The balloon flights leave in the early morning from the Serona Valley in the central Serengeti. This part of the Serengeti has good concentrations of animals year round; ensuring whenever you take your flight there will be plenty to see. It is expensive but if you have come this far a few more dollars is worth the experience of seeing this land from the air.

You will have to spend the nigh in a lodge in the Serona area of the Serengeti as departure from you hotel is 5 am! This will probably the only time you will leave your lodge before daylight. Night drives are not allowed within the National Park boundaries.

Your balloon ride, or flight, will launch ever so gently from the Maasia Kopjes. You rise slowly from the plains at first light, rising above the trees with the dawn. At times the balloon will rise to one kilometer or more above the plains, at other times you will skim over the flat toped acacia trees. The silence of the flight has to be experienced - and is only interrupted by the occasional noises from bush and an infrequent blast of the burners as they put more warm air into the balloon.

The flight is about an hour long and upon landing there is a champagne celebration and breakfast in the bush of the Serengeti. The breakfast is Full English served at tables with linen table clothes, sliver cutlery in true 'Out of Africa style. A memento of your flight in the form of a certificate is presented after breakfast and then you return to your lodge before 10h00; this enables you to carry on with your personal itinerary.

This balloon safari is very popular and is best booked in advance. However, if you decide to add it into your schedule at the last minute you are able to book it from your Central Serengeti lodge, or ask your driver/guide to sort it out on your behalf; this is of course if the flights are not fully booked.
About the Author

To take a hot air balloon flight across the Serengeti plains is an unforgettable experience. To see the vastness of the African plains with the herds of animals below is to see Africa from a unique perspective.