Balloons lift before sunrise every day of the year · start times shift between the October–March and April–September seasons

Teotihuacan Hot Air Balloon Tours

One valley, one sunrise, four genuinely different mornings. A flexible flight with four option tiers from ~$159, a transport-and-breakfast run, an eleven-hour day that adds the pyramids and the Basilica of Guadalupe, and a private basket for two. What each costs, what the headline price actually buys, and the catch on every one.

Our Top Pick More Details Compare All 4

Teotihuacan Balloon Quick Facts

You are in the air for 45 to 60 minutesEverything else is the drive out, watching the envelopes inflate, the sparkling wine toast on landing and the certificate. The total day runs anywhere from three hours to eleven depending on what you bolt onto it — but the flight is the flight
Two different starting points, and they are an hour apartOptions with transport collect you at the Citibanamex by the Ángel de la Independencia on Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. Options without it send you straight to the balloon port at San Martín de las Pirámides — roughly 57 minutes up the road, in the dark, on your own
What it'll cost youAround ~$159 for the flexible flight, ~$224 with transport and breakfast, ~$266 for the full pyramids-and-Guadalupe day, and ~$1,045 for a private basket for two. Weigh more than 99 kg and at least one operator here bills you per extra kilo at the launch site
Come whenever suits you, but check who is refusedFlights run year-round at first light. What catches people out is the restriction list: every tour here rules out under-4s, pregnancy, wheelchair users, mobility impairments, respiratory conditions and high blood pressure — and it is enforced at the launch field, not at checkout

Teotihuacan in 60 Seconds

Teotihuacan Hot Air Balloon Tours: Quick Answers Before You Book

Only got a minute? Here is everything that actually decides which Teotihuacan balloon flight you should be on.

hot air balloon over teotihuacan pyramids

teotihuacan hot air balloon official website

In short: the one we would book is CDMX: Teotihuacan Balloon Flight with Optional Pyramids Tour from ~$159 per person. It is the only balloon product at this valley with a serious pile of evidence behind it — 4.6/5 from 1,247 reviews, where the next best-reviewed flight has 37 — and it sells four different option tiers under one booking, so the same listing covers you whether you want the flight alone or the whole archaeological day. The catch is buried in those tiers: the cheapest one is a fifteen-minute flight, not the forty-five-minute one in the photographs. Read the option name before you pay.

Best overall: CDMX: Teotihuacan Balloon Flight with Optional Pyramids Tour — from ~$159, rated 4.6/5 from 1,247 reviews, run by Amigo Tours LATAM and certified by GetYourGuide. Four option tiers, from a flight on its own to an eleven-hour day. Here is why we would book it.
The trap on that headline price: ~$159 is the entry fare, and the listing's own option list includes "Balloon Ride (15 mins) without Transport" alongside "Balloon Ride (45 minutes) & Breakfast without Transport". A quarter of an hour in the air is a real product being sold here. If you want the flight everyone describes, pick the 45-minute tier.
If you want the whole day done properly: Mexico City: Balloon Flight, Teotihuacan & Guadalupe Shrine at ~$266 is the best-rated tour on this page at 4.98/5 — and, unusually, it also scores better on value for money (4.8) than our cheaper top pick does (4.5). Eleven hours, transport, a certified guide, entry to the ruins and the Basilica included.
If you just want the flight without the archaeology: Teotihuacan: Hot Air Balloon Ride with Breakfast & Transport at ~$224 is the cleanest single-shape product here. Six and a half hours, collected in Mexico City, flown, toasted, fed, driven home. Only 21 reviews behind it though.
If it is a proposal or an anniversary: the Private Sunrise Hot Air Balloon in Teotihuacán is ~$1,045 for a basket that holds just the two of you, with private transport from your hotel and a buffet breakfast. Two reviews. Treat the 5.0 rating as a nice sign rather than as proof.
Three of these four are the same company. Amigo Tours LATAM operates our top pick, the Guadalupe day and the transport-and-breakfast flight. You are not really choosing between operators here — you are choosing between packages from one operator, plus one independent private option. Worth knowing before you read four sets of reviews as four opinions.
The thing that catches everyone out: weight. Mexican regulations require your name, weight and medical conditions in advance, and the listings price accordingly — one flight on this valley states plainly that the fare covers passengers up to 99 kg and charges MXN 35 for every kilo above that, payable in cash at the launch site. We have pulled the whole rulebook apart below — read it before you pay, not at the field in the dark.

