Beautiful hot air balloon ride experience in Barcelona

Planning a unique experience during your trip? What about a hot air balloon ride near Barcelona?

It’s the perfect way to start your day: quiet, calm, and unbelievably relaxing. The flights take place just one hour from Barcelona, where you’ll enjoy beautiful views of Montserrat, green forests, and old farmhouses.

In April 2024, we booked a trip with Kon-Tiki to enjoy a morning flight and see Montserrat from a hot air balloon. It was the first hot air balloon trip we had ever taken, and the truth is we had a wonderful time!

In this blog post, we share all the details about the tour, including prices, the best time of year, whether it’s worth it, what you can expect to see, and our experience from the ride. Ready for a unique adventure?

How long is the hot air balloon ride?

The flight lasts 60 minutes, but the whole experience takes around 3 hours.

First, you meet the pilot and the rest of the crew (which are incredibly friendly and super professional!) at the launch site. There, you watch the balloon inflate and take some photos. And then…it’s time to fly!

There is no set route, as the balloon moves with the wind. So, depending on the direction of the wind, you’ll discover some spots or others.

After the 60-minute flight, you land in a field and celebrate your survival with a glass of cava. The crew then drove you back to the launch site.

Where does the experience take place?

The launch site depends on the wind and the weather. But, it’s always somewhere in Central Catalonia, either near Manresa or Igualada. Both cities are one hour’s drive from Barcelona. So, this experience is perfect if you have a free half-day during your time in Barcelona.

Two days before the flight date, you’ll receive a message with the exact meeting point. If you’re staying in Barcelona and don’t have a car, you can add pick-up and drop-off from the centre of Barcelona, just next to Plaça Catalunya.

Best time of the year for a Barcelona hot air balloon experience

You can enjoy a hot air balloon flight in Barcelona all year round.

The landscape changes with every season, and that’s more or less what you can expect:

• December-February: During winter, you can stumble upon the most mystical landscape, as sometimes there is fog first time in the morning and even cloud inversions! You can also enjoy the Pyrenees covered in snow. The crops haven’t grown yet, so expect to see all the fields brown.
• March-May: This is when we flu and, to us, the best season. The rapeseed fields turn yellow, while the rest of the landscape is bright green.
• June-September: In summer, the wheat fields turn gold, so you’ll enjoy blue skies, golden fields and green forests.
• October-December: You can spot autumn colours in October and November as the leaves change from green to yellow, orange and brown.

We highly suggest booking your hot air balloon ride in advance, either before getting to Barcelona or at the very beginning of your trip, just in case you have to reschedule. Ballooning depends on the weather, and you need the perfect one—not too windy, hot or cold.

Barcelona hot air balloon ride costs

The balloon ride near Barcelona – Montserrat experience costs 175€ per person and includes the following:

• A 1-hour hot air balloon flight
• Transfer back to the starting point
• Cava toast on landing
• Cool images of the flight
• A backpack with pastries and an orange juice
• A Kon-Tiki passport (flight certificate)
• Insurance

We were a small group, only 6 people, but there can be up to 20 people on a flight. If you do it for a special occasion or want to be alone, you can also book a private flight.

Our experience on a Barcelona hot air balloon flight

Getting ready

We had an early wake-up call the morning of our ride, but we were so excited that waking up was a piece of cake!

At 7:30 a.m., we were at the meeting point, where we met Montse, one of Kon-Tiki’s crew members. As the wind was stronger than predicted, we had to drive an extra 20 minutes to another launching site. Once there, we met the pilot, Miquel, who was also one of the company’s founders.

He was already inflating the balloon and getting everything ready. Before the start of the flight, visitors were allowed inside the hot air balloon, so we could take some nice pictures and realise how freaking giant this thing was!

After a quick briefing, the balloon had a few final adjustments and then we all clambered into the basket. In seconds, the ground below shrunk as we floated away. We were flying!

The flight

The first few minutes were really exciting. The truth is that you feel very secure inside the basket. But, if you stop for a second and think that you’re actually suspended in the air, many km above the ground, it gets a bit scary.

As we gained altitude, we passed close to some trees. It was beautiful to see the crown of the trees from above. We also started catching site of some farmhouses and various villages.

Everything went so smoothly that we didn’t have to do anything else besides enjoy the ride and take nice pictures.

During the flight, we learned that Miquel had been a professional balloon pilot since 1988. He had gone on some expeditions to the Amazonia, Greenland, and Lapland, and he shared some cool stories with us.

We kept flying over intense green fields, villages, and forests, enjoying the views of Montserrat in the distance.

While we probably exclaimed, “Oh, ah, wow” several times, the truth is the flight was very calm, and there was a quiet serenity up there that was difficult to experience while on the ground.

The landing

After an hour or so, it was time to land. Before taking off, Miquel gave us the do’s and don’ts and instructions on what to do during landing, but honestly, the landing was perfect.

Watching the balloon deflate once we landed was all part of the fun, and while the crew had their job down to an art, we really enjoyed lending a hand and helping.

Once everything was packed, we jumped into a car and drove back to the launch site. There, we were handed our hot air balloon certificates, and, as it’s tradition, we enjoyed a glass of cava with the rest of the group.

So, is flying in a hot air balloon in Barcelona worth it?

If you’re looking for a unique adventure that will take little of your time while you’re in Barcelona, then this is a wonderful option. The location is very convenient, as it’s close and easy to access from Barcelona, and you have beautiful views of Montserrat.

If you have more free time and are looking for more spectacular places to fly in Catalonia, you should take a look at the experiences in the Pedraforca mountain, the Mont-Rebei gorge, the Delta de l’Ebre, and the winter flight over the Pyrenees. Each area where you can fly in Catalonia is different and has its charm.

That said, we loved the experience! We were stocked to see the heart of Catalonia and Montserrat from the sky and were astonished by the natural patterns we could see from up there. It was beautiful.

We hope our blog post has made you want to fly in a hot air balloon during your stay in Barcelona! If you decide to give it a go, share your experience with us. Was it scary? Relaxing? The most peaceful thing you’ve ever done?