{"id":6532,"date":"2026-11-06T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/?p=6532"},"modified":"2026-11-02T16:14:14","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T16:14:14","slug":"hot-air-balloon-marrakech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/montgolfiere-marrakech\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot air balloon flight in Marrakech"},"content":{"rendered":"<nav class=\"toc\">\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#decollage-au-nord-de-la-ville-ou-du-cote-d-agafay\">Takeoff: north of the city, or on the Agafay side<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#l-heure-du-depart\">Departure time<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#combien-de-temps-dure-l-experience\">How long the experience lasts<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#montgolfiere-privee-ou-partagee\">Private or shared balloon<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#la-montgolfiere-est-elle-sure\">Is the hot air balloon safe?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#le-petit-dejeuner-est-il-inclus\">Is breakfast included?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#ce-que-coute-le-vol\">What the flight costs<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#si-le-vent-annule-le-vol\">If the wind cancels the flight<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#un-vol-a-l-aube-pour-les-plus-jeunes\">A dawn flight for the youngest<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6601\" src=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-hero.webp\" alt=\"Trois montgolfi\u00e8res au-dessus d'une plaine s\u00e8che juste apr\u00e8s le lever du soleil, montagnes \u00e0 l'horizon\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-hero.webp 1536w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-hero-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-hero-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-hero-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-hero-18x12.webp 18w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-hero-630x420.webp 630w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-hero-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-hero-696x464.webp 696w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-hero-1068x712.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>The 4&#215;4 picks you up at the hotel in the middle of the night, between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. depending on the season, and the basket stays in the air for about an hour, most often 45 to 60 minutes. Breakfast is almost always included, and a shared flight generally costs between 1,700 and 2,200 MAD per person, according to prices posted in September 2026.<\/p>\n<p>What varies from one operator to another comes down to the takeoff site, the number of passengers per basket and what you get back when the wind picks up, not to mention a point almost nobody checks: the company\u2019s authorization to fly.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"decollage-au-nord-de-la-ville-ou-du-cote-d-agafay\">Takeoff: north of the city, or on the Agafay side<\/h2>\n<p>There is no airfield. The balloon is inflated in a field chosen that same morning according to the wind, you land wherever the wind has carried it, and two areas come up again and again. To the north, the plain that opens beyond the Palmeraie, toward the Jbilet hills. It is in that direction, in the Rehamna region, that an airline pilot on approach to Marrakech-Menara airport reported hot air balloons in May 2025. To the southwest, the Agafay plateau, about thirty kilometers from the city.<\/p>\n<p>The landscape is not the same. Toward Agafay, the Atlas closes off the horizon; the sites close to the city do not have that mountain backdrop. If the summits are what you are coming to see, ask which side the balloon leaves from when you book, and keep the answer in writing.<\/p>\n<p>Flying on the Agafay side combines well with <a href=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/we-spent-one-night-in-agafay-heres-what-nobody-tells-you\/\">a night in a camp the day before<\/a>, and our <a href=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/desert-dagafay-2025-complete-guide-real-prices-comparison-schedules-offers\/\">Agafay desert guide, camps and prices<\/a> helps you choose where to sleep.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"l-heure-du-depart\">Departure time<\/h2>\n<p>Takeoff is at daybreak, when the air is still cool and calm, so the pickup time shifts with the seasons: the earliest departures fall in summer, the latest in winter.<\/p>\n<p>The evening before, let your riad know. Its door is often locked at night, and the driver does not always know the derb. Lay out <a href=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/what-to-wear-in-marrakech\/\">a warm layer for the wait on the ground<\/a> and something light for the way back, when the sun is already beating down. If your plane lands late, do not put the flight on the next morning: you would not get much out of it.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"combien-de-temps-dure-l-experience\">How long the experience lasts<\/h2>\n<p>One hour in the air, a whole morning in total: allow 3 to 5 hours between pickup and the return to the hotel. Our Agafay guide describes the same sequence, a flight of about an hour followed by a Berber breakfast.