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Experience

Balloon Tour

Established in 2019, Balloon Tour is an EASA-certified airline in its own right, under the supervision of the National Civil Aviation Authority, but unlike with traditional airlines, Raffaele and his crew offer you the opportunity to travel in colourful hot air balloons.
In Italy there are about a dozen flight operators that provide this type of service, so that thousands of people can live out their dream of taking to flight without wings, lighter than air and carried only by the wind. “The beauty of a hot air balloon is that you cannot fly it, the wind is our only driving force. The take-off points are changed according to wind directions, as do the landing points, and after an hour's flight, we land where the wind has taken our balloon”, explains Raffaele.

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Balloon Tour offers different types of scenic tours: private, with up to 8 passengers, and shared, with up to 27 people in two or three balloons, designed for couples, families, or groups of friends who want to enjoy a unique experience together. The Lake Como Tour usually departs from the city of Como or from nearby Brunate and allows balloonists to fly over one of the most scenic parts of northern Italy in the quiet of dawn. The take-off points of the tour over the less well known, but equally spectacular, lakes of Brianza are from Pusiano and Erba; while, finally, the Heart of Brianza tour ensures spectacular views can be enjoyed over a wide area of parks, villas and meadows, starting from the towns of Cantù or Cermenate. With the start of the new season, Balloon Tour will extend its excursions to include a tour of the Lecco side of the lake, with a take-off point at Valmadrera.

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The expertise and friendliness of the pilots ensure a safe flight of discovery of one of the most picturesque attractions of Italy, and of those hidden places that can only be explored and enjoyed from above. On the alpine side, and the almost always snow-covered slopes, there are the views of the majestic of Monte Rosa, while the balloon travels on to cross small unspoilt lakes such as Lake Montorfano, Lake Pusiano, Lake Segrino and the Annone Lakes, and still onwards to the unmistakable skyline of Milan. When visibility is particularly good, it is possible to see Lake Varese, Lake Maggiore and even the northern Apennines. After the exhilarating excitement of a first flight in a hot-air balloon, landing is being followed by the 'Baptism of Flight' and a farewell toast.
Rest assured, when you are aloft you will only feel the soft sensation of being carried by the wind. Flying in a hot-air balloon is at once relaxing and an exciting experience; in the words of Raffaele, one of Balloon Tour's pilots: “Participants start out with some nerves and a lot of questions, but on take-off they are almost always surprised by the majestic size of the balloon, while what amazes them during the flight is the stillness and calm that the balloon is able to convey, as well as a stability and silence in flight that leaves you able to contemplate the landscape on the horizon and below”.