BALLOON FLIGHTS · SAFARI
The Serengeti, the Masai Mara and the private reserves fly one or two baskets a morning and finish with a cooked breakfast on the plain. These 15 are the safaris travellers rate highest, with what the park fees add.
Leave your lodge around 5 a.m. for a sunrise balloon flight over the Serengeti. Flights run year-round in Seronera, seasonally at Kogatende, Ndutu, and Kiwarira. Pilots such as Paul, Jeff, Kevin, Mohamed, and Derek explain the flight and wildlife. After about an hour in the air, enjoy champagne and breakfast under an acacia.
Start before dawn with tea, coffee, and a safety briefing, then rise over the Serengeti as lions, elephants, zebras, and wildebeests stir below. Captain Ed is among the pilots praised for calm, careful service. After landing, celebrate with bubbly, a full bush breakfast, and a completion certificate.
“The best way to describe this trip is unforgettable, everything was so great, I had an amazing time, crew was excellent and on point, I really enjoyed this trip, I recommend it to anyone visiting. This will always be a trip to remember.”
Float above the Magaliesbergs and the Cradle of Humankind on a one-hour flight from Bill Harrop’s Original Balloon Safaris. Your pilot provides live commentary, and the morning ends with sparkling wine and a buffet breakfast. Pilots may include Nic, Nick, Marc, or Eugene, depending on the day.
“Absolutely amazing! Certainly ticked off my bucket list. The team are so friendly and helpful and the views from the balloon are breathtaking. Cannot recommend this highly enough.”
You’ll leave your Tarangire lodge around 5:00 AM, reach the launch site for coffee and a safety briefing, then float over the park for about an hour. Pilots such as Danford, Nicola, David, and Geert are praised for their calm guidance. A champagne toast, bush breakfast, cake for celebrations, and a flight certificate follow.
Rise before dawn for a SkyWaltz hot-air balloon flight near Jaipur. Your pilot chooses the launch area by wind, then guides a roughly 60-minute flight over villages, fields, forts and the Aravalli hills. Pickup is available, groups are capped at 16, and pilots including Cleto and Mahesh have earned strong praise for calm, smooth flying.
Start before dawn with hotel pickup, a sunrise balloon flight over the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, and an in-flight falcon show. Then ride a camel, horse, quad bike, and 4x4 across the red dunes before breakfast at a traditional Bedouin camp. Guides such as Malik and Abdullah help keep the six-hour outing organized.
“Great Experience on the Balloon and then the dune bashing and quad biking.”
Rise before sunrise for a guided hot-air balloon flight over Pilanesberg National Park. You may spot lions, rhinos, elephants, giraffes, and zebra from the basket, then toast the landing with sparkling wine before a full English breakfast. Transfers from Sun City and nearby lodges are included, with pilot Mark among the team members praised for making the flight memorable.
“This was a great experience! Amazing views, great staff and a recommendation to everyone! To see wild life and nature from the hotair balloon is such a unique experience. Loved every minute of it”
You’ll leave Dubai in the afternoon for a gentle wildlife safari in a vintage Land Rover, followed by a sunset falcon show, Arabic dinner, camp activities, and a night in a simple stone room. At dawn, pilot Richard and his team take you over the desert by hot-air balloon before breakfast and a city drop-off.
“We loved the trip!!!! It was all perfect. We were picked up at time, the car was luxe and clean. Our guide (Houston) was so nice. He knows a lot and told us a lot on our way to the camp. About Dubai, the things we came across on our way, nature and animals we saw during thRead more”
Leave your selected Sun City hotel around 4:00 am for a sunrise balloon flight over Pilanesberg National Park. Expect a 45 to 60 minute flight, pilot commentary, possible views of Big Five wildlife, a sparkling wine toast after landing, and breakfast at a private lodge. Pilots named in guest accounts include Japie, Harman, Tony, and Mark.
“This is a nice experience ever I would do this over and over again and the breakfast is also nice we enjoyed.”
Leave your Mara lodge at 4:30 am for a 70-minute hot air balloon flight over the reserve. You will watch sunrise, spot wildlife from above, then land for coffee, tea, a full bush breakfast, and champagne. A short open-Jeep game drive returns you to your lodge or another agreed pickup point.
“What an experience. Floating over the Masai Mara watching the sun rise. Didn’t see too many animals but that really didn’t spoil the experience. Loved every minute.”
Leave camp between 4:30 and 5:30 AM for a dawn balloon flight over the Serengeti. After about an hour in the air, toast your landing with bubbly, then enjoy a full English breakfast beneath an acacia tree. Flights are guided in English, French, or Italian, and each route follows the wind.
“Von der Abholung bis zum Frühstück, wirklich top.”
Start before sunrise with Sindbad Gulf Balloons, rising to about 4,000 feet over the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. After landing, continue by 4x4 for dune bashing, a short quad ride, camel ride, breakfast, and falcon photos. Pickup, refreshments, guide, and return transport are included.
“Fantastisch! Zeer professionele piloot, prachtige zonsopgang en vergezichten. Het kon niet beter. En de woestijnsafari met Muhammed Shaleef was ook geweldig!”
You’ll travel from Arusha to Serengeti and Ngorongoro in a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser with an English, French, or Italian-speaking guide. The trip includes game drives, a sunrise balloon flight with champagne bush breakfast, full-board meals, and camping or lodge options. Confirm that the balloon flight is included in your selected package.
Spend 20 hours in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve with a classic 1950s Land Rover drive, sunset falconry, Bedouin dinner, Arabic stone-room lodging, stargazing, and a one-hour sunrise balloon flight. Guides including Shawky and Houston have helped make the outing smooth and memorable. Pickup and drop-off from Dubai hotels are included.
“Awesome and outstanding experience. Super organized by fantastic tourguides from Shawky to Houston. They made it a very memorable event.”
Travel from Nairobi to the Masai Mara in a 4x4 Land Cruiser with an English-speaking guide, enjoy game drives, and rise over the savannah by hot air balloon. You will share a breakfast in the wild after landing, then return to the reserve for more wildlife viewing. Guide Peter has proved especially good at finding animals.
Every place in the catalogue where a basket goes up on a clear morning.