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6602\" src=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-gonflage.webp\" alt=\"Gonflage d'une montgolfi\u00e8re au sol avant l'aube, passagers en manteau un verre de th\u00e9 \u00e0 la main\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-gonflage.webp 1536w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-gonflage-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-gonflage-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-gonflage-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-gonflage-18x12.webp 18w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-gonflage-630x420.webp 630w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-gonflage-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-gonflage-696x464.webp 696w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-gonflage-1068x712.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>It is the time on the ground that people underestimate. There is the drive, then the inflation, during which you are served tea or coffee. After landing come the 4\u00d74 ride to the tent and breakfast, and you get back to town in the late morning, tired. So nothing demanding afterward: a balloon flight does not combine with a <a href=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/day-trips-from-marrakech\/\">day trip from Marrakech<\/a>, which also means leaving early.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"montgolfiere-privee-ou-partagee\">Private or shared balloon<\/h2>\n<p>On a shared flight, a large basket carries up to 16 to 20 passengers. Some are partitioned into compartments of 2 to 4 people, which gives you a corner of your own without paying for the whole balloon. Private starts at 400 \u20ac per person, for a minimum of two. One offer lists the whole basket from 5,000 MAD, another its private flight at 5,300 MAD: have it confirmed in writing whether the price is per person or for the basket.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6603\" src=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-nacelle-compartiments.webp\" alt=\"Grande nacelle en osier vide, divis\u00e9e en compartiments par des cloisons rembourr\u00e9es\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-nacelle-compartiments.webp 1536w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-nacelle-compartiments-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-nacelle-compartiments-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-nacelle-compartiments-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-nacelle-compartiments-18x12.webp 18w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-nacelle-compartiments-630x420.webp 630w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-nacelle-compartiments-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-nacelle-compartiments-696x464.webp 696w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-nacelle-compartiments-1068x712.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>What private buys is privacy: no stranger\u2019s shoulder in the photos, a pilot to yourselves, a separate breakfast. The maximum altitude, though, is set by regulation, whatever the package. For a marriage proposal, the expense is justified. For a first flight as a couple, shared is more than enough, and if the crowd in the basket bothers you, a compartment basket settles the matter without paying double.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"la-montgolfiere-est-elle-sure\">Is the hot air balloon safe?<\/h2>\n<p>The activity is regulated by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, which issues the licenses. The conditions published in Official Bulletin no. 7382 of February 27, 2025 for two companies set out the framework: insurance covering damages, flight zones approved in advance, dual VHF radio in contact with the control towers, a ceiling of 3,000 feet, or a little over 900 meters, and pilots holding a professional license. The licenses granted in February 2026 repeat these rules and require the Royal Gendarmerie to be notified before each flight.<\/p>\n<p>These rules have been enforced. On May 15, 2025, the Moroccan press reported that the ministry was suspending three companies: an airline captain had seen hot air balloons flying at non-regulation altitudes on the approach path to Marrakech-Menara, and the penalties ranged from six months to a year, with permanent withdrawal possible. A few days later, the Civil Aviation Directorate suspended two more, five in total for six months. By May 26, at least twelve companies were targeted, for flying without legal authorization or exceeding the maximum altitude; one lost its authorization permanently and was referred to the public prosecutor. By late November 2025, flights had resumed under tightened specifications. Nothing in these articles mentions a passenger accident: the alert came from an airliner.<\/p>\n<p>The scale, though, matters to the traveler. At least twelve companies targeted in 2025, in a sector that counted eighteen operators and 81 registered balloons in June 2026: an online offer, however polished, proves nothing in itself.<\/p>\n<p>Ask to see the operator\u2019s authorization and, if you go through an intermediary, the name of the company that actually flies. On an offer clearly cheaper than the others, it is the first question to ask, even if a low price is not enough to conclude there is fraud. Authorizations are renewed every six months, so a serious answer comes down to one recent document.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"le-petit-dejeuner-est-il-inclus\">Is breakfast included?<\/h2>\n<p>Almost always, and it is eaten after the flight, under a Berber tent. Bread, honey, olive oil, cheese, pastries and mint tea: enough to last until lunch.