Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb – Is it Worth It?

Location: Sydney Harbour Cost: $363 AUSD (£185 /$260) Length: 2.5 Hrs More Details: Click Here

If you are going to visit Sydney, or even Australia in general, one of the most iconic landmarks that you will want to see is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There is then the temptation to climb the frickin’ thing!

On Australian tourist information sites, the Bridge Climb is often recommended as a ‘must do’, both for spectacular views over Sydney Harbour and Circular Quay, and for the experience of climbing the tallest steel arch bridge in the world . However, they often fail to mention that the climb is done in a jumpsuit with only your underwear on underneath!!

REAL TALK – IS IT WORTH IT?

At $363AUSD per person (varies depending on time of climb), the Bridge Climb is probably going to be the dearest activity for most traveller’s visit to Sydney.  $363AUSD is a big expense, and a large portion of the holiday fund, particularly if you are touring Australia on a budget. All that money… to climb a bridge?!  Before I even did the climb, I was perversely hoping that at the end I would be thinking, ‘WHAT A RIP OFF EH????!!!!’. I don’t know why… perhaps my Scottish pessimism.

Surprisingly, it transpired that the recommendations were correct, and it was a great experience!

The Bridge Climb Experience – Pro’s and Con’s

PRO’s

• The views are phenomenal.
• You don’t have to be too fit to do it.
• It is a slick operation. They have everything down to a T. It is very well organised and laid out; from getting changed into the jumpsuit, to getting safely harnessed, and the climb itself.
• The guides are very knowledgeable and funny.
• Small groups (we had a group of ten).
• Great photo opportunities (within the restrictions described below).
• Free group photo / certificate at the end.
• You are provided with a jumpsuit to wear, and advised to only keep your underwear on underneath. It sounds ridiculous, but climbing the bridge, particularly in the height of Australian summer,  is a sweaty task,  and my clothes would have been drenched if this wasn’t done!!

Con’s

• Photos
  • You cannot take your own camera on the climb. You have to rely on the guide taking pictures at pre-determined points.
  • The quality of the photos from the bridge climb by the guide are OK.
  • The cost of the photo’s are pricey ($50 for ten)
• During our climb, a gate was not closed properly on the bridge, meaning we could not go forward at a section. This led to us standing for around 15/20 minutes until this was rectified, and in my opinion, made our climb a night time climb, and not the Twilight climb that we had booked.
• There were things I would have expected to be included in the price that were not (e.g. cleaning our own headset, having to worry about how we gave back our jumpsuit, a 2 page survey at the end)

DO IT

The price is expensive, which I think is understandable, as it probably costs a fortune to insure and keep safety procedures to the high standard that they are.

If you have the  opportunity, and if the price is within your budget, do it. It was a memorable experience, and hopefully the photos show how much of a good time I had.