The beauty, temperate weather, and variety of sights in Southern California make riding a hot air balloon here a viable option almost any time of the year. Whether you want to celebrate an anniversary, propose marriage, or just enjoy some quality family time, where in SoCal can you go hot air balloon riding?
Here are 12 places in Southern California to schedule a hot air balloon ride:
- California Dreamin’ Balloon Adventures
- Magical Adventure Balloon Rides
- Adventure Flights
- A Grape Escape Balloon Adventure
- Compass Balloons
- Sky’s the Limit Ballooning
- Sunrise Balloons
- Great Park Balloon Ride
- Fantasy Balloon Flights
- Cielo Balloons Temecula
- Skyline Balloons
- Uncorked Tours
This article will be your guide to SoCal hot air ballooning. Ahead, we’ll describe each of these ballooning companies in detail, including services, location, and pricing so you can schedule the perfect trip for you and your loved ones!
Experience the Beauty of SoCal – 12 Places to Book a Hot Air Balloon Ride Today
California Dreamin’ Balloon Adventures
Starting our list is California Dreamin’ Balloon Adventures, a highly-rated and popular hot air ballooning service in Temecula.
How about viewing a SoCal sunrise with your own eyes? With the Sunrise Flight package for $188 a person on weekdays and $228 a person on weekends, you’ll float throughout the Temecula Valley wine country for 60 minutes.
When you land, you can toast the occasion with sparkling cider or champagne. Then you’re treated to a sit-down breakfast at Vindemia’s Rose Garden if you book your ride on the weekends.
The European breakfast will include freshly-baked bread, a cheese board, strawberries, hatch chili scrambled eggs, champagne mimosas, and delicious coffee. Oh, and you get a two-for-one wine-tasting voucher for the nearby Vindemia Winery.
The breakfast is optional and is available at an additional charge.
California Dreamin’ Balloon Adventures also offers hot air balloon rides for birthdays, anniversaries, tourism, corporations, and romantic wedding proposals.
For each special occasion, California Dreamin’ goes above and beyond. For instance, on the anniversary balloon flight, they’ll rig up a sign to your balloon that reads “happy anniversary” so everyone knows it’s your special day. For birthday flights, the special boy or girl receives a birthday cake.
33133 Vista Del Monte Road, Temecula, CA 92591 | 951-699-0601
Magical Adventure Balloon Rides
With locations across SoCal, including Temecula, Del Mar, and Palm Desert, it’s easy and convenient to schedule a hot air balloon ride with Magical Adventure Balloon Rides.
The Temecula adventure will take you across gorgeous rolling hills, wine country, and snowcapped mountains. After you land, you receive a celebratory toast of a mimosa, juice, or champagne. Breakfast items will also be available.
Further, you’ll receive a commemorative flight certificate and souvenir photos at no extra cost to you.
Do you want to make a whole day out of visiting Temecula? Magical Adventure includes a Hug A Duck petting zoo discount voucher as well as a free two-for-one wine-tasting ticket.
If you’re closer to Palm Desert, you can schedule a balloon ride there through Magical Adventure either first thing in the morning or in the evening. As you ride across the Santa Rosa summit, the San Andres Faultline, and the San Bernardino mountains, your breath will be taken away!
Temecula location: P.O. Box 891951, Temecula, CA 92589 | 951-699-5800
Del Mar location: 153 South Sierra Avenue #505, Solana Beach, CA 92075 | 858-771-9490
Palm Desert location: 79125 Corporate Center Drive #7105, La Quinta, CA 92253 | 760-289-5922
Adventure Flights
For more than 40 years, Adventure Flights has been a premier hot ballooning destination near Temecula.
Unfortunately Adventure Fights is no longer in business.
A Grape Escape Balloon Adventure
Are you a fan of wine and hot air balloons? Then A Grape Escape Balloon Adventure is a perfect way to spend the day in Temecula Valley.
Their wine country balloon flights start at 5:30 a.m. throughout the summer and 6:30 a.m. in the winter. After exiting from Europa Village Winery, you’ll fly in a stunning seven-story balloon and witness wineries throughout the valley as well as Old Town Temecula, Lake Skinner, and the Temecula Valley Pechanga Resort & Casino during your flight.
