Serengeti Hot Air Balloon Safari
A Serengeti balloon safari is the ultimate way to experience the vastness of the national park.
Just imagine floating above the Serengeti plains skimming treetops in complete silence whilst seeing wildlife on the ground below. This is an essential safari experience for travellers to Serengeti National Park.
Serengeti balloon safaris locations
Balloon flights are run daily at 06h00 from four launch sites within Serengeti National Park: one throughout the year close to Seronera, and others in the Ndutu area (from 25 December to 15 March), in the Western Corridor (from June to October), and in northern Serengeti (from July to October.
Planning a balloon safari
Be prepared for a very early start the transfer from the Seronera area leaves at 05h30 and from the other lodges in the area at around 04h00. Please remember to bring some warm clothing, and a bag in which you can secure camera, binoculars, and other personal items. We can arrange departures for a Serengeti balloon safari from most lodges and camps in the Serengeti. We strongly recommend booking a balloon safari in advance, as it concerns a very popular activity and gets booked out early (especially during peak season).
What happens if the weather is poor?
Ballooning is subject to suitable weather. If your flight is cancelled because of poor weather, you will be re-booked on a later flight If possible, otherwise your money will be refunded.
From your camp to the balloon
0400 – 0515hrs
Some things are worth getting up early for and this is certainly one of them. Rising before the birds and heading out in the silence of the pre-dawn towards the launch-site is all part of the anticipation. Perhaps one of the Serengeti’s more elusive inhabitants will be caught in the headlights on this nocturnal game drive.
Keeping safe & preparing to fly
0615 – 0645hrs
Your pilot takes you through the important safety briefing ahead of your flight as the sky begins to lighten and the crew inflates the balloon – an envelope of savannah gold and acacia green billowing into the cool morning, lit by the flames of the burners. You climb into the basket and prepare to lift into the dawn.
Serengeti from the sky
0645 – 0815hrs
Each flight is a different journey dictated by the direction of the wind, where the sights and sounds rise from the ground to meet you. We know where we’ve started but we don’t know where we will return to earth. This is part of the adventure. Sometimes the basket will be gently brushing the tips of the grass and then climbing, climbing through the layers of air until you’re high enough to see the curve of the horizon, painted gold and pink by the early sun. Our pilots not only have years of experience in harnessing the African wind, but are also interpreters of the wild lives in the ebb and flow of the landscape below. Around an hour or so after you lift into the sky, the basket will return to the plains of the Serengeti. But it’s not over yet.
Celebrating a tradition
0815 – 0830hrs
“The Winds have welcomed you with softness. The Sun has blessed you with its warm hands….” The balloonist’s tradition is to toast the flight with bubbly. A short walk or drive from your landing spot will find you raising a glass to your time in the skies. We then seek to take care of earthly concerns and whisk you off by safari car to our special Serengeti breakfast spot.
Meeting hunger with plenty
0830 – 0930hrs
There is truly nothing to compare with breakfast served under the sweeping canopy of an acacia in the middle of the Serengeti plains. Tropical fruit, bread baked this morning and eggs cooked in the bush (or a lovely avocado option), all made more delicious by the location, and served on linen, bone china and Sheffield cutlery in an ‘Out of Africa’ style. Shoulder to shoulder with your fellow passengers, this is a time to soak in the exceptional flight you’ve just been a part of and absorb the moment.
