Phoenix Hot Air Balloon Ride & Desert Champagne Toast

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/12

Duration4h

GroupUp to 40

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

What's It Like to Drift Above the Desert at Golden Hour

You float above the Sonoran Desert for 45–60 minutes, passing Camelback Mountain and viewing Downtown Phoenix from above, then land to a champagne toast and charcuterie spread served on a table in the desert. Hotel pickup and drop-off are included if selected, and you receive a commemorative certificate. The whole experience runs most of an afternoon.

Step-by-step itinerary

Hot air balloon ride and desert celebration

Check in at Deer Valley Airport
Float above Sonoran Desert
Soar past Camelback Mountain
View Downtown Phoenix at sunset
Land and enjoy champagne and charcuterie
Experience traditional Balloonists Ceremony

The Experience

What makes you want to leave the ground? For most people, it's the promise of seeing something familiar from a completely different angle — and a hot air balloon ride over Phoenix does exactly that. You check in at Deer Valley Airport in the early morning (the timing matters; the calm air and soft light are why balloons fly at dawn or late afternoon), and within an hour you're floating 2,000 to 5,000 feet above the Sonoran Desert with nothing between you and the landscape but open sky. The 45 to 60 minutes aloft is quiet in a way that ground-level travel never is. You pass Camelback Mountain — the one locals hike and bike on weekends — and watch it shrink below you. Downtown Phoenix appears in the distance, small and glowing.

The flight itself is the main event, but what happens after is what people remember. Once you land, there's a table waiting for you in the desert itself, complete with linens and china. It feels absurd and perfect at once. You're greeted with chilled champagne (or sparkling cider if you prefer) and a fruit and cheese plate while you're still catching your breath from the landing. If it's your first time, there's a traditional Balloonists Ceremony — something balloonists have done for over a century — and you'll get a commemorative flight certificate to take home. The whole experience, from pickup to landing to the desert toast, takes most of an afternoon.

Roundtrip hotel transportation is included if you select that option at booking, which means you don't have to arrange your own way to Deer Valley Airport. Pickups run from Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Glendale, Mesa, Arcadia, and Cave Creek — anywhere within 30 minutes of the check-in location. That detail matters if you're staying outside central Phoenix and don't want to navigate an unfamiliar route before sunrise.

What’s included

Your afternoon includes hotel pickup and drop-off (if that option is selected at booking), a 45–60 minute hot air balloon flight over the Sonoran Desert with views of Camelback Mountain and Downtown Phoenix, a chilled champagne or sparkling cider toast served at your desert landing site, a fruit and cheese plate, and a commemorative flight certificate. First-time flyers also participate in the traditional Balloonists Ceremony.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for back problems

Operated by Hot Air Expeditions Inc

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see the Phoenix Valley and Sonoran Desert from the air without arranging your own transport to the airport — the included pickup means you step out of your hotel and into the experience, and the fixed afternoon timing fits most travel schedules.