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What to expect with your Hot Air Balloon Flight
We fly over the Gold Coast on a wonderful, hour-long balloon journey every morning at sunrise – weather permitting. Your Balloon Down Under Experience begins just before sunrise. Ballooning in Australia is always an early morning activity, because that is when the winds are most gentle.
Your flight starts nice and early!
Your Balloon Down Under Experience begins just before sunrise. Ballooning in Australia is always an early morning activity, because that is when the winds are most gentle.
When you make your booking we will advise you where and when we will meet and what to wear and what to bring.
A complimentary pick-up and return service is available for visitors to the Gold Coast. This service is provided to visitors staying between Southport and Broadbeach. If your hotel is out of this vacinty, please contact our office for alternative options.
1 - The Meetup Point
Local passengers will be met at the Star Hotel in Broadbeach at the time determined when making your booking. Directions to the Start Hotel will be emailed to you along with your confirmation details, so if you are self-driving this will be where we meet up.
From The Star Hotel we head off, in our vehicles, to the balloon launch site selected by the pilot for the morning’s hot air balloon flight. We choose from 20 or so launch sites scattered throughout the Gold Coast region. The selection is made based on the wind direction and speed on the morning of your flight.
2 - Preparing for take-off
Our friendly, well-trained and ever-smiling balloon crew will brief you, while the balloon is being set up for your flight. You are welcome to help our the crew as the balloon is being inflated.
Once aboard the wicker basket your magical hot air balloon ride begins! The launches are so gentle you won’t even realize you’ve left the ground. The peace and tranquility floating high above the coast will surprise you, while the views will leave you speechless.
3 - Enjoy your balloon flight!
Once aboard the wicker basket your magical hot air balloon ride begins! The launches are so gentle you won’t even realize you’ve left the ground. The peace and tranquility floating high above the coast will surprise you, while the views will leave you speechless. Your pilot will point out Gold Coast landmarks and places of interest as you fly. Drifting gently over the Gold Coast landscape for an hour allows ample time to take in the panoramic views of the Gold Coast, from skimming over the tree tops to up to 2,000 feet high.
4 - Packing up the hot air balloon
Your pilot will then skillfully lead your balloon safely to its landing site. Steering the balloon is achieved by utilizing varying wind speeds and wind directions found at different heights. Your pilot will rotate the balloon during the flight so you get to experience the whole wonderful panorama of scenery. Hot Air balloon Down Under Gold Coast Australia, Our exclusive “flying” camera will record your flight from its very unusual location. All pictures are available for purchase on a CD directly after the flight.
After the hot air balloon lands we invite all our passengers to join the crew in the fun & games of the balloon pack-up.
Awesome!!! We weren’t sure if we were going to go up or not because of the weather but Simon was patient and waited it out. We went up a little later than planned but had a great time. Hugely professional, great communication and very friendly. Highly recommend!
Jacqui Wilkins
Google Review
Have Any Questions?
Below you will find our most frequently asked questions from our customers. If you can’t find what you are looking for you can get in touch with us via phone, email or using the contact form here.
Although you get to experience the lovely warmth of the Hot Air Balloon Burners, some mornings can be a little cool. We recommend you wear a jumper or jacket that you can take off if you want as the morning goes on. We also recommend that you wear closed in shoes but this is not absolutely necessary if you do not have them.
Please no scarves!
If you need to change your Flight date, we require 48hrs notice before your departure. Within 48hrs no refunds will be given, however, we will do our very best to work with you to change your flight date at a cost of $25 per person.
We can pick you up from most hotels on the Gold Coast.
However, anywhere South of Broadbeach or North Labrador you will need to meet us at the Mercure Gold Coast Resort, Palm Meadows Drive, Carrara or any of the main hotels within our transfer zone.
Can I self drive or join you at the Hot Air Balloon meeting point?
You can make your way or self drive to one of the main hotels within our complimentary transfer zone. Or you can meet us at the Mercure Resort Gold Coast, Palm Meadows Drive, Carrara. Just notify us on booking where you would like us to pick you up.
There is no problem meeting us in Broadbeach, particularly if you are staying at a residence in Coolangatta, Mermaid Beach, or Burleigh Heads.
Our bus will pick you up along the coast at The Star Casino at Broadbeach, the parking is well lit and a safe place to meet us. Our bus will depart from the coast for the Gold Coast Hinterland and you can get on with us, leaving your vehicle there and returning around 10am (seasonal).
We will inform you of the exact meeting time when you book, which will vary with the season
Please park in the underground garage (free) and then proceed up the stairs to reception (there is only one area) and sit on the couches until our bus arrives
For any concerns you may contact the driver directly at tel: 07 5531 5536.
You can meet Hot Air at Nerang by GPS if you have a GPS device
The Star Casino, Casino Drive, Broadbeach, Queensland
We use PayPal, Stripe and Zip Pay for any payments. These transactions are handled directly with these providers, which means your payment information is not at all saved in any of our systems and all data is encrypted for extra protection against fraud and identity theft.
We have highly experienced Hot Air Balloon pilots from all over the world, so we are proud to say that we are the only specialists who fly over our beautiful Gold Coast waterways and skyline.
We also love to showcase diversity of our South East Queensland region, the contrast between the Green forested mountains with our Golden beaches, so depending on the weather we can take you on either of these two magnificent adventures, and sometimes even both!
Although we live on the beautiful sunny Gold Coast, there are a few days a year we may not be able to fly. Our balloon pilots monitor the weather conditions very closely and will never endanger you as a guest if the weather is not 100% safe to fly. On most occasions we are aware the night before if the weather is not looking the best, however as we all know the weather can be quite unpredictable at times and we may have to cancel on the day of your flight. In the rare occasion that we need to cancel, we will offer you an alternative date to fly. A refund surcharge of 5% (which includes the initial payment surcharge) is non-refundable in the event of a trip cancellation. Refunds may also incur a $25.00 administration fee.
We fly on average between 1,500 to 5,000 thousand feet above the ground, giving you the best possible views of our beautiful hinterland and beaches.
Hot Air Ballooning Civil Aviation policy states that if you are over 12 weeks pregnant you cannot fly.