who can make changes in the itinerary to max out your day. We highly recommend this tour!

The tour was canceled and notification was not recieved. Flight arrived early. An email was sent to the guide notifying them of the early arrival. It took the guide an hour to reply with the cancelation notification. Therefore, I was waiting at the airport for two hour when I could have been making alternate arraingments.

Ben was a great guide and host knowledgeable and personable. We went out with him for a second day to see the blue mountains. Though the weather was dreary the trip and lunch was top notch. Recommend without hesitation

Excellent communication pre tour Ben picked us up from the airport and we did the tour above as we waned to hit the ground running and make the most of our time in Australia. Friendly , polite and personable, Ben has great knowledge of the city and area , both geographically and historically and answered pretty much every question. Also had some of the celebrity gossip, who lived where and who they were seeing at the time etc. We covered everything advertised and chose a Mexican lunch in Bondi at our own cost. Highly recommended

This was the second tour with Ben, because we found the Blue Mountain tour so good. Ben picked us up at the hotel and showed us the remaining highlights of Sydney, which we had not yet seen. He also showed us the beautiful suburbs, including Bondi beach - where we ate a wonderful lunch. Overall a great tour which he adapted to our necessities. Glad to recommend him to anyone wanting to do the sights around Sydney.

Mr Ben is very friendly, amiable and was able to make the whole trip enjoyable and memorable. The restaurant he introduced has a nice , calming ambience and the food there was terrific too!

Ben is a very friendly guide. Very knowledgeable of the Aussie history and all the locations he took us to , Ben made us feel at home. We strongly recommend Ben for a private and personalised trip of Sydney

Amazing Sydney Vacation during Sep 2019. My family have so much fun and ask for coming vacation. Especially my kid always ask when we go australia again? Haha... Thanks for Ben as nice and informative tour guide. Well done. Hope to see you in near future. Many Thanks!