Don't miss the chance to go for a hot-air balloon flight over Far North Queensland's Atherton Tablelands. It's one of the "must do" activities when visiting the tropics. You have the choice of pick-up from Cairns, the Northern beaches or Palm Cove hotels.
Prices change with the date; the lowest is shown.
From the operator’s live schedule on Viator, checked Oct 8.
You will be met by our professional driver at your pick up location to be transfered to your Hot Air Balloon ride. As the day begins, you will experience a wonderful hot air balloon flight above the Atherton Tablelands, Australia. After your flight and landing, enjoy games and lots of laughs as your pilot, crew and driver lead the fun of packing up your hot air balloon. Your hot air balloon experience finish time varies with the seasons. Your driver can drop you back to your Cairns accommodation or, with prior notice, we can drop you off to the Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal, Skyrail, Tjapukai or perhaps a Cairns cafe or restaurant if you would like to have breakfast at your own arrangements.
The Atherton Tablelands is the area over which we fly our hot air balloons. You will experience this area at dawn - the best time of the day to spot wallabies, kangaroos, many different species of birds, and other wildlife. In addition, you may fly over many different crops as The Tablelands are known for their fruit and vegetable produce. Keep an eye out for crops of mangoes, bananas, lychees, avocados, pineapples, limes and more.
We pick up at hotels in the Cairns and Northern Beaches areas. The start time provided is indicative only. Actual pickup times vary by location and season, and will be confirmed by the tour operator before your travel date. Contact the tour operator if not received 48 hours before your flight.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
Excurgo comparison of 241 Viator tours, recalculated daily.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cairns Classic Hot Air Balloon ride lasts about 4–6 hours. The itinerary has 2 stops.
Prices start at $351 per person for this Cairns and the Tropical North experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There are 3 booking options, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
According to the operator’s current schedule, it runs every day, starting at 4:00 AM.
Children aged 3–12 pay from $351, adults from $351.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
Yes, pickup is offered. We pick up at hotels in the Cairns and Northern Beaches areas. The start time provided is indicative only. Actual pickup times vary by location and season, and will be confirmed by the tour operator before your travel date. Contact the tour operator if not received 48 hours before your flight. Pickup points include Mercure Cairns, Mantra Trilogy Cairns.
The experience is available in EN.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 80 participants.
Children aged 3 years and under are not permitted to fly
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 4.8 out of 5 across 608 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor; it is run by Hot Air Balloon Cairns.
Reviews collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
One of the best things I did while visiting cairns. The pick up was smooth. The flying was amazing, the crew top notch. 10/10 would do again.
Thank you for the brilliant review! 🎈 We’re thrilled the smooth pickup, flight and crew all made this one of the highlights of your trip 😊 A 10/10 and you’d do it again - that’s a wonderful compliment! We’d love to welcome you back for another flight someday ✨
Hot air ballooning was an amazing experience! The tour guide really knew his stuff, and the balloon pilot was equally knowledgeable and professional. We received lots of interesting information throughout the experience, and both were such friendly and engaging people. It was well worth the money, and I would definitely do it again!
Thank you for such a wonderful review! 🎈 We’re so glad you felt well looked after and enjoyed all the stories and information shared along the way 😊 Hearing that the experience was worth every penny - and that you’d happily do it again - means so much to the whole crew. We’d love to have you back in the skies someday! ✨
My partner organised this as a surprise as I had never been up in one before. We both loved this experience- pick up was super easy and our driver, Brownie, was very entertaining. The weather was perfect and it was smooth skies the whole way with amazing views. I also love that you help pack up the balloon, and encourage a glass of bubbles for breakfast! 😋
Thank you for sharing your experience! What a lovely surprise from your partner for your first hot air balloon flight. 🎈 We’re so glad you both enjoyed the smooth flight, beautiful views and getting involved with packing up the balloon afterwards. It’s also wonderful to hear that Brownie kept you entertained along the way! And of course, a glass of bubbles is a pretty good way to start the day. 🥂 Thanks for flying with us, and we hope to welcome you both back again!
