Luxor Balloon Ride with Kids: Is It Family-Friendly?

Luxor Balloon Ride with Kids: Is It Family-Friendly?

As soon as you begin to plan a dream family holiday to Egypt, including an experience of a lifetime such as taking a hot air balloon tour over Luxor becomes an obvious highlight of your travel plans. Think about the incredible feelings of awe and joy that will fill up your children's hearts as they see the rising sun turn the great Nile and ancient monuments into a golden sea while being thousands of feet above the ground.

On the other hand, your parental senses of prudence and caution will not allow you to miss the safety issues involved here. The thousand questions will start popping in your head instantly. How safe can it be for small children? How scared can they possibly become from hearing those huge burners roaring right above our heads? Is there really no such thing as too early wake-up for 4 AM?

The blunt answer to that question is yes; a hot air balloon ride in Luxor can truly be a life-changing experience for your whole family, yet only if your children satisfy certain age requirements and are okay with heights and loud noises, and most importantly, if you select the right operator of this ride.

In order to help you make up your mind whether this ride will suit your family, here is all the information you will ever need.

1. Age and Height Restrictions (The Non-Negotiable Rules)

Before you start building up the excitement for the balloon ride, you have to be sure about the local rules on the matter of age restrictions for hot air ballooning. You don't want to disappoint your children upon arriving at the launching site, when you realize that they are too young.

The Minimum Age Restriction: All reliable licensed hot air balloon operators in Luxor have a firm policy on minimum age limit, and it is always six years old. Certain operators or premium shared baskets will require even eight years old. Any babies, toddlers and children younger than five are always strictly prohibited from the flight. There is a reason for that - it is related to aviation laws and unpredictable nature of the basket landing.

Basket Height Issue: The basket of a hot air balloon is constructed just like a strong fortress of woven basket, approximately four feet high (approximately 1.2 m). This height has been intentionally designed to ensure safety of adults in order to avoid accidents such as tripping over, leaning out and falling over. It becomes a small issue for the children who would find it hard to see over the rail of the basket without help. One finds oneself lifting or holding the children throughout the duration of the flight because of arm fatigue. In case you have young kids, you may want to consider private or semi-private basket.

2. Preparing Your Kids for the Sensory Experience

The way that children experience adventure, heights, and strange surroundings is totally different from how an adult does. While all that may seem like pure magic to you, it can easily be frightening for your kids if they catch you unawares. Take a few moments to show your kids what the morning will really be like in reality:

The Terrible Early Wake Up Call: You should remind your kids ahead of time that they have to wake up at 4:00 AM in pitch dark surroundings. Should your kids be particularly grumpy, difficult to wake up or prone to having a meltdown once they are sleep deprived, then your early morning adventure can quickly turn into a fight.

Roaring Propane Blast Engine: Hot air balloons do not have silent electric engines; in order to go up in the air, you will have to pull the string which makes huge blasts of roaring propane fire erupt in the envelope. That means you will have to endure sudden roar of whooshing sounds and heat waves coming from directly overhead. If your child can get startled by loud sounds and fire blasts, make sure he or she sees a few videos or photos about how hot air balloons launch in order to understand everything in advance and not to be scared in the basket.

Landing Details: Make your kid know in advance that the landing can be rather bouncy or the basket can even turn sideways if there happens to be some ground breeze that wants to play. Describe it as adventurous experience rather than emergency situation.

3. Practical Tips for a Smooth Family Flight

If your children comfortably fit within the age bracket and are enthusiastic about flying high above the historic civilization, the following useful tips will ensure that you enjoy a hassle-free, carefree, and pleasant morning:

Layer Up in Practical Clothing: Like the grownups, the kids will definitely feel the chill in the morning hours while taking the boat ride across the river Nile and the first few cold minutes on the airship. Dress your children in proper layers including something breathable like a t-shirt, zip-up fleece jacket or hoodie, a pair of long pants or leggings, and some sneakers. With the rising sun and the heat emitted by the burners, the kids will be able to remove the layers comfortably.

Strategic Positioning in the Basket: While getting on board the basket with your family, make sure that you try to seat your children inside the basket where they can be totally safe. Try not to put them against the edge of the basket in case they get scared of seeing the open space straight from there.

Take Some Easy-to-Carry Snacks and Water: Make sure that you carry some easy-to-carry snacks and water in your small crossbody bag while transferring in the vans. A happy child is definitely better company to have than an angry one at 5 AM!

4. Why Older Kids and Teens Absolutely Love It

In the case of infants and toddlers, ballooning can be physically challenging and very difficult for them; however, children, preteens, and teenagers are likely to find ballooning anything but.

Students of ancient history, world civilizations, and archaeology at school are sure to get their textbooks alive and vibrant after having seen with their own eyes the massive proportions of Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple, Colossi of Memnon, and Theban Necropolis from the vantage point of a bird’s flight. It is an incredible travel experience that these students are bound to talk about to their classmates and teachers.

The Bottom Line

A hot air balloon ride over Luxor offers an incredibly worthwhile experience, which is extremely kid-friendly—if they are at least six years old, comfortable getting up early, and not afraid of heights or loud noises.

If all of this applies to your children, find an established and trustworthy middle-of-the-road or private company, explain the burning noise and early awakening, and prepare yourself for an unforgettable morning adventure over the ancient shore of the Nile River.