Your tallest heels of course! Ok, maybe not. This is a question we get asked a lot. When people are preparing to go on a hot air balloon ride, they worry, and rightly so, about what they should wear. We always give the same advice, but I’ll go a little more in-depth here.
Our standard advice on what to wear to go on a hot air balloon ride is this: wear comfortable, layered clothing, the temperature up there is the same if not warmer, than on the land, make sure you can take off layers because as the sun rises, the air temperature goes up. Wear trekking shoes, the balloon takes off from a field, in the early morning this field is often wet, so you could have wet shoes and socks for the whole ride if you’re not careful.
What do we mean by layered clothing? Let’s say you’re going in the Spring, the temperature when you arrive at the field might be 18 degrees Celsius, by the time you’re having breakfast, it could be 25 degrees! So to begin your day, you might need 2 thin layers and a thicker one, if you feel the cold a lot. If you don’t feel cold easily, you can wear one thin layer and a thicker one. By the time it’s 25 degrees, you’ll probably only need one thin layer, in which case, you can put your other two in a rucksack, or around your waist. In the Summer on the other hand, it might even already be in the high twenties when you get in the field, so you only need one layer on for the whole morning, and in the Autumn you probably need a couple of thicker layers as the temperature is likely to go up only a little.
Shoes are also important, and as a rule of thumb, we advise people to wear their trekking shoes, why? Well, because they’re usually impermeable and have comfortable soles. We have some horror stories we can tell you about people who have gone on a balloon ride and for some reason or another decided to wear the least sensible shoes possible. One of our colleagues once got a poor review because a lady didn’t want to walk from her car to the balloon, as she said the field was wet and the heels were digging into the mud. Well, we warned you! But not everyone listens.
To come on the balloon ride is to come on an adventure, and you must be ready to be wearing the right clothes. Be comfortable, don’t wear things you don’t want to ruin, make sure you don’t have your most precious jeans on! The basket may land on its side, and you can get muddy, it’s good if you can just throw everything in the wash, or just wipe it down and keep going.
Save your heels and best clothes for a dinner at a delicious restaurant afterwards. Wear your most fun and comfortable clothes on the balloon ride. Remember, the adventure of in a hot air balloon is meant to be a relaxed and fun time, you’ll enjoy some of the best views of your life, don’t let something like wet shoes try to ruin it for you!
