Hot Air Ballooning in Vang Vieng, Laos
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Taking a hot air balloon flight is a once in a lifetime experience, and… it is normally priced that way. However, Vang Vieng in Laos is home to one of, if not the cheapest hot air balloon ride in the entire world. You might be wondering whether that means sacrifices are made in terms of safety and quality. Well, we took a leap of faith, and have described our full experience below!
The most incredible views over Vang Vieng!
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Vang Vieng is home to so many different adrenaline activities, such as zip lining, rock climbing and paramotoring. Hot air ballooning on the other hand, is more relaxed and chilled, that is if you aren’t afraid of heights!
The nerves started to kick in as the balloon was almost ready for us!
There are two companies that operate hot air balloon flights in Vang Vieng - Above Laos and Balloon Over Vang Vieng. The latter is the original company operating in Vang Vieng, whilst Above Laos is a newer company. Both have very good reputations and reviews, however, operating in slightly different locations. Balloon Over Vang Vieng operates their flights over the town (you will see their balloons in the evening as you wander through town), whilst Above Laos is on the other side of the Nam Song river, a little further out into the countryside. There are also a few additional perks with Above Laos, so we decided to pay a little extra and go with them!
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The flight cost us $135 USD each and you have the option to do either a sunrise or sunset flight. We originally went with a sunset flight as that was all that was available, but fortunately were able to move to a sunrise flight due to a cancellation.
TIP: If there are no flights available during the dates you are in Vang Vieng, call or WhatsApp the company and they will put you on a waitlist for a cancellation. We were able to move to an earlier day, whilst someone else on our flight was also able to snag a flight last minute!
If you are taking a sunrise flight you will get picked up between 5.30 and 6AM. We were the first pick up of our group and we were picked up at around 5.25AM. If you’re doing a sunset flight, you will likely get picked up around 3.30PM. We made a few more stops to pick up fellow flight members and then were shuttled to the Above Laos headquarters to prep for the flight.
While the amazing staff prepped the balloons, we all got to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee and some crackers, while reading through the safety instructions. We of course were also given a verbal safety briefing as well! During our morning, three different balloons were taking off - two group ones, and one smaller, private one. The group ones each fit 8 people plus the pilot and I believe the smaller, private balloons can accommodate either 3 adults, or 2 adults and 2 children.
Looking for accommodation in Vang Vieng? Check out Lily’s Backpackers - great location, free breakfast and lovely staff!
Once briefed, we were able to wander out onto the grass to take some photos and marvel at the size of the balloons as they were inflated. Before we knew it, it was time to hop in and set off on our flight! The basket is definitely a little more crammed than you expect, but everyone had enough space to take their photos, and the positive is that everyone gets an “edge” spot, so you are never blocked from seeing the view and taking photos. Before taking off, we had one final safety briefing in the basket. We all had to get into the brace position required for landing, to ensure we all were mobile enough to do so.
A must-do in Vang Vieng!
TIP: Due to the altitude of the flights, the temperature is actually not to different from what it is at ground level. Nonetheless, Above Laos recommend wearing long pants and require you to wear closed shoes, as they can’t guarantee you won’t be landing in a random muddy field!
We were very fortunate to have a very calm morning, with little to no wind. If you don’t know, hot air balloons actually can’t be steered, the pilots only have control over the altitude. They therefore rely on wind patterns at different heights to move the balloon around. As we had little to no wind, we didn’t move around too much, but we still had incredible views over Vang Vieng and the mountains.
Are you travelling to Laos from Thailand? Check out our article on how to get from Chiang Rai, Thailand to Luang Prabang, Laos, including the famous slowboat!
Above Laos generally quote that flights can last anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on the wind conditions. During our safety briefing the pilots noted that even if you’ve only been up for 10 minutes, if the wind conditions are too dangerous, than they’ll have to bring it down. The timing of the flight will depend on the wind, and given the mountains surrounding Vang Vieng, if the wind is pushing the balloon too far towards them, then the pilots will also have to bring the balloon down to ensure they have somewhere to land (surprise - mountains are not the best place to land a balloon).
Something the pilots do have control over, aside from the altitude, is the direction the balloon is facing. Our pilot was really great to rotate the balloon at intervals to ensure everyone got to take photos in every direction, whether it be with the rising sun in the background, or other hot air balloons.
Just enjoying the view!
This was the “money shot”. Fortunately, our pilot made sure everyone got a chance to take a photo in this direction!
We were fortunate enough to fly for just under an hour before we made our descent, and fortunately, given it was so calm, we did not have to get into the brace position for landing, and the basket simply touched down nice and softly. Following our flight, there was some fresh fruit and croissants waiting for us (still warm!), as well as some juice, coffee and coconut water. Once we were all seated, our pilot brought out a bottle of champagne for us to toast our successful flight. We were even given a pretty fancy certificate to show that we successfully completed a flight over Vang Vieng!
Cheers to a successful flight!
While we were able to land exactly where we took off from, the other two flights were not as lucky, and took a while to return back. When you book your flight they will tell you to allow up to 3 hours for the experience, firstly, as the flight times might vary, and secondly, because if you do end up getting pushed further away and have to land in a random field, it can take some time to get picked up and driven back to the starting point.
Once everyone was done with their breakfast and champagne, we were transported back to our accommodations to enjoy the rest of our day in Vang Vieng!
—> 12Go is the best website to book your transport around Asia!
Overall, we had the most incredible experience. We felt very safe, and the experience was DEFINITELY worth the money! If you’re not game enough to try the parameter, you should definitely give the hot air balloon flight a go while you’re in Vang Vieng!
If you’d like to check out our YouTube video of this experience, you can check it out here!
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