Best Places For Balloon Rides

Serengetti, Tanzania

Serengeti Balloon Safaris
balloonsafaris.com

The word safari in Swahili technically means "journey" in English, though it has come to represent an African wildlife viewing adventure. But for guests of Serengeti Balloon Safaris, a safari is both.

Serengeti Balloon Safaris have lifted up more than 100,000 adventure-minded passengers since 1989, carrying them over the Serengeti plains and woodlands, known for the variety and number of their animal population.

A balloon journey offers a different perspective on this quintessentially African landscape of yellow plains and acacia trees. Neely Main, of Santa Clara, Calif., says that for her, it was the experience of a lifetime. "As we lifted into the sky, the scenery mesmerized us. The hills came into view, and the hippos were running below us. We could see several lionesses, followed by zebras, and in the distance giraffes were eating their breakfast of treetops."

Departures take place at sunrise, around 5 a.m., and flights last about one hour. Touchdown is followed by an Out of Africa breakfast of fruit, bacon, sausage, eggs and freshly baked bread at a table set with china and silver, below the shade of an acacia tree. The total cost for the package is $499 per person, and the company works with ground safari operators in the area to collect and return guests to their organized itineraries.