Napa Valley Aloft Hot Air Balloon Rides

This was such a great experience! We had early morning fog so we had to drive to an alternate location but the views were still amazing. I live in the area and was still impressed. The staff handled the changes quickly and professionally and we never felt like we were missing out. Would highly recommend to anyone visiting the valley!

My friend and I were in Yountville last year about the same time. Our balloon ride was cancelled due to wind... understandable. This year I re-booked and everything went a smooth as butter. Loved that we were staying at the hotel (Estate Villagio), where the balloons take off from. Right there in the parking lot, just a short walk away. They supply coffee, tea, water and a continental breakfast along with restroom facilities.We arrived 5:45 AM at the meeting spot for a 6:00 AM checked in. The employees that all work for Aloft are extremely nice and friendly offering to take photos throughout the whole time on the ground. Once everyone is checked in, you are placed in groups and escorted to your balloon as it is being blown up... great photo opts. The balloon baskets are divided into 5 compartments. The pilot is in one and 3 passages in each of the other 4 compartments. To note: it is very very snug. no room for big purses bags or backpacks. Derick was our pilot, very nice, very informative as we flew over the CA. region. Just beautiful watching the sunrise and enjoying the views and peacefulness. Due to the unpredictable winds of mother nature while trying to land the balloon, we were able to stay up for 90 minutes, a real treat! An activity not to miss if you are not scared of heights. Thank you for making great memories.

7/23/22I booked a hot air balloon ride with Napa Valley Aloft as a gift for my boyfriend's birthday. This was an experience we've never done before as we were both very excited. We were expected to arrive at the meeting place in Yountville around 5-5:30AM. The whole experience is very organized from start to finish. There are signs posted to direct you to the parking lot and to the meeting area once you get to Yountville. What I found to be really helpful was that they send you an email confirmation the day before because I had booked this experience months in advance and am prone to forgetting things haha.When we arrived at V Marketplace, there were tables set up with tea, water, coffee, muffins and granola bars. Since the experience starts really early, it's pretty cold, but when you go up in the balloon, it will get warmer so dress in layers and have comfy shoes because you will be standing in the balloon the entire time. And once you are up in the balloon, it gets sunny so bring sunglasses or a hat. This one is for the ladies, and my other recommendation is to wear pants or shorts because you'll need to climb in and out of the basket.After everyone was checked in, one of the staff did a briefing where he explained next steps and safety procedures. When that was over, he recommended to us to use the restroom and then come back to be split into groups. After everyone came back, we were split into groups of 12 and grouped by names of dances which I thought was really cute. Each dance group (ex. Hula, Salsa, Samba, Disco) was assigned to a van with a specific driver. We piled into our respective vans and it was a 30 min drive to the launch site. When we arrived at the launch site, we could see the staff getting the balloons ready which was pretty cool! Each group is assigned a basket and they direct you carefully once the balloon is ready for its passengers. Our pilot that day was Pete. He's a super-skilled pilot and very friendly. It was quite amazing to be up there and very quiet. I have a fear of heights and I did feel a little scared going up but the overall ride was very smooth. It was very beautiful to get the aerial view f the vineyards. We were up in the air for about an hour before landed. After we got out of the balloon, we were shuttled back to Yountville (30 minute ride again).Overall, it was a truly, unique and wonderful experience. Zach and I both enjoyed it but it does come with a hefty price tag. I'm glad I got to go up in a hot air balloon with a professional company like Napa Valley Aloft !

EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE!!!!From booking to flying to communication, this family trip we took was very, very impressive. The team were professionals through and through. Our family of four (including an 8 year old & 11 year old) felt incredibly safe the entire flight and flying over Napa at sunrise couldn't have been more perfect. If you're even considering a hot air balloon ride, you won't regret this one with NV Aloft!!!

My family went on a hot air balloon ride this morning to celebrate my husband's birthday. Everything was great thank you to our pilot JP, the balloon crew members, and all staff members that contributed to the overall experience. Would definitely recommend to anyone debating!

Great ride with Bob, and the crew worked hard to make it all work safely and expeditiously. Incredible views with enjoyable and informative conversation.

Napa Balloon ride is another must apart from wineyard tours, Napa train rides and excellent food joints. Now that I am 50 minutes away from Napa it was a must to do it with parents!We decided to stay in Napa for the night after hopping wineries day before. The assembly is usually early AM one hr before sunrise. The best part of the experience is watching the gas flare up and balloons rising from sleeping positions, the take off and absolutely the landing. All co-riders were split into groups of 10-12. The basket is big enough for 15 people. They offer a step stool or your can climb in using little footholds around the basket. Once everyone is aboard the pilot would maneuver using different gas vents and ropes. Reaching the certain altitude or slowing down and stopping is a game of physics and aerodynamics. The best part- when you look around you get the beautiful picturesque postcard views of wine county. All the balloons lining up and forming colorful dots in blue sky with sun shining are best picture ops for social media frenzies!!They have specific places to land but it was interesting to hear how. Your landing directions can switch in complete 180 ° compared to balloon next to you. We walked down the trail and hopped in the ride back to starting point with pocketful of memories. Big applauds to all enthusiasts taking these tours over multiple decades or interning as crew (!!) and giving us tourists special moments of our lifetime, all the hard work to make you land safely and definitely thanks for awesome hot cocoa at the start of the tour. It's definitely worth experiencing. Tip 1: Don't forget to ask questions about this wonderful experience. They have tonnes of stories and it's all fascinatingTip 2: always follow instructions for the best experience. Tip 3: use restroom before boarding as you could be riding more than an hr depending upon how safe they feel to land you. Tip 4: winter morning even though cold are a bit better as we have less fog here in California. But don't forget to layer up despite the seasonHeads up: tours can cancel due to no wind or other weather changes!But it's all definitely worth it. You'd cherish this lifelong...

Our ballon ride with Bob was fantastic! He was very experienced and knowledgeable. He made us feel safe and prepared for the ride and the landing. The ground team were wonderful. We thought the whole experience was top notch customer care. Thank you Nate, Joel and team!

This was a breathtaking and unique experience when I first visited Napa. Our trip was really amazing and it was so exhilarating to see the stunning landscape of Napa valley from a scenic high view, leaving a memorable impression for how wonderful Napa is on us. The pilot and other customers were really nice, they complimented on how cute we are and asked us "where do you come from" again lol . The weather was very pleasant on that day, favourizing our safe trip from soaring above the valley to landing. The guide also took pictures for us

Everything about this operation was excellent!Celebrating a family event, we enjoyed a lovely morning until halfway into the flight we experienced a medical emergency. Chad and the team handled the situation with utmost professionalism and care.You really don't know how outstanding a service is until something goes sideways. Aloft got everything right.We look forward to trying this adventure again, but next time no drama.