hot air balloon luxor

luxor balloon rides

June 25, 2020 No Comments

luxor balloon rides June 07, 2020 HOD HOD SOLIMAN Hot Air Balloons company ‎May‎ ‎11‎, ‎2019|HOT AIR BALLOONS IN LUXOR HODHOD SOLIMAN HOT AIR BALLOONS

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hot air balloon luxor egypt

HOT AIR BALLOON Luxor

June 25, 2020 No Comments

HOT AIR BALLOON LUXOR EGYPT Come fly with the #1 Rated Hot Air Balloon Company in Luxor!! Watch the sunrise while seeing the sites of

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I have been flying with Hod Hod Soliman for 10 years and have now reached 60 flights with them. So, what can I tell you about Hod Hod Soliman.
I surpose that firstly I should talk about safety. If you are thinking about a baloon flight I’m sure safety will be very much on your mind. You should note that Hod Hod Soliman is the longest established balloon company in Egypt and has a 100% flight safety record. They have never had an accident, EVER!
The company only employ the best pilots. Having flown with Mohamed Ezz, (the owner), and senior pilot Amr Aladle I can speak from experience when I say that safety is their primary concern.
Secondly and also related to safety is the equipment. All of the equipment that Hod Hod use is British made by Cameron Balloons in Bristol and is of the highest quality.
I can say in complete honesty that in all 60 flights, I have felt completely safe at all times.
Now, on to the actual experience.
Let me tell you now and make no mistake, these boys can fly! I mean they can really fly!
Anyone can fly high, you just fire the burner and up you go, there’s no skill in that.
However, to fly a ballon, a really big balloon, in to the amphitheatre of Hatshepsut’s temple when all the other companies are drifting away from the antiquities takes supreme skill, an enormous amount of experience and a complete understanding of the meteorlogical conditions in which you are flying. To then rise up over the temple and gaze down in to the valley of the kings is an awesome piece of flying. Having experienced it and watched pilots from other companies try and fail many times, their passengers seeing nothing but the face of the cliff, really emphasises the skills that these guys have got.
The company collect you from your hotel and drop you back after the flight. The reps are great, they know their job and they make you feel welcome. There is a safety briefing, usually during the boat trip across the Nile to the launch site. Listen carefully and ask questions if you are unsure.
The ground crew will help you to get in to the basket if you need it. They are very friendly and always willing to help. The basket has steps in the sides to allow you to climb in but as I say, ask if you need help, nothing is too much trouble, they genuinely just want you to have a really good time.
The whole experience is pure magic and once you take off the peace you feel from just drifting along on the wind is simply fantastic.
It is worth noting that Pilot Amr Aladle has a Commercial Pilot’s Licence at Cat C, (for the very largest balloons), and is licensed by the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority as a flight instructor and as such is probably the most highly qualified pilot in Luxor. He has literally thousands of hours flight time logged, as does Mohamed Ezz, which has given him a level of skill which has to be experienced to be believed. It is my opinion, having flown balloons all over the world, that he is the finest pilot I have ever had the privilege of flying with. He’s the best there is.
If you want to book a flight you should contact the senior pilot, Amr Aladle on +201005857028 or contact the Hod Hod office direct on +20952271116.
If you have any questions then send me a message and I’ll be glad to answer them for you.

https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g294205-d4196268-r677188819-Hod_Hod_Soliman_Hot_Air_Balloons-Luxor_Nile_River_Valley.htmlDate of experience: November 2013

We booked online through Hod Hod Soliman company’s website and received a special price. The reason we chose this company is because of good online reviews and their zero accident record (safety comes first as there were many balloon accidents in the past in Luxor). Plus, we don’t have to pay in advance to secure a place.

We communicated with Omar (the company representative) through email and WhatsApp to inform them of our hotel name and arrival date. As we travelled to Luxor via Nile cruise, on our date of arrival, they sent a representative called Ramadan to meet with us in the reception of our cruise ship. He informed us of our pickup time which was 4am and explained the itinerary for the trip. The flight we will be on is the second flight, but if you wish to upgrade to first flight to see sunrise, it will be slightly more expensive. There we settled our payment by card with a card machine they brought. However, please be aware that if you chose to pay in credit/debit card, they will convert the amount to Egyptian pound and added a 3% charge to the final amount for bank fee. Hence, it would cost a lot more if your home bank charges a further foreign transaction fee. I would advice to pay them in cash.

