Want to make your Kenyan safari holiday even more unforgettable? Spice it up with a hot air balloon ride in the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve
COST:
USD 430 PER ADULT ( JAN- MAY & NOV – DEC)
USD 450 PER ADULT ( JUNE – OCTOBER)
KIDS PAY USD 350 ( 7 YRS – 11 YRS)
Want to make your Kenyan safari holiday even more unforgettable? Spice it up with a hot air balloon ride in the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve
Description
Balloon safaris are a romantic and evocative way of experiencing the wilderness of East Africa, as you gracefully and silently fly over the plains teeming with herds of wildlife in the early morning.
Typically, a Hot Air balloon safari begins at break of dawn, about 5 am, and lasts for around 1 hour, during which you will fly over parts of the vast Masai Mara plain, seeing the magnificent wildlife below, spread over several square kilometers of the reserve..
Balloon flights are available daily in Maasai Mara and take off from designated sites where the disturbance to animals is kept to a minimum. Your safari vehicle drops you off at the take off site and picks you up from your landing site. The flight is followed by a champagne breakfast “in the bush”, with a well laid out seating arrangement and waiters on hand, to give you a fitting finale to your memorable flight in the wild.
The scenery from a hot air balloon is unforgettable due to its spectacular and breathtaking nature; the ultimate safari experience. The balloon flight takes you over the diverse habitats of the Masai Mara Reserve; the great Mara River, swamps, forests, wildlife and the African Savannah. The diversity of our flight trail enables passengers to experience a unique opportunity to be a part of the Masai Mara from the air.
The gentle and silent nature of the balloon flight allows the passengers to view the wildlife from a comfortable distance. The big five; the lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo can be seen frequently along with other animals such as hippos, crocodiles, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, birds and many more.
Program:
Departure is from your lodge where you are collected by one of our drivers in our 4×4 safari vehicles before dawn (normally between 4.30-5.00am). Occasionally, if preferred, you can use your own drivers/vehicles from the lodge where you are staying, this can be arranged at time of booking.
The experience begins when you arrive at the launch site in the heart of the Masai Mara National Game Reserve. It is dark and you can hear animals grazing close by, with the occasional lion roaring in the distance at his early morning ‘kill’, but the immediate sense is of activity as our crew team are bustling around the balloon basket and the balloon envelope laid out on the ground ready for inflation.
You will often be seated in the basket prior to Take-off. The pilot will inflate the balloon and when it is safe to do so and the balloon is standing upright, he will tell you to stand-up, your adventure has really begun. The sharp-eyed will spot animals quickly; what never fails to amaze is the natural camouflage African wildlife has. Gently gliding with the wind over the plains of the Masai Mara, the silence, beauty and magnitude is breathtaking!
Once the balloon has landed, the pilot will ask you to stay in the basket until he has deflated the balloon and the ground crew and drivers have arrived to pack the balloon away. This is the Masai Mara and wild animals may be close by: so passengers are asked to stay close to the basket until the drivers arrive. In most cases they are there as you land.
Your Balloon Safari Masai Mara finishes with a flourish. In the time celebrated tradition of balloon flights the world over, you toast your return to earth with breakfast in the Masai Mara (complete with sparkling wine), served in the bush close to wherever you land. Your lodge drivers will collect you from the bush breakfast and return you safely to your lodge with a game drive.
