TripHot Air Balloon Ride in Luxor, Egypt - VIP

We were the last air balloon to rise, which is ok (that is always the last one right?), but the system presented some failures during the process, which was scary. At some point, before taking off, it was splashing fuel in small yet perturbing quantities. They fixed the problem, but how peaceful may you feel during a ride with such a scary beging?

It was a wonderful experience with only one negative which I'll get out of the way at the first. I made the first reservation weeks in advance and messaged the operator because I didn't know which of the three times to reserve to make sunrise. I never got a response. I did a little research and canceled my first reservation and booked another with an hour earlier on the time. We finally looked up numbers and started calling around and got hold of them to communicate by WhatsApp. At this point it was the day before and they messaged me for pics of passports but still never addressed the time. I'll just say, I never saw more than one group of balloons going up. When we landed, I did not see other balloons going up for another round. I'm not sure what the deal is with multiple times. Sunrise was at 5:20 this week. We had a 3:45 pickup at our hotel for the 4:30 flight. It was perfect timing for us because we got to see the sunrise and also had some daylight to see the sights before we landed. The shuttle picked us up 5 or so minutes after the scheduled time. All the balloon companies used similar white vans which were comfortable and air conditioned. The ferry was nice and quick. "Breakfast" consisted of Twinkies and hot water to make instant coffee or tea. At 3:30 we abstained. :-) When we got into the transfer vans on the other side we made a stop for security until all the vans were together and then we drove quickly to the site. It was comical to see the vans passing one another in our little procession. When we arrived I realized that the vans in front could get their passengers loaded first. It has been mentioned that it can be chilly and that a jacket might be helpful at first. Just check the weather. It was 66 F. the day we flew and ours were not needed at all. Our guide said he wanted to know if we had a larger camera. I told him I had an iPhone and also a DSLR and he said that was fine. I will say that on the ferry the pushy videographer did NOT want me to take photos because he was trying to sell his product. Photos were allowed both on the ground and in the balloon while aloft. I recommend a selfie stick because the balloon is packed. Ours held 6 people in each of the four pods. Our pilot was amazing. He started us off lower than all the other balloons so we could go right over the top of the monuments and then we went up higher and circled around as the sun rose. It was an amazing experience. Our pilot also was very professional with that one person that had drunk too much the night before and kept making rude and off the wall comments directly to the pilot. At the end of the flight we had the gentlest of landings and disembarked. A jar was placed out for tips for the crew. This includes all the guys that help get the balloons aloft and the ones that safely get you down and have to pack it all back up on a truck. They were amazing and they worked hard. We offered a tip directly to the pilot and he declined and asked for it to go into the jar for the whole crew. Very classy. We bought the cheapest offered balloon ride and I really couldn't tell any difference in all the groups that came out. It really seemed like once you got to the balloon field all things were equal and all the vans looked the same to me as well.

Fun and interesting experience. There were 10 people in the basket so enough space to move, but you can’t move from one side of the basket to another. I also enjoyed a short boat trip to cross the Nile

The tour was canceled by the company the day before the scheduled tour. Even worse, the company and the viator refused to provide refund. This is a scam!!! Stay away at all cost!!!

Please do yourself a Favor and NEVER book with this agency. I was told my pick up time was 4:40AM so I got ready on time and contacted my tour operator . She didn’t answer for 20 minutes until replying to say that she will not be coming, and that somebody else will call me to pick me up. This person never called me. I waited until 6:00AM to finally get on the phone with them just for them to tell me “You will go tomorrow”. This was my last day in Luxor... ruined my entire day. They are very unprofessional and will lie to you in order to make themselves appear better. Stay AWAY from this company. You have been warned.

Getting up at 4.45 a.m. and waiting for half an hour to be picked up but nobody arrived. There was no answer on the agent's phone and no prior warning of cancellation. Nor have we had a cancellation email from Viator so no refund process activated.

The trip was good but tge taxi drivers were mad drivers and at times it was frightening to be in the car going to the trip. The balloon flight and pilot was very good. Breakfast was a twinky and coffee!!

Fantastic, it is a must in Luxor. Definitely recommend this ride and operator. It was all as agreed. Morning ride to Nile, short trip on a boat to other side with complimentary coffee/tea and a small bar, and than drive to the ballon. Quick briefing by balloon captain and after that unforgettable experience.

The balloon ride was amazing, the captain was very helpful. Another story is the organization of the event which was very poor (waiting time before ca. 45 min, no breakfast, no light refreshment, no bottled water). I understand that we do not control the weather (the balloon ride was delayed one day due to a windy weather), but the overall organization must be improved).

Everything was like in the description, we had a morning snack(coffee, tea, cake). They kept their promise and we had an amazing view over the valley of the Kings and queen Hatchepsout temple, which for me was the highlight of the entire ride.