The One We'd Book

Best Teotihuacan Hot Air Balloon Tour: The Flight With Four Ways To Book It

Of the four here, this is the one we would book first — not because it is the best rated, but because it is the only one with enough reviews for its rating to mean anything.

Best Teotihuacan Balloon Tour Overall

CDMX: Teotihuacan Balloon Flight with Optional Pyramids Tour

4.6 / 5 from 1,247 reviews · Amigo Tours LATAM · free cancellation up to 24 hours before

The evidence gap here is not close. This listing carries 1,247 reviews; the next most-reviewed balloon flight over this valley has 37, and six of the twelve balloon products on the market are brand-new listings with no reviews at all. It is also one of the few carrying GetYourGuide's own "Certified" badge, and the category page showed it booked seven times the previous day. When one product has thirty times the review base of its nearest rival in the same category, the argument is largely over before it starts.

What you are buying is a sunrise flight over Teotihuacan, the pre-Aztec city whose builders left no written name for themselves. You lift off the valley floor in the half-dark, climb as the light reaches the Pyramid of the Sun, and drift over the Avenue of the Dead with the Pyramid of the Moon closing the view at the northern end. On landing there is a sparkling wine toast and a printed flight certificate. The genuinely useful thing about this particular listing is that it is really four products wearing one name, so you can pick how much of a day you want around that hour.

Price from: ~$159
Duration: 3 – 11 hours, depending on the option
Operator: Amigo Tours LATAM · Certified by GetYourGuide
Rated: 4.6/5 from 1,247 reviews · guide 4.7, transport 4.6, value 4.5
Meets at: Paseo de la Reforma 31, Cuauhtémoc — or the balloon port itself
Guided in: Spanish and English, live guide
Bring: Passport or ID card — it is required, not suggested
Cancellation: Free up to 24 hours before · reserve now, pay later

Check Availability & Price Compare With Others

The four options, and why the cheapest one is a trap

The listing's description says there are three options. Its own meeting-point section lists four. That discrepancy is in the listing itself, and it matters, because the fourth is the cheap one. Here is what is actually on the menu, cheapest first: Balloon Ride (15 mins) without Transport; Balloon Ride (45 minutes) & Breakfast without Transport; Hot Air Balloon Ride & Breakfast with Return Transport; and Hot Air Balloon, Teotihuacan & Guadalupe Shrine Guided Tour. Fifteen minutes is not the flight in any of the photographs on this page, and it is not the flight described in the reviews. If you have travelled to Mexico for this, pick the 45-minute tier or higher and treat ~$159 as a number that gets you to the field rather than around the valley.

Before the sun is up

Meet at the Ángel de la IndependenciaCitibanamex at Paseo de la Reforma 31, ten minutes before your slot. Book a tier without transport and you skip this entirely — you drive yourself to the balloon port at San Martín de las Pirámides instead
Up the road in the darkRoughly 57 minutes by coach, north-east out of the city. Sleep if you can; the sky starts changing around the time you arrive

Inflation, safety briefing, and into the basket

The hour that you came for

Lift-off at first lightAround 50 minutes in the air on the standard tier. The envelopes go up together, so you are one of a field of balloons rather than alone in the sky — which is most of why the photographs look the way they do
The Pyramid of the SunThe third-largest pyramid on earth by volume, and the only way to see the whole footprint at once is from above it. Dawn light rakes across the terraces and the shadow runs the length of the avenue
The Avenue of the DeadTwo and a half kilometres of arrow-straight ceremonial road, aligned about 15 degrees east of north for reasons still argued over. From the basket the grid of the whole city is suddenly obvious
The Pyramid of the MoonSet at the northern head of the avenue and built against the mountain behind it, so the two silhouettes echo each other. This is the view people mean when they say the flight was worth it

