> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.blankidentity.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Girls Weekend Away Too Pricey? Be a Tourist in Your Own City - URL: https://www.blankidentity.com.au/girls-weekend-away-cost-of-living-tourist-in-your-own-city/ - Published: 2026-10-08T06:07:19.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-09T08:28:27.000Z - Description: The weekend away is slipping out of reach, so here is a planned escape that will get you out and about without blowing the budget. - Author: Sian L - Tags: Culture A girls weekend away is getting harder to justify when the cost of living is already squeezing every other part of the month, so here is my case for doing it in your own city instead. Same friends, same long meals and good conversation, minus the flights, the accommodation and the packing. The idea is simple: treat your own city like a destination. Book the lunch, pay for the tour, put the phones away and follow a timed plan, and your Saturday starts to feel like a real event. Below is a full plan for Sydney and Melbourne, and a template you can use for any other city, at the end, how the cost stacks up so it’s a guilt free pleasure. ## The ground rules A day like this only works if everyone is actually there. Here is the short rule I would set in the group chat a week ahead. - **Phones go in the bag:** one photo at each stop, then away. If someone needs to be reachable, they say so up front and check at set times. - **Home is sorted before you leave:** whoever depends on you, whether that is a partner, kids, flatmates, a parent or a dog, has a plan that does not involve a text at 2pm. Swap a favour if you need to. - **No work chat:** no inbox, no complaints about the boss, no group project updates. - **Nobody needs a plus one:** single, partnered, parenting or none of the above, the only entry requirement is you. - **Set the budget first:** agree a per-person number before you book, so nobody quietly panics at the bill. Then be a proper tourist. Do the thing locals always say they will do and never do. ## Sydney: a historic walk, a long lunch, a gallery and harbour drinks **10:30am,** [**The Rocks Walking Tour**](https://www.rockswalkingtours.com.au/walking-tour?ref=blankidentity.com.au)**.** The daily tour leaves at 10:30am (there is a second departure at 1:30pm), lasts 90 minutes and costs about $50 for an adult. You meet at Reynolds Cottage, 28 Harrington Street, 15 minutes before it starts, and a guide takes you through the history of Sydney's oldest neighbourhood. Expect several flights of stairs and uneven ground, and tell the team when you book if anyone needs the modified wheelchair and pram-friendly route. ![A guide talks to a group on a staircase beside a sandstone wall during The Rocks Walking Tour in Sydney](https://www.rockswalkingtours.com.au/wp-content/uploads/rwt2329-1-1024x683.webp) A guide leads a group through The Rocks. Image: The Rocks Walking Tours **12:30pm, a long lunch at** [**Pony Dining**](https://www.ponydining.com.au/?ref=blankidentity.com.au)**.** Pony is a woodfired grillhouse and bar in a century-old sandstone building on the corner of Argyle Street and Kendall Lane, right in the neighbourhood you have just walked. Lunch runs from 12pm to 3pm Thursday to Sunday, so a table booked for 12:30pm gives you the whole afternoon to order a few plates to share and stay put. Check the current lunch menu and book on its website before you go. If you would rather have it sorted for you, The Rocks Walking Tours also offers a [private tour and Pony set-menu lunch package](https://www.rockswalkingtours.com.au/?p=733&ref=blankidentity.com.au) from Friday to Sunday. It is priced on enquiry, and drinks are not included. ![A table of shared dishes from Pony Dining in The Rocks, including a whole fish, steak, chips and salads](https://www.rockswalkingtours.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Pony_Dining_Aug25_Credit_Jorge_Santos-68-768x512.webp) A spread of dishes from Pony Dining. Image: Jorge Santos / Pony Dining **3:30pm, the** [**Art Gallery of NSW**](https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/visit/plan-your-visit/?ref=blankidentity.com.au)**.** General entry is free, and it is open daily from 10am to 5pm (until 10pm on Wednesdays). Some exhibitions are ticketed, but the collection alone fills an hour or two, and it is a pleasant walk through the Domain afterwards. ![The sandstone facade of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in the Domain, Sydney](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Art_Gallery_of_New_South_Wales_01.jpg/1280px-Art_Gallery_of_New_South_Wales_01.jpg) The Art Gallery of New South Wales in the Domain. Image: Kgbo / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) **5:30pm, harbour drinks and a light bite at** [**Opera Bar**](https://operabar.com.au/menus/?ref=blankidentity.com.au)**.