Golf, climbing, skiing and go-karting – four indoor places to practise outdoor sports in Hong Kong
- The city’s summers are notoriously hot and wet, but you can keep your cool while honing your skills at these indoor facilities
- From virtual golf courses to a large electric go-karting complex, there’s something to satisfy a variety of tastes
Looking for a new hobby, workout or something unusual to do on a steaming hot or rainy day? It turns out there’s a trend for bringing outdoor sports indoors, with more than a few options around Hong Kong. Here are four alternative sports venues to try.
Take a swing at BAY247
It has four air-conditioned simulators (two smaller rooms accommodating three people and two larger rooms for up to six), featuring virtual versions of more than a dozen golf courses, including those listed above. The detail is phenomenal and the launch monitors will seriously help to improve your game through analysis of ball speeds, launch angles, spin, carry distance and more.
Limited memberships are available for HK$800 a month, including two free sessions at an hourly rate of HK$320. Non-members can book at an hourly rate of HK$560 per person.
Go off piste at Slope Infinity
The ‘slope’ is more like a broad, silicon-coated conveyor belt that slides beneath your skis (or board) on a continuous loop while you manoeuvre on the spot. And while this might not sound very authentic, many Olympic athletes practise this way as part of their training programmes.
Sessions at Slope Infinity are also available with an instructor, who will run newbies through the basics – stance, posture, balance, pole positions, safe falls – before moving on to snow ploughing, linking turns, adjusting speed and braking on the slope. Whatever your level, you’ll get an intense workout. Indoor skiing can burn up to 600 calories per hour – and, boy, will you work those thighs.
Single lessons on the solo deck start from HK$1,050 (for 55 minutes), including equipment.
Spin your wheels at 18 Challenge Karting
You might not think of go-karting as a sport, but the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile is campaigning to make electric karts the first motorsport to enter the Olympic Games, in 2024 – it’s also as close as most of us are going to get to a Grand Prix track. Want to give it a try?
Get behind the wheel and let rip at 18 Challenge Karting, in Ho Man Tin, which has twisty-turny race circuits, advanced speed sessions and an array of e-sports machines. It’s the biggest go-karting arena in Hong Kong, at over 50,000 sq ft (4,600 square metres), with tracks for all ages, including a child-friendly loop with mini-electric ride-on cars (for two- to four-year-olds).
Elsewhere, there are arcade games, a party room and a themed restaurant, making it a popular choice for birthday get-togethers, stag dos and hen parties.
Avoid false starts by checking the official 18 Challenge Karting Facebook page before you go, to make sure there aren’t any private events running. Prices start from HK$238 for one eight-minute session.
Climb to new heights at Verm City
At Verm City you can pump your biceps, work your core and firm up your glutes. Located in Quarry Bay, this is the biggest climbing gym in Hong Kong.
Novices can start on a 6.5-metre high ‘clip and climb’ assault course made up of giant purple plastic boulders and columns of green pipes that mimic the experience of bouldering (ropeless climbing, in this case above safety mats), before moving on to more than 18,000 sq ft of climbing wall space that allows visitors to clamber upwards, sideways and even upside-down.
Setting Verm City apart from the competition is a MoonBoard, which can be adapted to allow climbers to traverse courses from all over the world, as well as an augmented climbing wall that uses VR which lets you climb around in fantasy worlds or in a setting that makes you feel as if you’re scaling the side of an enormous cliff (while actually only being a few feet off the ground).
Beginners climbing classes start from HK$250.
