Las Vegas Hot Air Balloon Ride

Very difficult to rate this. It was a great balloon ride, however, it was not at all what we were expecting. Was it good, yes! However, we expected a Vegas, sunrise, balloon ride. It was only one of the three of those. It was a balloon ride, a very good one. It was not a Vegas balloon ride. It was also not at sunrise, despite meeting the shuttle at 4:15am. The ride was a loooong drive away from Vegas, on the other side of the mountain. That's all good, if that is what you are expecting. We were expecting to see the Vegas sights from a balloon. We saw desert. We were expecting to see the sunrise from the balloon. What we saw was the sunrise from the ground as they were setting it all up. It would have been the same ride anytime of the day. The pilot of the balloon was fantastic. Very informative and entertaining. He is obviously a skilled balloon pilot. He made the trip great. We opted for the shuttle service to and from the hotel. This was a huge disappointment. We were the first to be picked up and the last to be dropped off. We were told to expect 4 to 4 1/2 hours for the entire experience. It was well over six hours which cost us checking out of our hotel on time. Of the over six hours, 45 minutes were spent in the balloon, the rest of the time was spent in a very run down shuttle bus. The ride back from the ballooning destination took us back to the office. In the shuttle van was us, a group of three and a single individual. The single individual wasn't planning on shuttle service but was upsold when we got back to the office for $10. So instead of us getting back to our hotel, she was the first dropped off, in the exact opposite direction of our hotel, then the group of three and finally us. From the time we got back to the office, to getting dropped off at our hotel (less than a mile away), it took 45 minutes. We figured if we were the first to be picked up, we would be the first to be dropped off. Instead, we got bonus time in the shuttle van. We even got to wait to leave one of the drop offs while the shuttle driver stood outside of the van replying to his text messages. What we pictured was a peaceful sunrise morning balloon ride over Las Vegas. What we got was a very long period of time in the back of a shuttle bus with a brief break getting to ride in a balloon. Had this been the expectation, we probably still would have done it, and been happy with it. However, when the expectation was set and that was not what we got, honestly, it was disappointing. You can't see Vegas from that far away, you can't see the sunrise when it's already up. A Vegas vacation is not where I get up at 3:30am without a good reason. Seeing the sunrise from that vantage point would have been a good reason. We were told in the van on the way out to the site that they aren't even allowed to take off until after sunrise anyways. If you plan on going, set a realistic expectation and make your choice based on full research and definitely, don't utilize their shuttle service. This review is based on the entire experience. The balloon ride itself and the pilot were wonderful. Breaking down the review would have been 5 stars for the flight, 1 star for the rest.

What a surreal flight that was! Loved to see the mountains from that altitude... 10/10 will be doing again when I return

Such an amazing experience. Must do! Casey, our pilot was the best. Highly recommended. Awesome experience and knowledgeable staff a

The whole experience was amazing and Jeff was great and funny. He made the whole experience memorable.

Nothing was good. People were rude. This company will never be recommenced. You have seen the last of us.

Jeff was amazing and great host! Everything went smooth, couldn’t have asked for a better first experience.

It was a spectacular and unique experience, We loved everything, the organization, punctuality, the sunrise view

Our experience was wonderful, recommended 100%, Very responsible with the departure time and in everything

Sunrise, flying across the rooftops and waving at people down below. The pilot was extremely great. Loved the story behind the champagne toast

The beautiful sunrise and the sheer vastness of it all. You were literally floating in air. The pilot #flyingwithjeff was the best. Very knowledgeable and experienced. Road crew was amazing!!