We were pickup the next day at 4am by an air-conditioned mini van which dropped us to the ferry port for a short boat ride to cross the river Nile from East to West Bank. Some tea/coffee and snacks were available at the table in the boat but since we were the last to arrive on the boat, there wasn’t any empty cup or snacks left. The small boat can fit around 20 passengers which would be the same people sharing the balloon with you. The pilot was there as well and he gave us a safety brief for the balloon ride. He also explained the different type of landing technique, including American style (very bumpy and used in windy condition), British style (less bumpy) and lastly the Egyptian style (smooth landing and doesn’t feel a thing), haha. Once we crossed the river, we were transported in another mini van (no air-cond this time) to the hot air balloon departing site in about 15 min.

Once we arrived, there were multiple balloon deflated on the site with people surrounding it. The balloon ride was delayed as the visibility was 2km at that time and they needed 5km to be able to fly. We waited for around 1 hour before receiving the go ahead. Luckily we didn’t book the first flight as they were delayed as well and only departed after sunrise (not worth the extra money). I read online that photos were not allowed in the departing site but no one really enforcing this rule while we were there and everyone took out their cameras or phones for amazing pictures.

Finally, it was our ride. We were divided into 4 groups (5 people each) which occupied one compartment of the balloon each group. To get inside the basket, there were holes to put your foot and climb inside, or you could ask the ground crew to lift you in. We ascended to middle height according to the pilot (unsure how high was it). The pilot also showed the direction and gave us some brief information about the site that we saw such as Valley of the Kings. Occasionally he would rotate the balloon so that everyone can see the site. However, most of the time, our compartment was facing the sunrise direction (backward position) which wasn’t ideal for taking pictures. If you could ask around prior to see which compartment would be facing front view, you would be able to take beautiful pictures with all the hot air balloon departing earlier as the background. Just to bear in mind, the fire from the hot air balloon was very hot and you will feel the heat no matter where you are, so choosing proper attire is important.

I felt that this company priorities customer safety because when one of the passenger asked the pilot why we couldn’t fly higher as compared to other balloons, the pilot replied that due to reduced visibility he could only fly to middle height level for safety reason. And thank god, they had zero accident rate so far.

We mainly flew above the desert site as opposed to the green field on the opposite, which was a plus in my opinion as we could see closely the historical sites such as Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsut Temple. I saw some balloons flew above the field in a lower level and had to land earlier. I guess it all depends on how skilled your pilot is, and we are glad to have this pilot from Hod Hod Soliman company which is skilled and priorities safety.

During landing, we were stuck at the higher part of the desert area which required the ground crews to help moving the balloon casket to a lower level. Thankfully, we landed safely and smoothly (in Egyptian style, haha). Baksheesh were then asked from the group for ground crew staffs to be given in a small pot, it’s not compulsory but I think we should at least give them some appreciation. A certificate signed by the pilot was also given to each passenger. If you would like pictures and video from the tour, it is USD20 per DVD and if you tell them beforehand, the person recording the video might give you more screentime. We were then transported back by mini van and small boat to East bank, and this ended our journey.

Overall, I’m very happy and satisfy with this company and would highly recommend to book directly with them to get the best price instead of booking with tour group. Depending on your party size and ability to haggle, you might get a better rate than us. You can either book online through their website or visit them directly in Luxor.

PS: Their balloons are the most colourful and beautiful balloons among the others and doesn’t contain any company name or logo, best for photography. If you take the second flight like we did, you can also take picture using their first flight balloon as background! Also, due to limited space in the casket, I would recommend to either use a wide angle lens or go pro for pictures (my canon kit lens 18-55mm wasn’t wide enough).https://www.tripadvisor.ie/Attraction_Review-g294205-d4196268-Reviews-Hod_Hod_Soliman_Hot_Air_Balloons-Luxor_Nile_River_Valley.html?m=19905