Landing, toast and flight certificate

If you took the full day

The archaeological zone, on footThree hours with a guide through the site you have just flown over, with entry included on the upgraded tier
Obsidian workshop and tequila tastingForty-five minutes at Artesanías El Quetzal — the volcanic glass that made this city rich, and a tasting at the end of it
The Basilica of GuadalupeAn hour at one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world, on the way back into the city. You can stay on and make your own way home if you would rather

What you'll actually see

Teotihuacan was the largest city in the Americas when it was built, and nobody is certain who built it. The Aztecs found it already ruined centuries later, named it "the place where the gods were created", and buried their own dead among it. From a basket at 300 metres you get the thing no photograph from the ground gives you: the scale of the plan, and how deliberately the whole valley was laid out around it.

Pyramid of the SunThird largest on earth by volume
Avenue of the Dead2.5 km, dead straight, from above
Pyramid of the MoonBuilt to echo the mountain behind
Sunrise over the valleyThe reason the alarm goes at four
A field of balloonsYou go up together, not alone
Cerro GordoThe extinct volcano behind the Moon
The valley floorNopal fields and dusty tracks below
Flight certificatePrinted and handed over on landing

What nobody sells you, and what shows up in review after review, is how quiet it is. There is no engine. Between burns the only sound is the other baskets somewhere off to the side and, if you are low enough, dogs in the villages waking up. Reviewers who arrive nervous about heights write the same sentence afterwards: because the basket does not move relative to the air, it does not feel like being high at all.

Why this one and not the better-rated Guadalupe day?

It is a fair question, because on the numbers the eleven-hour Balloon Flight, Teotihuacan & Guadalupe Shrine beats our pick on every visible score: 4.98 against 4.62 overall, a perfect 5.0 for its guides against 4.7, and 4.8 for value against 4.5. The reason we still lead with the cheaper listing is sample size. Thirty-seven reviews is a promising start; 1,247 is a track record. And because both are run by the same company, our top pick's upgraded tier is substantially the same day out — so you can buy the eleven-hour version through either listing. If you have decided you want the full day and the price is fine, book the Guadalupe product directly. If you are still deciding how much day you want, book the flexible one.

One thing we'd flag: this listing contradicts itself on breakfast. "Breakfast" appears in its Includes list, while "Food and drinks" appears in the Not included list, and the full description says you get free time to have breakfast at your own cost. Those cannot all be true, and which applies almost certainly depends on the option tier you choose. Travellers also score value for money at 4.5 — the lowest of its three subscores, against 4.7 for guides — which is what you would expect from a product whose entry price buys fifteen minutes. Before you pay, read the exact option name on the booking page and, if breakfast matters to you, message the operator and get the answer in writing.

Who you'll be flying with

Amigo Tours LATAM, which operates three of the four tours on this page and runs a large slice of the day-trip market out of Mexico City. Guides are named individually and repeatedly in the reviews, which for a day that starts in the dark with a stranger driving you an hour out of the city counts for more than it would at midday. Note that the pilot and the balloon company are not the same business as the tour operator — Amigo sells and drives, the balloon port flies you.

What to bring, and what they take care of

They supply the flight, the certificate, the sparkling wine toast, the transport and the guide on the tiers that include them, and entry to the archaeological zone on the top tier. You bring a passport or ID card, which is a hard requirement rather than a suggestion. Wear closed shoes and trousers — sandals, flip-flops and heels are all explicitly refused — and travel light, because backpacks, bags, luggage, pushchairs and selfie sticks are on the not-allowed list too. Layer up: the valley is at 2,300 metres and it is genuinely cold before dawn, even in May.

What's included

Hot air balloon ride over Teotihuacan
Flight certificate
Sparkling wine toast
Breakfast (see the flag above)
Return transport from Mexico City, if that option is selected
Professional guide, if that option is selected
Entrance to Teotihuacan, if that option is selected
Guided visit to Teotihuacan and the Basilica of Guadalupe, if that option is selected

Not included

Professional photographs — sold separately at the field
Food and drinks
Tips for the pilot, guide and driver
Lunch at Tlacaelel on the full-day tier, which is optional and charged

Best for

Anyone who wants the balloon flight with the largest pile of verified reviews behind it, and who would rather decide how big a day they want at the booking page than be locked into eleven hours.