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6604\" src=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-petit-dejeuner-tente.webp\" alt=\"Table basse sous une tente : pain, miel, huile d'olive, fromage frais, p\u00e2tisseries et th\u00e9 \u00e0 la menthe\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-petit-dejeuner-tente.webp 1536w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-petit-dejeuner-tente-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-petit-dejeuner-tente-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-petit-dejeuner-tente-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-petit-dejeuner-tente-18x12.webp 18w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-petit-dejeuner-tente-630x420.webp 630w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-petit-dejeuner-tente-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-petit-dejeuner-tente-696x464.webp 696w, https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-petit-dejeuner-tente-1068x712.webp 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Some high-end packages offer to serve it in the basket, for a supplement. We would not take it. The flight lasts an hour, you spend it standing, eyes on the landscape, and a tray in your hands adds nothing to that moment. Eat a piece of fruit before leaving instead: between waking up and the tent, the drive, the inflation and the flight take up most of the morning.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"ce-que-coute-le-vol\">What the flight costs<\/h2>\n<p>The cheapest offers start at around 80 \u20ac, often paired with a camel ride, and there is a promotional flight listed at 800 MAD. The classic shared flight sits mostly between 1,700 and 2,200 MAD. Beyond that, the so-called royal packages exceed 550 \u20ac per person. From October to April, high season moves prices by about 15%, according to prices recorded in September 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Our own Agafay guides put the hot air balloon at 150 \u20ac and up, and more broadly between 150 and 200 \u20ac per person, which makes it the most expensive activity in the desert, as we explain when adding up<a href=\"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/agafay-on-a-small-budget-the-reality-in-2026\/\">Agafay on a small budget<\/a>. The option-by-option detail, and what pushes the bill up, is in our page on <span class=\"atm-lien-a-venir\">the price of a hot-air balloon in Marrakech<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"si-le-vent-annule-le-vol\">If the wind cancels the flight<\/h2>\n<p>It is the pilot who decides, that same morning, and a flight canceled for wind or bad weather is postponed or refunded. Some operators also let the customer <span class=\"atm-lien-a-venir\">cancel free of charge<\/span> on their own side up to 24 hours before the flight. The offer presented in our Agafay guide provides a full refund in case of weather cancellation.<\/p>\n<p>Weather is not the only cause. When the six-monthly renewal of authorizations drags on, entire fleets stay grounded for two to eight days. A dedicated page explains <span class=\"atm-lien-a-venir\">exactly what happens when wind pins the balloon to the ground<\/span>, and how to read the cancellation terms. In any case, book the flight for your first or second morning, never the last, since a postponement has value only if a morning remains to use it.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"un-vol-a-l-aube-pour-les-plus-jeunes\">A dawn flight for the youngest<\/h2>\n<p>The minimum age varies from one seller to the next, and the child must be able to stand for the whole flight and follow instructions, particularly at landing. Operators also set a weight limit per passenger, which guides put at around 100 to 110 kg: it is checked at booking, for the adults in the group. Our page on <span class=\"atm-lien-a-venir\">hot-air ballooning with children<\/span> goes through the ages, heights and conditions case by case.<\/p>\n<p>With a young child, it is the hour that weighs most. A wake-up in the middle of the night, a wait in the cold, an hour standing in the basket: at 5, that takes preparation, and a child who sleeps badly when traveling will enjoy the flight less than the breakfast.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Heure de d\u00e9part, dur\u00e9e r\u00e9elle du vol, priv\u00e9 ou partag\u00e9, prix, annulation pour le vent et autorisation de l&rsquo;op\u00e9rateur : le vol en montgolfi\u00e8re \u00e0 Marrakech.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6601,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_ppma_block_editor_authors":""},"categories":[37,33,2],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[56],"class_list":["post-6532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-conseils-pratiques","category-decouverte","category-featured"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":56,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"jemaaelfena","display_name":"At Marrakech","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3e45b7c680560ac1db6c11982aed0b2d0befa0523d573a8dcca0307397b80463?s=96&d=mm&r=g","avatar_alt":"","avatar_decorative":"","author_category":"","first_name":"Restaurant Folk","last_name":"","user_url":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/montgolfiere-marrakech-hero.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6532"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6664,"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6532\/revisions\/6664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6532"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atmarrakech.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=6532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}