| DEPARTURE/RETURN LOCATION | Masai Mara |
| DEPARTURE TIME | Morning |
| INCLUDED | Pickup and drop off to your lodge or camp in Maasai Mara. Fee for the balloon safari Champagne breakfast in the bush |
| NOT INCLUDED | Tips |
PICK UP CAMPS/LODGES
AA Lodge mara 4.45am
Mara Leisure Camp 5:30am
Amani Camp 4.30am
Mara Legends Camp 4:45am
Amicable Camps 5:00am
Mara Loyk Camp 4:15am
Aruba Campsite 5:45am
Mara Nyika Camp 4:45am
Ashnil Mara 4.45am
Mara Plains 5:00am
Azure Camp 5.30am
Mara Sarova 5:15am
Base Camp 5:30am
Mara Sidai 4:30am
Chronical Camp 4.45am
Mara Simba 5:15am
Crocodile Camp 5.30am
Mara Sopa 4:30am
Cottars Camp 3.45am
Miti Mingi Camp/lenchada Camp/Giraffe Mara Camp/Flair Mara Camp 4:30am
Eagle View Camp 4.30am
Matira Bush Camp 4:45am
Encounter Mara 4.30am
Mwangaza Camp 4:30am
Enkorok Camp 4.30am
Naboisho Camps 4:30am
Drunked Elephant Camp 4:45am
Naibor Camp 4:45am
Duma Camp 5.30am
Naserian Camp 4.00am
Emayian Camp 4.30am
Nyumbu Camp 5:00am
Emboo Camp 5.00am
Olare Kempinski 4:30am
Enchoro Wildlife Camp 4.30am
Olarro Lodge 4:15am
Enkewa Camp 4:40am
Olarro Plains 4.00 am
Etim Camp 4.45am
Oldarapoi Camp 4:45am
Entumoto Camp 4.45am
Olegoti Camp 5.00am
Explorer Nature Camp 4.15am
Olimbo Camp 5.00am
Fairmont Camp 4.00am
Olkeri Camp 4:30am
Fig Tree Camp 5:30am
Olgatuni Camp 5.00am
Fisi Camp 4.15am
Olmoran Camp 4:30am
Flamingo Camp 4.30am
Olonana Camp 4:00am
Game Trackers Camp 5:30am
Olseki Hemingways Camp 4:45am
Goshen Camp 4.30am
Olshaiki Camp 5:30am
Hamerkop Camp 4.00am
Oltome Camp 4:45am
Ilkeliani Camp 5:30am
Osero Camp 4:45am
Impala Camp 5:30am
Oseki Camp 4:45am
Jambo Mara Camp 4.30am
Mara Rianta(Neptune) 4:15am
Julia’s River Camp 5.15am
Porini Cheetah 4:30am
Kandili Camps 4:30 am Porini Lion Camp 5:00am
Keekorok Lodge 5:15am Porini Mara Camp 5:00am
Kichakani Camp 5:00am Mara Ngenche Camp 4:30am
Kicheche Bush Camp 5:00am Rekero Camp 4:40am
Kicheche Valley Camp 4:30am Rhino Camp 4.30am
Kimana Camp 4:45am Riverside Campsite 5:30am
Laimason Camp 4:45am Richards Camp 4:30am
Lenchada Camp 4:30am Sala’s Camp 4:45am
Leopard Hill Camp 4:45am Sand River (Elewana)Camp 4:30am
Losokwan Camp 4:15am Sekanani Camp 4:45am
Mahali Mzuri Camp 4:30am Semadep Mara 4:45m
Malaika Camp 4:45am Sentinal Mara 4.00am
Manyatta Camp 4:30am Sentrim Camp 5:00am
Mara Bush Camp 5:00am Serian Camp 4:00am
Mara Bushtops Camp 4:45am Siana Springs Camp 4:30am
Mara Costel Camp 4.45am Simba Oryx 4:30am
Mara Crossing Camp 4:15am Sprit of Mara 4:45am
Mara Chui Camp 4:30am Tipilikwani Mara 5:30am
Mara Eden Camp 4:15am Topi House 5:00am
Mara Entim Camp 4:45am Tree Top Camp 5:00am
Mara Explorer Camp 5:00am Wanjee Camp 4:45am
Mara Expeditions Camp 5:00am Speke’s Camp 4:45am
Mara River Camp 4:30am Sweet Acacia Camp 5.30am
Mara Interpids 5:00am Zebra Plains 5.15am
Lodges and Camps (Pick-up Times) *
* These times may change seasonally due to weather, but clients will always be briefed accoridngly by one of our sales team
the evening prior to a flight.