Temecula Hot Air Balloon Flight

Drift Over Temecula Valley on a 60 Minute Hot Air Balloon Flight

1 Participant Included - Add More?
BUY NOW - LET THEM BOOK LATER

Gifts are delivered as an open dated Gift Certificate, making it easy to book a date in the future. * Risk Free Purchase Guarantee.

About This Experience Gift

  • Enjoy a 60 Minute Hot Air Balloon Flight Over Wine Country
  • Ride Over the Orchards and Vineyard of Temecula
  • Celebrate Your Flight With a Champagne Toast

General Information

hide

Discover first-hand the thrill of riding in a Hot Air Balloon during this exciting airborne adventure over beautiful Southern California.

The fun begins when you meet with your Pilot in Temecula Valley Wine Country.  You will then have the opportunity to aid in the unpacking and inflating of the balloon’s envelope. Once fully inflated, you and the rest of the passengers will climb into the balloon's basket and get ready for your scenic airborne adventure to begin. Throughout the flight you will enjoy views of the picturesque scenery below. Float above the tree tops and wave at the onlookers below as you soar peacefully through the sky during this Hot Air Ballooning Adventure.

At the conclusion of your flight you’ll enjoy a complimentary champagne toast. So whether you are looking for a unique gift or for a way to celebrate a special occasion, this Temecula Valley Balloon Ride is the ticket!

Where It's Located

hide
  • Temecula, California

Who Is Included

hide

Participants
The Temecula Hot Air Ballooning Experience Gifts Certificate is valid for one participant, unless additional participants are added onto the certificate. There will be at least four additional participants on the flight.

Guests
This experience is not suitable for non-paying guests.

When It Is Offered

OPEN CURRENTLY CLOSED hide

The Temecula Hot Air Balloon Ride is offered year-round, subject to availability. Temecula Hot Air Balloon flights take place at Sunrise. Sunrise times will vary upon the time of year the flight is scheduled.

How Long Is It

hide

The Temecula Hot Air Ballooning Flight has a flight time of approximately 1 hour and a total duration of approximately 3 hours.

Weather

hide

The Temecula Hot Air Balloon experience is dependent on favorable weather, and can only fly when the conditions are safe. Flights may be rescheduled by the Pilot due to high winds, heavy rain, fog or other inclement weather.

What To Wear

hide

Dress comfortably, flat rubber-soled shoes and layers are recommended for this open air adventure.

Additional Information

hide

Price includes free souvenir pictures, a premium champagne, juice or mimosa toast, a cheese and chocolate plate, a commemorative flight certificate, 2 for 1 wine tasting tickets to 4 southern California wineries (a $60 savings) and a private tour of the Hug-a-Duck petting zoo.

Participation in the Hot Air Balloon is limited to individuals weighing less than 225lbs, between 4' and 6'5" tall and at least 8 years of age

Participants must be able to stand for a minimum of 90 minutes. Individuals who are pregnant, have broken bones or other physical conditions which are considered unsafe conditions are not eligible to participate.

Participants are required to sign a Liability Release Form prior to flight.

Balloon Flights are not available during Temecula Wine and Balloon Festival. Dates change every year.

ITEM/SKU NUMBER: 02BL32100S

Inquire about this Experience

Reservation Information

hide

All changes to reservations for the Temecula Hot Air Ballooning Experience require seven (7) days advance notice.

Xperience Certificates® cannot be exchanged once a reservation for the experience has been made.


Ever since I started working at Experience Days, hot air ballooning has been my number 1 must-do experience. There’s something beautifully ethereal about giant balloons floating silently in the sky, gliding at unobservable speeds in a seemingly indeterminable direction; I’ve always been captivated and couldn’t believe my luck when I got the opportunity to go along, in Temecula, California, of all places!



On the 5 year anniversary of my first ever experience with Experience Days, I woke up at 03:45am and drove to South Coast Winery Resort on Rancho California Road. The fog was thick and cast a gloomy scene as I wound my way through the vineyards, but eventually I found the group in the parking lot ready to begin. I don’t know why I thought a hot air balloon would need a huge articulated lorry to transport it – there was just a mini-van pulling a trailer that held the basket and the balloon stuffed in a bag!


Our pilot, Phil, signed us all in and asked us to complete safety forms (up until this point I hadn’t really thought of ballooning as dangerous, but I still went ahead and signed my life away), then took our weights so he’d know the total weight of the basket (I felt the need to tell him I’d been on an all-American diet for the past two months but ultimately decided against it).



Now me being ignorant me, I assumed ballooning was similar to flying a plane – you just load up and take off. Turns out there’s a lot more science involved, because ballooning is entirely dependent on the weather. This meant we all loaded into the mini-van and drove a few minutes up the street to a spot that was a lot clearer, and where the sun would be making its first appearance over the horizon. Again with my ignorance, there were already two other ballooning companies setting up, and everyone was friends and were helping each other out – no rivalry in the ballooning business!



It was amazing watching the whole process from start to finish. First the ‘ground crew’ laid out a huge tarpaulin on the ground, then tipped the basket onto its side and stretched the balloon out across the tarp. To get the inflation started they use huge fans directed inside the balloon, then propane burners when it’s full of air to make it lift off the ground. Eventually they aim the fire upwards so the balloon starts to become vertical, the basket tips upright, and voila! You have a fully inflated hot air balloon.



To get inside the balloon there’s no jet bridge or staircase, just a couple of holes in the basket side that you place your feet in to hoist yourself over (super elegant). With a total of 14 people in the basket there was plenty of room to see every direction, and once the ground crew let go of the drop line, we were up, up, up and away!



For a total of 77 minutes we soared high above Temecula Wine Valley, reaching heights of 4,900ft that allowed us to see as far as Lake Elsinore and Mount San Jacinto. Phil kept us entertained with various anecdotes of his career and family life, as well as little lessons in meteorology and balloon flying (can’t say I’ll be pursuing it as a career-path any time soon, but it was interesting nonetheless). When we took off the fog had been a thick layer covering most of the southern outlook, but as the flight went on the sun burned through the mist and revealed incredible views of Palomar Mountain and Cleveland National Forest. It was truly stunning and well worth the early wake-up call.



Apparently landing at the same spot as the take-off is quite difficult, so we touched down on a quiet road next to the field we flew from, and the ground crew towed us back up. The landing was a lot smoother than I was expecting, there was no juddering or loud banging – probably says a lot about Phil as a pilot! Once we’d (elegantly) disembarked the basket we were treated to a glass of sparkling wine from a local winery, and a snack packet full of treats to sustain those morning munchies. We also experienced the ‘Balloonists Prayer and Champagne Toast’, a tradition amongst balloon pilots that brings good luck and wishes for future flights.



All in all I couldn’t have asked for a better first hot air balloon flight experience, huge thank you to Magical Adventure Balloon Ride for the invitation and making my dreams come true. The weather was superb, the people were friendly, and the views of Temecula were second to none.  I can’t think of a better way to see the sunrise in southern California, and implore everyone to experience a balloon flight at least once in their lives – it’s guaranteed to be something you’ll never forget!


Can't decide?
Buy a Gift Certificate
in the value of your choice
Click Here