A Melbourne hot air balloon ride gives you a choice of two sunrises. Fly from the city and, if the wind carries you that way, you float over the Melbourne CBD skyline with Federation Square and the Royal Botanic Gardens below. Fly in the valley instead and you drift over the Yarra Valley vineyards and Coldstream wine country.
Either way you spend about an hour in the air, in an untethered balloon that moves with the wind. That is also the catch: the pilot cannot steer you over a particular building, so the city flight is a chance to see the skyline, not a promise.
The Melbourne hub has two shared sunrise balloon rides live, each with its own meeting place.
Which Melbourne hot air balloon ride to book
- Yarra Valley Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride, from AUD 495 per person. About 60 minutes of free flight inside a morning of three to five hours. You check in at Yarra Valley Lodge, ride with the crew to that morning’s launch site, fly over the Yarra Valley vineyards and Coldstream wine country, and finish with a buffet breakfast back at the lodge. Shared balloon of up to about 20 travellers. The lowest price on the hub.
- Melbourne City Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride, from AUD 605 per person. About 60 minutes of sunrise flight inside a morning of about four hours, starting from East Melbourne. You may see the Melbourne CBD skyline, Federation Square and the Royal Botanic Gardens, but the wind decides the track. Includes in-flight GoPro photos, insurance and launch and landing fees; breakfast is an option you pick when you book. Shared balloon of up to about 10 travellers.
Book the city ride if seeing Melbourne itself from the air is the point and you can live with the wind having the final say. Book the Yarra Valley ride if you want the lower price, the larger landscape of the vineyards and breakfast included.
Before you go
- Where: the Yarra Valley ride checks in at Yarra Valley Lodge, 2 Heritage Avenue, Chirnside Park. An optional shuttle from Melbourne CBD can be pre-booked and leaves earlier. The city ride meets at the Pullman hotel on Wellington Parade in East Melbourne: enter the car park off 192 Wellington Parade, park underneath and take the lift to the ground floor. Exact times are confirmed after booking.
- Transport: hotel pickup is not included on either ride.
- Group size: shared balloons, up to about 20 travellers in the valley and about 10 on the city ride. No minimum group size is stated.
- Who can fly: minimum age 6, and children must be with an adult on the city ride. Not recommended during pregnancy. No hard weight limit is published, but the Yarra Valley ride asks passengers over 130 kg to get in touch before booking.
- Landings: the balloon lands near the flying area, wherever the wind allows. It is not tethered.
- Cancellation: on the Yarra Valley ride, full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start. The city ride uses a longer sliding scale, with a full refund at least 6 days out. Wind and weather cancellations typically come with a refund or rebooking.
Not sure whether to fly over the city or the valley? Email us at hello@flyovertheworld.com and we’ll help you choose.