Hot Air Balloon Rides in Marrakech

Be amazed by the beauty of Marrakech from the heights in a hot air balloon experience. Discover the best options according to your group and budget for an unforgettable experience.

Ana Caballero

Ana Caballero

11 min read

Hot Air Balloon Rides in Marrakech

Hot Air Balloon | Evan Chakroff

Marrakech is one of the most touristic cities in the region of Morocco, with different activities to do in and around the city. Among the best things to see and do in Marrakech are the balloon rides, which are a unique experience recommended when visiting the region, to appreciate the beauty of the Moroccan landscape and have a new vision of the desert.

Among the options of balloon rides you can undertake are the flight over the mountains of the Atlas Mountains, experiences that combine the air ride with other camel or quad tours, join VIP rides where you decide the number of people, flights with breakfast included and more. Learn about the best proposals to choose from.

1. Balloon ride over the Atlas Mountains

Hot Air Balloon Ride| ©Kayleigh Mifsud
Hot Air Balloon Ride| ©Kayleigh Mifsud

The Atlas Mountain s are part of an extensive mountain range that crosses several African countries. If you sign up for a hot air balloon ride, you will be able to see this natural complex composed of small peaks with different heights. This is a unique experience in which, as expected, you will have the company and help of a professional pilot.

The adventure begins at the door of your hotel, where you will be picked up to enter the terrain where the launch point is located. To go to this place, you will have to travel by 4x4, which increases the adrenaline levels of this adventure. You will see the balloon inflation process and learn a little more about this means of aerial transportation.

When you begin to soar through the air, you will observe the landscape of the mountain range in all its splendor. Keep your eyes peeled for the Atlas Mountains and the various surrounding peaks. Continuing with the sightseeing experience, you will spot the nearby villages composed of small dwellings.

Keep in mind that this type of tour can accommodate up to 20 people and a breakfast and certificate of participation is included with the purchase. In addition, it is an excellent plan if you travel to Marrakech in April, when the forecast is to have more hours of clear skies.

Information of interest

  • Price: about 235 € per person.
  • Duration: in total, the experience can be extended for 4 hours.

Book a balloon ride

2. Balloon ride and camel ride experience

Day Trip| ©Marrakech Loisirs
Day Trip| ©Marrakech Loisirs

Another fascinating way to explore Marrakech is on the back of a camel. To experience the city to the fullest, you can consider experiencing a thrilling balloon ride and camel ride. This is a combined activity, ideal if you visit Marrakech in 1 day, as it is basically two experiences in one.

The organizers of the activity will pick you up at your hotel or connect with you upon arrival in the city, just like an airport transfer service between the airport and Marrakech. You will enter the desert in the early hours of the day for your flight.

During the tour, which lasts for a couple of hours, you will get exceptional panoramic views of the desert and the complex of mountains that make up the Atlas Mountains. Get your camera ready to capture the colors that the first rays of sunlight will bring to the environment and enjoy the air and the peace from the heights.

When you descend, you can eat a typical breakfast, receive your flight certificate and connect with the camel ride experience in the palm grove of Marrakech. The idea is to take you deeper into this palm-dotted desert and feel the surrounding natural environment up close. At the end of the whole experience, you will be ready to return to the city and continue with your itinerary.

Information of interest

  • Price: from 139 € per person.
  • Duration: approximately 4 hours.

Book a camel ride

3. Hot air balloon ride over Marrakech with traditional breakfast

Traditional Breakfast| ©Angela Blackwood
Traditional Breakfast| ©Angela Blackwood

If you are always looking to mix adrenaline with the pleasures of the palate in your travels, then during your visit to Marrakech in May or any other month of the year, you can't miss a balloon ride experience with traditional breakfast. This way, you will live a moment full of emotion and adrenaline, and you will appreciate the natural beauties of this part of Africa, while tasting a small sample of Berber cuisine.

This is a group ride in which you will share this magical moment with several people. Once you leave the hotel, you will enter the red desert to embark on the adventure. The goal is for you to witness the sunrise from the heights.

Depending on the time of the year, you can take the 6:00 a.m. tour and witness the sunrise live, or take part in the 7:00 a.m. tour, when the sun will already be in the firmament of the Atlas Mountains.

