01 · The experience
You launch in the dark, drift for about an hour with the wind, and land somewhere the chase vehicle has to find you.
Balloons fly in the central and western Serengeti, and seasonally in the north and at Ndutu. They do not fly in Ngorongoro, and weather cancels flights without much notice.
It is expensive — comfortably the most expensive single hour of most safaris — and the view of the plains at sunrise is genuinely unlike anything you get from the ground.
02 · What it involves
How the morning runs
A very early start
Collection in the dark, usually around 4.30 to 5.00, so the balloon can be inflated and lifted at first light.
The flight
Roughly an hour, low over the plains where the pilot can hold it, higher when the wind decides otherwise.
The landing
Sometimes upright, sometimes on your back in the basket, depending on wind. The briefing covers the brace position and you will use it.
Breakfast in the bush
A full breakfast set up wherever you came down, with a certificate that nobody needs and everybody keeps.
03 · Safari packages
Packages a balloon flight bolts onto
6-Day Serengeti Under Canvas
7-Day Great Migration Safari
8-Day Serengeti & Ngorongoro
04 · Practical