Once you land, you’ll be transported back to where you started. You’ll receive a champagne toast in your honor with La Scappatella champagne, a private label of A Grape Adventure’s. Mimosas and juice will also be available.
If you want a cake to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary, that’s an option for your post-flight celebration as well provided you’re willing to pay a little extra. Before you leave, you’ll receive a 20 percent off coupon to buy La Scappatella champagne and a discount for nearby wine tasting.
Private hot air balloon flights and group flights are also available, as are special occasion flights. The birthday flight package includes a birthday banner on the balloon basket and a mini cake (for an additional fee). The anniversary flight package offers an anniversary basket and a mini cake as well (again, for a fee).
You can also propose to your sweetheart when you book the proposal flight package. This includes a complimentary bottle of La Scappatella champagne and a banner that reads “will you marry me?”
Shared flights are $159 to $229 a person. Private flights for two cost $899 to $1,199 for couples. The charter flight for up to 16 passengers is $1,399 to $3,499 per basket.
Europa Village Winery, 33475 La Serena Way, Temecula, CA 92591 | 951-699-9987
Compass Balloons
With locations in San Diego and Temecula is Compass Balloons, which offers hot air ballooning fun of all kinds.
A private balloon tour lets you personally witness either the elegant hills of Temecula Valley’s vineyards or the beauty of San Diego. Group tours let you bring the whole gang!
A hot air balloon ride makes the perfect anniversary surprise, especially when you book through Compass Balloons. You can schedule a tour in either San Diego or Temecula at sunrise or sunset. Compass Balloons also has packages for birthdays, graduations, and weddings!
The Temecula Shared Sunset ride costs $175 a person while the San Diego Shared Sunset hot air ballooning experience is $300 each rider. For an exclusive sunrise flight in Temecula, you’d pay $850, and for the same flight but in San Diego, the cost is $1,500.
San Diego location: 1969 Villa Cardiff Drive, Cardiff, CA 92007 | 760-704-7407
Temecula location: 34225 Rancho California Road, Temecula, CA 92592 | 760-704-7407
Sky’s the Limit Ballooning
At Sky’s the Limit Ballooning, you can drink in the sights of the Santa Barbara wine country from a height that you’ll never get to witness otherwise.
The morning hot air balloon flight out of Santa Barbara wine country takes you through lovely Santa Ynez Valley through the San Rafael mountain range. You’ll meet at 7 a.m. and be in the air for 45 minutes to an hour. The entire experience lasts around four hours.
You can book groups of up to 16 people, and it costs $245 a person.
The Santa Barbara evening flight is another unique way to take in SoCal. You’ll meet at 4:45 p.m. and be in the air for up to 60 minutes. The entire experience lasts about four hours and costs $290 each.
Private hot air balloon flights are available through Sky’s the Limit Ballooning as well. These flights start at $1,850.
2432 Railway Avenue, Suite A, Los Olivos, CA 93441 | 760-602-0295 | [email protected]
Sunrise Balloons
Midway through our list now, next is Sunrise Balloons, a SoCal company founded by Daniel Robert Glick.
If you’re only passing through, you can schedule a daily hot air balloon tour to see Temecula Valley’s wine country. You’ll check in at the Monte De Oro Winery. Before your flight, feel free to sample pastries, apples, orange juice, or champagne.
During your flight, a pro photographer will take up to 100 pictures of you and your family or friends. The photos are posted to Facebook and are free to download and share. The flight lasts up to 60 minutes.
If it’s a special occasion, let Sunrise Balloons know! They’ll adorn your balloon basket with a banner for an anniversary, birthday, or another celebration. Once you land, bottled water and champagne are available.
You’ll then travel via party bus or limo back to your original location. Before you go, Sunrise Balloons will offer you a two-for-one wine-tasting voucher for nearby Monte De Oro Winery. Flights cost $169 per person.
Private tours are pricier. Here are the full costs:
- Weekday private flight for two – $800
- Weekend private flight for two – $1,200
- Weekday private flight for eight – $1,200
- Weekend private flight for eight – $1,600
- Weekday private flight for 16 – $2,448
- Weekend private flight for 16 – $2,900
P.O. Box 891360, Temecula, CA 92589 | 800-548-9912
Great Park Balloon Ride
In Irvine’s own Great Park, you can schedule a hot air balloon ride. You’ll fly 400 feet above ground level to see views that, in clear weather, are as far out as 40 degrees!
