Serengeti Hot Air Balloon Safari: Your Experience

One of the best game-viewing experiences of the Serengeti plains! ⁣

Go on an incredible African safari with a bird’s-eye view of the Serengeti. Experience an adventure of a lifetime as you travel through the Serengeti plains on a hot air balloon. A sunrise hot air balloon flight over the Serengeti is truly one of the best highlights for any safari trip and is considered the ultimate safari experience. Serengeti Balloon Safaris not only takes you on an unforgettable hot air balloon ride through Serengeti National Park, but is one of the best ways to view African wildlife freely. See prides of lions looking for breakfast, herds of wildebeest, pods of hippos heading back to water before the sun rises, and much more! Enjoy an aerial view and get up close to the action that you would not be able to see from your game-viewing safari vehicle. Nobody can predict, no two flights are ever the same and your balloon safari will be unique.

• Destination: Serengeti National Park
• Activities:
  • Hot air balloon ride
  • Champagne toast
  • Hot Serengeti bush breakfast
  • African game viewing

Early morning wake-up

Some things are worth getting up early for and this is definitely one of them. Wake-up early morning and get ready for your once in a lifetime balloon safari experience. In the cool early morning, is best to wear a light jacket, long pants and comfortable shoes. Also remember to take your binoculars and cameras to document your memorable adventure. Before pickup, enjoy some coffee or tea in the lobby before your night drive to the balloon site.

4:15 to 5:00 am- Pickup at your lodge or camp

Pickup time will depend on the camp or lodge you are staying at. Here you will be picked for your night drive to the balloon staging site.

5:00 to 6:15 am- Drive to the launch site

Enjoy a night game drive through the Serengeti as you are transferred from your lodge/camp to the balloon staging site. This roughly hour long drive is an experience in itself as you may see nocturnal animals in the headlights that you would not have encounter during the daytime.

6:10 to 6:45 am- Prepare for flight

Your skilled, licensed and experienced pilot will take you through the important safety briefing ahead of your flight as the sun begins to rise and the launch crew begins to inflate the balloon. The balloon and basket are huge and compartmentalized for comfort and safety (accommodating 16 passengers). Once ready, crew members hold the basket steady as you climb into the basket and prepare to lift off.

6:45 to 8:15 am- African safari from the sky

Every hot air balloon flight is a unique experience and is dictated by the direction of the wind and the weather. This makes the end point unknown, but this is all part of the adventure. The flight is very smooth and you feel like you are just gliding through the air since the balloon is traveling at wind speed. Discover a unique perspective and amazing photographic opportunities. Throughout the flight, your balloon may travel to high altitudes of at least 1000 feet, giving you a panoramic view of the Serengeti landscape for miles ahead. At other times, you may descend low enough that you just gently brush the tips of the grass and witness the African wildlife up close. The variety and number of wildlife you may see varies with the time of year, weather conditions and luck. But without a doubt every flight is sure to be a memorable experience. Depending on the year, witness the greatest show on earth with a bird’s-eye view of the wildebeest migration. Travel to areas where vehicles cannot go. Hot air balloon ride provides the best opportunity to go “off-roading”. Explore outside the road trails to secluded areas or float over rivers.  After about an hour or so of gliding through the Serengeti plains, the basket will begin to touch down on land. But this trip is not over yet.

8:30 to 9:30 am- Serengeti bush breakfast

Now is time to savor a hot breakfast in the middle of the Serengeti plains under the sweeping canopy of an acacia. Enjoy a freshly cooked hot English-style breakfast while having amazing conversations with fellow passengers. Tropical fruit, fresh baked bread, and eggs cooked in the bush, all made more delicious by the location, and served on linen, bone china and Sheffield cutlery in an ‘Out of Africa’ style. Now is the time to soak in this amazing and exceptional balloon flight you have just been a part of and relish the moment.

9:30 am- Transfer to collection point

Once breakfast has ended and you have received you flight certificate, you will be taken back either to your camp/lodge or to a collection point to meet up with your driver/guide for a continued safari game drive.

Overall, this hot air balloon adventure is truly the ultimate safari experience and worthy of being on anyone’s bucket-list.

• For more info on hot air balloon safari- click here