Sydney BridgeClimb tops list of Australian tourist attractions
Which Australian tourist attraction has been voted the No. 1 ‘experience’ by travellers?
Sydney BridgeClimb has been voted the No. 1 travel experience in Australia by planning and booking site TripAdvisor.
The bucket-list tourist attraction, which will be under new management from October, was also ranked the No. 4 experience globally in the site’s inaugural Travellers’ Choice awards.
The climb, in which participants traverse catwalks and ladders to take in panoramic views of the harbour, city and beyond, was ranked ahead of the Great Ocean Road Small-Group Ecotour from Melbourne, which took second place.
At third place was another popular Sydney attraction: Taronga Zoo and its Wild Australia Experience, in which groups of up to eight people have a two-hour tour of the zoo and get to see native animals up close.
Melbourne top-scored with four of the top 10 winners based in the Victorian capital, while Sydney had three, Cairns in Queensland had two and Western Australia one.
Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account a business’s reviews, opinions and popularity with travellers over the past year.
Since climbers began scaling the landmark two decades ago, four million climbers from 140 countries have paid up to $400 a head to reach the summit of Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Earlier this month, the state government announced Blue Mountains adventure operator and zoo owner Hammons Holdings would control the climb for the next 20 years.
Hammons, which runs Scenic World in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, won the contract ahead of 12 local and international bidders, including Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second-largest entertainment group.
Here are the rankings from TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice awards:
Top 10 Experiences in Australia
1. Sydney BridgeClimb, NSW (BridgeClimb)
2. Great Ocean Road Small-Group Ecotour from Melbourne, Victoria (Go West Tours)
3. Sydney Taronga Zoo General Entry Ticket and Wild Australia Experience (Taronga Zoo)
4. Yarra Valley Wine and Winery Tour from Melbourne (Australian Wine Tour Company)
5. Phillip Island Penguin, Brighton Beach, Moonlit Sanctuary from Melbourne (Go West Tours)
6. Colonial Tramcar Restaurant Tour of Melbourne (The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant)
7. Sydney Opera House guided walking tour, NSW
8. Great Barrier Reef diving and snorkelling cruise from Cairns, Queensland (Down Under Cruise & Dive)
9. Kuranda Scenic Railway day trip from Cairns (Down Under Tours)
10. Swan Valley Wine Gourmet Wine Cruise from Perth, Western Australia (Captain Cook Cruises)
Top 10 Experiences in the world
1. Cooking class and lunch at a Tuscan farmhouse with local market tour from Florence, Italy (Walkabout Florence Tours)
2. Berlin Bike Tour, Germany
3. New York in One Day guided sightseeing tour, US (USA Guided Tours New York)
4. Sydney BridgeClimb, Australia (BridgeClimb)
5. Vatican VIP Experience: exclusive breakfast at the Vatican with early access to Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, Rome, Italy (City Wonders)
6. New Orleans Cooking Class, US (New Orleans School of Cooking)
7. Rotorua Maori Hangi Dinner and Performance, New Zealand
8. Best of Niagara Falls Tour from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (See Sight Tours of Niagara Falls)
9. Vancouver to Victoria and Butchart Gardens tour by bus, Canada (Landsea Tours and Adventures)
10. Wild Wicklow Tour including Glendalough from Dublin, Ireland (Wild Wicklow Tours)