** It is open from 10am to midnight, takes walk-ins only, and while the inside dining room is closed for renovations, the harbourside terrace is open. After a long lunch, the pizza pop-up menu keeps it light: an antipasto platter is $35, freshly baked flatbread with taramasalata is $22 and the pizzas run from $28 to $34\. There is a 5% surcharge on Sundays and 15% on public holidays, so Saturday is the better day. ![A terrace table with shared plates, fresh oysters and glasses of wine at Opera Bar in Sydney](https://operabar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2025/12/OperaBar_December_StevenWoodburn_41-1400x1867.jpg) Shared plates and wine on the Opera Bar terrace. Image: Opera Bar ![Two cocktails held up beside the water with the Sydney Harbour Bridge behind at Opera Bar](https://operabar.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2025/12/OperaBar_December_StevenWoodburn_61-1400x1867.jpg) Cocktails with the Harbour Bridge in the background. Image: Opera Bar Getting around all day is capped. [Opal's adult cap](https://transportnsw.info/tickets-fares/fares/adult-opal-fares?ref=blankidentity.com.au) is $9.65 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for unlimited train, light rail, bus and ferry travel, so the trip from The Rocks to the Domain and on to the harbour never costs more than that. **The Sydney day:** about $185 a person with the walking tour, a long lunch at Pony, transport and a few drinks. ## Melbourne: markets, free art, the river and a late rooftop **9:30am, graze through the** [**Queen Victoria Market**](https://qvm.com.au/visit-us/?ref=blankidentity.com.au)**.** It opens at 6am on Saturdays and closes at 4pm, with specialty shopping from 9am. The Dairy Produce Hall is where the budget eating is: a Spicy Lamb Borek from The Borek Shop is $6\. If you are free on 17th Oct 26 or 18th Oct 26, the Melbourne Donut Festival fills the C and D sheds from 9am to 4pm, with free entry and no booking. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/c4/1ec40a4f-84a0-482b-aa02-e946534e85fe/content/images/2026/10/Queen-Vic-summer-night-market-dusk-supplied.jpg) Queen Victoria Market. Image: Supplied **11:30am, free art at Federation Square.** The [NGV](https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/visit/?ref=blankidentity.com.au) is free to enter at both NGV Australia (Federation Square) and NGV International (St Kilda Road), open daily from 10am to 5pm. Right now Plant Life: The Nature of Design is free at NGV Australia until 7th Feb 27\. Next door, [ACMI](https://www.acmi.net.au/visit/?ref=blankidentity.com.au) is free to enter, and Feng Mengbo: Long March Restart, a playable video game artwork, is on until 31st Jan 27\. Our [Melbourne exhibitions guide](https://www.blankidentity.com.au/melbourne-exhibitions-spring-closing-soon/) has more to add if you want a longer art day. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/c4/1ec40a4f-84a0-482b-aa02-e946534e85fe/content/images/2026/10/UPco_Blog_image-2.jpg) The National Gallery of Victoria. Image: NGV **2:30pm, the river.** [Melbourne River Cruises' express highlights cruise](https://www.melbcruises.com.au/sightseeing-cruises/city-highlights-express-45-50-mins-up-down-river/?ref=blankidentity.com.au) leaves Federation Wharf, runs 45 to 50 minutes and is $35 for an adult. Sailings run through the afternoon, and the 2:30pm one fits this plan. ![A Melbourne River Cruises boat on the Yarra River passing under a bridge with city buildings behind](https://www.melbcruises.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/DSC05047-1-scaled-1-e1689743099211-990x650.jpg) A Melbourne River Cruises boat on the Yarra. Image: Melbourne River Cruises **5:30pm, early dinner at** [**Mamak**](https://mamak.com.au/mamakmenu?ref=blankidentity.com.au)**.** The Lonsdale Street restaurant serves dinner from 5:30pm to 9:30pm on Saturdays, and reservations are only taken for groups of eight or more, so arrive when it opens. Order to share: roti canai is $11.50 for one or $18 for two, a dozen satay is $34, kari ayam is $26, sambal udang is $31, kangkung belacan is $22 and rice is $4.50 a serve. There is also a $5 per person BYO charge if you bring your own bottle. ![A plate of grilled chicken satay skewers with peanut sauce, cucumber and red onion](https://mamak.com.au/images/content/_heroImage/menu_satay.jpg) Satay is a Mamak staple. Image: Mamak **7:30pm, drinks on the roof.