Albuquerque, New Mexico is a flyover state that you mostly only hear about in movies and TV shows like Breaking Bad and Rat Race. So why Albuquerque? Well it’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit after watching the movie Drive me Crazy (Don’t judge me it was the 90s). There was a particular background scene that stuck with me. Melissa Joan Hart calls her dad and he’s at a hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque. Ever since I watched that scene attending the International Ballon festival has been on my bucket list.
The Albuquerque balloon fiesta is the largest in the world with over 500 hot air balloons. It's a 10 day festival that takes place the first weekend in October. It was cancelled last year due to the pandemic.
So when I started planning my nomad year I made sure attending this festival was one my list. You see being a tax accountant, October is another big deadline month (eyeroll). This year I said fuck it! I’m not going to let work keep me for experiencing things I‘ve always wanted to do just because it’s close to a deadline! (I made sure everything was in place before leaving)
So to finally attend this event has been a dream come true. Getting here almost didn’t happen. The Airbnb I booked back in February canceled on me 10 days before I was set to arrive. You see the balloon fiesta is the biggest thing that occurs in Albuquerque so by now all of the hotels and Airbnb were either sold out or insanely overpriced. So I had to scramble to re-book a place to stay because I was not going to miss this festival for anything. Luckily I found a place but it was not my first choice and I was not gonna be paying crazy amounts of money for a couple days.
Fast forward to attending the fiesta, It was amazing!!!!!! I made sure if I was going to attend I was going to go all out. I even booked a hot air balloon ride to be a part of the Mass Ascension with 500 other balloons. The view from above was stunning and so pretty. Being in the air among other balloon was amazing once in a lifetime experience. I definitely will be back in the future, hopeful a couple people can join me.
I must say reading all the blogs on tips on attending does not fully convey the experience. So here's some helpful tips.
The website for all things Balloon fiesta is linked here
Start planning now if you can. Reserve your hotel and rental car (You will need a car to get around Albuquerque. They offer a park and ride service, but you need a car to get there. The dawn patrol starts at 6am but people start arriving as early as 4:30am to avoid traffic)
If you want to ride in a hot air balloon during the fiesta, only one company is authorized to offers rides during the festival (Rainbow Ryders). You must reserve early to ensure you get a spot. It's free to reserve a spot, your credit card won't be charged until around July. But you still have plenty of opportunities to cancel if your plans change.
Dress appropriately! In the morning the temperature is in the low 50's and during the day it's in the mid 70s. So dressing in layers is a must. Bring gloves, hats, scarfs, blanket to sit on and comfortable shoes.
Visit the website to figure out when tickets go on sale. The dates vary, but if you want VIP you must get your tickets early. It's sells out fast. I did not do VIP, it didn't look worth it to me. Yeah you get a place to sit, but you spend most of your time in the field among the balloons and in concession lines. It's nice in the early morning before things start but after that it's meh. It's also located at the end of the field.
Plan to attend at least 3 sessions. Two morning sessions if you plan on riding in a hot air balloon, so you can see the view from two different prospective and one evening glow session. I was ballooned out after the third session lol.
Last but not least, Have Fun!!! The fiesta is a great experience.
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