Dare yourself in Luxor hot air balloon rides experience

Sail high over the famous monuments of Luxor on a sunrise hot air balloon ride. You’ll get unmatched aerial views and photo ops as your guide provides insightful narrative. Landmarks include Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple and Karnak, among other important structures.

A hot air balloon is an incredible way to see the “world’s largest open air museum.

Hundreds of people take to the skies each morning at sunrise in Luxor to experience an air balloon flight and it’s something I would encourage you to try. Egypt is one of the cheapest countries in the world to fly in one and so it won’t break the bank in any budget. 

An early pickup at your hotel will take you to the balloon in the West Bank. you will be transferred to marine to take the motor boat to the west bank, then you will be transferred to the take off area where you are going to start your balloon ride in the sky of Luxor. 

Hot air balloon tour 

Your day starts early at 3:30 am, when you and your group get picked up from your hotel in a van and down to the Nile River to join a quick ferry ride over to the West Bank of the river.

Once you’ve reached the take off point, you will see all these beautiful balloons lit up waiting to take flight. 

You will hear the loud noise of the burners blasting hot air into the half inflated balloons. The noise screams across the ground each time the ground crew pulled the cord to add more air to each balloon. The noise is like a jet engine going on and off every few seconds.

There is plenty of room to take photographs and feel comfortable during the one hour flight. However, there’s no changing spots around while the balloon is in the air, so be sure to pick your spot wisely. In some spots you could feel the heat of the burners each time the pilot pulled on his cord while standing.

As the sun rose up, the colours of the Theban hills changes, and you could see all sorts of ancient monuments and the majestic Nile river in the distance. Also, you will see  the incredible patchwork blanket of local farm land, stacked houses and friendly people waving at you below.

Before you fly

• You’ll be greeted by a team member at the reception of your hotel and picked up in a minibus to head over to the East Bank. Or, your guide will escort you to a boat at the dock.
• Once you’re sat on the boat, other tourist groups will show up. Then you’ll have a cup of coffee or tea with some snacks provided. According to the company you booked your tour with.
• Then, once you’ve docked up on the West Bank, you’ll make your way over to another minibus that will escort you to the take off point. This takes around 15 minutes or so.

• There’s no steps to get into the basket, so prepare to climb over or be man handled by three men and lifted into it. There’s around 8 sections to a basket and they’ll probably have two or three people in each to balance the weight. In peak season, the basket was full. It’s quite cosy.
• There will be around twenty guys trying to keep the basket on the ground while you’re being loaded in. Once the captain is happy it’s able to take off, you’ll slowly start to ascend.

During the air balloon flight

• The process of ascending is surprisingly slow and feels like nothing else you experienced before. The balloon floats up slowly and maintains a short distance between the bottom of the basket and the ground. The trip starts when the sun starts to peek above the horizon as you rose above the ground.
• You will end up flying up around 1,000 – 2,000 ft in the air and the flight will last around one hour. The fire that allows the balloon to fly, is SO hot.
• You can get a birds eye view of the valley of the kings. As you made your way over the ancient landscape of the Pharaohs, you will sail over the Valley of the Kings. Having a bird eyes view really put into perspective how large of a site it is. 
• Then when you come to land, you’ll be waiting a while. The captain will need to find the perfect safe spot. It’s so not straight forward.

After the flight

• Then you’ll land, get out of the basket and have a cheesy group photo. Then, you’ll get in the mini bus and continue your tour of temple hopping or go back to your hotel.

Enjoy the splendours of the ancient historical sights of Luxor from the air. See this spectacular landscape from the unique viewpoint that only hot air ballooning can provide. Glide majestically over the temples and burial grounds of the Pharaohs and allow history to come to life before your eyes.