Northern Light Balloon Expeditions

So magical! This is something you dream of doing or think you’ll never have the chance to do in your life time– if you’re in the area DO IT!
The whole experience was seamless and one to remember forever. From the pick up to the set up, the ride and the tasty post landing treat the company really knows what they’re doing (and have a passion for it).
Our guide Doug, the owner, was beyond informative on what we were seeing as we drifted through the air!

All around an excellent adventure! We were picked up at our hotel 10 minutes before the scheduled time, shuttled to the launch site, and treated with a lot of respect and kindness. The ride itself was truly amazing and we experience no issues. Our pilot was polite, kind, and answered everyone’s questions as well as pointed out things to us. The landed was pleasant followed by some bubbly celebration with breakfast. Spendy but worth it!

Hot air ballooning has been something I’ve wanted to experience my entire life. We chose to make this a part of our family Christmas vacation in Sedona. The winds for the first several days were conditions that prevented ballooning, but during our last day, conditions were perfect. This was an amazing trip and the staff was extremely enjoyable. This made for an incredible experience to share with the family.

We will never forget the amazing experience we had in the hot air balloon ride with this company. They spoiled us with a champaign breakfast treat once we came down from the ride. The whole experience was amazing! I highly recommend this company!

We actually had a balloon tour booked with the other company (Red Rock Balloons) but they canceled our balloon two days before we were scheduled. It was for an understandable reason but we were extremely disappointed. I immediately called Northern Lights and they were able to fit us in! It was such a great experience. They picked us up at 5am, we had about 1.5 hrs of flying time and ended with a picnic before being dropped off. I felt very safe the entire flight and couldn’t believe how beautiful it was! I later found out that the other balloon company only has larger baskets, so I was very pleased we ended up with Northern Lights where we had a smaller group for a better overall experience.

Northern Lights provided us with such a wonderful experience from start to finish. Captain Ron and his team were nothing but kind and professional. The ride was beautiful and you can’t beat the views. Definitely a once in a life time experience! Would do it again in a heartbeat.

Northern lights hot air balloon.
A must do experience. Mr Doug was awesome and the entire crew were so fun. Thank you all so much. From start to finish everything was incredible!
Words and pictures can not describe everything. Reserve your spot before you arrive. This is definitely something you will regret not doing!
All of the fellow riders were like long lost friends. My husband was able to help which added to his experience.

The balloon ride was awesome!!! It was a beautiful morning in Sedona. We were told we’d be picked up at 5:05am. I thought it was funny to be given such an exact time but, sure enough, the driver Mike showed up exactly at 5:05. Wow. Mike was really friendly and drove us to the spot where we’d be taking off. We got to watch the equipment being prepped and took a lot of pictures. Our pilot was Ron and he was very knowledgeable about the area. He has many years of experience and that made us feel much safer in the air. He was an amazing pilot. He explained how everything worked and when we got into the air, he pointed out different sites and animals. It was amazing to view Sedona from a different perspective. It was an experience we’ll never forget. Thanks to all the great people at Northern Lights for making our first ballooning adventure a memorable one.

I called to see if my wife and I could book a ballon flight. The lady who answered the phone said they needed our weights so she could book us. We could only do the trip either Tues June 16^th or Thurs June 27^th. The lady said she would call us back when they received every ones weights to see where we would be better to put us in for Tues morning or Thurs morning. She said she would call us by 8pm on Monday night or 8 pm on Wed night to confirm what day.
Never received a call. We were left hanging. What I believe happened is the weights I gave the lady were too heavy. They could «fit» more people into the balloon at a lighter weight. I fly for a living so I know all about weight and balance for aircraft. There is no reason why at the time we called she couldn’t confirm if they had room or not. Either u have space or don’t.
I would not recommend them. Very poor business practice. Go somewhere else.

Our first air balloon ride. Doug (pilot) and Tom (crew and chase) arrived on time from our hotel. We piled into the truck and arrived on site. Upon arriving we found 5 other balloons getting ready. The whole time the crew were happy to explain the process. We got in the air and had a great time. We saw Sedona In a way you only see in pictures. After an amazing ride we landed and had donuts and champagne! For pictures of our expedition visit

Fantastic experience! Blair, our pilot, and the other crew that set up the balloon were great. I was very nervous and they all made me feel comfortable. The views were amazing as we went up to 10,000 feet. The champagne and breakfast afterwards was a nice ending to come together with the other people and discuss the experience.

Every time my wife and I see a hot air balloon way up in the sky we talk about the one and only time we broke the piggy bank to go on a hot air balloon ride during our special trip to Sedona. What a great way to see the spectacular topography.
It turns out the picture on the brochure showing a balloon next to a red cliff is just bait advertising. When we took off we went away from the cool scenery and out into the desert plain. The highest we ever went was probably 200 – 250 feet from the ground. The guide was trying to make it exciting by pointing out jackrabbits running between bushes. I was so bored that I wanted this thing to end, even after paying a small fortune. Really for paying all that money, we were pretty disappointed with the experience. Save your money.

Best experience ever. Dan was a great tour guide and pilot. The flight was so smooth and gentle. The picnic breakfast was delicious. You won’t be disappointed.

