Skywalking and Bungy Jumping in Macau

Macau is best known for its glitzy casinos. But this special administrative region of China, just an hour away from Hong Kong is one of the main bucket-list destinations of adrenaline junkies. If you’re into extreme activities, you’ve probably heard of the Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre, simply known as the Macau Tower, home to the world’s highest commercial Bungy Jump.

Macau Tower measures 338 meters (1,109 feet) in height from the ground to the highest point and offers the best view of Macau. Most visitors just head up to the observation deck to get a panoramic view or enjoy meals at the buffet restaurants, or visit the theaters and shopping malls here. But for a real thrill, you’ll want to go all the way to the top to pay a visit to A.J. Hackett.

A.J. Hackett is an entrepreneur from New Zealand who popularized the extreme sport of bungy jumping. Inspired by the vine jumpers of Vanuatu, Hackett pioneered bungy jumping and turned it into an extreme sport phenomenon when he founded the first commercial bungy site in 1988 at the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge near Queenstown, New Zealand. Today, you can find A.J. Hackett Bungy Jumping locations in Australia, France, Germany, Russia, Macau and Singapore.

The location in Macau offers four gravity-defying activities, including the Bungy Jump, Skywalk, Skyjump and Tower Climb. After covering Air Asia’s Crazy Jump Day 2017 where participants from all over Asia routes leaped from the tower in crazy costumes, media guests were given the chance to experience some of the activities. The most basic Bungy Jump and Skywalk Combo package starts at 4432 Macanese Pataca. That’s roughly USD 551 or more than P27,000 Philippine pesos! No way was I going to pass up the chance to do these for free!

The Skywalk offers a thrilling stroll around the outer perimeter of the tower. If you’re afraid of heights, the thought of standing on a platform hundreds of feet above the ground is probably enough to give you vertigo. But it’s really cool to be able to stand on a walkway just 1.8 meters wide roughly and 233 meters or 764 feet high. Did I mention that you’re just out in the open without any handrails? Sounds fun, right?

The Skywalk may look extreme, but it’s actually the tamest and most family-friendly of the activities, where you can just relax, enjoy the view and take all the photos you want. Your camera will be secured to you (make sure to leave your lens cap and unnecessary items indoors.)

Other more heart-pumping extreme activities at the Macau Tower include the Tower Climb (where you conquer Macau’s highest summit at 338 meters/1109 feet by climbing 100 meters up the mast’s vertical ladders), the SkyJump (a controlled descent where you jump off the tower with a wire cable), and of course Bungy Jumping. I would have loved to try the Tower Climb as well, but there are very limited slots available daily.

At the Skywalk, you’re attached by two safety harnesses the whole time, and accompanied by trained guides (who also serve as your photographers), so there’s no danger of falling. The fun comes from just trusting the ropes and dangling your feet above the ground and posing in crazy poses to add to the thrill. The view is just amazing!

The Skywalk is a fun activity to do with friends or family and offers very rewarding views of the Macau skyline. If you want a memorable souvenir photo while in Macau, it’s pretty hard to beat this!

But as their mantra goes: why just live on the edge, when you can jump off, right? For adrenaline junkies, the highlight of the Macau tower is really Bungy Jumping, which involves leaping from the tower’s platform and getting to experience the ultimate free fall.

The AJ Hackett Tower Macau is currently the Guinness World Record title holder for the highest commercial bungy jump in the world. At 233m / 764ft high, this bungy jump makes use of specially designed bungy cord, guide cables, and recovery system, making the whole process very safe.

The guide cables system ensure you do not make contact with the tower and enable bungy jumps to happen in nearly all weather conditions.

The last time I went to Macau in 2015 during a family trip, I lined up the whole day (and paid full price) just for a chance to tick this extreme sport off my bucket-list. I ended up bungy jumping at night in the middle of a freak rainstorm complete with lightning and thunder. But that jump was one of the most thrilling and scariest things I’ve ever had to do. It’s the closest experience you’ll get to flying.

But once I achieved freefall, I told myself that I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was just as awesome the second time around. Thank you, AirAsia! I love you guys so much.