Sydney Pub Crawls

What’s included and what’s not

Included on the heritage pub walks:

• A guide for 2.5 hours
• A drink at each of four pubs: craft beer, cider or wine, with non-alcoholic choices according to a reviewer
• Gratuities, on both Rocks walks

Included on the party crawl:

• One drink at each venue, collected as a voucher when you arrive with the group
• Entry to all four venues
• Pizza at the second or third stop
• Photos from the night

Included on the small bars and brewery tours:

• One beer or wine at the first bar on the Secret Bars tour, plus a take-home map of bars
• Brewery tastings, a behind-the-scenes look and minivan transport between breweries on the brewery tour

Not included:

• Food on the heritage walks. One reviewer of the Historical Pub Tour bought a pizza at a stop
• Drinks beyond the allowance. The Secret Bars operator tells guests to budget for their own after the first
• A ride home. The brewery tour’s listing now marks hotel pickup and drop-off as not included

The real difference is how many drinks you get for the night. The two Rocks walks include four. The Secret Bars tour includes one.

The night, hour by hour

Two tours, two very different nights. First the Big Night Out Pub Crawl, as its listing sets out the venues.

• 8:00pm to 9:00pm Go downstairs at World Square Bar, World Square Shopping Centre, 644 George Street, and find the hosts at check-in. A host reply says the meeting window runs to 9pm.
• 8:00pm First drink and games at World Square Bar. About an hour here.
• 9:00pm Walk with the group to 3 Wise Monkeys Pub. Arrive with the group or you miss the voucher.
• 10:00pm Scruffy Murphy’s, the third venue. A host reply puts the free pizza here.
• 11:00pm Side Bar on Pitt Street, Haymarket, the last stop. The listing gives it 3 hours, while a host reply says each venue runs about an hour. You leave when you like.

The listing gives the whole night as 4 to 7 hours. A host reply in the reviews says the group is mostly 18 to 25.

Now The Rocks Pub Walking Tour. The listing does not name the four pubs or give stop times, so this is the shape of the walk rather than a schedule.

• Start Harts Pub, on the corner of Essex and Gloucester Streets. The guide wears the operator’s shirt and hat.
• Along the way Four pubs, a different drink at each, and the early colony’s story between them. One reviewer mentions a stop outside at The Big Dig archaeology site.
• 2:30 Finish at the Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, 19 Kent Street, which brews its own beer.

Smashd Sydney filmed his own Saturday pub walk through Circular Quay and The Rocks and overstayed at two waterfront bars, then skipped a pub he had planned. A guide keeps that pace for you.

Meeting point and getting there

Harts Pub is the start for both Rocks heritage walks. It sits on the corner of Essex and Gloucester Streets in The Rocks. Use the Transport for NSW trip planner to get there from your hotel, and expect hills.

World Square, the party crawl’s start, is at 644 George Street in the city. Go downstairs inside the centre to World Square Bar. The crawl ends at Side Bar, 509 Pitt Street in Haymarket.

The brewery tour no longer lists hotel pickup, so plan to meet it in Surry Hills: 26 Foveaux Street, or check the voucher. The afternoon option meets at the Keg and Brew Hotel in Surry Hills.

The Secret Bars tour meets at a point that depends on the night: Oxford Street, the CBD, The Rocks, Surry Hills or Newtown. The voucher has yours.

Running late? Ring the number on the voucher. On the party crawl the drink vouchers depend on arriving with the group, so catch up at the next venue only if the hosts agree.

What to bring

• Photo ID: a passport or a licence. The party crawl says venues will not accept photos or copies, and NSW venues can ask anyone who looks under 25 for proof of age.
• Shoes, not thongs. The party crawl bans flip flops, singlets and sportswear. In The Rocks, Smashd Sydney called the stairs between pubs the worst thing about the area.
• A card for extra rounds. Smashd Sydney found waterfront bars at Circular Quay the dearest of his day.
• A charged phone, for the route home after midnight by late train or NightRide bus.

One thing to know before your first round. NSW pubs pour schooners, not pints, as the standard glass, which Smashd Sydney points out at his first stop. Ask for a pint if you want one.

Leave large bags at the hotel. The old pubs are small, and the Glenmore rooftop was full when Smashd Sydney tried it on a weekend evening.

How to choose

The dearer heritage walks add drinks, a capped group and a guide who knows each pub’s story. The party crawl is the busiest night by far, with up to 150 people.

Pick a tour if:

• you want the history of The Rocks pubs from a guide, not a plaque
• you are on your own and want company for the evening
• you want the small bars a first-timer would walk past

Skip it if:

• you are happy to walk the Rocks pubs yourself. Whatsanametravel walked a route from Millers Point east to the Fortune of War, and our guide to things to do in Sydney at night has free ideas for the evening.
• you want the history without the beer, in which case take a daytime walk through The Rocks

No drinks at all? There are other Sydney walking tours by day, from convict history to true crime.

Season and timing

The night of the week matters more than the month. Check it before you book. The party crawl runs on Fridays and Saturdays only, according to a host reply in its reviews. Saturday is the busy night in The Rocks too: a reviewer of the Historical Pub Tour warned that pubs get very full, and a group of 15 then struggles for seats.

A weeknight heritage walk avoids the Saturday crush. Smashd Sydney says the Paragon at Circular Quay fills with office workers midweek, so even weeknights are not empty.

Summer from December to February is the season for the outdoor decks. Do not count on a rooftop seat on a weekend evening. Winter nights are cold on the harbour edge, and the old pubs are the place to be. The Lord Nelson brews its own beer and calls itself home of Australia’s oldest pub brewery.

Heritage pubs close for refurbishment from time to time. Smashd Sydney found the Mercantile and the Observer shut when he filmed. Both have since reopened, the Mercantile in March 2026 after more than a year of work. A guide plans the route around closures. On your own, check before you go.

Book a week or two ahead for Fridays and Saturdays. The brewery and small bars tours are usually booked more than a month out, according to their listings.

FAQ