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Sydney BridgeClimb Adventure: Added Info, Tips, Secrets??


TLCOhio
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Now, are cameras not allowed mainly because they want you to buy their pictures, or only because of the potential danger of them falling and hitting traffic below?
It's the danger. The agreement with the Roads and Traffic Authority has very strict conditions about what can be taken up. For example, it's why you have to wear those suits, and why they are the colour they are. The benefit of buying their pictures is incidental to that.

 

However, there have been some small relaxations over the years, with experience.

 

A hint. If it's hot, and the guides suggest that you strip off down to your underwear before getting into those suits: do it. You will enjoy the experience much more if you're not roasting inside the suit.

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I'm interested in the dawn climb, but want to get good photos with our cruise ship in the background. Will it be light enough to get good shots and what time would "the next climb be" if not? Our ideal scenario would be to do this the morning of the day we board the ship, so we do the climb then check out of the hotel, and board the ship. I would prefer doing this pre cruise as I get wobbly post cruise for a few days.

Thanks, Karen

Edited by boingy300
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I'm interested in the dawn climb, but want to get good photos with our cruise ship in the background. Will it be light enough to get good shots and what time would "the next climb be" if not?
The best thing to do is to go to www.timeanddate.com to find out the sunrise time for the day you're planning to climb, and compare that with the time of the dawn climb that you're thinking about. Don't forget the very limited number of days that the dawn climb is offered on, as TLCOhio has discovered.

 

Also, don't forget that you can't take your own photos because you can't take your own camera up. You will have to negotiate with your guide to get into position to capture your ship in the background. The guides use digital cameras, so should be able to check immediately that they've succeeded in doing so.

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The best thing to do is to go to www.timeanddate.com to find out the sunrise time for the day you're planning to climb, and compare that with the time of the dawn climb that you're thinking about. Don't forget the very limited number of days that the dawn climb is offered on, as TLCOhio has discovered.

 

Also, don't forget that you can't take your own photos because you can't take your own camera up. You will have to negotiate with your guide to get into position to capture your ship in the background. The guides use digital cameras, so should be able to check immediately that they've succeeded in doing so.

 

Thanks- I had every intention of asking them to get a photo with the ship in the background (we would buy the largest photo pkg. available). It has been repeatedly stated in this post- no cameras- got it. I see they have a day climb starting at 8a which will be perfect. Thanks for the warning about the dawn climb not being everyday. I missed that fact! Karen

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Thanks- I had every intention of asking them to get a photo with the ship in the background (we would buy the largest photo pkg. available). It has been repeatedly stated in this post- no cameras- got it. I see they have a day climb starting at 8a which will be perfect. Thanks for the warning about the dawn climb not being everyday. I missed that fact! Karen

 

For our Cincinnati "neighbor", yes, that dawn climb is only offered on the first Saturday of each month. Depend on when you are there, for most of the other days, the first climb is around 8-10 am, not exactly in that "dawn" category. From what I have read, there might be other photo opportunities from the main highway/walking level of the bridge (that's free), plus the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout, overlooking the Sydney Opera House.

 

Keep that good info and experiences flowing and being shared.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 107,090 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

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We are doing the Soltice Top End Cruise from Perth to Sydney 15 Feb 13. This bridge climb looks like a great one, but for two that is $400 plus and I can go up in the Tower skyscraper and have dinner if I like. Still, we may decide to do it.

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We are doing the Soltice Top End Cruise from Perth to Sydney 15 Feb 13. This bridge climb looks like a great one, but for two that is $400 plus and I can go up in the Tower skyscraper and have dinner if I like. Still, we may decide to do it.

 

Look forward to hearing your reports on doing the "Top End" cruise of Australia, plus how the Solstice, looks, performs, etc. For me, my wife has totally no interest in doing this bridge climb. That saves money!! Tall towers with glass give you a great views, but it is not quite the same "EXPERIENCE" and thrill of being on the famed steel bridge, feeling the air and sun, being "out there" in a safe manner, etc.

