Picture this. It is a crisp Sydney morning, the harbour is shimmering like a sheet of hammered silver, and you are standing inside the stunning new Sydney Fish Market with one of Australia’s most celebrated chefs by your side. He points to a crate of Sydney Rock Oysters and says, “These are what we are working with today.” And just like that, your Easter weekend becomes the stuff of dinner party legend.
Where Trolley Tourism Meets Harbour Magic
There is a new kind of traveller roaming the world right now. They are not the type to queue at tourist traps or settle for hotel buffets. They want to shop at the markets, cook with the locals, and eat what the fishermen caught that morning. Booking.com calls it Trolley Tourism, and it turns out 88% of Aussie travellers are already doing exactly this when they head away. They seek out the freshest regional ingredients, support local producers, and taste a destination the way it was always meant to be tasted.
Booking.com has taken this insight and done something wonderfully over the top with it. They have partnered with the culinary icon Peter Gilmore and the brand new Sydney Fish Market to create a two night experience that is equal parts market tour, cooking class, harbour cruise, and floating boutique accommodation. It has a name, it has a price tag that will make you do a double take, and it just might be the best Easter plan you have never had.
“The best way to understand a place is through its markets. It is where a destination’s true flavours live.” Peter Gilmore, Executive Chef
- 88% of Aussie travellers shop local markets when they travel
- 1 in 4 Aussies say seafood is the first thing they want to eat on holiday
- $19.74, the symbolic price, honouring the year the yacht was built
From the Market to the Open Water
The adventure starts at the new Sydney Fish Market, a place so spectacular it has tourists making pilgrimages just to walk through the doors. But you are not just visiting. You are getting a private, behind the scenes tour guided by Peter Gilmore himself, the chef behind Quay and Bennelong and arguably one of the most important figures in Australian food. He will walk you through the catch of the day, teach you how to read quality in a piece of fish, and explain why responsible sourcing matters not just to chefs but to the entire market ecosystem.
Then comes the moment the whole experience pivots from extraordinary to completely unreal. You take those hand selected ingredients down to the water, step aboard a classic 72-foot yacht called Sir Thomas Sopwith, and begin what Peter describes as a once in a lifetime expression of Sydney’s seafood scene. This is your home for the next two nights: private cabins, bathrooms, a full galley kitchen, generous deck space for dining, and a harbour view that no hotel room in the city can match.
- Morning at the Market
A private guided tour of the new Sydney Fish Market with Peter Gilmore. You select the catch, you learn the craft, you get the stories behind every species in the crate. - On the Water
Board Sir Thomas Sopwith, your floating home on Sydney Harbour. Peter leads a hands on cooking session in the galley, drawing on fin to tail techniques and serious culinary know how. - Five Courses on Deck
Sit down to a five course lunch prepared by one of Australia’s greatest chefs, with the Opera House behind you and a glass of something cold in hand. Purely and simply unforgettable. - The Harbour is Yours
Your private skipper takes the wheel for an afternoon cruise across Sydney Harbour. Explore the waterways, soak in the views, and settle in for two peaceful nights moored at Jones Bay Wharf.
A taste of what awaits.
- Sydney Rock Oysters, freshly shucked
- Half shell scallops with XO sauce
- Yellow fin tuna sashimi
- Seasonal coastal catches, Peter’s choice
- Daily breakfast from local makers and producers
Sir Thomas Sopwith, Built 1974
There is something poetic about a yacht built the same year its future guests were probably born. Sir Thomas Sopwith is a classic 72-footer available to book directly on Booking.com, and once you step aboard, you will understand immediately why this boat was chosen. The saloon is warm and inviting. The private cabins feel genuinely restful. The deck is spacious enough for five courses and the kind of long lunch that bleeds naturally into sunset. This is not glamping. This is full scale harbour living, with a chef as your host and Sydney as your backdrop.
Moored at Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont for the two nights, you will have the gentle rock of the harbour keeping you company as you fall asleep, which, for the record, is deeply excellent. And the price for all of this? A completely symbolic $19.74, chosen to honour the year the boat was built. Sometimes the details are just perfect.
Don’t miss your chance to book. This two night stay is available on a first come, first served basis for one Booking.com Genius traveller and one guest.
Goes live: 10 April, 12pm AEST
Duration: Two Nights
Price: $19.74
Location: Jones Bay Wharf
Book: On Booking.com
*Based on Booking.com’s Taste of Home Report. The Booking.com Seafood Sail is available to one Booking.com Genius traveller and one guest. Bookable from 10 April at 12pm AEST on a first come, first served basis.
