When we were planning our trip to Mexico City, it was surprisingly easy to pick the activity we wanted to experience on the first day.

A hot air balloon ride over Teotihuacán.

There was a simple reason. We were flying in from Europe and it was clear that the first night wasn't going to be worth it anyway. So instead of rolling over in bed, we set our alarm for 4am.

And it was one of the best decisions of the whole trip.

Book your balloon flight in advance

One picture says more than 1,000 words.

Departure from the centre at 4:30!

For the first three nights I booked the Gran Hotel right on the main square.

It seemed like a strategic choice, plus we had another activity the very next day that started just two blocks from the hotel. Also early in the morning.

The night before, I booked a ride via Uber for a specific time. Better. The driver confirmed the trip at about 2:00.

The agencies organizing the balloon flights also offered the option to pay extra for an organized ride from the center.

But it was a lot more expensive and with only one "pick-up" spot in town.

Also, I was curious mainly because of our guides. Does Uber really work reliably in Mexico City even at 4:30 in the morning?

It works.

The driver was right on time and we were in Teotihuacán in less than an hour. The roads were completely empty, no traffic jams, no complications. The final price, including tolls, came to 610 mxn.

• 👉 Here are my tips for hotels in Mexico City

Will it really fly?

There was a reception room waiting for us where all we had to do was show our GetYourGuide voucher on our phone and our passports.

In addition, there was unlimited free bottled water, sweet biscuits and hot water + teas.

We could buy coffee, croissants or rather expensive souvenirs.

There are clean toilets and lockers for luggage storage (free): you can't take anything in the balloon except your phone/phone.

Everyone has to weigh themselves before departure. Let's tactfully skip this passage because my weight scared me a bit.

Then we each get a sticker on our clothes with the name of the balloon we'll be flying in. Our company is sending a total of 3 balloons into the air that day.

The departure time is 5:55, about 10 minutes before sunrise.

I'm gonna go check it out.

There's a giant sail on the grass, two people blowing wind into it and lighting a fire.

Well. I don't know. I love flying.

It's just that airplanes have engines.

And wings.

A balloon has neither! Is it really gonna fly?

My girlfriend seemed excited. A balloon ride had been a longtime dream of hers, though she had originally dreamed of Cappadocia. I was already making up some reasons why I couldn't fly and that I would wait for her 😅.

Wow. That's all I can say.

Due to a slight delay, we missed the actual sunrise.

Normally, I'd be sorry.

But then the first balloons started to launch. One. Two. Five. Ten.

Here comes our ball.

The balloon basket has these steps in it, so I'll get in eventually, but it's not really for people with disabilities.

Let's go.

The burner makes a lot of noise and it's really warm, but nothing that's uncomfortable.

Takeoff is surprisingly calm.

More balloons take off from the slightly misty landscape. Later in the flight we counted about sixty of them!

At that moment I stopped worrying about the sunrise, the delay and the fact that I was standing in a wicker basket a few dozen meters above the ground.

This was... wow. WOW!

Even after a month, I can't describe the experience in other words. You just have to experience it.

You can control the height well, but the direction not so much, so the balloon gradually disconnects from the main field and the wind takes us more south of the pyramids.

This doesn't bother me at all, though, because it gives us great views of the pyramids even with most of the balloons.

The balloons are all around us, but even deep below us.

💬 So what? Have you been wanting to ride in a hot air balloon too?

Book your balloon flight at Getyourguide.com

How is the flight over Teotihuacán?

If you've never flown in a balloon before, you might be expecting wind, swaying or an uncomfortable feeling in your stomach.

I was expecting exactly the same thing.

None of those things happened.

This surprised me the most. The flight was incredibly calm.

If you couldn't see the landscape below, you'd hardly believe it was moving at all.

There were only four of us passengers in the basket and within 45 minutes we were slowly floating over the pyramids, the valley and the surrounding landscape.

The Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon and the famous Path of the Dead loomed below us.

Dozens of other balloons surrounded us.

And in between, absolute silence, broken only by the occasional burner.

In 20 years of travel, I have visited dozens of countries, flown first class, slept in iconic hotels and experienced many places that are unforgettable.

