Reviews: Ballooning in the Namib Desert

"Four balloons were taking off that day and we were lucky to be in one for eight people (rather than 16!). Each couple has a corner so no jockeying for position. Conditions terrific and we followed the dry river bed towards the dunes landing after about 1¼ hours. Our pilot Rob demonstrated great skill in manoeuvring both vertically and horizontally: also at the champagne breakfast where he hacked off the neck of a bottle of champagne with a machete finally knocking off the end in a flourish of fizz! Although expensive it is an absolute must-do experience. Stunning, serene and a photographer's dream." Read more about this whole safari

"wonderful pilot - he explained everything so well. And then landed the balloon on the trailer!
delicious breakfast too!

An absolutely stupendous experience...would do it again!" Read more about this whole safari

"I was somewhat uncertain about this. Id never ballooned before and was a bit hesitant about the price. I'm very happy I went ahead. The views are phenomenal! Our pilot, Manie, was friendly and informative. While the baskets seemed a little crowded at first, everyone got an unobstructed view. The breakfast following was delightful." Read more about this whole safari

"Slightly apprehensive before this trip as not brilliant with heights, but so glad we did it and would urge anyone to do the same - there is no better location in the world!

The gas burners fire for a few seconds to give sufficient lift then off slowly into the dawn sky. Eerily quiet as we peered down onto the dunes below for a flight lasting about an hour. Other balloons depart at a similar time so there are some fantastic photo opportunities for colourfull baloons sweeping across the orange dunes.

We'd been briefed on the positions to adopt for a bumpy landing, but in the end it was incredibly smooth. Our pilot Marnie was obviously very experienced, and we skimmed the sand for a few seconds before coming to a halt.

Then it was a quick jeep ride to the foot of a dune where an enourmous breakfast was laid out on trestle tables. Coffee, champagene, fruit and even tried zebra meat!" Read more about this whole safari

"Some unseasonal windy weather meant that there had been no flights for several days prior to our arrival but we struck it lucky and what an amazing experience it was. The landscape here is pretty impressive from the ground but a silent balloon flight gives you an even better idea of form and structure.

Landing the balloon back on its trailer was brilliant showmanship but, followed by the sabraged "champagne" breakfast, it just perfectly completed the experience." Read more about this whole safari

"We highly recommend doing a balloon trip while staying at Wolwedans, to enjoy the spectacular scenery from a different viewpoint." Read more about this whole safari

"First attempt on our anniversary was abandoned due to wind. Apparently this happens 30 times per year, just our luck. We rebooked with no problems for the next day.

The trip was excellent! Airborne for over an hour with John as pilot. He even rotated the balloon so we all had chance to get good photos!

Breakfast was spectacular." Read more about this whole safari

"This was cancelled due to weather at 7:30 at night. We were glad because otherwise we would have not been informed until very in the morning and have screwed up our substitute plans." Read more about this whole safari

"Sadly they failed to fly on 3 successive mornings and they were not able to make the decision not to fly until we had arrived at the launch site on each morning. So that was 3 successive mornings that we rose at 4.45 am to leave the SML at 05.15 to get to the launch site.

We understand the pilot cannot fly if the conditions are not right but surely they could decide earlier and ring the hotel to save us all the journey ( there were around 20 people there on day 3 and some had travelled for 2 hrs just to get to the site)

All very disappointed" Read more about this whole safari

"Sadly our balloon ride was cancelled due to very high winds, but we still had to get up at 4:15 am to drive to the park entrance to confirm cancellation at the hotel. If we had been given a contact telephone number we could have avoided this.

Because of the unusually high temperatures and lack of things to do we decided to leave a day earlier and go to Swakopmund hence losing a night's accommodation." Read more about this whole safari