Hot Air Balloon Cairns – Everything you need to know

Hot Air Balloon Cairns – Everything you need to know

A detailed guide with everything you need to know about the Hot Air Balloon Cairns experience. Experience the world's oldest form of aviation in tropical north Queensland.

Cairns is one of the most popular places in Australia to experience the thrill of a hot air balloon ride. The warm climate and pristine, clear skies make this region perfect for hot air ballooning. So if you're visiting or a local who's always wanted to tick a balloon ride off their bucket list, Cairns and the tropical north is the perfect place to do it.

In this quick guide I'll cover everything you need to know about planning, booking and executing a hot air balloon ride from Cairns and Port Douglas. I will also provide some recommendations on how to make the most of the trip and include some photos of myself that I hope will inspire you to try this incredible experience.

Featured in: The 11 Best Tours and Experiences in Cairns

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About the Cairns Hot Air Balloon Experience

Hot Air is an excellent company offering balloon rides from Cairns and Port Douglas. They are a very reputable company with the largest fleet of hot air balloons in Australia. They have been in operation for over 22 years and that experience definitely showed in my journey.

All hot air balloon experiences depart from Mareeba in the Atherton Tablelands. This is an elevated, flat farmland region directly above Cairns and Port Douglas. The reason why excursions depart from here is because it is perfect for ballooning. Here the land is flat and mostly farmland – meaning there are plenty of places to land!

Excursions are surprisingly affordable, which is a big reason why this Far North Queensland experience is so popular! You also get a lot of bang for your buck on a sunrise balloon ride, including:

• Abholung und Rückgabe vom Hotel
• 60-minütige Fahrt im Heißluftballon
• Champagner nach dem Flug
• Kostenloses digitales Fotopaket von Ihrem Flug
• Alle Versicherungsabgaben (Sie zahlen keinen Cent mehr)
• Professioneller Kommentar von Ihrem Weltklasse-Piloten

Best price for the trip: Sunrise Balloon with hotel transfers

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FEATURED IN: The Best Things to Do in Cairns, Australia

Book a hot air balloon ride from Cairns and Port Douglas

I'm a big fan of booking tours and experiences online. This way I always guarantee that I get the best prices and hold my spot for the dates I'm looking for.

Booking a hot air balloon experience from Cairns and Port Douglas is no different. To help you, I've included links below to the most cost-effective excursions from Cairns and Port Douglas.

Keep in mind that the hot air balloon experience departs from Mareeba, which is about an hour's drive from Cairns. This means a sunrise ride requires waking up early! Luckily, Hot Air offers free shuttle bus transfers from your accommodation in Cairns, The Northern Beaches, Kuranda and Port Douglas.

Book Hot Air: Trip from Port Douglas

Book Hot Air: Trip from Cairns/Northern Beaches

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Interesting facts about a hot air balloon ride with HOT AIR

Below is a quick summary of some of the important things you should know about the experience before you go. If you read on, I've also included a detailed breakdown of my experience (with photos) to give you a better idea of ​​what to expect.

• Die Abholung vom Hotel erfolgt normalerweise zwischen 4:00 und 4:30 Uhr
• Die Transitzeit nach Mareeba beträgt 1-1,5 Stunden
• Hot Air hat mehrere Ballons, der größte bietet Platz für 24 Personen (der größte in Australien)
• Die Flugzeiten betragen normalerweise 60 Minuten, aber die Zeiten können je nach Landeplatz leicht variieren
• Ballons landen oft auf landwirtschaftlichen Grundstücken, was bedeutet, dass Sie mit einem Anhänger zurück auf die Straße fahren
• Erwarten Sie, zwischen 9:30 und 10:00 Uhr wieder in Cairns oder Port Douglas zu sein

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See also: Best things to do in Port Douglas

Private hot air balloon ride

The Cairns hot air balloon experience featured in this post is a “shared” journey. This means you will enjoy the ride with other passengers. This is often what you find anywhere else in the world and why you can get this incredible experience at such an affordable price.

However, if you would like a private hot air balloon experience from Cairns or Port Douglas, you can contact Hot Air directly to arrange one.
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If this is your first time reading my blog, you may not know that I have documented hundreds of epic sights and things to do in Cairns. After checking out this Cairns hot air balloon experience, you can explore some epic Cairns waterfalls or hiking trails, or check out these essential lists for where to stay and what to pack.

My experience with hot air balloon Cairns

Our hot air balloon ride over Cairns began at 4:30am when we were picked up by the dedicated shuttle bus from the Skyrail car park in Smithfield. This is because we were currently on the northern beaches and had our own transport.

