Top 5 Hot Air Balloon Experiences

Having written about my time in Botswana yesterday, it got me thinking about other places I’d love to go in Africa and something I have always wanted to do since I was a little girl is to climb into a hot air balloon and float above the wild animals. It got me thinking, where else in the world would be amazing to see from a hot air balloon, and so for this weeks Wanderlust post I am sharing my top 5 Hot Air Balloon experiences on my bucket list.

Top 5 Hot Air Balloon Experiences

1. Serengeti, Tanzania

To set drift at sunrise and float over the Serengeti to watch the migrating animals below in Tanzania. The thousands of wildebeest, the giraffes and zebras, the flocks of birds and all the wonders of Africa laid out below me.

2. Loire Valley, France

To look down upon the story book landscape of castles, streams and fields of flowers. After all, France is where hot air ballooning began. And where else in the world would be better to enjoy a Champagne breakfast afterwards.

3. Gstaad, Switzerland

There is a yearly festival held in January where dozens of hot air balloons fill the sky, but I think that seeing the Swiss landscape of chalets and snowy mountain tops against the clear blue sky would be magical without the crowds of a festival.

4. Yarra Valley, Australia

I have always wanted to visit the Yarra Valley and when I do I would love to take to the air and see it from above. I can already picture the misty pre-dawn drive, the wet grass as I climb in, the brightening of the sky, the colours of the sunrise reflected on the autumn leaves below and of course later on visiting the wineries I hovered over in the quiet of the morning.

5. Albuquerque, New Mexico

Everyone knows what it is like to see a hot air balloon floating in the sky above you, you cannot help but stop and have a look. Imagine the wonder of seeing hundreds of them all at once. Just to be amongst the sea of coloured hot air balloons that take to the sky every October, this had to be on my top 5 list.

What almost made my list …

I have often been woken in the early hours of the morning by the sound of the flames of a hot air balloon as they try to get a little more height to sail over the rooftops, so I think that the Gold Coast in Australia must be pretty magnificent from the air with the lush green hinterland giving way to the city skyline and endless glorious beaches falling off into the clear blue ocean. I have been to Angkor Wat in Cambodia and think that it would look magnificent from the air at sunset. And Luxor, Egypt almost made the list too, to see the Nile and temples of the west bank.

I can also recommend if you get the chance to go to a night time show of hot air balloons anywhere in the world to go check it out. I have been to one in Thailand and it is great to see the balloons lit up at night, they even synchronised them to music (Michael Jackson no less)!
Where in the world would you love to see from a hot air balloon? Have you ever been up?

Unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to do these 5 (yet!) so images have been sourced from:
Serengeti ~ Atelier Africa
Loire Valley ~ France-Montgolfieres
Gstaad ~ France Balloons
Yarra Valley ~ Australian Traveller
Albuquerque ~ Wikipedia