Tips for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

 

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta,  is the world’s largest hot air balloon festival, attracting hundreds of vibrant balloons and pilots from around the globe. Taking place every October, the event features mass ascensions, breathtaking dawn patrols, and dazzling nighttime balloon glows. It offers an incredible experience for visitors with live entertainment, the chance to see hundreds of balloons up close and the beautiful scenery of the Sandia mountains. It is truly a magical experience. So much so, that after my first visit there in 2023 I now plan on making it a yearly tradition! While I wait to get back to the incredible sights I’d love to share the top 10 tips for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta!

Tip #1 Plan Ahead

            

 This is not a trip you can do at the last minute and wing it. Over 80,000 people attend from all over the world every year, that’s an insane number considering the event only takes place officially over 9 days! Book your hotel, Airbnb, a spot for your camper, restaurant reservations, tours, as much as you can as early as you can! The good news is you don’t have to buy your tickets to the actual fiesta until a few days before, while the attendance numbers are crazy, they have the space for it and will not run out of tickets. 

View Hotels here – 

(https://www.booking.com/landmark/us/city-of-albuquerque-balloon-fiesta-park.en-gb.html?aid=318615;label=New_English_EN_TX:_Texas_23537879905-GzIydrzjHt0LxJyN5ttHeAS217271105024:pl:ta:p1:p2:ac:ap:neg;ws=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAy8K8BhCZARIsAKJ8sfQ2Ke-0wX4JpvEmrCN_Qdi72cYqV8aJHQDya3Aw-afhmIihcvDQgGQaArrrEALw_wcB) 

Buy your tickets for festival here – 

https://balloonfiesta.com/General-Admission

Buy your hot air balloon rides here – 

https://balloonfiesta.com/Balloon-Rides

BTW the #1 attraction rather than the Balloon Fiesta is the Sandia Tram and they don’t let you book much in advance. So check out my other post – How to score tickets to the sandia tram during the balloon fiesta 

 

Tip #2 Do the Park and Ride 

 

 

 Notice how I said the event won’t run out of tickets but you should still buy the tickets a few days in advance? That’s because you can get the tickets for the Park & Ride as a package deal with the Balloon Fiesta tickets – and the Park & Ride tickets can and will sell out!!

The Park and ride allows you to park your car at a large parking lot, load onto a bus, then be dropped off at the festival. The Park and Ride offers several  parking lots to choose from so you can choose the one closest to where you’re staying. There may be a long line to get onto the buses but they have them running constantly  and have school buses come in from all over the state to help with this event. Some bus drivers even decorate the inside of their bus, and all accept tips so I’d recommend giving them a couple dollars when they drop you back off.

While it might feel like the line to get on the bus takes forever, and the drive to the festival is still over 30 minutes, you’ll understand the saving grace that the buses are when you start getting closer to the festival. The traffic gets insane, there’s cars in stand still traffic for over an hour, and you get to zoom right past all of that and be dropped off right at the entrance! 

Link to buy park and ride – https://balloonfiesta.com/Park-Ride

Tip #3 Arrive the the Festival Early

Seriously. 

 

 If there’s one thing you take away from this list of tips for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta it’s this one! Ok this is where I’m going to sound insane. The mass ascension (where all the hot air balloons go up in the air) isn’t until around 7:45am but you should plan on arriving to the festival grounds at 4:30am SERIOUSLY. So if you are working backwards, you should get on the park and ride at 4:00, get to the parking lot at 4am,  leave your accommodation at 4am, meaning you may need to wake up at 3:30am. This trip isn’t for the weak! But it’s sooo worth it!!!  It’s way safer to get there too early, and set up a spot to take a nap then to come too late and miss the event – which TONS of people do every year.

Last year I talked to someone that got on the park and ride bus at 6:00am and got stuck in traffic and missed almost all of the balloons by the time they got there. Plus they have some amazing entertainment to help you pass the time! At 5:45am there’s the Drone Light Show, at 6am is the Dawn Patrol ( a few Hot Air Balloons go up to double check the weather conditions) at 6:30am is the Morning Glow ( the Hot Air Balloons inflate but stay tethered to the ground) at 7am is the opening ceremonies and national anthem ( jets fly by, it’s actually really cool) and 7:45am is finally the main event! Plus there’s tons of shopping, food stands, and tents setup to learn more about the event and it’s history so you’ll have plenty to do!

PS. If you plan on skipping the park and ride it’s even more important that you come early! You can go back to sleep in your car! Last year the person I hired to take these photos insisted on driving there and was in traffic for an hour and a half and didn’t get in until 8am luckily the balloons continue going up for 30-45 mins so there was plenty for us still! 

