Enjoy a hot-air balloon flight over the vast yet stunning Serengeti plains will offer you a memorable experience. The safari will unveil to you the hugeness of this African wildlife destination with sights of the big animal herds right below you. It is such a breathtaking point of view.
Normally, these balloon flights set out early in the morning starting at the Serona Valley found in the heart of the Serengeti. This section of the Serengeti is habitat to a large number of wild animals all year round, and this guarantees that each time you take the balloon flight there is plenty to marvel at. Although the flight is expensive it is much worth taking as the experience of watching this African wildlife up from the sky beats all adventures.

Hot Air Baloon Safari in Serengeti National Park
This Balloon safari requires that you have a night in one of the lodges within the Serona region in the Serengeti so that you can depart from your hotel as early as 5 am. Actually, this will perhaps be the only opportunity to set off from your lodge before the light of day as Night drives aren’t permitted within the Park’s boundaries.
The balloon ride will be launched gently starting at the Maasai Kopjes. From there you will slowly rise from the beautiful plains at the very first daylight, and rise above the trees-canopy with the daybreak. Once in a while, the balloon rises to 1 kilometer or even more above the Serengeti, while other times you may float over the acacia trees. Actually, the serenity of the flight is much experienced and just interrupted by the irregular blast of the burners while they push extra warm air into the big balloon and the occasional sounds from the bush.
The flight lasts close to an hour and on landing, there is a wonderful champagne celebration plus an enjoyable bush breakfast within the Serengeti. Full English breakfast is served on linen-clothed tables with well-laid-out silver cutlery.
Following breakfast, you are presented with a memento of your fascinating flight which is presented in appearance as a certificate. After that you are free you drive back to your lodge from where you can proceed with the safari itinerary.
Factually the balloon safari has become very popular and today it is recommended that you book earlier. Nonetheless, if you choose to include this safari in your itinerary at the eleventh hour, you can directly book it through your lodge in Central Serengeti, or request your tour agent or tour company to do the booking for you. This will be possible if you are lucky that the balloon flights aren’t fully booked.
These Balloon safaris are a romantic and suggestive way of encountering the East African wilderness, as you elegantly and silently soar over the Serengeti crowded with herds of animals early in the morning. Normally, a balloon safari starts around 6 am and goes for one to two hours, taking you over the plains with splendid sights of wildlife right beneath you.
Important To Note:
This fascinating adventure fits in with most safari itineraries that comprise spending a night within any of the central Serengeti lodges such as Sopa Lodge, Serena, or Seronera Lodge.
Ever since 2008 a new launching area found in Western Serengeti, called Kirawira was established and offers comfortable balloon Safaris from Kirawira lodge, Mbalageti lodge, Grumeti River Lodge plus other adjacent western lodges!
RESTRICTIONS:
A maximum of 16 adults is allowed in the balloon.
Children below seven years are not permitted to be part of the balloon safaris.
Hot air balloon safari is becoming an increasingly popular alternative on safaris within Africa. A ride in a hot air balloon actually offers you a “once in a lifetime” encounter which will forever be memorable. It’s extremely totally different to everything else you might have encountered before both in experience and scene. Merging this with the chance to explore the beautiful African landscape as well as throw in a number of game viewing from close by and you’ve got all the components to a marvelous adventure.
This ride is very quiet so it offers you an ideal chance to see animals in close proximity and also en masse because of the overhead viewpoint you will get in a balloon. You possibly can see mile after mile and take in the hugeness of these African plains. And the only noise will be the gentle hiss of the balloon’s gas burners the tranquility offers you the opportunity to simply enjoy the moment in time and amazing at all your eyes can see.
The majority of tour operators provide trips such as this and they adhere to relatively similar schedules. They have a tendency to begin in the very early morning, normally before dawn, as the air is coldest and calmest. You’ll be served with tea / coffee as you wait and observe the balloonists put together the hot air balloon for your tour. As soon as you lift off into the African sky, you certainly will gently float across the vast plains with the existing winds. The pilot will determine the height to fly and will have the ability to drop lower for you to get a close up sight of game or rise higher above the tree canopies. The exact flight itself normally takes approximately one hour then when you land back on ground the crew will pick you and transfer you back to the balloon launch site the place you will delight in a champagne breakfast. Finally prior to returning to your lodge / camp everyone will be honored with a certificate as a souvenir of this hot air balloon air travel by the balloon pilot.
Within Kenya, these balloon flights are normally over the spectacular Masai Mara National Reserve. This Masai Mara is in the extreme northern part of the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem, and it is renowned for being dwelling to the spectacular yearly migration in which millions of wild animals move simultaneously. This migration is a superb time to enjoy a balloon excursion as it offers you a great viewpoint on the sheer size plus speed of this migration which you just can’t attain on ground. The remainder of the year is similarly as good with lots of other wildlife in view such as lions, crocodiles, cheetahs, hippos, elephants and rhinos.
Additionally you can undertake hot air ballooning throughout Tanzania as well as the Serengeti plus South Africa in the Winelands, close to Cape Town as well as over Kruger National Park as these are the most well liked choices.