Australia's largest and busiest international airport is located in Sydney, NSW. Many major…read morecarriers fly in and out of Terminal 1 while other domestic carriers utilize Terminal 2. Quantas Airlines domestic flights are operated out of Terminal 3. If your flights connect between each terminal, you would have to take a complimentary shuttle that runs about 15 minutes to each terminal. It is not possible to walk from one terminal to another terminal. Upon arrival into SYD, you will be walking through Immigration Hall. Use a self service kiosk to print your Passport Ticket. From there, make your way take your picture to clear Customs. You'll be met by an Immigration Officer who will take your ticket and guide you to a queue # depending on what goods/money/etc to declare or not. Everything moves very quickly as many International Carriers arrive all throughout the day and night. At Baggage Claim, you'd typically find Foreign Currency Exchange, which our USD is very strong right now! Departing SYD was just as seamless. From Check-in, you must clear Immigration, then security. Walk through aisles and lots of Duty Free Stores, eateries can be found either at check-in Lobby as well as departing gate. Free WiFi available, people movers, clean restroom facilities, and one of the jolliest people operating an airport to make your experience calm and stress-free. Travel tip. 3-1-1 TSA rules apply. Very strict and heightened security measures are in place when going through security. Bringing in many food items into Australia are prohibited so check the TravelSECURE Website before your flights.

I think this must be a very busy airport with some very high income clientele because they had a…read morelarge selection of very expensive luxury brand stores and kiosk everywhere in the main hall. As for lounges, I'm a bit split. I will say that because of the way there terminals are laid out. I think I can appreciate how their lounges are at centralized. One side of the airport has one set of lounges and the other side has their own. Anyways, my issues with the lounges at least the Qantas business lounge and the Amex Centurion lounge was that both were lacking. Where I'm split is, is that really their fault or the fault with those who run the lounge. On that same note, the lounges are part of the airport so it has to be a part of the rating. This is something that I probably shouldn't take issue with but as someone fairly new to international travel I had been looking forward to for a long time. This was also at Auckland Airport in New Zealand by the way, they do smart passport border control whatever they call it these days. You scan your passport, get scanned by a camera and you move through the gate. Efficient? Very. Disappointing? Well for me yes because I had been looking forward to passport stamps.

Gayle and I flew home from the Sydney International Terminal on United to LAX. This International…read moreAirport has the things you expect: multiple check-in-halls, security and immigration lines, duty free, lots of other shops, and the excitement of foreign travel. Yet, the old girl feels a little tired and certainly doesn't have the oomph that Gayle and I have experienced with Istanbul or Singapore. If and when we come back to Australia, it won't be through this airport. Why? The new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport (WSI) is currently in its final testing and operational readiness phase, with passenger services scheduled to begin in October 2026.

Before traveling to Australia as foreign visitors with eligible passports, we applied for an…read moreelectronic tourist visa through the Australian Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) about 4 months before we departed from Honolulu. We were granted an electronic visa for tourism within 72 hours of our application and excitedly awaited our upcoming travel this March. We were a bit apprehensive about finding our way through Sydney's International Terminal, but were quickly relieved by clear directional signs and quick, easy electronic passport screening. We were impressed with the modern, sleek yet friendly-looking facility, the multiple new electronic security kiosks designed to handle the large number of incoming visitors and returning residents, and the local artwork displays. I must say it took us around 15 minutes from the arrival gate to baggage claim, then to check in and pass through immigration, as we didn't have anything to declare. Once we exited immigration, we met with our driver, who was proudly showing a company placard with our names boldly printed. This was by far the best and most efficient arrival procedures and processing into a foreign country that we have ever encountered. We'd happily return.

Flying from LAX to Sydney was a little more complicated than Gayle and I expected. We first landed…read moreat the International Terminal, then we had to retrieve our luggage, take a bus over to the Domestic Terminal, and then recheck in at Jet Star for our onward flight to Hobart. As we were on a single ticket, we were hoping that our bags would be checked all the way through, as our tags indicated. On top of that, there was a huge line for screen-based check in and drop off at Jet Star, exacerbated by construction at the Arrivals Hall. Maybe we should have booked Quantas leaving out of Domestic Terminal 3? After all that, Security was a breeze and the air side was quite nice. As far as I could tell, JetStar boarding was all Group 1 as we and fellow passengers jostled for position. But it all went relatively quickly and soon we were on our way to Hobart.

Wow this is far from the other terminal! They have a shuttle bus that takes international…read morepassengers to the front door step of this terminal. All the staff seem pretty kind. Mixed reviews for tourists/travelers not everyone is nice on that front. Overall clean and tsa made sense that it flowed decently well for a holiday season!

if you still have room in your carry on there are loads of shopping options along the way to your…read moregate. Hope you like to walk, because it will be quite a hike. It is quite modern , bright and fairly easy to find your way. What is lacking are rest rooms, charging stations and more food options.

Over the years I have reviewed this airport and all the same issues still exist…read more Charging stations.... Where are they near the gates The PA system is so muffled that you have to strain to hear it I appreciate the airports proximity to the city and how easy it is to reach city centre

We had no issues... all the agents and staff at this location are very friendly and helpful…read more.. Buying souvenirs.... staff informed us of what we could bring into the USA...

