The Luxury Travel Magazine
The Luxury Travel Magazine
In the predawn haze, the air is crispy and moist, and the verdant hills surrounding Florence blend with the horizon. The wicker basket attached to a 30-meter-tall hot air balloon gradually starts to ascend, goosed by a blast of flame from its propane burner. The first golden rays of the sun gently cast their light over the panorama of blooming valleys and hills dotted by ancient towns and medieval castles. Passengers aboard are filled with thrill and delight as the Upballooning Tuscany adventure begins.
There’re many unforgettable experiences in which the discerning traveler can participate during a trip to Tuscany. Those include wine tastings at centuries-old vineyards, olive oil degustation, private dining at family-owned palazzos, Renaissance art appreciation tours, and truffle-hunting to name a few. But watching the most picturesque countryside in the world from a bird’s eye is an experience like no other. Upballooning is part of Balloon Team Italia, one of Europe’s biggest commercial balloon flight operators. It offers hot air balloon trips of multiple formats, from private to group and corporate flights. The prospective aeronauts get picked up before dawn and are driven to a take-off site minutes from Florence. After watching the globe-shape gondolas get inflated and going through the safety protocol, they board the wicker baskets and prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime voyage.
The first hot air balloon flight dates back to 1783 when the Montgolfier brothers flew over Versailles for ten minutes. The essence of their discovery was that the sphere will rise if the air inside a balloon is heated to 100 degrees warmer than the air outside it. At less than 100 degrees difference, the balloon will descend, with some variation depending on the outside temperature, the total weight, size, and the number of passengers.
Commercial and recreational ballooning picked up in Europe and America in the 1960s. A new wave of aerial travel emerged just recently when international tourism began to recover post-pandemic. The Upballooning Tuscany has eight pilots on staff and a fleet of 15 balloons ranging from the smallest one for just two passengers to the ones that can carry as many as 18 persons.
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"Watching the most picturesque countryside in the world from a bird’s eye view is an experience like no other."
The eye-catching multicolored balloon drifts in complete silence over the landscape of cypress trees, fruit orchards, olive groves, and sweeping vineyards. It is moving southwards, towards Chianti Valley, where the eponymous ruby wine is produced. The flights usually last one hour and occur at dawn when the air is the calmest and the most stable. Every balloon ride is one of a kind. The pilots can’t steer the gondola but may only go up and down, adapting to the winds. It’s this primordial force of nature, the wind, that decides where and how the aerial adventure unfolds: how high the balloon will fly, how far, and where it is to land. The altitude ranges from 300 to 1200 meters, and the trip’s distance varies from 5 to 20 kilometers.
To ensure a comfortable pickup, the crew with several trucks always follows the balloon on the ground. The landing might be gentle or, at times, with a shot of adrenaline. Even so, the pilots of the Balloon Team Italia report that in the 30 years of flying over the Tuscan hills, not a single accident happened. Depending on the wind, the hot air balloon can land in one of the vast fields or right by a vineyard next to a bucolic 300-year-old farmhouse. To toast the experience, after getting out of the basket, the elated passengers are greeted with Prosecco and a lavish breakfast. The savories include generous cuts of local prosciutto and vegetables, slices of pecorino and other artisanal cheeses, freshly baked pastries, juice, and rustic Tuscan bread.
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"Every balloon ride is one of a kind. The pilots can’t steer the gondola, but may only go up and down adapting to the winds."
The balloon rides take place in Tuscany all year round. Summer is the most popular time, mainly due to the favorable weather conditions. Yet the green vistas rippling with the shades of orange, red, and yellow foliage and the scent of the harvest perfuming the air or the endless blossoming valleys hold an appeal for autumn and spring flights, too. In addition to flying over the Chianti vineyards and woods, the balloons may float above Florence itself, peeking over Duomo, the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti, Piazza della Signoria, and the muddy Arno River, cutting through the city’s narrow streets. Flights over medieval towns of Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca, and Pisa and drifting towards the sandy Tyrrhenian coast are also among the many options. When the gondolas are floating not too high, passengers may get to observe some of the fauna inhabiting the region’s lush forests – wild boars, deer, hares, and pheasants.
Ballooning in Tuscany is a welcoming ambiance for romantic gestures. Love confessions and marriage proposals are among the most frequent happenings during the experience. Others choose this unusual setup for a family celebration, team-building or other group or corporate activities, or another special occasion. Emotions may run high, as some enamored passengers get inventive. The Upballooning staff recalls a recent guest surprising his fiancé soon after the take-off with a gigantic banner stretched on the ground that read “Will You Marry Me?”. On another occasion, a drone flew before the balloon with a huge sign, saying “I love you.”
Tuscany is magical in any context, but seeing it from the skies and taking in 360-degree views, adds a profoundly unique dimension to exploring this region. The balloon flight becomes a vacation within a vacation. It’s possible to completely forget about everything and fully immerse in the moment, living the extraordinary thrill of flying over some of Italy’s most scenic settings.
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