Tip #4 Bring Snacks 

 

This is a tip  for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta I don’t see shared enough! You’re allowed to bring food and drinks into the event. Lots of people online will say you HAVE to try the breakfast burritos there but the reality is it’s fair food. It’s all overpriced, with insane wait times, for very basic bland quick food. Save your money for all the incredible restaurants in Albuquerque and come prepared! Bring a thermos for coffee or hot chocolate, make your own breakfast the night before, then warm it up the next morning and throw it in some foil, bring muffins, a protein bar, whatever you’d like! I didn’t know this was allowed and my first day there I had to wait in the insane lines and my second day there I brought a big spread for a delicious early morning picnic!

 * Hard sided coolers are not allowed, neither is any alcohol. 

Tip #5 Dress in layers

 

Ok it’s going to be packed, crazy early in the morning, what else can we add? Oh yeah it’s going to be FREEZING! Temps can start at around 45 degrees but will quickly warm up once the sun is up to 70 degrees. You’ll definitely want to bring layers you can shed once you start warming up. Here’s another tip! Bring another bag in your backpack to put all the layers you’ll shed so you don’t have to carry your coat, gloves, etc.

We’re halfway through! Keep reading for the next few tips for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta! 

Tip #6 Bring Seats & Entertainment for you and the  littles

 

 

 

Picnic blankets, folding chairs, strollers, and wagons are all allowed! You can even bring them along the park and ride, just fold up the strollers or wagons. You may be sitting waiting for a while for the main event so might as well be comfy!  I saw lots of families with their kids bundled up with blankets, sleeping in wagons while they waited for the events to start. And others had a picnic blanket set up and the kids were playing games on it, if you’re bringing the whole family or coming by yourself you should definitely plan a way to comfortably sit. If you’re bringing children, seats and entertainment is a must. 

For a full list of what to bring check out my other post –  What to bring to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta  

Tip #7 Spread Out 

 

There’s a ton of people at the event, and when you first enter it you may be completely squished against others, KEEP MOVING. People had a tendency there to just stop near the entrance and stay there the whole time when the reality is the field is HUGE. You will have soo much space to yourself if you just spread out and explore the field. When the hot air balloons go up, don’t just stand near the entrance  with thousands of others, walk up to the balloons! My absolute favorite thing was exploring the middle of the field during mass ascension and waving to all the pilots and passengers merely FEET away from me taking flight! Most pilots also have trading cards for their balloon that they’re more than happy to give to people that ask for it! So go make the most of your adventure and wander around! 

 

Tip #8 Come for Multiple Days

Unfortunately the mass ascension is very weather dependent and they won’t make the call until the last minute. You can definitely check the forecast ahead of time and stay at your hotel that morning  if it looks too windy (they won’t fly it’s over 10mph) but with how quickly weather can change it can go from a perfect day to a disappointing one in 30 minutes or less. So to increase your chances of seeing a beautiful mass ascension, plan on attending for multiple days, and maybe tell your kids the balloons just stay on the ground so you can avoid disappointment and give them the surprise of a lifetime when they actually start taking off! 

Tip #9 Don’t forget the Evening Glow

 

The mass ascension in the mornings, where the balloons go up in the air is definitely the most exciting part of the Balloon Fiesta but don’t skip out on coming to their evening event too! In the evenings you can come to the field, for a less chaotic more relaxed experience with the balloons. The Balloons will stay on the ground but will inflate, the glow from the fire in the balloons against the night sky is truly such a beautiful sight. There’s also other exciting events too, including a drone show, sky diving, and a firework show.

The sky diving was SO cool to watch, they did lots of tricks and landed not too far from us it was awesome! The firework show was the most insane over the top firework show I’ve ever seen. At one point fireworks were going off right in front of me and to my right side, it was insane. I also recommend coming to an evening glow your first night in town, that way you can practice doing the park and ride, and getting acquainted with the park’s layout before the early morning chaos. 

Tip #10 Explore Albuquerque

 

I was shocked to find out a lot of people that attend the festival just sleep all day between the morning and evening events and don’t venture out into the town. Yes by all means take a nap! But then get out there and explore the historic Old Town, indulge in authentic Southwestern cuisine, and immerse yourself in the city’s vibrant arts scene! 

Here’s a link to a walking tour in Old town Albuquerque – https://getyourguide.tpk.lu/Qe6qkc4N

Check out my other posts: What to Bring to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta  My Itinerary for a weekend at Balloon Fiesta

I hope my list of tips for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta were helpful! If you’ve been to the festival before I’d love to hear how it was! Or if you have any other tips for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta please comment below!