In Sydney you're never too far from a glorious sandy beach, of which Bondi Beach is the most famous. And Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of the most recognised landmarks in the country.

To fully enjoy the scenic beauty of Sydney Harbour, take a trip on a ferry trip – the best place to start is at Circular Quay, and you can get a trip to Manly and its wonderful beach, and take in the breathtaking scenery of the Sydney coastline.

To get to Circular Quay (for the ferry) follow the George Street Road North, take a right at Bridge Street and veer left at Phillip Street.

For a short trip outside the city, The Blue Mountains and Kanangra National Park are a three-hour drive west of Sydney on the Great Western Highway and well worth exploring.

If you want to travel further afield just get yourself a car hire and hit the open road. The following is a list of places well worth checking out.

Distances from Sydney to Australia's top attractions…

Sunshine Coast – The Sunshine Coast is home to many fabulous attractions including Underwater World, the Big Pineapple (Pineapple Plantation), Australia Zoo, Queensland Air Museum, and of course several golden beaches with plenty of opportunities for watersports and relaxation!

From Sydney, the driving distance to Queensland is over 2,000km and driving time is over 24 hours, so make sure to break up the journey!

The Northern Tropics – The Great Barrier Reef is located in Northern Queensland and is a must visit! Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, Atherton Tablelands, and plenty of adventure sports are well worth undertaking here, along with visits to the local National Park.

Cairns is the capital of the Northern Tropics, and the Northern Tropics area is around 2,400 km from Sydney. Driving time is probably a day and a half.

The Gold Coast – At the core of the Gold Coast is its wonderful beaches. Springbrook Observatory and Currumbin Sanctuary are also well worth a visit, and there are plenty of watersports to enjoy along the majestic seafront.

Byron Bay is another historical landmark that you can visit. Driving time from Sydney to the Gold Coast is approximately 12 hours, a distance of nearly 900km. Brisbane is the principal city on the Gold Coast of Australia.

Melbourne Attractions – there is so much to do and see in this city. The most popular attractions to visit are Federation Square, the Aquarium and Museum, Melbourne Zoo, National Gallery of Victoria, Queen Victoria Markets, the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Grounds) and the Australian Gallery of Sport. Melbourne is around 885km from Sydney, roughly a 10-hour drive.

Canberra Attractions - From Sydney, it's almost a 4-hour drive, with a total driving distance of 287km. The most popular attractions to visit in Canberra are the National Gallery of Australia, Australian Institute of Sport, National Zoo and Aquarium and Cockington Green – a miniature model village.

Perth Attractions – Perth is 4,000km away from Sydney but has plenty of attractions to entice the visitor. Northbridge and the Art Gallery of Western Australia, The Western Australia Museum, Kings Park and Perth Observatory are well worth a visit.

Adelaide Attractions – Adelaide is over 1,300km from Sydney, but the attractions there are many. The Art Gallery of South Australia, Tandanya - the National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, South Australian Maritime Museum are all well worth a visit.

Alice Springs – Alice Springs is the capital of the Australian Outback! Close to the actual geographic centre of Australia, it has many national parks (Alice Springs Desert Park – the biggest) and botanic gardens for you to explore. The Simpson Desert, with its strange rock formations and gigantic red sand dunes is worth a visit!

The Alice Springs area is almost 2,800km from Sydney, and it would take nearly two days to drive there. Your best bet is to get onto the Stuart Highway and enter the Northern Territory.

Make sure you book your car hire well in advance.

Mairead Foley writes for www.Novacarhire.com/ where you can book car hire at airports, ferry ports, rail stations, cities and towns all over the world.

Visit Novacarhire.com for all you need to know before you take to the roads in Australia, like where to go and what to see with your car hire. Book your Car hire Sydney now.