 

Post here when you get back and tell us more!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 107,584 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

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  • 3 months later...

We look forward to more reviews of the Bridge Climb too. Does anyone know if there are ever discounts available for these climbs?

 

On previous trips and even this upcoming trip to Australia/New Zealand, I have subscribed to the local Groupon and Living Social sites for additional discount opportunities. Didn't know if there were other sites I should be monitoring for disounts, especially for the climb.

 

Thank you,

Katherine

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We look forward to more reviews of the Bridge Climb too. Does anyone know if there are ever discounts available for these climbs?

 

On previous trips and even this upcoming trip to Australia/New Zealand, I have subscribed to the local Groupon and Living Social sites for additional discount opportunities. Didn't know if there were other sites I should be monitoring for disounts, especially for the climb.

 

Thank you,

Katherine

 

Bridge Climb does not discount. Not even for "industry people" such as airline staff who usually do get nice discounts for any tourist attraction. Don't let the lack of discounts deter you from taking this tour. It is seriously good and worth every cent. If you do only one "tour" in Sydney it should be the Bridge Climb. If you consider two tours, the other one is a harbour cruise. Beautiful! If you do not want to do a fully guided cruise, take one of the green-and-yellow computer ferries to Mosman Bay and straight back again. You have a very nice hour on the water and, on the way back, when you turn around the head land, the whole harbour is in front of you, inclusive the Opera House and the bridge.

What a way to get to work every day.....

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Bridge Climb does not discount. Not even for "industry people" such as airline staff who usually do get nice discounts for any tourist attraction. Don't let the lack of discounts deter you from taking this tour. It is seriously good and worth every cent. If you do only one "tour" in Sydney it should be the Bridge Climb. If you consider two tours, the other one is a harbour cruise. Beautiful! If you do not want to do a fully guided cruise, take one of the green-and-yellow computer ferries to Mosman Bay and straight back again. You have a very nice hour on the water and, on the way back, when you turn around the head land, the whole harbour is in front of you, inclusive the Opera House and the bridge. What a way to get to work every day.....

 

Appreciate these added comments, ideas and suggestions for Sydney and its many wonderful options. Very helpful!! We've now got our airline bookings done that get us down from Ohio to Dallas, Hawaii, Brisbane and then Cairns. All on American Airlines Frequent Flyer miles. Good news having the flights and seats booked!! Will do JetStar or Qantas for Cairns to Adelaide/Kangaroo Island and then to Sydney to see that city and board our Solstice cruise ship on Jan. 20, 2014. So many have been very helpful in sharing the potentials for down under! Keep it coming.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 119,837 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

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I'm back from Oz. The bridge climb was much easier than I expected. There were 4 groups of steps straight up like a ladder- 10 steps each, crossing up to the next 10 etc. I flew up them. Not only did we get a great pic w/ the ship in the photo, but a couple helped us spell OHIO at the top for our son at Ohio State University. Terry I am not in great shape and afraid of heights and had a blast. I'll try to get some pics. I heard a few people complain about jetstar but not sure why. We were thriled w/ Qantas.

Karen

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We did the twilight climb. It was great. You go up in daylight and watch the sun set and the lights come on in the city.

 

I would suspect although I do not know that given the markup that ships do that the climb is more expensive if you book it through the ship than directly with the bridge people. You can easily go on the bridge site and make your own arrangements or at least compare the cost with the ship cost.

 

We did it as part of an extended 2 1/2 month land tour of Australia that we set up with our travel agent. I paid for the entire trip cost so I do not know how expensive the bridge climb was but whatever it cost - it was totally worth it.

 

DON

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Yeah- we just went to the Bridge Climb's website and booked through them. We also got the 8 photo USB. It is a cute souvenir. I felt like they took pictures of everyone equally whether you bought the photo package or not. They honored our extra request to spell Ohio simply because we asked and were dorks. It was the highlight of my trip.

