What to wear
Closed-toe shoes (the grass is dewy at dawn), long pants, and layers you can adjust. Sunglasses and a camera are great to bring too, the sun is already up by the time you're in the air.
Here's what a flight with us actually involves, from the meet-up just after sunrise to the moment your feet are back on the grass.
Ballooning is a slow, weather-led craft, and that's exactly what makes it special. There's no engine, no schedule to fight, just the wind, a skilled pilot reading it, and a couple of unhurried hours you'll remember for a long time. Plan for roughly three hours from start to finish, with approximately an hour of that spent in the air.
Because ballooning is entirely weather-dependent, the pilot makes the flight decision the night before, sometimes the morning of. If conditions aren't safe, we reschedule. Your pilot will also reach out with your exact meeting time and launch location.
We gather in the calm, cool air of first light, the calmest wind conditions of the day, which is exactly why we fly this early. Come dressed for dew: closed-toe shoes and layers.
The crew lays the envelope out from its bag, then fills it with cold air first, a step we call cold packing, before the burner lights it from within until it stands tall. It's a genuinely mesmerizing thing to witness, and a good time for photos before you climb aboard.
The ascent is so gentle you'll barely feel it. For approximately an hour you'll float with the wind over rivers, farmland, and vineyards, low enough to wave to early risers, high enough to take in the whole basin as the sun climbs.
The chase crew meets us at the landing spot. Once we're packed up, we honor the old ballooning tradition with a champagne or sparkling cider toast and light refreshments, the perfect way to come back down to earth.
We provide transportation back to where you started. All told, you're looking at around three hours, a full, memorable morning before most of the world is even awake.
Closed-toe shoes (the grass is dewy at dawn), long pants, and layers you can adjust. Sunglasses and a camera are great to bring too, the sun is already up by the time you're in the air.
You'll need to climb into the basket, about waist-high, with a step stool provided if needed. There's a bench inside, so you don't have to stand for the whole flight. Minimum age is 5; there's no maximum age for healthy passengers.
For safety, we can't fly passengers who are pregnant, have broken bones, or are recovering from recent surgery. If you're unsure, just ask us before you book.
Request your preferred date and we'll take it from there.
