Luxor-balloon ride or not
 

Hi All,

My family (2 adults, 2 kids ages 9 and 11) along with my in-laws are doing a private tour with Lady Egypt in November. After the cruise comes back to Luxor, we have already booked flights to go from Luxor to Cairo to Istanbul as we plan to spend time in IST before heading home (NYC).

My question: from reading on this forum the hot air balloon rides look like a great thing that we would all love but do you think it's too much all in one day??? I asked the company if they do flights int he evening, but they said no. So my only free time is the day the cruise ends. We would have to leave early AM, go on the balloon ride, and they said they would have us back on the ship by 8. We have to be at the airport latest by 10:30 AM to catch flights. Not sure if this is too much to do. Any thoughts? Thanks much.

We had to leave the ship at an ungodly hour for a bus/boat ride to where the balloons were getting ready. That takes time, depending on where exactly you will be docked and how many others have to be picked up.

Although seeing the sun rise over in the Valley of the Kings was totally spectacular, I truly doubt that you will have enough time to be able to do it with ease. There's usually stuff that has to be done aboard the ship before disembarking - do you think you will have enough time, even if there are unexpected delays?? You never know!!

But if you can make it - it is an experience you will never forget!!

exactly the dilemma. I don't want to miss out thenight before because we have to go to bed early. Not sure what we are going to decide. Oh-and it's my b-day the day of the proped balloon ride. Other option is the day before when we have sightseeing plan all day with Lady Egypt to see both banks/Luxor...

sorry meant ....proposed...balloon ride

I did the same and I just checked out of my room when they picked me up for the balloon ride. Nobody likes getting up at 4am but I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world. The hot air balloon major highlight of my trip and I highly recommend it to anyone. I can't think of a better thing to do on your birthday.

If you click my name you will find my trip report at the bottom of the page. There is a section where I told about the balloon ride. It is truly magical, I hope you will do this.

Well P M had all the fun then. I hated our balloon ride in Turkey. Too crowded and the flame made it feel like a sauna. And our pilot went up and down like a yoyo. I considered jumping.

Thanks PM-it was your trip report that made me actually start thinking about it. We are going over Thanksgiving too. I think I'll go for it. We'll be as tired as can be, but we can rest up on the plane rides-lux-cairo-ist.

It's the 3 night cruise from aswan to luxor-what is usually done the last night?

P67742, thank you for your nice words, I do appreciate that. You might miss a few hours sleep but you will have the memories for the rest of your life. As for what is done on the last night, do you mean in terms of preparing to check out? I did everything when I left that morning but I'm sure every riverboat is different.

Sorry you didn't like it colduphere but I'm glad you didn't jump. That's almost never good. ;-) I took the balloon ride in Turkey and that was also a thrill for me. There was only one bad thing, I went to Turkey in the winter and it was well below freezing that morning. I kept thinking, "It's cold up here," but I put it out of my mind and enjoyed the ride anyway.

PM you should have gone in the pm.

No-I meant any major activities/dance parties. I heard 1 night everyone dresses up and has a great time. We probably wouldn't stay up that late anyway, but don't want to miss anything

If you advise your cruise ship that you are doing the balloon ride on the last day and that you need to leave the ship almost immediately after you come back, I bet they will do whatever they can to have you checked out the night before, or as P6 said, the morning before you head out for the balloon ride.

I think you would regret missing the flight if you decided against it. Sleep is something you can make up later that day - go to bed early in Turkey.

FYI - If they will give you a choice, fly with Hod Hod Solimon. Safest company out there! IMHO

I'm too chicken to do a balloon ride

Keep in mind that the balloon ride could be cancelled on the morning of if the wind condition isn't ideal. It's better not to plan a balloon ride on your last day in Luxor if possible just in case you want to reschedule it due to weather condition. I unfortunately had that happened to me in May.

Ditto to all those who said that you should go for it, if at all possible.

If you click on my name and see my profile, you will see that I mentioned the balloon ride as one of my favorite travel experiences. And to do that on your birthday - wow - what better way to start the day!!! Remember to dress warmly.

It will be tight in the morning, but I agree that if you inform the folks on the boat of your situation, they will accommodate you to the best of their ability. There may be others going also. Besides, they won't leave for the airport without you.

Have a great trip and a great birthday!

Getting back to the last night on the ship--it seems like they did have some type of show/dress-up with participation of the passengers. I'm pretty sure they did that on the last night, of course I don't know if every ship does that. I saw some of it but I made it an early night due to my early wake-up call. If you want to stay up and join the party that's up to you, as CC said you can always catch up on sleep later.

Thanks. We are definitely doing this balloon ride. Can't wait!

Glad you've decided yes! It was probably the number 1 highlight of our trip.
Photos of the balloon ride:

http://kbutler1122.zenfolio.com/p275...5f3428#h5f3428

My trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...ly-dancing.cfm

I read your thread last year but it was nice seeing the pictures again!!