At the end of the balloon ride, the second part of the experience begins: you will enjoy a traditional Berber breakfast in a typical tent. It is a table with fruits and wheat-based recipes such as bread, wheat flour porridge, boiled eggs, cheese, kiwi and other exotic fruits. In fact, having this approach to trying new flavors, you may be interested in joining a gastronomic tour of Marrakech when you return to the city.

Interesting information

  • Price: this type of tour usually costs 138 € per person.
  • Duration: it lasts from 4 to 5 hours.

Book a gastronomic tour

4. Balloon ride over the desert of Marrakech

Balloon and Desert| ©Ciel d'Afrique
Balloon and Desert| ©Ciel d'Afrique

Marrakech is a city close to the Atlas Mountains and is surrounded by incredible ecosystems, such is the case of the desert. Therefore, if you visit Marrakech in summer is a perfect opportunity to join a hot air balloon ride over the desert of Marrakech.

With this experience, you will fly aboard the basket of the balloon while watching the vast expanses of reddish and brown desert terrain. Take advantage of the moment to enjoy the view and take some pictures. You will be able to move through these wastelands, while observing the mountains in the background.

The air travel experience lasts for about an hour. During this time, you will be accompanied by a professional pilot and guide, who will be in charge of safety, the correct execution of the trip and will give you information about what you are observing.

You will also enjoy the view of the pools near the oasis and the dunes that dot the desert. After the ride, you will have breakfast in a typical Berber tent. Finally, you can return to the city for other activities or opt for an excursion to the desert of Marrakech with dinner.

Useful information

  • Price: the tour can have a cost of 160 € per person.
  • Duration: the activity has an average duration of 4 to 6 hours.

Book a desert excursion with dinner

5. Hot-air balloon flight with 2 hours of quad biking

Balloon and Marrakech| ©Leon Benjamin
Balloon and Marrakech| ©Leon Benjamin

Many of the hot air balloon flight experiences are offered as combined options. In this case, the proposal is to make the balloon tour and then take a quad ride. This way, you will fly over the sky of Marrakech and also tour the surrounding desert in the same trip, ideal if you visit Marrakech in 2 days or less.

The organizers will pick you up at your hotel in the city and you will be on your way to the take-off point. You may even arrive in time to watch the balloon inflation process, while listening to the safety recommendations. You will ride in the balloon for about an hour, during which time you will be able to see the palm grove of Marrakech and the desert region, which is surrounded by several villages.

Upon descent, you will enjoy a delicious breakfast and receive your flight certificate. Then, the second part of the adventure begins. You will enter the Jbilet desert for a quad biking tour of this area. Enjoy the arid views with small patches of vegetation.

You will also come across sharp rocks, several palm groves and some riverbeds. Undoubtedly, a unique ecosystem where camel rides are also available. If you are passionate about the adventure in these particular vehicles, then you can sign up for a quad bike tour in Marrakech.

Useful information

  • Price: the double ride experience is offered from 199 € per person.
  • Duration: about 6 hours.

Book a quad tour

6. 1 hour private VIP hot air balloon ride

Arming the Balloon| ©Leon Benjamin
Arming the Balloon| ©Leon Benjamin

The offer of balloon rides in Marrakech is very wide and diverse, with options for all tastes and budgets. A good part of the tours in this means of transport are group tours, but if you want something more exclusive, for example, if you are traveling as a couple or with a small group of family or friends, you can choose a 1-hour VIP hot air balloon flight.

If you visit Marrakech in February and want to celebrate Valentine's Day, this option is ideal for couples. It is a ride in which you will contemplate with that special person the Moroccan atmosphere and see the high mountains and the desert, with its plains and small green spots.

What differentiates this experience from the rest is mainly the comfort and personalized attention. You will be able to see this from the beginning of the activity, when you will go in a private luxury 4x4 to the air port of the balloon. Upon boarding, you will be greeted with a welcome tea. You will have a private pilot and an assistant.

While you and your companion enjoy the breathtaking views of the mountains, the desert and the silence filled with the colors of the sunrise, you will be able to drink some fruit juices. When the experience is over, it will be time to taste a Berber breakfast and get ready for the return to the starting point.

Information of interest

  • Price: the flight usually costs around 580 € just for you and your companions.
  • Duration: about 4 hours.

