So I know that this is by no means a budget activity, but I wanted to share my experience of taking a hot airballoon ride over the ancient Pyramids in Teotihucan because it was potentially the most magical morning of my life.
The reason for the splurge was a special birthday celebration (we’re straight back to budgeting now!) but we wanted to do something special and make it a birthday to remember.
Which Company to Choose?
I did a lot of research for the trip, because even though we were treating ourselves, we still have to be careful with our funds.
The cheapest option I could find was www.vuelosenglobo.mx.
They do a Monday-Friday deal of 1790 pesos, which is €76, which is for the basic package of a shared balloon with no transport or food included. I think that they are a tour operator that use Aerodivertí balloons, because when we arrived both brands were mentioned but Aerodivertí were more prominent. It is still cheaper to book through the Vuelos en Globo link above rather than Aerodivertí, who start their basic package at 2100 pesos.
What add ons to choose?
The basic package would be ideal with no add ons if you had your own car or were renting one as you could just get up early and drive yourself there. However, there is no public transport there and the cost of an uber there was looking at being about 600 pesos each way.
Because of this, and also because this was the only day we had to see the pyramids at Teotihuacán, we decided to go for the full weekday package which included transport from Mexico City and back, coffee and snacks on arrival, a buffet breakfast, a drink on the ride, a tour of a workshop where they make tequila and crafts from silver and obsidian, and entrance to the pyramids.
This was 850 pesos extra per person (€36), which made the grand total 2640 pesos (€114) each.
You could probably do it a bit cheaper if you had your own car but because we were celebrating and we wanted everything to run smoothly, we chose convenience over complete bargain hunting for once!
This total still worked out a lot cheaper than the next closest competitor which was 2300 pesos (€98) just for the basic package before the transport or breakfast was even added.
What we did for the Day:
4:00am: Wake up! This was a bit unnatural and we were both absolutely wrecked but the excitement got us through.
4:30am: Uber to the meeting point (Angel de la Independencia). I think this cost maybe 30 pesos (€1.2.)
5:00am: Leave meeting point for Teotihuacán. The journey was about an our and it was so incredible to see all the lights of Mexico city.
6:00am: Snacks and coffee while everyone checked in. We got little coloured stickers telling us which balloon we’d be in (we were in Hero).
6:50am: Out to the field while they blew up the balloons. This was probably the most exciting moment of the morning. I could not BELIEVE the size of the balloons, and they just looked so beautiful and bright when lit up with all the colours.
7:05am: Take off! We were in a shared balloon with maybe 10 other people in it and we each got our own section. The first few minutes were a small bit scary but then next thing you know you’re up in the sky with all the other balloons and it is pure magic. The sun was just rising and the whole sky was golden. (Seriously, the lighting was amazing.)
7:50am: We flew over the pyramids.
8:00am: Landing. Our pilot was amazing and she made the whole thing seamless. Watching the balloon deflate and all the balloons landing around us was amazing too.
8:30am: Head back to the Aerodivertí office. They show you any pictures they have of you and you can buy them or a package with all the footage from the go pro (it super expensive though so I recommend just taking your own pictures.)
9:00am: Breakfast buffet in El Jaguar. The food was yummy.
10:30: Trip to the obsidian workshops. They also showed us how they make pulque (a traditional alcoholic drink made of agave that tastes like sour pineapple and has a bit of a smoothie like texture -it has about 4/5% alcohol) and tequila and we had sample of both.
11:30- 1:30: Trip to the Pyramids. We spent two hour walking around and exploring the ancient pyramids.
1:30: Bus home- this took about 2 hours because of crazy Mexico city traffic. We went home and went straight for a nap.
About Teotihuacán
Teotihuacán is interesting because it still remains a mystery who built the pyramids.
It was built in approximately 400BC and populated by up to 200,000 people, until unknown causes (maybe extreme weather or attack) caused it to be abandoned in 700AD.
Centuries later the Aztecs discovered the long abandoned ruins and called it Teotihuacán (which translates as “The place where the Gods were created”.
The Azetcs went on to use the site for their own rituals and when excavated the pyramids contained lots of human sacrifice remains (many decapitated).
Tips for going on this Tour
- Bring layers!
It is seriously cold when you arrive and you only start to heat up from the fire in the balloons. It then gets really hot in the afternoon at the pyramids, so the best thing to do is layer up. - Bring water and snacks:
This is more for the second half if you choose to go to the pyramids that day. - Get plenty of rest the night before. We went to bed at like 10/11pm and were still absolutely wrecked by the time we got to the pyramids.
[…] HOT AIR BALLOON: Not a budget activity by any means but one of the most magical experiences of my life. We flew over the Teotihuacan Pyramids at sunrise. Full price breakdown and review in this blog post. […]