** [Rooftop Bar](https://www.rooftopbar.co/?ref=blankidentity.com.au) on level 7 of Curtin House on Swanston Street is open from 12pm to 1am daily, welcomes walk-ins, and its kitchen runs until 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1e/c4/1ec40a4f-84a0-482b-aa02-e946534e85fe/content/images/2026/10/rooftop-bar_mel_r_133768_1600x900.jpg) Curtin House, Roof Top Bar. Image: Supplied Transport is cheap on this one. Trams inside the CBD Free Tram Zone are free, and under [Victoria's half-price fares](https://www.vic.gov.au/half-price-travel?ref=blankidentity.com.au), running until 1st Jan 27, the [weekend daily cap](https://transport.vic.gov.au/tickets-and-payments/fares/metropolitan-train-tram-and-bus-fares?ref=blankidentity.com.au) is $4. **The Melbourne day:** about $149 a person, including the cruise, market grazing, dinner and a few drinks. ## A template for any other city The structure travels. Build your own day from the same five slots, and price each one before you go. - **Late morning, something free:** a state gallery, a museum with free entry or a garden you have never walked through. - **Lunch, graze or sit long:** a food market or a seafood spot where sharing is the whole point. - **Afternoon, one paid tourist thing:** a river or harbour cruise, a landmark tour or a lookout, ideally in the $30 to $50 range like the two above. - **Early dinner:** somewhere that takes walk-ins, with a menu you can read online beforehand. - **Drinks with a view:** a rooftop, a waterfront or a pub terrace, and an agreed end time. ## How it stacks up against a weekend away When you go away, the day above is only part of the bill. You still pay for the food, the drinks, the tours, the getting around and the treats, and then you pay for somewhere to sleep. In Sydney, a four-star hotel room averages about $286 a night and a five-star about $485, so two nights is roughly $570 for the room at four stars and closer to $970 at five, before anyone has ordered a thing. If your usual girls trip means flying interstate, it climbs again. A one-way flight between Melbourne and Sydney is typically $150 to $290, so call it $300 to $580 return, and that is the line you skip entirely by staying put. Add the meals, tours and drinks you would pay for anywhere and a weekend away gets expensive fast, while the day above stays at about $185 in Sydney or $149 in Melbourne. If one day feels too short, make it two. Nominate one friend's place as the destination, and treat it like a booking: everyone arrives with an overnight bag and pyjamas, you do the Saturday plan out in the city, then come back for a long dinner, a movie or a board game and the kind of late-night chat that only happens when nobody has to go home. Sunday gets a slow breakfast together. You still get the sleepover, the second morning and the feeling of having been away, and the only extra cost is the second day's food, shared out among the group. The real trade is that you sleep in your own bed, or a friend's spare room. For many friend groups right now, that is a fair swap for a weekend that feels like a trip. If the group would rather make the next catch-up a quiet one, our companion piece on a five-star spa afternoon at home covers that. And when the weather warms up, the [summer festival guide](https://www.blankidentity.com.au/australia-summer-festival-guide-2026-27/) is the next day out to plan. **At a glance:** - **Weekend away, bed and flights only:** a Sydney four-star averages about $286 a night, a five-star about $485, and a Melbourne to Sydney flight is typically $150 to $290 one way - **Sleepover version:** nominate a friend's place, add an overnight bag and a second day of shared food - **Sydney day:** about $185 a person - **Melbourne day:** about $149 a person - **Opal Saturday cap:** $9.65 - **The Rocks Walking Tour:** about $50 adult, 90 minutes, 10:30am or 1:30pm - **Pony Dining lunch:** Thursday to Sunday, 12pm to 3pm, check the menu and book online - **Opera Bar:** pizzas $28 to $34, antipasto $35, flatbread $22 - **Art Gallery of NSW, NGV, ACMI:** free general entry - **Melbourne express river cruise:** $35 adult - **Queen Victoria Market borek:** $6 - **Mamak:** roti canai $11.50, satay dozen $34, curries $26 to $31 - **Melbourne weekend transport cap:** $4 **Verdict:** The best girls weekend away right now might be a Saturday in your own city, or a two-day sleepover at a friend's place, with phones away and a plan, for a fraction of the cost of two nights somewhere else.