jedivader

My husband and I are going to Utah for a week in August. Plan to visit Zion, Bryce, & Arches to name a few.

Would like some input/suggestions about a hot air balloon ride. Quite expensive, I might add. I've pulled up 2 places on the Internet. Of course there is a $100 difference between the 2.

Skywalker Balloon Company offers rides for $195 p/person in the St. George area.

Utah OutAdventures offers rides in the Southern Utah area (Goblin Valley, Bryce Canyon, Moab area & Snow Canyon) for almost $300 p/person.

Just wanted to find out if anyone has taken a ride with either of these companies? If so, how did you like it? Did you ride in the St. George area or the Southern part of Utah? Is the $100 difference worth it for a better back drop/view? Any info you could offer would be great!

Dayle

Hi Jedi,

The OutAdventures is more expensive because they are ballooning in a much more remote area.

I haven't gone ballooning, but I can highly recommend the scenic air flights out of Moab airport - www.slickrockair.com. I went on a 1 hour flight over Canyonlands a few years ago and it was amazing! At that time it was $100/pp and well worth it to see some of the areas if you are limited on time.

Have fun!

moldyhotelsaregross

I don't know this area for balloon flights but thought I'd mention that those prices do look about standard for balloon rides.

In addition to asking about vistas, you might ask the companies about number of passengers in the balloon, experience of the pilot, their "what ifs" for bad weather and if their post flight (if any) celebration makes the decision any easier for you.

DebitNM

IF you are going to book a hot air balloon ride, do NOT reserve it for last day of your trip. The flights are very weather dependent [winds, rain etc cancel flights]. If it just happends to be last day of your trip, there will be no time to reschedule! You should be able to get your $$ back, but that won't get you on a balloon! {Don't ask how I know this!}

I agree with Moldy; ask what is the maximum number they take up on a ride. You don't want to be a sardine!
The actualy number of course could be less but you are better knowing the max!
We who fly call the commericial pilots "cattlecars" for a reason, some more so than others.

After flight celebratons do add to the fun, but not sure it would be worth $100 difference per person.

Hope this helps...
Debi

Bobmrg

Another decision factor is that the airplane can go pretty much everywhere while the balloon is, to a great extent, at the mercy of the winds. Balloon pilots learn how to change altitude in order to pick up favorable winds, but if there is a specific site that you just have to have a picture of from the air, don't count on the balloon. Other than that, I think balloons are a lot of fun (I have several thousand hours of fixed wing so it is just another day at the office for me).

CarolM

I haven't gone ballooning in Utah, but I recently went on a balloon in Sedona, Arizona, with the same thing in mind as you: to see beautiful sights from the balloon. Sedona has those beautiful red rock formations, and for weeks all I could picture was sailing over (or near) the rocks in the balloon, just like it showed on the website. However, the last poster is totally right -- that balloons don't have a great amount of control where they go. The morning I flew, we ended-up in close-range view of the red rocks for a total of 3 minutes (out of an hour ride), and the rest of the trip was mainly over desert scrub. While the balloon experience itself was nice, I was VERY disappointed.

I guess what I'm saying is... don't spend the extra $100 just for better scenery, 'cause you never know. My ride in Arizona cost $195 p/p also.

If you're up for it, as Dayle and Bob mention, you might consider a scenic flight in a small plane. I was SO excited to do the balloon ride, but I was disappointed afterwards -- not just because of the lack of scenery, but because of the lack of the sensation of movement or flying! Balloons glide so slowly that your movement is almost imperceptible most of the time.

Now, I'm not a thrillseeker type at all (I won't got on a roller-coaster!), but I got up my courage and took a 1/2 hr. biplane ride over the red rocks the next day... and THAT was the highlight of my trip. It wasn't scary at all, and I went in the morning when winds were the calmest. If you're someone who tends to get a bit airsick (like me), just pop a dramamine first. You will see so much more from a small plane or helicopter soaring high above these beautiful places. The balloon is more of a peaceful early morning experience.

If you choose the balloon, I definitely agree on finding out how many people will go with you. My balloon had 7... other companies fly huge baskets with up to 14. To fully appreciate the quiet and beauty, I seriously wished the other 6 people weren't with me in MY ride!

jedivader

Well, I just went online to the BBB and looked up Utah Outventures for a possible ballooning trip. BBB says they are out of business. I gave the company a call and told them that I was looking into them for ballooning but the BBB states they are out of business, she said no and wanted to know if this was a joke. I informed her that I was a customer and that my wife and I want to balloon in Utah this August. She said that I was pranking her and called me an asshole. I told her that I am a customer and thought I would inform them of this. She still kept questioning me and wanted to know who I was and where I go the info. I kept telling her the same thing and finally she said that she would look into it but I could tell she didn't care. She had horrible customer service. About one minute later, a man called from the company and wanted to know what was going on. I told him the same thing and he started going on and on about how there company was active and all licenses were current. I told him that I am just a customer looking into ballooning and I came across the info and thought I would let them know. He thanked me and wanted to know if I was still interested. I told him no, not with his company....that first phone call turned me off.

Do not balloon with this company!!

One of the most horrible displays of customer service I have ever dealt with. And I was just trying to be nice.

Bobmrg

jedivader, I spent over 40 years in the general aviation business and learned that the majority of operators have no business sense. The person who answers the phone is usually the one with the least knowledge. I tried to stamp out "I don't know" with limited success. I have no answer for what happened to you other than to shake my head in shame for the industry.

Dayle

Wow Jedi,

What a bizzare experience! If they aren't out of business now, they will be soon.

Again, although it's not ballooning, I would highly recommend Slickrockair out of the Moab airport. Very professional operation.