Booking Balloon trip in advance or when we get there?
 

We will be in Goreme for 3 and a half days last week of April. Wondering if to wait until few days before flying to Kayseri to book balloon trip to see how weather is setting up, or even wait until we get there. Do we book on our own or have hotel do it? Hotel is anxious to book for us, as says that time is really busy, but gather that one cannot really get better price on their own versus hotel.(other than slight discount of paying cash which you can do either way.) Any suggestions as what to do as it is a lot of money to commit.

My understanding - which could easily be wrong or could depend on the company - was that if the flight I had reserved was cancelled because of weather, I would have priority for the next day's flight. Also, I'm not sure you gain a lot by waiting to see what the weather is like, because one critical factor is the air currents at the actual take-off point. (So companies with more take-off locations are more able to fly on any given day.) So for me, booking in advance seemed to make sense. Too, I wanted a flight with a particular company (Kapadokya), another argument for advance booking. (You can see my reasons for selecting that company in my trip report.)

I just had some advice on Trip advisor and evidently Kapadoyka has been sold and has new owners so is being run differently now.I will probably book ahead with another company though my husband might be a little reluctant with what happened today with the accident in Cairo.

Interesting. I knew they "spawned" a daughter company some time ago and that other companies have tried to use names that confuse travelers....

I used Royal Balloon during my trip at the end of August 2012. They were the company that my packaged tour did business with and I was very happy with them. I understand that they're the only company that gives you a hot breakfast before the flight. I did the 90 minute flight which, while a little more expensive, gave me not only 30 more minutes in the air but also, only 12 people in the gondola rather than 20. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I ended up with great memories and photos. The event in Egypt is incredibly sad but I would be that if one compared statistics, you'd find that hot air ballooning with a solid company is probably safer than driving a car.