The Great Park hot air balloon rides are only available on Thursdays through Sundays. The hours on Thursdays and Fridays are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., then 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The hours on Saturdays and Sundays are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., then 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
You cannot schedule reservations to ride a hot air balloon at Great Park, but that’s because the rides are free. You’ll need to arrive early to get a spot. About 30 minutes before you embark, check-in occurs. Before you know it, you’ll be up in the sky!
Great Park, 8000 Great Park Boulevard, Irvine, CA 92618 | 949-724-6247
Fantasy Balloon Flights
Take off from Ventura, Temecula, or Palm Desert when you book your hot air balloon ride through SoCal’s own Fantasy Balloon Flights.
The meeting location in Ventura is the Starbucks on 310 South Palm Avenue, while in Temecula, you’ll meet at the Monte De Oro Winery. If you leave out of Palm Desert, your meeting location is Café Italia on 74901 Highway 111 in the Village Drive Center.
If you’re in a large group of six or more people, you might be eligible for a flight discount.
74181 Parosella Street, Palm Desert, CA 92260 | 760-568-0097 | [email protected]
Cielo Balloons Temecula
Here’s yet another place to appreciate the gorgeousness of Temecula, Cielo Balloons! Cielo is a family-owned hot air balloon business with a history of more than 20 years helping SoCal residents and tourists have the time of their lives!
In one of their hot air balloons, you’ll experience a relaxing, invigorating hot air balloon ride over Temecula Valley wine country. A shared flight costs $155 a person and private flights for four are $895 for a group.
39730 Calle Contento, Temecula, CA 92591 | 951-541-6638 | [email protected]
Skyline Balloons
Leading Perris’ Skyline Balloons are professional hot air balloon pilots Mike Stout and Dee Johnson. The two pilots have decades of collective flight experience.
During a balloon flight, you’ll travel across the Inland Empire, where you might just see a skydiver or two! The three-hour balloon experience costs $175 per person. Parties of 8 get $10 off per person and parties of 12 or more receive $20 off per person. A military and first responder discount is also offered.
You can even customize an event from the ground up through Skyline Balloons, so be sure to ask if you’re interested.
3150 Case Road, Perris, CA 92570 | 951-514-1553
Uncorked Tours
The last SoCal hot air balloon destination on our list is Uncorked Tours. Their tours run the gamut from wine tours to e-bike and brewery tours, but we’ll focus on their hot air ballooning.
During a sunrise hot air balloon tour of Temecula, through Uncorked Flights Aloft, you’ll fly for 45 to 60 minutes. The flight leaves out of the Monte De Oro Winery. During check-in, you can enjoy pastries, orange juice, champagne, or coffee.
While you’re in midair, a pro photographer will shoot at least 100 photos, all of which you can view and save for free on Facebook. You’ll receive a champagne toast upon your landing. You’re then whisked away in a party bus or limo back to the winery.
The four-hour experience for two costs $498.
You can also book a private weekday hot air balloon flight for two that’s $800 or a private two-person flight for $1,200.
The Sky to Vine package is a great way to spend the day in SoCal! You’ll start your morning at the Monte De Oro Winery at sunrise for a check-in. There, you can munch on pastries and light refreshments.
Your flight lasts up to 60 minutes. Upon landing, you can relax for an hour to an hour and a half, eating, sightseeing, or doing whatever you wish. Then you’re ready to start the next part of your day, which is a guided four-hour wine tour with plenty of wine tastings.
You’ll travel via limo or party coach to three SoCal wineries and enjoy five or six wine tastings at each stop. Besides wine, you can also sip on champagne, mimosas, or sparkling cider. Chocolate, crackers, and a cheese board will be available to keep your stomach full.
The Sky to Vine package costs $578 for two people.
888-400-7641 | [email protected]
Final Thoughts
There you have it, 12 amazing places throughout Southern California to schedule a hot air balloon ride. You can plan for a simple day of gliding through the sky or make it a glamorous, fun affair with food and drinks. No matter your preferences, you have plenty of options for seeing SoCal in a whole new way – from the vantage point of a hot air balloon!