Above the City of the Gods

Teotihuacan Balloon Flights: The Dawn, the Weather and the Weight Rules

A bit of background on why every flight leaves at the same hour, why the prices vary so much for the same hour in the air, and when to come.

Every flight leaves at dawn, and that is physics rather than marketing

Balloons fly in the calm, stable air that sits over the valley between first light and about two hours after sunrise. Once the ground warms, thermals start and the air stops being predictable, which is why no operator here sells an afternoon flight. It also means every tour in this comparison launches within roughly the same half-hour window from the same stretch of valley floor at San Martín de las Pirámides. Nobody has a secret launch site or a better hour.

So what are you actually paying the difference for?

Not more time in the air. The spread on this page runs from ~$159 to ~$1,045, and the flight inside each of those is between 45 and 60 minutes. What changes is everything wrapped around it: whether someone drives you the hour each way, whether breakfast is real food or free time near a restaurant, whether a guide walks you through the ruins afterwards, and whether the basket holds twelve strangers or just the two of you. Read the package, not the altitude.

Weight is a regulated number, not a private one

Mexican rules require full name, weight and declared medical conditions for every passenger before a balloon flight, so expect to hand that over at booking rather than at the field. Several listings price around it openly: the Teotihuacán Sunrise Balloon Ride states that its fare covers passengers up to 99 kg and adds MXN 35 per additional kilogram, collected in cash at the launch site. It is not a judgement, it is a lift calculation — but it is a surprise at five in the morning if nobody warned you.

Weather scrubs are normal, and refunds are listing-specific

Wind, low cloud or rain will ground a flight, and it happens often enough through the July–September rainy season that you should keep a spare morning if you possibly can. What you get back varies by listing rather than by law: that same Sunrise Balloon Ride refunds the fare minus MXN 420 per passenger for the ground transport already run. Every tour here also carries free cancellation up to 24 hours before, so holding a slot costs nothing — book early in your trip and you leave yourself a second attempt.

The season changes the alarm clock, not the flight

Our top pick notes that start times shift between two seasons, October to March and April to September, because sunrise does. In practice that means a pickup somewhere between about 4:00 and 5:30 in the morning from central Mexico City, and an hour in a coach before anything happens. The flight itself is much the same in February as in August; the difference is how cold you are standing on the field beforehand and how likely the rainy-season sky is to cancel you.

Twelve listings, but only a handful worth your money

Search this valley on GetYourGuide and you get twelve balloon products. Six of them are flagged as new activities with no reviews at all, including the three cheapest at ~$91, ~$99 and ~$101. That does not make them bad — every listing starts at zero — but it does mean you would be buying a dawn flight on faith. We have put four on this page because those are the four with either real review volume or a genuinely distinct shape. If a ~$91 fare tempts you, check its review count before you decide it is a bargain.

All Four Ways Up

4 Best Teotihuacan Hot Air Balloon Tours Compared

Every flight over this valley that we would genuinely put on the table, with the catch that comes with each one.

Our Top Pick

CDMX: Teotihuacan Balloon Flight with Optional Pyramids Tour — Best Overall

One listing, four option tiers, and by far the deepest review base of any balloon flight over this valley. Lift off at first light over the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon, land to a sparkling wine toast and a printed certificate, then either go home or carry on into an eleven-hour day with the archaeological zone, an obsidian workshop and the Basilica of Guadalupe attached.

Duration3 – 11 hours, depending on the tier you pick
OperatorAmigo Tours LATAM · Certified by GetYourGuide
Rating4.6/5 (1,247 reviews)
Meets atPaseo de la Reforma 31, Mexico City — or the balloon port direct
HighlightsFour price tiers, English and Spanish guides, free cancellation
Best forAnyone who wants the best-evidenced flight and the freedom to size the day

Worth knowing: the cheapest tier is a fifteen-minute flight, not the forty-five-minute one people describe — check the option name carefully. Value for money is its weakest subscore at 4.5 against 4.7 for guides, and the listing contradicts itself on whether breakfast is included or at your own cost. Passport or ID required; no backpacks, bags, sandals, heels or selfie sticks.

