What could possibly be better on New Year’s Eve than cruising around on Sydney Harbour with great food and company, the best views of the pyrotechnic spectacular whilst enjoying live entertainment on a balmy summer’s night?
The whole world knows that the only place to be on Sydney Harbour New Year’s Eve cruises and it is a not-to-be-missed event for many reasons. Australia is one of the first countries in the world to see in the brand new year and Sydney has been partying for nearly half a day before the rest of the world’s big cities such as London, New York, Paris and Rio de Janeiro even get started. It’s nice to be one of the first people in the world to welcome in the new year and nowhere else in the world do they know how to party like they do in Sydney.
Sydney is renown for its New Year’s Eve fireworks displays and approximately 1.5 million people arrive on the foreshore to watch the fireworks spectacular, so the best place for an uninterrupted view of the fireworks is from a boat on Sydney Harbour. You can hire any size boat from AnyBoat and have your own private party away from the crowds. AnyBoat has all kinds of boats to choose from, from huge luxury cruisers to smaller more intimate boats. Many of their boats have special New Year’s Eve packages so phone their helpful staff and let them know what it is that you are after because they have something to suit everybody. And you can have it catered or you can do it yourself, AnyBoat gives you all the options.
Or if you find hiring a whole boat is a little daunting you can book a spot on a harbour cruise that offers drink and meal packages so that your food and alcohol for the night is taken care of. The only problem with this is that you are stuck on the boat for a long time with strangers, usually from 7pm till about 1.30am.
The advantages of being on a boat on New Year’s Eve are many. You have the absolute best view of the fireworks, which are launched from several barges, city sky scrapers and the iconic harbour bridge, you have food, music and alcohol right there with you and many boats put on live shows. There is no jostling crowd, no unwanted drunks – only the wanted ones, spectacular views of the city skyline especially lit up for the occasion and the Opera House illuminated by lights and lasers, and with plenty of room to dance and enjoy your friends’ and family’s company. Many chartered boats will pick you and your family and friends up from a range of wharves around the harbour so that parking and transport are no problem for you and your guests.
But if you don’t want to charter an entire boat, and you don’t want to be stuck on a boat with a bunch of strangers for hours another option is to hire a water taxi. The beauty of a water taxi is that you can hire them for just a couple of hours and then continue partying on-shore.
No city puts on a show quite as beautiful as Sydney and the amazing pyrotechnics display on the harbour are synchronised with fireworks on city skyscrapers and barges from Manly to as far away as Woolwich. Not surprisingly they are the talk of the world and they are the most watched, most televised, most reported and the most talked about New Year’s Eve celebrations in the world. They are choreographed by hundreds of creative people who work year-long for the New years eve spectacular, which is choreographed to music.
All around the city the entertainment starts early in the afternoon with the first fireworks display at 9 pm followed by the much-anticipated Harbour of Light Parade. A flotilla of boats, selected from design entries representing the New Years Eve theme, switch on the strings of fairy lights and begin a spectacular 15km circuit around Sydney Harbour. The boats in the flotilla will include Sydney’s Heritage fleet, tall ships, commercial charter vessels and Sydney Ferries. Vessels that are in the official Harbour of Light Parade are allowed inside the harbour exclusion zone and passenger onboard these boats will enjoy exclusive views of the 9 pm fireworks display, the always amazing Harbour Bridge display and the midnight fireworks display – a fabulous place to be if you can get a spot.
But you have to book early, these are much sought after places and people come from around the world to enjoy New Year’s Eve on Sydney Harbour. New Year’s Eve in Sydney is during the summertime and the weather is just perfect. They say that whatever you are doing when the New Year begins sets the tone for what you’ll be doing for the rest of the year so why not make sure that your upcoming year is one of delicious food, good company, fine wine, laughter and stunning Sydney scenery?