It was raining at dawn, and I was worried, but I'm glad I was able to get on the balloon safely. It became an unforgettable memory.
素敵なレビューをありがとうございます🎈 ご心配もあった中、無事にフライトを楽しんでいただき、「忘れられない思い出」になったと伺えてとても嬉しいです😊 貴重な体験を私たちと一緒に楽しんでいただき、ありがとうございました。またいつか空の旅を楽しんでいただけたら嬉しいです✨
Really had an awesome experience with Mike and team cruising in hot air balloon over Cairns which is dream come true fur me. Mike’s humour and magic show added more fun to the wonderful time we had. Special thanks to the whole team.
A dream come true - we love hearing that! 🎈 We’re so happy the flight was such a special experience for you. Mike will be stoked to hear his humour and magic tricks added even more fun to the morning 😄✨ A big thank you from the whole team for your lovely words and for flying with us!
Absolutely amazing experience! We had to wake up at 3:00 AM to get to the meeting point, but it was absolutely worth it! Our group of five ranged in age from 14 to 77 years old. Tony was incredibly considerate and kind. We truly appreciated his thoughtfulness, especially when he provided extra help with the steps for our elders, as we were worried they wouldn't be able to get in and out of the basket. Frank, our captain, was a true professional in every sense of the word. The takeoff and landing were like a piece of cake for him, and he was a big joker too. Gavin and Declan helped Frank with our landing location, and after the safe landing, we had a welcome party with champagne, and Frank awarded us all with a commemorative flight certificate — a small but deeply touching gesture. It was one of the coolest experiences, and I highly recommend it.
What a lovely review - thank you for sharing your experience with us! 🎈 We’re so happy your whole family, from 14 to 77, could enjoy the adventure together and that everyone felt comfortable and well looked after. Tony will be especially touched by your kind words, and Frank, Gavin and Declan will love the shoutout too 😊 From the smooth flight to the certificate and bubbles afterwards, we’re delighted it became such a special memory for your family. Thank you for joining us and for the heartfelt recommendation! 🥂
The flight itself was wonderful and a really great experience. The staff were superb and made the whole experience very enjoyable. The only small issue was with the pickup at the Mareeba meeting point. I drove there myself and was asked to be there at 5:10 am. The bus arrived about 15 minutes late, and as it was still pitch dark and there was no one else around, I started to worry that I might have been waiting in the wrong place. Fortunately, there was a food truck nearby, and they confirmed that I was in the right place. Perhaps, for such an early meeting time, it would be helpful to have some kind of sign or other indication at the meeting point, especially for people who are driving there themselves. Other than that, the experience was fantastic, and I would definitely recommend the tour.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful review! 🎈 We’re really happy to hear you had such a wonderful flight and enjoyed your time with our team 😊 We can certainly understand how worrying it must have felt waiting alone in the dark and wondering if you were in the right place. We really appreciate you sharing this with us, and your suggestion about making the meeting point clearer is very helpful - we’ll pass it on to the team. Thank you again for your understanding and recommendation. We’re so glad the rest of your morning was such a memorable experience! ✨
Everything was top notch from driver to our return to the hotel
Thanks for the fantastic review! 🎈 We’re so pleased everything was top notch from start to finish and that the whole experience ran smoothly 😊 Thanks for flying with us - we hope to welcome you back for another adventure someday! ✨
Great experience. Well supported by team. Very enjoyable. Will choose to fly with this crew again
Thank you for the lovely review! 🎈 We're so pleased you had such an enjoyable experience and felt well supported by our crew throughout the morning 😊 Hearing that you'd choose to fly with us again means a lot to the whole team. We'd love to welcome you back to Cairns for another adventure someday! 🌄
Thanks Brownie, Frank and Gav, awesome morning guys.
Thanks for the brilliant review! 🎈 Brownie, Frank and Gav will be stoked to hear the shoutout 😊 We're so glad you had an awesome morning with the crew and enjoyed your Cairns ballooning adventure. Thanks for flying with us over the Atherton Tablelands! 🌄
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairns Classic Hot Air Balloon ride | 4–6 hours | 4.8 (608) | $351 | |
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