~$159per person Check Price

Best Rated Here

Mexico City: Balloon Flight, Teotihuacan & Guadalupe Shrine — Best Full Day

The complete version, sold as its own product rather than as an upgrade. Eleven hours that start with the balloon at dawn and end at the Basilica of Guadalupe, with a certified guide through the ruins in between, a tequila tasting at an obsidian workshop, and entry tickets and transport built into the price rather than bolted on.

Duration11 hours · return transport included
OperatorAmigo Tours LATAM
Rating4.98/5 (37 reviews) · guide 5.0, transport 4.7, value 4.8
Meets atCitibanamex by the Ángel de la Independencia, Paseo de la Reforma 31
HighlightsEntry to Teotihuacan included, certified guide, tequila tasting, Basilica
Best forOne spare day in Mexico City, spent completely

Worth knowing: the highest rating on this page and, unusually, better value scores than the cheaper top pick — travellers rate it 4.8 on value against 4.5. The caution is sample size: 37 reviews is encouraging rather than conclusive. It is also the same operator as our top pick, so this is essentially that listing's upgraded tier sold separately. Food and drinks, professional photographs and tips are all excluded.

~$266per person Check Price

Flight and Nothing Else

Teotihuacan: Hot Air Balloon Ride with Breakfast & Transport — Best Simple Version

The cleanest product on this page, and the easiest to understand before you pay. Six and a half hours: collected in Mexico City, driven to the balloon port, briefed, flown over the valley, toasted on landing, given a certificate, fed breakfast, driven home. No archaeology, no shopping stop, no option tiers to decode.

Duration6.5 hours · round-trip transport included
OperatorAmigo Tours LATAM
Rating4.6/5 (21 reviews) · guide 4.7, transport 4.6, value 4.5
Meets atCitibanamex at the Ángel de la Independencia, Paseo de la Reforma 31
HighlightsBilingual host, breakfast and transport both genuinely included
Best forPeople who want the flight, breakfast and a lift, and nothing more

Worth knowing: the inclusions here are unambiguous in a way our top pick's are not — transport and breakfast are both listed without an "if option selected" caveat, and only photographs and tips are excluded. The trade-off is price and evidence: at ~$224 it costs more than the equivalent tier of the top pick, and 21 reviews is thin. Same value subscore as the top pick at 4.5. No smoking, no large bags, no selfie sticks.

~$224per person Check Price

Just the Two of You

Mexico City: Private Sunrise Hot Air Balloon in Teotihuacán — Best for Proposals

The only genuinely private option we would put on the table, and the only tour here run by someone other than Amigo Tours. Collected from your accommodation before sunrise in a private car with water and a snack for the drive, flown in a basket carrying one or two people, then taken to a buffet breakfast and driven back to your hotel.

Duration6 hours · private transport from and back to your hotel
OperatorDielinguue
Rating5.0/5 — but from only 2 reviews
Meets atYour accommodation — hotel pickup, no meeting point to find
HighlightsPrivate basket for 1–2, buffet breakfast, snack and water on the drive
Best forProposals, anniversaries, and anyone who does not want twelve strangers in the shot

Worth knowing: at ~$1,045 for up to two people this is roughly ~$523 each, three times the shared flight, and the two reviews behind its 5.0 rating tell you almost nothing. Flight length is stated as 30 to 60 minutes depending on conditions, so the lower end is possible. Tips are excluded. Tell them about any allergies when you book — the snack is prepared in advance.

~$1,045per group, up to 2 Check Price

Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through one we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, and it has never changed which tour we put first.

Before the Alarm Goes Off

Teotihuacan Balloon Tips: Weight Charges, 4am Starts and What They Won't Let You Bring

Eight things the booking pages either bury in an accordion or leave out entirely — starting with the three that can stop you getting into the basket.

