Convicts and The Rocks: Sydney's Walking Tour Led by Historian
5.0
275 Ratings
Sydney
Uncover the scallywag stories of convicts, soldiers, sailors, rum, and rebellions on a walking tour of Sydney's colonial birthplace, The Rocks. Led by vibrant historians, this tour brings history to life through storytelling and visual imagery.
Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Journey Walks - Meet you guide at our Journey Walks starting point in front of Customs House at Circular Quay for an introduction. Your guide will be located on right hand side of the building if facing the entrance with a CONVICT HISTORY tour folder.
What's Included
  • 2.5 hour walking tour of 20 historic sites
  • Tour ends in The Rocks with local pub and cafe recommendations
  • Visual aids including historic photos, maps, and portraits
  • Inside visit at Customs House with Sydney scale model view
  • Expert guidance from a local crime historian
What's Not Included
  • Food is not included on this tour, but your tour guide will have fantastic local recommendations
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Get ready for a riveting journey through Sydney’s historical epicenter, The Rocks, in this engaging walking tour. You and your fellow explorers will dive into intriguing tales of convicts, military personnel, seamen, and revolts fueled by rum. Dynamic historians will lead the tour, engaging you with compelling narratives, vivid visuals, and well-researched facts.

Embarking on our journey through the compact lanes and concealed ruins of The Rocks district, we’ll first visit Sydney’s iconic Customs House and unearth historical artifacts at Macquarie Place.

In The Rocks, your tour guide will animate stories of the convicts, artisans, and criminals that shaped its early days. You’ll also explore beneath the streets, in a sandstone cellar with ties to the city’s gold-rush period.

Upon immersing oneself in the dense historical tapestry of the area, the tour will conclude in the bustling heart of The Rocks. Here you’ll find heritage pubs, eateries, niche shopping outlets, art studios, and a local market operating on Saturdays. Welcome aboard!

  • We continue our tours in all weather conditions so please dress accordingly. Umbrella’s are a good idea if wet weather seems likely.
  • Due to the layout of The Rocks, some stairs are unavoidable at certain points along the way, but majority of the route follows flat terrain.
  • Anyone requiring special assistance is kindly asked to make contact with your local operator in advance.
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are advised that this tour may include the names and images of people who are now deceased.
  • Your guide is a native English speaker and will carry tour folder with A3 size images to help illustrate the area’s past
  • Groups are kept small (10 person maximum) and we encourage questions and interaction.
  • Your guide will ensure that Covid-safe social distancing measures and a contact free policy is in place throughout the tour
Location
Customs House
Alfred Street
This tour meets in front of CUSTOMS HOUSE (31 Alfred Street Circular Quay). Your guide will be located outside the building on right hand-side if facing the entrance. Your guide will have a white tour folder that says CONVICT HISTORY TOUR and will check you in.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(275 Ratings)
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Anna_m
May 11, 2024
A very informative tour - This was a very informative tour & Bex our guide was very knowledgeable. She conducted the tour with so much enthusiasm & made it very interesting. We learnt a lot about the convicts and The Rocks and how Sydney became Sydney. Bex was able to answer all questions confidently. There was only 4 people on this guided tour so we were able to hear everything that was said, and also the tour was well paced. I would highly recommend this tour to first time visitors to Sydney.
Review provided by Viator
Justin_m
Apr 25, 2024
A must do tour when in Sydney - Excellent content and presentation. Read the ‘Fatal Shore’, go on Max’s tour and understand the colonial birthplace of Australia.
Review provided by Viator
Vernon_m
Apr 12, 2024
Walking tour gem - Bec, our tour guide, was wonderful - engaging, knowledgeable, and friendly. We enjoyed her sharing so many stories about Sydney and the Rocks. And wonderful to be able to walk around while learning history. Would highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Kevin_k
Mar 29, 2024
The 'WALK BACK' in time - The walking tour was excellent from start to finish 👏 . Our tour guide Beckie was very knowledgeable and dealt with all questions with interest and intusium.
Review provided by Viator
Thestrods
Mar 25, 2024
Really interesting insight into Sydney’s history - Really informative and interesting walking tour around Sydney’s harbour. Beccs (our guide) was well informed and engaging which helped bring the history to life. Mostl of this walk is at street level, but there are a number of steps at the end of the tour, so most people should manage it quite well, however, I would check before you book if you have any accessibility needs as I’m not sure there is any alternative for wheel chairs, etc. All in all, well worth taking a couple of hours out of your time in Sydney if you can spare it, you will see a side to the city most will miss.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vena_c
Mar 13, 2024
Too experience - Fantastic guide so knowledgeable. Would recommend this tour interesting, entertaining and an easy walk.
Review provided by Viator
Roamer023
Mar 9, 2024
Take this tour...It is excellent! - As cruise ship passengers, we only had a day in Sydney, and this tour was perfect! Max is a fantastic guide and a master storyteller. We've had guides in the past that recite boring names and dates that we'll never remember, but not on this tour! With Max, we heard fascinating true stories about the convict history of Sydney and much more. We were left us with a much richer understanding of the area - thank you Max!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
John_l
Mar 9, 2024
Max walked us through history and brought it alive. - This tour brings alive early history of the rocks and why that location was important to the development of Sydney and the larger region. Our guide, Max, is a history teacher and that was evident in the way he wove the history and culture together to help us develop a feeling for what that place was/is about.
Review provided by Viator
Kathryn_c
Apr 15, 2024
A great way to get an understanding of the history of Sydney. - Our guide, Beck provided us with a well structured and very interesting account and tour from the arrival of the British to Australia and the development of Sydney up to the present day. The illustrations she brought with her were particularly helpful.
Review provided by Viator
William_m
May 5, 2024
Interesting but too long - Our tour guide was great. The tour was interesting and informative, but this 3-hr tour should be about 1.5 hours.
Review provided by Viator
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