Still, I wouldn't hesitate to rank a flight over Teotihuacán as one of the absolute best experiences I've ever had while traveling.

The landing was much more boring than I expected.

And I mean that as a compliment.

The landing was the part of the flight I dreaded the most. The pilot had prepared us several minutes in advance.

Then there were two small bumps on the ground.

And we were done.

No more dramatic cartwheels. No bushes. No stories for life. Luckily!

Just a very professional and surprisingly smooth landing.

Well, to be precise.

Yes, I was a bit scared when we were looking for a landing spot for about 5 minutes and during that time the basket touched the treetops twice... But it didn't move the whole balloon and at least I have a story to tell at home!

Champagne in the field and breakfast in the cave

The landing was followed by a traditional sparkling wine toast on the spot.

Then the van took us back to the base, where we also received a souvenir certificate with our names on it.

Breakfast was also part of the prize. From what I could see, the menu included eggs, some sandwiches and croissants.

But we had a slightly different plan, so we just took water.

We sat at the base for a while, ordered an Uber, and about ten minutes later were getting off the bus before entering the famous cave restaurant, La Gruta.

Once again, transportation worked without the slightest problem.

La Gruta opens at 8:00, so it worked out just right for us. Reservations are usually not possible here, but since we were the first guests, we didn't wait a minute.

Breakfast was followed by a visit to the actual archaeological site of the pyramids at Teotihuacán.

Seeing Teotihuacán from above first and then walking between the structures... a great experience!

But that's another story, which I'll discuss more in future articles:

• 👉 Restaurant La Gruta: what we had for breakfast
• 👉 Pyramids of Teotihuacán: tickets and transport from the centre

Who to book the flight through and how much did it cost?

I booked through GetYourGuide.

The reason was simple.

I had good experiences with them from other countries and I wanted to have everything sorted in advance.

Moreover, most of the agencies that organize balloon flights work on GetYourGuide. Usually you can't even book except through GetYourGuide or similar aggregators.

The 45 minute long flight cost us a total of 6 000 mxn, so 3 000 mxn for 1 person with breakfast, excluding transportation.

Check current prices at Getyourguide.com

Communication with the local agency was exemplary. All the information came in the GetYourGuide app and via WhatsApp, the instructions were clear and there was not a single problem during the whole event.

This is exactly how I imagine an organized trip.

Is it worth paying extra for the transfer from Mexico City?

A lot of agencies offer packages with a transfer directly from the hotel or even a guided tour of the pyramids.

We opted for the basic option without a transfer.

Partly because of the price. Activities with transportation to/from Mexico City usually cost around 5 000 mxn per person. But we only spent 772 mxn, so 382 mxn per person for Uber there + bus back.

So total for the balloon flight + transportation on our own was 3,382 pesos. If we had taken Uber both ways, the total would have been about 3 700 mxn.

But we have time freedom. For me, it's really better to go on our own.

But if you don't want to deal with anything at all, an organized transfer makes sense.

How do you get around Mexico City? I describe in detail in these articles:

• 👉 Public transport, Uber and taxis in CDMX
• 👉 S afety in CDMX: is it cool to walk?

Would I fly again?

No hesitation.

And I say this as a person who was still wondering a few minutes before takeoff if it was a good idea to get into a basket suspended under a giant piece of cloth.

I'm already planning more hot air balloon flights.

💬 I need your help here, by the way! Do you have any tips on where in the world to go hot air ballooning? Turkish Cappadocia? Queenstown, New Zealand? That's what I found. Where else? Please, tips in the comments below the article, thanks a lot!

If you're planning a trip to Mexico City and are hesitant to spend a few thousand crowns on a balloon ride, for me the answer is clear.

Yes.

The city has great food, excellent bars, beautiful neighborhoods and interesting museums.

But when someone asks me what's the first thing I remember about my trip to Mexico, it's not the pyramids.

Not the tacos. Or the historic center.

It's the sight of dozens of colorful balloons floating over Teotihuacán shortly after dawn.

And that's exactly why I'd fly to Mexico again.