Spectacular! It’s definitely a must do in Sedona, and you won’t regret it.
It is a bit early in the morning as we are in the air when the sun rises, they only do one ride per day in the morning. You get picked up in a van around 6:45 am and you’ll be done at the latest 10:45. Our captain’s name was Daniel, he was very friendly, was filled with lots of tidbits of information, and was just so calm in the flight that it put everyone at ease. Oh, and you can’t drive yourself to the location, you either need to be staying at the few hotels they pick up from, or need to be at one of the hotels to be picked up at in the mornings. After the flight, they drive you back.
One thing Northern Lights guarantees is that you will have at least one hour of time in the air. They even keep track of the time to be sure that you get your hour. Due to finding a place to land and other things we were in the air a total of 1:50, nearly double the time we expected to be in the air, so it was very nice.
It was very surprising how calm the flight was, the takeoff and landing was so smooth that you wouldn’t even know you were in the air until you looked down. It was daunting getting up so early in the morning, but it was beautiful to take off in the air at dawn and to view the sun peeking through the beautiful rocks of Sedona. Daniel was knowledgeable, gave us lots of interesting facts of Sedona and was happy to answer any questions we had. We also got to see some deer, coyote, and javelina from the balloon.
At the end we got mimosas, a yummy donut, strawberries, and a certificate. It was very fun and an enjoyable experience. Don’t forget to tip your captain! It was nice to be able to tip through credit card when you paid at the end. We debated what to tip, and even looked on Unilocal,but we decided on $ 60 or about $ 30 a person. This is about 15% so we felt this was fair. Take lots of pictures, and have fun!

Wow! Wow! More than I expected… We’ll talk about the Champagne, Apple Fritter and Strawberry& Cream breakfast later… Because after all, this was a flight… Pilot Dan was Incredible both as a Pilot and as a Human… Incredibly polite and knowledgeable. Our flight path was about 8 miles– as the crow flies… And vertical elevation of 8,900 feet (4,300 foot ascent)…
Peaceful, easy going and Professional flight across the Mesa Sedona on an incredible 30 degree weather Sunrise.
I HIGHLY recommend this outfit for your experience.
Ahh… Upon landing a Champagne Toast to the Air Balloon Gods… With an Apple Fritter that made the landing seem smooth…
Thanks Guys… An Amazing experience…

My very first hot air balloon ride could not have been more perfect. We were able to make a reservation 4 days before we wanted to fly. The lady gave us good tips, like to dress in layers, wear a hat, etc. We were picked up right at our condo in a van around 5:45 am. They drove us out to the place we took off. It was so fun watching them fill the balloons with air! My boyfriend even got to help hold the balloon open while it filled up. Getting in the balloon was less than graceful, but once we were in, the most exciting part happened… the takeoff!
Flying in a hot air balloon has always been on my bucket list, but that feeling you get when you first lift off the ground is something else. You just feel weightless. It was an awesome feeling and it was a little scary at first, but our pilot Doug had a lot of experience and we felt very safe with him at the helm. We were lucky enough to be in Sedona during a full moon, so as the sun rose, we had the full moon on one side and a breathtaking sunrise on the other. We got to float for about an hour and 15 minutes, then we landed (again, less than graceful).
Once we landed, we packed up the balloon again and we drove out to our picnic breakfast. They gave us some history about hot air ballooning. We got a nice pastry, some fresh berries, and 2 mimosas. They also gave us a certificate and a commemorative picture, which was great.
The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is because the balloon was a little crowded. There were 7 people in one balloon. And there was very little room to breath. Other than that, the people here were great, the views were fantastic, and the price was right for what we got. I would recommend them highly if you’re looking for a balloon ride in Sedona!

We had a perfect morning for ballooning. The majority of the other balloons launched when we did were over by the Red Rocks — we were NOT! When I asked why we weren’t going over to the rocks, our pilot said that it was too dangerous over there yet other balloons from this same co. were over there! We flew so low that he was pointing out ant hills! We saw an elk & a Jack rabbit & one other animal I think. All of the other passengers were disappointed too.
It was a smooth ride with a smooth landing but for what we paid I wanted to see the rocks from the air as did the others on the ride.
The champagne breakfast after landing was very high fat although the guy explaining the connection between champagne & ballooning told a good story with panache.

This review is not for the hot ballooning experience but for the company owners. I was so excited to go ballooning for the first time but got injured in an ATV accident the day before and didn’t get to cancel until 2am that morning (was scheduled to go ballooning at 5am). I left a message on their phone to explain what happened. The owners did not have to accept my cancellation or waive my charges but they did. They showed a lot of sympathy and gave me hope that there’s still humanity this world, especially after the horror that I have to deal with at the ATV company. I wish to be back in Sedona for another try at hot air ballooning.

This balloon ride was such an amazing experience; a great way to see Sedona! The flight was unexpectedly smooth and the view of all of the rocks and the sun coming over them was beautiful. We even saw some wildlife when we were relatively low — a quail, rabbits and a group of javelina. I’m so glad that we found this balloon company. The experience was unforgettable!
And logistically — wonderfully executed. We were picked up promptly from our hotel, the balloon was set up quickly and we were up and away! Once we landed, our pilot (Doug) and crew chief (Matt) were very quick in packing up the balloon and basket and we were served breakfast with mimosas (you can’t lose with mimosas).
Amazing experience that’s worth the cost! This is a must do.

Wow! The woman that answers the phone is costing this company customers. I’ve tried to make reservations twice. Once I asked for a certain date and before she said anything else, she said that unless I knew the weight of both parties she wouldn’t even consider a reservation. I didn’t have that info and that was the end of the conversation. The second time I called a few days later to try again and she said that we had a bad connection and that I should try from a different location and hung up (although I could hear her perfectly). I gave her the benefit of the doubt the first time, but when she had the same attitude the second time, I decided they didn’t want my business.
I called Red Rock Balloons and they seemed like they wanted my business… And they got it.