A beautiful airport, easy to get through and navigate…read more however, as beautiful as this airport is, there is a major concern that needs to be addressed. In the vicinity of my gate and even beyond there were two filtered water drinking fountains that had lines wrapped around the corner with a minimum 20 people per line. With something like that, I would say you have a crystal clear problem that needs to be addressed, which is more filtered water fountains to refill water bottles!!! In addition to that, there were lines for the women's bathroom, which indicates they need more stalls for the ladies. The other huge complaint is gate 26. We were switched to gate 26 and there was a large crowd of people just blocking it hoarding this area with a guy saying oh no it's gonna be a while. I'll sit down. This is with United Airlines only to find out that he opens it and then you go down there to find a BCDEFG which is additional united airlines "gates". So you'd have several airplanes out there that you're walking to with all these different booths and lines and workers with very minimal seating area so that's what they don't tell you but that's what nobody knows so you're at this large area gate 26 wondering what's going on everybody was confused. This is a complaint to the United Airlines and Sydney Airport. We need clear communications and signage as well as more water bottle Fill stations and ladies bathrooms.

When you take first class (and probably business) United from Sydney, you have two options bc NZ…read moreand Singapore Airlines (SQ) both are part of Star Alliance. Do NOT go to the SQ lounge- it is soooo worn down and tiny. It's in desperate need of a face lift but bc it's the first lounge you see, you'll often see people just walk into that one. Sure, SQ lounge in Singapore was amazing but don't expect even an ounce of that luxury here. I'm glad I ventured out and moved over to the Koru lounge bc holy cow it's about 20 times nicer, with better food, drink stations, cleaner, and seating is much much nicer.

Amazing fresh food with a short order chef. Stylish coffee made to order by an excellent barista…read moreand then cocktails after!!! ( try the kiwi fruit martini for a decadent nz twist). Best koru lounge experience.

Horrible customer service. The staff were rude, arrogant, and dismissive from the moment we asked…read morequestions. Instead of helping, they responded with a smart attitude. We were told to use the self-service kiosks to check our bags. After sending us there, a staff member then told us we had to wait for assistance. We waited over 15 minutes while the kiosk repeatedly timed out every five minutes. By the time someone finally came to help, the kiosk had completely timed out, and we were simply told to go back and wait in the regular check-in line. The entire situation was poorly managed and wasted our time. Staff should treat customers with respect and provide clear, consistent instructions instead of making the process more difficult.

Now I know how the owner of Virgin Airlines makes so much money. They allow you only 7 kg for your…read morecarry-on. My bag alone is heavier than that. They charged $90 to check it in. The lady made us take things out and rearrange our bags. What a nightmare and $90??? The thing I like is that they have a special line for those who are late to check in like your plane is going to leave without you and you need to run to catch it. That was really cool. Other than that, I probably will pass on using them in the future.

Having flown over 2 million miles and been to over 200 airports. Rating the terminal and not the…read moreairline. - Parking is a bit of a walk and expensive. Traffic has improved but can be gridlock at times. - its odd when you enter the terminal from parking you enter at baggage claim and the need to to walk to the end of the terminal and all the way back to enter through security. - The only terminal I've entered and they weighed my carryon before security - security was quick, no need to remove anything from my bag! - A range of shops in the terminal offering a great selection of items. - Qantas has 3 lounges, I've used the Qantas Club and Business Lounge. Both offer decent food options and room - Uber pickup is very convenient directly outside baggage claim. - Bathrooms are decent, clean and modern. Compared to other airports, Can I give it 3.5? I'll round up to 4 as a few areas have improved recently.

Quanta's service counter was super helpful after an eventful morning that left me having to…read morereschedule my flight. The gate attendants were less so... overall a Very average experience, I had expected somewhat better for this airline. I find the boarding process very strange with group 4 and 5 boarding before group 3. I do however like the offerings of the terminal (food/shopping) and the bathrooms were clean.

First time traveling to Sydney and found this airport easy to navigate. Ample food options and…read moreshops for snacks or local souvenirs before security. Bathrooms were clean and big. Going through security was a bit of a headache though. Just seemed inefficient. I watched as an Asian airlines flight crew took forever to get their bags on the belt to get scanned. It was like a Benny Hill episode. Took off one star for that. As amusing as it was, I feel like it held everyone up. The belt is constantly moving so if you don't move in unison with the people next to you, the person behind you can push their bag to the main belt to be scanned and it could block your bag from going though and you're stuck waiting.

This airport can seem complicated, but once you've been there a few times, you know it like the…read moreback of your hand and move around easily. My recent trip to Australia and New Zealand brought me to this airport 4x. Plus I had to file a claim about damaged luggage that brought me to an office of the bottom level of the airport. Truly though, paying attention to the well labeled signs will get anyone where they need to go. And there are a lot of check in counters but it's easy to find out which counter suits you. Security is thorough and efficient so usually before I know it, I'm at my gate with some snack I bought at one of the plentiful eateries or convenience stores along the way. Oh, plus there's a train conveniently attached to the airport. Good deal.