We were the last to be picked up as most of the other people who wanted to balloon with us were picked up from their hotels in Cairns. Overall it was a very comfortable shuttle transfer to Mareeba. Due to the early departure, most of us took the opportunity to have a little more rest before the sunrise balloon ride.

Pre-flight in Mareeba

We arrived at a private estate in Mareeba before the sun had risen. There, our pilots and Hot Air support staff greeted us and quickly divided us into groups based on weight distribution and number.

We were really excited at this stage. We watched as the professionals fanned the balloons and regularly blasted the balloons with hot air until they finally lifted off the ground. If you've never seen a hot air balloon rise, let me tell you, it's a truly fascinating experience!
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RELATED POST: Where to stay in Cairns

Lift up!

After everyone was organized and got into the hot air balloon, our pilot Frank gave the jets a few final blasts and we were up! This was actually my first hot air balloon ride and it was incredibly satisfying and surprisingly calming to be gently lifted off the ground in a huge basket!

Frank, the pilot was incredibly informative and a great guide throughout the entire experience. He was really knowledgeable about the area and gave us some interesting insights into the function and history of hot air ballooning.
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Featured in: Great things to do in the Atherton Tablelands

The view from the hot air balloon

We were incredibly excited that the balloon rides in Cairns all start at sunrise. Luckily the weather conditions were absolutely perfect and watching the sunrise far beyond the Coral Sea was absolutely magical.
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In the distance, a band of golden clouds hovered over the Great Dividing Range. The all-important Barron River was more prominent than ever from above. As we hovered over it, we saw it from a whole new perspective as it cut through the landscape towards Lake Tinaroo.
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Additionally, Frank was very excited to point out that the distant cloud conditions on our trip meant we were very lucky to witness a glory. This is an atmospheric phenomenon that causes a circular rainbow to appear around the hot air balloon's shadow.
alt=“THE GLORY, HOT AIR BALLOON RAINBOW PHENOMENON”>The “Glory” in all its splendor

Our first hot air balloon landing

After an incredible sunrise hot air balloon ride, we slowly began our descent. I was surprised to learn that it is actually very difficult to control the flight path of the hot air balloon. In fact, as our pilot Frank told us, it really depends on the wind direction. Luckily he has a lifetime of experience and knew exactly how to read the wind and elements to land us safely next to a Mareeba lemon orchard.

The landing went very smoothly and was actually remarkably uneventful. I was expecting at least a few bounces, but the basket landed as softly as a feather.
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Completion of the hot air balloon experience in Cairns

At the end of the experience, our shuttle bus driver and other Hot Air employees greeted us and showed us how to quickly help pack the balloon. Helping was optional, but with everyone's help, everything was done and dusted in less than 10 minutes.
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After we dusted ourselves off, the crew treated us to a celebratory post-flight champagne toast! Our pilot also gave us a congratulatory hot air balloon certificate!

Due to the wall we had set up on a remote country estate, we were driven in a 4WD passenger trailer to the road where the bus was waiting.
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More photos from my trip

As you can see from this article, I had a great time on my first hot air balloon ride in Cairns! Below are some additional photos I took during the flight. I hope you enjoy them and inspire you to book this bucket list activity from Cairns or Port Douglas!
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More travel and adventure articles about Cairns

I hope you enjoyed this quick guide/trip report of the Cairns Hot Air Balloon Experience in Mareeba (Tablelands). Before you head out, be sure to check out some of my other adventure articles and travel ideas for Cairns and the Tropical North. I've spent a lot of time exploring many hidden gems in the area to share with you - below is a good place to start!

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MY CAMERA AND PHOTO EQUIPMENT

• Spiegellose Kamera: Canon R5
• Drohne: DJI Mavic Pro 2
• 360-Grad-Action-Kamera: Insta360 One X2
• Landschaftsobjektiv: Canon RF 15-35 mm f/2.8L
• Allround-Objektiv: Canon RF 24–105 mm f/4L
• Teleobjektiv: Canon RF 100–500 mm f/f/4,5–7,1 L
• Lange Aktionsstange: Insta360 Invisible Pole (BulletTime)
• Landschaftslinsenfilter: Hoya Circular Polarizer
• Kamerarucksack: F-Stop Tilopa
• Lieblingsfotozubehör: Peak Design Capture Clip

For a list of my recommended photography gear (including what I use and why), check out my Travel Camera Gear Guide.

If you would like to use photos on this website, please visit my licensing page to find out how. For high resolution & commercial use please contact me directly.
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