Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Ride at Sunrise in Albuquerque booking from $169.00

Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Ride at Sunrise

Overview

Float over the Rio Grande Valley during a sunrise hot-air balloon flight from Albuquerque, home of the largest hot-air balloon festival in the world. As the sun comes up over the Sandia Mountains, admire the dramatic reds and oranges that fill the sky, and learn about the features of the New Mexico landscape from your expert pilot. Back on the ground, celebrate a memorable flight with sparkling wine and a commemorative flight certificate.

City: Albuquerque

Tue 19 Nov

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Starting at $169.00

Make a reservation

Tue 19 Nov

Starting at $169.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Professional guide

Light continental breakfast

Scenic hot air balloon flight

Champagne toast

Additional Info

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Minimum age is 5 years
Not recommended for participants with knee problems
Due to the nature of this tour and the safety of all guests, the tour operator reserves the right to refuse service to passengers who are intoxicated or show signs of intoxication. If, as a result, your tour is canceled, you will not be entitled to a refund.
Flights can only be operated with safe winds, clear sky and no rain. In case of unsuitable weather conditions, you will be provided the option to take the tour on an alternative date or be refunded in full.
A maximum of 12 people per balloon
Face masks provided for travellers
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons

What To Expect

Rainbow Ryders Hot Air Balloon

Rise early to begin your hot-air balloon experience. Stop into the office for check-in, then ride to the balloon launch site (which varies day-to-day depending on weather). Your pilot begins the process of inflating the balloon when you arrive. You can even help out the crew during the inflation process for a more hands-on experience. As you float high above the ground, enjoy incredible birds-eye views of the Rio Grande Valley. Your pilot determines the route for the day depending on the wind’s direction. You may fly over the city of Albuquerque and even dip low enough to wave at people or skim the Rio Grande River. Throughout your flight, your pilot shares informative commentary about the landscape beneath you. After approximately one hour in the air, your pilot lands the balloon and the ground crew comes to meet you. Celebrate your flight with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine and a commemorative flight certificate before returning to the original starting point.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (754)

stevejF8817MM

Oct 2022

We attended the International Balloon Festival for the first time this year. My wife is actually from New Mexico but has never attended. Both my wife and I have ridden a hot air balloon ride once many moons ago but our kids (17 and 19) have never been on one. We decided that it would be great if we could both attend the festival and go up in a balloon all in the same trip. Rainbow Ryders seems to have an exclusive ability to offer balloon rides during the festival so we decided to go with them for our experience. Wow what a great experience it was!!! So as they requested, we checked in by 5am on the day of our ride. The weather was pretty cold at the festival so we have to bundle up while we waited for the pre-check in meeting with the pilot around 6:30am. It was at that time that we meet Sheldon (our pilot) and Joe and Jackson (the chase crew). Sheldon has piloted all over the world and you can tell you are in safe hands when you are up in the air. Joe is actually working on his PhD and Jackson has already served 3 tours in our military. They were quite the amazing team!! At 6:30am they stated blowing up the balloon. I didn’t know this, but they actually use fans to blow up the balloon half way. From there they turn on the propane to fill it up before take off. Just before they got the balloon upright, they asked about half of us to pre-board horizontally before the balloon rose up in the air. I had actually never seen this before but it made sense since they needed to weight the basket down before the rest of us could board. After about 5 minutes of propane fueling, up the balloon went and the rest of us boarded. Joe and Jackson too any pictures anyone wanted to take and then up we went!!! When you first start to go up, you can feel a bit like you could fall since you are not wearing a seatbelt or anything as you go up. The basket walls are nearly 4-4.5ft high and the basket itself if very sturdy so all of that is in your head. There are also straps on the basket for you to hold on to if you continue to feel less secure. As we settled in to our cruising altitude (between 500 and 2500ft above the ground) that’s when this overwhelming feeling of relaxation and floating through the air like a kite really hits you. It’s an amazing feeling!!! Sheldon expertly navigated us through various altitudes to take advantage of the prevailing winds and attempt to get us to our attended destination. Joe and Jackson followed down below and were ready to help breakdown the balloon once we landed. There are no propellers or other propulsion equipment on hot air balloons so you are at the mercy of the winds in getting somewhere. If there were any questions during the flight, Sheldon answered them and followed up to make sure we were satisfied with any answers. Sheldon is also quite the encyclopedia of Hot Air balloon knowledge and provided lots of it along the way. After we landed, Joe and Jackson quickly broke down and put away the balloon while Sheldon handed out our certificates of completion for the ride. He then put together a Champagne toast for us which is apparently customary after every hot air ballon flight. We took some more pictures and off we went in the chase vehicle back to the Festival. Our kids are 17 and 19, and are VERY hard to get to commit to doing stuff with us. After a lot of convincing, they came with us on the trip, got up early and were open to trying out the balloon ride. Boy were they happy once done and both said they would definitely come to the festival and go on the ball ride again. Thanks so much to Rainbow Ryders, Sheldon, Joe and Jackson for an amazing experience. You gave us family time with our kids that is so precious to us now we really cherish it when we can get it. We will be back next year!!!

Response from Host

Oct 2022

We are thrilled you enjoyed your flight with Sheldon, Joe, and Jackson! They and all of us at Rainbow Ryders strive to create the best experience for our guests possible, so this is amazing feedback to hear. We are honored we got to be apart of a great family trip. See you next year!

G3700URmeghanb

Oct 2022

I did the mass ascension sunrise balloon ride during the Balloon Fiesta and it was fabulous!! Mitch and the crew from Sundance Balloons made the ride so enjoyable and special. Highly recommend adding to your bucket list!

Response from Host

Oct 2022

We are so glad you enjoyed your flight with Mitch and his crew! We hope to see you again!

GoPlaces03177466590

Oct 2022

Had a great balloon ride with Luka and his crew from Canada! Smooth as silk ride, fun and friendly people. Champagn toast and memories galore! A+++

Response from Host

Oct 2022

We are so glad you enjoyed your flight with Luka and his crew! We hope to see you again!

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Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Ride at Sunrise

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