Are you thinking about going on a sunrise hot air balloon in Hunter Valley but not sure if it’s worth it? I took Steve in a hot air balloon in Hunter Valley for his birthday. He’s not even a morning person but I made sure I got him up for this memorable experience. We’ll share everything you need to know before you book it below.
Watch our Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Video Below
Recently I went up to the Hunter Valley for the weekend to celebrate Steve’s birthday. I’ve only been up there once before to see The Rolling Stones play at Hope Estate a few years ago, but apart from that I’ve never explored the area. Yep, if you didn’t already know, famous musicians play at the Hope Estate in Hunter Valley every summer!
Apart from wine tasting, what are the best things to do in Hunter Valley? I found out that a sunrise hot air balloon flight is one of the best Hunter Valley activities.
When I broke the news to the non-early riser Steve that we would be waking up at 4am on his birthday for a surprise that would be worth it, he hoped it would be a hot air balloon flight in Hunter Valley. He was right.
13 Best Things To Do In Hunter Valley NSW
Looking for things to do in Hunter Valley? You know it’s not all about wine! There’s much more to discover…
Want to go on a SUNSET hot air balloon in Hunter Valley?
I didn’t know until we did the hot air balloon in HunterValley but apparently sunset hot air balloon flights don’t exist! That’s not because they don’t do them in the Hunter Valley, it’s actually illegal and only sunrise flights are allowed in Australia.
How To Find The Best Deal For Your Hot Air Balloon Flight In Hunter Valley
Drone shot from above. Balloon Safaris has now merged with Balloon Aloft.
There’s quite a few ballooning companies to choose from but I booked my hot air balloon flight on Adrenaline with Balloon Aloft. This review isn’t associated with Adrenaline, it’s just because that was the best deal I could find. I also liked the fact that this balloon flight includes a champagne gourmet breakfast as well so it seemed the best fit for Steve’s birthday!
What The Experience Looks Like
I learnt that the balloon flight in Hunter Valley is an experience! Expect it to take about 3.5 hours from start to finish with a 45 minute flight.
We all met at Peterson’s House at 4:30am for a briefing before the flight.
We woke up just before 4am and made sure we met everyone down at Peterson’s House, just a five minute drive from our hotel at the Mercure Hunter Valley Gardens Resort at 4:30am. It’s vital to get there by 4:30am as they might leave without you to ensure everyone gets to the sunrise in time.
From there, we signed some forms, picked our gourmet breakfast option and we popped into a minibus to be driven to a site that we could take off from. Because the weather was rubbish, we had to drive to another site but we weren’t waiting around too long.
Before I knew it, we were able to watch the whole process of the balloon come off the trailer from the bus and be ready to take off. I’ve never seen that before!
There are 4 compartments in the basket big enough for 16 people to fly in total so we were put with another couple to enjoy the flight.
You Can Book A Private Hot Air Balloon
You can however book your own private hot air balloon if you’re looking for ideas on where to propose in NSW. We were told there was a couple that very morning who were about to get engaged!
We were shown how to get into the basket and what to do when we were about to land and once we took off, it was so peaceful and beautiful seeing all of the vineyards from up above, that you could see the vast scale of how many vineyards are located in the area.
After about 40 minutes, we started to head back towards our landing area. Our pilot said; ‘we might actually tip’. I thought he was joking until the balloon ahead of us actually tipped on their landing. I was slightly worried but when we did land, the balloon did tip in a slow motion pace but it was really fun.
Landing upside down!
Once the landing was over, we all had to crawl out of the balloon but everyone was smiling and laughing at the experience.
It was all hands on afterwards and we all pitched in to get the balloon back onto the trailer.
Everyone helping fold up the balloon to put back on the trailer!
We were driven back to Peterson’s for our gourmet breakfast around 7:45am with champagne and Lindt chocolates. We had the option of picking either a vegetarian breakfast, full breakfast, pancakes or muesli.
The vegetarian breakfast
I picked the muesli and Steve had the vegetarian breakfast. His looked really fresh and he said it was great. The muesli was a bit sweet for me but because I have SIBO, my food tolerances aren’t the best!
After the flight!
So after three and a half hours, we made our way back to our hotel to sleep before we were off for a surprise birthday lunch with Steve’s family.
Would I recommend It?
Absolutely. They were were friendly, professional and lovely people to spend the morning with. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t get to see an actual sunrise due to the weather but if it was a clear morning, the sunrise would be spectacular.
Don’t Forget To Watch My Hot Air Ballon in Hunter Valley Video Below!
Flights cost from $269 pp here. And if you want your own balloon or to propose, it costs from $1599 here.
Have you been on a balloon ride before? Let me know where you experienced it and when below in the comments.
SAVE FOR LATER AND PIN BELOW
