Skydining Mangaluru: Experience, Review, Details

Skydining is Mangaluru's latest attraction. Located in Panambur beach, Skydining Mangaluru started May 2nd week and lets you enjoy food at a height of some 200 meters overlooking Panambur beach area. I experienced this yesterday and this post shares everything you need to know about Skydining in general and Sky Dining Mangalore in particular.

As I walked towards the Panambur beach from NH66, I was expecting to see the sky dining setup anytime. But it was visible only after I reached as close as some 100 meters and that too because I was actively looking for it. For regular beach goers it will take some effort to notice the sky dining table setup hanging overhead.

What to expect at Skydining?

• They have a huge table that can seat about 16 people- 6 on each side, 2 each on side
• This table, complete with a canopy on top, some lighting, music and space in center for staff to stand and serve food is lifted up in the air from the ground using a powerful crane.
• Guests are to sit in their assigned seats, with seatbelt fastened can enjoy the view below from their seat
• Depending on the package you booked you will be served some food while the table is at the top
• Your seats rotate a bit for you to try different angles for your selfie!
• Half the folks will get Panambur beach view and rest can only see parking lot on the other side. To compensate for this the whole table is rotated gently from the ground using ropes for a small duration. So you will get different views for a short duration before returning to your original position
• Once your time is up the table is lowered back to ground, you exit
• There is an AC waiting room + reception to wait if you arrive early.
• All guests will have to sign an indemnity bond waiving the company off any responsibility in case of accidents.
  

What is the cost of skydining in Mangaluru?

Skydining Mangaluru costs you between 1000 INR to 3500 INR. The cheapest option only gets you a 15-20 min joy ride and one drink. We opted for 1500 INR deal that got us 30 minutes time, 1 mocktail and starter (got 6-7 pieces of Paneer). More items are included in 2500-3500 INR package. Details below.

The mocktail is probably worth 100 INR, starter is worth another 50-100 INR. Food is procured from a nearby restaurant and served on the skydining table. Food cost is probably 10-15% of your ticket cost, rest goes towards the investment made for the setup, staff salary, loyalty fee etc. Few small bottles of drinking water is also provided complementary during the ride.

2500-3500 INR is beyond many software company's budget for team lunch.

Staff were friendly throughout, trying to make it as memorable as possible.

Is Skydining worth it?

Now you know what you will get and what it will cost. You can decide if it is worth. Personally I am not sure of spending 3500 rupees for 30 minutes of dining, but short joyrides, 1500 INR deal might be good just to experience it once. Sky Dining Mangalore team will give some discount if booking for 6 people or more.

Above: View of Panambur beach from skydining deck. Standard beach view- some other location like Someshwara or Sasihitlu etc would have been more scenic but they also need location where people can arrive easily.

Safety:

The table is lifted in the air using a very powerful crane. The top of table is hooked to crane using cables. The crane seems very new and pretty powerful. But these things need periodic maintenance. Hopefully operators don't compromise on safety and maintenance in the name of cost cutting and local authorities inspect the equipment for fitness and safety regularly.

I noticed that the table was kept hoisted in the air when I arrived. There were no customers on it. It could have been lowered and kept on the ground to remove stress on the cables- but I guess operators want everyone coming to the beach to see the table, hence it is held in top.

A spring like setup in 4 corners where table touches the ground also will ease the impact- but that is for expecting the worst, which may not happen.

There is a risk of operating this during heavy rains and strong winds- so monsoon season I suspect rides may not happen if weather is not favorable. I am told such customers will be given refund or rescheduling.

No toilet access while on top!

They have about 7-10 staff to operate this skydining facility- a crane operator, 3 people on the table to serve food, 3-4 people on the ground to rotate the table and probably few management/back office staff.

Skydining is available in several cities around the world. There are no known incidents of people falling off the sky dining table. So for now I am assuming it is reasonably safe.

SkyHelix Sentosa Singapore: I had tried something similar in Singapore- SkyHelix Sentosa in Singapore- There we were taken to top in a hydraulic setup, no cranes were involved. The setup would rotate slowly all the time so we could get 360 degree view, no food involved, cost about 1100 INR.

Skydining Mangaluru: Google Map location:Google Map location:

Sky Dining Mangaluru official website: https://skydining.in/mangalore

I am told Skydining will soon be coming up in Bengaluru as well.

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