Karen

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We are doing the Soltice Top End Cruise from Perth to Sydney 15 Feb 13. This bridge climb looks like a great one, but for two that is $400 plus and I can go up in the Tower skyscraper and have dinner if I like. Still, we may decide to do it.

 

Going up the Tower skyscraper is just riding an elevator and looking out of windows. Doing the bridge is an experience that is absolutely unique. You can do skyscrapers and restaurants on top anywhere in the world.

 

IMHO, the bridge climb is worth $400 or more.

 

DON

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Jetstar has a bad rap because they are prone to reschedule flights the day or 2 before. It doesn't show on their on time reliability as the flight just "disappears". Usually happens when the flight doesn't look viable.

 

JQ is like ryanair. If you have anything planned then be ready and flexible to change it and never book a connecting flight with another airline.

 

The food at Sydney Tower is pretty ordinary. If you want a good harbour view and don't feel comfortable with the bridge consider the SE Pylon..

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  • 3 weeks later...

We just returned from Australia. We did a five day stay in Sydney after our Solstice cruise. Cruise was good except for serious tendering problems in Bali and Yorky's Knob.

 

As for the bridge climb, I am sure it is a great experience, but for $240 pp, we declined and did the pile climb. It appears to be about 3/4 of the height from the water, but you can take your camera and it only costs $11.

 

It was great, as well as Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley, and of course Sydney. We also saw La Boheme at the opera house and it was wonderful.

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We just returned from Australia. We did a five day stay in Sydney after our Solstice cruise. Cruise was good except for serious tendering problems in Bali and Yorky's Knob.

 

As for the bridge climb, I am sure it is a great experience, but for $240 pp, we declined and did the pile climb. It appears to be about 3/4 of the height from the water, but you can take your camera and it only costs $11.

 

It was great, as well as Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley, and of course Sydney. We also saw La Boheme at the opera house and it was wonderful.

 

I have not been able to find information on the bridge climb? Could you share more about it?

 

Thank you, Betty

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As for the bridge climb, I am sure it is a great experience, but for $240 pp, we declined and did the pile climb. It appears to be about 3/4 of the height from the water, but you can take your camera and it only costs $11.

 

 

 

What is the pile Climb ? & how did you find info on that ?

We are staying 8 days in Sydney post cruise & want to make the most of it.

thanks

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I have not been able to find information on the bridge climb? Could you share more about it?

 

Thank you, Betty

Betty,

Here is the information.

http://www.bridgeclimb.com/The-Climbs/The-Bridge-Climb/

 

 

The Bridge Climb is a 3 ½ hour guided journey to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It takes you along the outer arch of the Bridge on catwalks and ladders all the way to the summit, 134 metres above Sydney Harbour.

In Climb groups of up to 14 people, you’ll be led by one of BridgeClimb’s professional Climb Leaders on an adventure of the world’s most recognisable Bridge. The steady incline to the summit leaves you free to focus your attention on your Sydney experience, with opportunities to witness 360 degree views of Sydney, including east to the Sydney Opera House, west to the Blue Mountains and the Harbour city surrounds.

When you reach the top you will have a sense of achievement that you will remember forever - you've conquered an Australian icon recognised the world over!

The Bridge Climb is the ultimate Sydney experience.

Our professional Climb Leaders will take pictures of you on the Climb and at the end you will receive a commemorative Climber Certificate, Climber Cap and a complimentary group photograph, with all Climbers in the group receiving an identical photo. For safety reasons Climbers cannot take up personal items onto the Bridge (including cameras).

Watch The Bridge Climb video.

http://www.bridgeclimb.com/The-Climbs/Pricing/

 

The pile climb is going up on the northwestern pile of the bridge. You can purchase tickets at the bridge climb office.

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As for the bridge climb, I am sure it is a great experience, but for $240 pp, we declined and did the pile climb. It appears to be about 3/4 of the height from the water, but you can take your camera and it only costs $11.

 

 

 

What is the pile Climb ? & how did you find info on that ?

We are staying 8 days in Sydney post cruise & want to make the most of it.

thanks

We did five days in Sydney. It is one of our favorite cities in the World.

