Layover guide
Tipping in Sydney
Your choice, with no service charge added, though a weekend or public holiday surcharge can be if the menu says so.
All of Sydney
Tourism Australia says hotels and restaurants do not add service charges to your bill, and tipping is always your choice.
In upmarket restaurants it is common to tip waiters 10% of the bill for good service.
A day surcharge is a different charge. In New South Wales, restaurants and cafes may add a weekend or public holiday surcharge if they follow the display rules.
The menu must say 'a surcharge of [percentage] applies on [the specified day or days]', at least as prominently as its most prominent price. On a menu with no prices, the words must still be obvious and visible.
- Tourism Australia: Useful tips · checked 2026-09-28
- NSW Government: Pricing standards (restaurant and cafe surcharges) · checked 2026-09-28
The rest of Sydney
The whole guideGetting out of the airportTrains run from the arrivals levels of the International and Domestic terminals and reach the city in 13 minutes, but every airport tap adds a station access fee on top of the fare.Ride-hailingUber and other rideshare services operate, and at T1 International UberX runs on a six-digit PIN from a specific rank rather than plate matching.Local laws that catch crew outVaping is policed exactly as smoking is, and undeclared food at the biosecurity line is the thing that ends layovers badly.Staying connectedA prepaid SIM needs your name, date of birth, home address and an ID check before it works, and T1 International has free Wi-Fi.WeatherThe ultraviolet load is the hazard, not the temperature, and it burns through cloud.Eating near the crew hotelsRetail hours are short by Gulf standards, and the card surcharge you have been paying ends on 1 October 2026 for the major networks.What to buyAircrew get half a passenger's duty free concession on general goods, and are excluded from the GST refund scheme outright.