You want to see a place from the air, and the hub offers more than one way to do it. Helicopter vs hot air balloon vs plane is not a question of which is best. Each one gives you a different flight: a helicopter goes exactly where the route says and can land on a mountain, a plane covers far more ground, and a balloon drifts slowly and silently with the wind at dawn.
Here is how to choose, using real examples from hubs on Fly Over The World that sell more than one type of aircraft. Times, ages and limits below are as they read on our listings right now; the tour page and your booking confirmation are always the final word.
Helicopter vs hot air balloon vs plane: what each one does best
A helicopter flies a planned route, can slow down and turn back over a view, and can set down where there is no runway. That is why our glacier and mountain landings are mostly helicopter flights.
A plane, including a seaplane or ski plane, flies further and longer for the money. On the Talkeetna airplane tours you spend about 75 to 120 minutes over the Alaska Range, depending on the flight.
A hot air balloon has no fixed route at all. The wind sets the direction, so you get a slow, quiet hour over whatever lies downwind, then a landing in a field.
Time in the air vs total time
Helicopter tours are short in the air and short on the ground. The Guilin Gallery flight is about 5 minutes over the Ten-Mile Gallery, the shortest Whistler helicopter is about 14 minutes, and most of our city helicopter tours run between about 12 and 40 minutes. Add check-in, usually 30 to 60 minutes before, and you are done in under two hours.
A balloon flight takes your whole morning. In Napa Valley you fly for about 40 minutes to an hour, but the experience takes about four and a half hours. The Wanaka balloon is about 60 minutes in the air inside an early morning of about four hours, and Mallorca allows three to four hours in total.
Scenic planes sit in between. A 30-minute seaplane is a short outing, while a long mountain flight with a glacier landing can take about two hours from take-off to touchdown.
Who can fly: ages, weight and health
If you are travelling with young children, this often makes the choice for you. Many helicopter tours accept babies. Many balloon flights do not take young children at all.
- Helicopter examples: on the Grand Canyon helicopter tours, children under 2 can sit on an adult’s lap with proof of age, and Fox Glacier has no minimum age.
- Balloon examples: the Napa Valley balloon is not suitable for children under 6 and asks children to be at least 48 inches tall to see over the basket. Tuscany does not fly children aged 0 to 6, and the Siem Reap balloon is not suitable under 11.
In a balloon you stand for the whole flight and climb in and out of the basket, which has no door. Napa Valley lists the flight as unsuitable for pregnancy, mobility impairment, wheelchair users, recent surgery, vertigo or fear of heights. In a helicopter or plane you are seated, but per-seat weight limits can be tight: the San Francisco helicopter listings set 220 lb / 99.7 kg per seat.
Who controls the route
On a helicopter or plane tour, the route is on the tour page. On the San Francisco helicopter you fly over the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz because that is the route, weather permitting.
A balloon follows the wind. In Mallorca, routes follow the wind and you may see rural plains, coasts and, on clear mornings, neighbouring islands. At Teotihuacán, flying over the pyramids is not guaranteed every morning. If one particular landmark is the reason you are going, a helicopter or plane is the safer bet. If you want the feeling of flight more than a checklist, a balloon is hard to beat.
Time of day
Balloons fly when the air is calm, which mostly means sunrise. A few hubs also sell evening balloon slots, such as Siem Reap. Helicopters and planes fly through the day, and some hubs sell sunset or golden-hour flights.
Hubs where you can choose
- Guilin: a 5-minute Gallery helicopter from USD 129, a 22-minute Li River helicopter from USD 549, or an untethered balloon of about 30 minutes from USD 253 over the Yulong River country.
- Wanaka: helicopters from about 30 minutes (from NZD 380) with an alpine landing on Mount Alpha when weather allows, up to about 75 minutes towards Tititea / Mount Aspiring, or a balloon of about 60 minutes from NZD 499.
- Aoraki / Mount Cook flights: a 25-minute helicopter with an alpine landing from NZ$379, a 45-minute ski plane with a landing on the Tasman Glacier from NZ$699, or a 45-minute combo that flies you out in one aircraft and back in the other from NZ$599.
- San Francisco: helicopters of about 15 to 30 minutes from USD 339, or seaplanes of 30 to 45 minutes from USD 326 that add Muir Woods and the Marin coast on the longer route.
- Whistler: helicopters from about 14 minutes (from CAD 215), including routes to Black Tusk, or a 30-minute seaplane from Green Lake from CAD 290.
- Cairo: a 15-minute microlight from USD 200, a tandem paramotor of about 13 minutes from USD 210, or a golden-hour helicopter of about 30 to 35 minutes from USD 320 over the Great Pyramid of Giza. The microlight and paramotor list about 100 kg maximum passenger weight.
- Siem Reap: a free-flight balloon of about 35 minutes over the Bakong countryside from USD 174, or a full temple day with a shared helicopter segment of about 20 minutes from USD 899.
Quick chooser
- You want one specific landmark in the frame: helicopter or plane.
- You want to stand on a glacier or mountain: a helicopter, or a ski plane where one is sold.
- You want the longest time in the air: a scenic plane.
- You want calm, slow views and a dawn start does not bother you: a hot air balloon.
- You are travelling with a baby or toddler: a helicopter that accepts lap infants, after checking the tour page.
- You have one free hour, not a free morning: a helicopter.
Still deciding between two flights? Email us at hello@flyovertheworld.com and we’ll help.