What to know before you book a Teotihuacan balloon flight

The restriction list is medical, and it is enforced at the field. Our top pick states plainly that it is not suitable for children under 4, pregnant women, people with mobility impairments, wheelchair users, people with respiratory issues or people with high blood pressure. That is a wider net than most adventure activities cast, and it is checked when you arrive rather than when you pay. If anyone in your party is on the list, resolve it with the operator in writing before booking — this is refused at the launch site, not refunded afterwards.
Weight is declared in advance and can be charged for on the day. Mexican regulations require your full name, weight and any medical conditions before a balloon flight, and several listings on this valley price openly around it. The Teotihuacán Sunrise Balloon Ride sets its fare at passengers up to 99 kg and adds MXN 35 for each kilogram above that, payable in cash at the launch site. Listings elsewhere on the market quote a ceiling around 150 kg. Check your specific tour's figure before you book rather than discovering it at a folding table in the dark.
The cheapest option is sometimes a fifteen-minute flight. This is the single most expensive mistake available on this page. Our top pick's own option list includes "Balloon Ride (15 mins) without Transport" next to "Balloon Ride (45 minutes) & Breakfast without Transport", at different prices, under one listing title. The photographs, the reviews and the description all describe the longer flight. Read the exact option name at checkout, not the headline fare.
Pickup is somewhere between 4:00 and 5:30 in the morning. The balloon port is around 57 minutes from central Mexico City by coach, the flight leaves at first light, and start times shift between the October–March and April–September seasons because sunrise does. Whatever your confirmation says, you are getting up in the small hours — and if you booked an option without transport, you are also driving an unfamiliar road in the dark to a field in San Martín de las Pirámides. Budget an early night, not a late one.
It is cold on the ground and mild in the air. The valley sits at roughly 2,300 metres and the temperature before dawn regularly drops into single figures, even in summer. The counterintuitive part is that you will feel warmer once you are up — a balloon moves with the air, so there is no wind chill in the basket, and there is a burner over your head. Dress in layers you can shed, and expect the coldest part of the morning to be standing about watching the envelopes inflate.
The not-allowed list is longer than you expect. Our top pick refuses high-heeled shoes, sandals and flip-flops, baby strollers, luggage or large bags, backpacks, bags and selfie sticks. The transport-and-breakfast flight adds smoking to that list. Closed shoes and trousers, nothing in your hands, phone in a zipped pocket — a basket is a shared space at head height and things that go over the side are gone.
Bring your passport or ID, because it is a stated requirement. It appears in the "what to bring" list of our top pick, alongside the weight declaration, and it is the sort of thing that is trivially easy to forget at 4am for what feels like a leisure activity. Take the physical document rather than a photograph of it.
Photographs are sold to you, not given to you. Every tour on this page excludes professional photographs, and several listings mention that they will be available to buy at the landing site. Your own camera is welcome, but selfie sticks are banned and you will be wearing gloves-thick layers in a moving basket. If pictures matter, agree beforehand who in your group is shooting, and expect a sales table at the end.

Side by Side

Teotihuacan Balloon Tour Comparison: Price, Duration, Transport and Rating

All four in one place — the quickest way to spot which one fits your morning, your budget and how much of a day you want.

Swipe the table sideways → the tour name stays put

Tour	Best for	Price	Duration	Transport & meeting point	Operator & rating	The good & the catch	Book
CDMX: Teotihuacan Balloon Flight with Optional Pyramids Tour (our top pick)	The best-evidenced flight over the valley	~$159	3 – 11 hours	Optional · Reforma 31 or the balloon port	Amigo Tours LATAM 4.6/5 (1,247)	Thirty times the review base of anything else flying here, four price tiers under one booking and a GetYourGuide certification. Mind the cheapest tier though — it's a fifteen-minute flight, value scores 4.5, and the listing can't decide whether breakfast is included or on you.	View Deal
Mexico City: Balloon Flight, Teotihuacan & Guadalupe Shrine	One spare day, spent completely	~$266	11 hours	Included · Ángel de la Independencia	Amigo Tours LATAM 4.98/5 (37)	The best rating on the page, a perfect 5.0 for guides, and the only tour where entry to the ruins and the Basilica are both in the price. Thirty-seven reviews is a start rather than proof, and it's the same operator's upgraded tier sold as its own product.	View Deal
Teotihuacan: Hot Air Balloon Ride with Breakfast & Transport	The flight, breakfast and a lift home	~$224	6.5 hours	Included · Ángel de la Independencia	Amigo Tours LATAM 4.6/5 (21)	The only listing here whose inclusions carry no "if option selected" small print — transport and breakfast are simply in. It's dearer than the equivalent tier of our top pick though, only 21 people have reviewed it, and value still scores 4.5.	View Deal
Mexico City: Private Sunrise Hot Air Balloon in Teotihuacán	Proposals and anniversaries	~$1,045	6 hours	Private · collected from your hotel	Dielinguue 5.0/5 (2)	A basket with nobody else in it, door-to-door private transport and a buffet breakfast, from the one independent operator here. That's around ~$523 a head, the flight can be as short as 30 minutes, and two reviews is not a rating.	View Deal