 

I found these suggestions on cc:

 

 

  • The Rocks – historical area, plus some tourist shopping.
  • Circular Quay – for views.
  • Sydney Opera House – do a tour; the backstage tour is the most interesting, but is much less frequent and much more expensive than the standard tourist run. Go to a concert or a show if you can.
  • Botanic Gardens and the Domain (parks).
  • Hyde Park, including the ANZAC memorial, fountains, and nearby buildings such as St Mary’s Cathedral, the New South Wales Art Gallery and Hyde Park Barracks.
  • Darling Harbour – touristy things, including the casino at Star City if you're into that sort of thing.
  • Sydney Aquarium (at Darling Harbour).
  • Sydney Wildlife World (at Darling Harbour).
  • Maritime Museum (at Darling Harbour).
  • Powerhouse Museum (at Darling Harbour).
  • The Australian Museum (in the City).
  • Museum of Sydney (in the City).
  • Museum of Contemporary Art (Circular Quay – the café is said to be pretty good).
  • Bridgeclimb – 3½ hours, but worth it if the weather's good. Not energetic, nor difficult to anyone who has anything other than serious fears of heights. Best to book when you're there and you can gauge what the weather is likely to be. Most popular and expensive climbs are at twilight. Otherwise, a first timer should do a day climb to see where everything is, although night climbs are romantically spectacular. They have a new route which climbs the lower arch, but the standard route is still better for a newcomer.
  • Or just walk across the Harbour Bridge if you don't want to climb it. You can go up the south-east pylon (the one nearest the Opera House and Circular Quay) for some views that are better than those from the roadway.
  • Sydney Tower – the tall building thing, also a very ish revolving restaurant.
  • Paddy's Markets.
  • Chinatown.
  • The Sydney Fish Market (an early start is needed to get the most out of this).
  • Take a ferry to Manly.
  • Manly – long beach on the ocean side, cafes etc. If you can get there, big park at North Head with good harbour and sea views, but is a long walk from Manly itself.
  • Taronga Zoo – take the ferry from Circular Quay for this, too.
  • Cruise on the harbour - lots of ways of doing this, standard tourist ones from Circular Quay; also a jetboat from there; but my favourite is on a genuine ex-Americas Cup yacht - a cruise ship is nothing like this!
  • Watsons Bay – famous for Doyles, seafood restaurant, also good views. Also, go up to South Head (walking distance) from there, for views. Watsons Bay can be reached by ferry.
  • Queen Victoria Building – possibly the most elegant shopping mall in the world.
  • Bondi Beach – if you feel that you really have to do this. Quite close to Watsons Bay, can be done in a long walk (about 3½ miles), or by the Bondi Explorer Bus.
  • Walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach along the cliff tops.
  • Also, between Watsons Bay and the City, there are Double Bay (elegant, expensive shops) and Rose Bay (pretty waterfront).
  • Balmoral Beach, to which you can get by bus (including, if you like, lunch or dinner at the Bathers Pavilion, or just fish and chips, or something else - there is a number of eateries here).
  • Other walks along the harbour foreshore, for example between Cremorne and Mosman.
  • Blu Bar at the top of the Shangri-La Hotel for cocktails with a view.
  • King's Cross at night (for the broad-minded).
  • Featherdale Wildlife Park.

Also, Sydney is one of the great eating cities of the world, so there's no shortage of good and/or exotic food.

 

If you are staying longer in Sydney, the following day trips out of Sydney are also possible:-

  • Blue Mountains/Katoomba
  • Northern beaches (up to Palm Beach)
  • Hunter Valley wineries
  • Canberra

 

We did the following:

 

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Looking over Qantas website I see they offer discounts for the bridge climb and the hop on/hop off bus tour for Qantas freq. flyer members. I wish we'd have figured that out ahead of time. Bridge Climb is $198 pp as a freq. flyer. Nice deal at Shangri-la too. FYI.

Karen

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