7. Half day hot air balloon flight over the Atlas Mountains

Balloon and view| ©VCD
Balloon and view| ©VCD

Generally, balloon rides have an average duration of 4 hours, including ground transfer times. If you want a slightly longer experience, you can opt for a half-day hot air balloon flight. This way, the experience will be a little more extended and you will have enough time to enjoy everything it has to offer.

To live this sighting experience from the heights, you will wake up in the early morning. Moments later, you will have to go to the meeting point in Marrakech or wait to be picked up at your hotel. You will go by minibus or 4x4 to the airfield and enjoy tea or coffee.

You will float through the skies in a group of 16 to 28 people, while observing the beauty of the city, with its earth-toned walls. In the distance, you can also see the Atlas Mountains. You will also enjoy the silence of the desert, with its arid roads mixed with small areas of vegetation, such as palm trees.

At the end of the experience, it will be almost noon, so you will return to the starting point and you will have enough time to continue with your itinerary for the day and do some of the top 10 activities in Marrakech.

Information of interest

  • Price: this tour usually costs 200 € per person.
  • Duration: about half a day.

8. Sunrise in a hot air balloon in Marrakech

Trying the Balloon| ©Steve Whitmarsh
Trying the Balloon| ©Steve Whitmarsh

Although virtually any time of day is ideal for a hot air balloon ride in the region of Morocco, the truth is that there is a specific time recommended to do this activity: sunrise. So, I invite you to join this hot air balloon sunrise experience in which you will see the transition from night to day from the heights.

You will depart from your place of accommodation in the early morning, even while the night shrouds the sky. You will go to the starting point and watch how the balloon is prepared for the ascent. Then, the flight experience will begin. You will witness the arrival of the first rays of the sun, which dress the sky with reddish and orange colors.

At approximately 6 a.m., the sky will be completely tinged with blue with a small filter, while everything becomes clearer. Delight yourself with the view of the desert in all its fullness and appreciate a part of the Atlas Mountains. Glimpse also the small buildings near the city.

At the end, you will enjoy a traditional Moroccan breakfast with freshly baked bread and take advantage of all the properties of the mint tea that will be offered to you. Receive your flight certificate and return to the city.

Information of interest

  • Price: the value of this experience is usually 230 €.
  • Duration: 4 hours, approximately.

9. Hot air balloon over the palm grove of Marrakech

Starting the ride| ©Ciel d'Afrique
Starting the ride| ©Ciel d'Afrique

When we talk about desert, we always think of an inhospitable and lifeless land. However, this is not the case of the desert of Marrakech, as inside it lies a large expanse of land with vegetation, which sets a stark contrast and is an attraction worth appreciating. Therefore, you can join this hot air balloon tour over the palm grove of Marrakech.

From the heights, you will be able to appreciate the beauty of the desert, but mainly to dispel the myth that it is a lifeless land. During the ride, you will be able to see a part of the terrain full of green colors belonging to the palm grove, the group of palm trees that amazes visitors and natives of the region.

Take the opportunity to capture the silhouettes of the palm trees, while the pilot maneuvers to get the best possible angle of view. Capture the oasis during the early hours of the day and appreciate how the panorama blends with the mountainous backdrop.

Celebrate the completion of this ride with a typical regional breakfast and receive your certificate. This activity is especially recommended if you go to Marrakech in August, when there are many more hours of sunshine per day.

Information of interest

  • Price: from 190 €.
  • Duration: approximately 2 hours.

10. Private balloon flight with gourmet breakfast in Marrakech

Waiting for the ride| ©Evan Chakroff
Waiting for the ride| ©Evan Chakroff

Can you imagine having breakfast while floating above the earth? That is the experience offered in this last option. The idea is that you fly over the desert of Marrakech aboard a private hot air balloon, while tasting a delicious Berber breakfast.

This is perhaps the most exclusive experience on the list. Not only is the number of people participating limited, but a gourmet breakfast is also offered. This will not be tasted upon landing but during the flight itself, which makes it a unique trip.

The ride is recommended to enjoy as a couple or then with a friend or loved one. Of course, the balloon admits a group with more than 2 people, but these will not be strangers but those who are part of your trip.

From the sky, you can taste the famous Moroccan tea, orange juice, wheat flour tortillas, coffee and more. All this, while watching the desert trails, palm trees, mountains, valleys and small buildings, as well as other elements of the surrounding Moroccan landscape.

Information of interest

  • Price: the price of this experience is around 680 €.
  • Duration: about 4 hours.