Prices are the per-person "from" fare on each GetYourGuide listing in US dollars, read at the time of writing, and they move with the season and your chosen date. The private flight is priced per group of up to two.

From the Basket

Real Traveler Reviews of Teotihuacan Hot Air Balloon Tours

Unedited thoughts from people who have actually been up over that valley at dawn.

★★★★★

I have done balloon flights in Cappadocia and over the Serengeti and this one is the only one that made me go quiet. It is not the balloon, it is what is underneath it — you rise out of the dark and the Avenue of the Dead just resolves, two and a half kilometres of it, dead straight, with the Pyramid of the Sun throwing a shadow the whole length. You cannot get that from the ground and you cannot get it from a drone photo either.

★★★★★

Long one, sorry, but here is everything I wish someone had told me before booking. First: read the option name, not the price. I nearly booked the cheap tier and only noticed at checkout that it was fifteen minutes in the air. Fifteen. I paid the difference and I am very glad I did, because the forty-five-minute flight is the one where you actually get over both pyramids. Second: you will be handing over your weight at booking and it is not a formality — the couple next to us were settling something in cash at the field. Third: it is genuinely freezing before dawn and everyone underdresses, including me. Fourth: the burner is loud and it startles you the first three times and then you stop noticing. Fifth, and nobody warns you about this: there are twenty other balloons going up around you, and watching them inflate in the dark is half the experience. Get there early rather than exactly on time.

★★★★★

Fizemos o voo e valeu cada centavo. Switching to English for everyone else: we took the full-day version with the guide afterwards, and walking the site having just flown over it completely changes what you understand about it. From the basket you see the plan. On the ground you see the stonework. Do them in that order if you possibly can.

★★★★★

静けさが忘れられません。In English: what I did not expect was the silence. Between the burns there is no engine noise at all, and because you are moving with the wind there is no wind either. We could hear dogs barking in a village a long way below us. Our pilot was calm and funny and explained the landing before it happened, which helped my wife enormously.

★★★★☆

Wonderful flight, one star off for the organisation on the ground. The pickup in the city was twenty-five minutes late with no message, and at the launch site nobody explained what was happening for a good half hour while we stood in the cold. Once we were in the basket everything was excellent and the pilot was clearly very experienced. It is the waiting around either side that needs sorting.

★★★★★

难忘的日出。Simply the best hour of our three weeks in Mexico. Book it for early in your trip so you have a spare morning if the weather cancels.

★★★★★

I am frightened of heights and I did it anyway, on the strength of a friend telling me that a balloon does not feel like being high. She was right. There is no swaying, no drop in your stomach, nothing to hold on to for dear life — the basket simply sits there and Mexico moves underneath it. The champagne toast afterwards was a bit of theatre but a nice one, and the certificate is on my fridge.

★★★★★

Salimos del hotel a las 4:30 y mereció la pena. The Pyramid of the Moon with the mountain behind it, lit from the side as the sun came up, is an image I will keep.

★★★★★

We booked the private flight for our tenth anniversary and I would do it again. It is a lot of money and I will not pretend otherwise, but there were two of us in the basket and the pilot, and no one else's elbows in any of the photographs. The buffet breakfast afterwards was much better than I expected for something included in a tour price. The drive back to the hotel with the two of us asleep in the car was the perfect end.

★★★★☆

Flight was brilliant, booking was a trap. I picked the cheapest option assuming it was the same flight without the transport, and it was not — it was a substantially shorter flight. That is on me for not reading properly, but the listing title is the same for all of the options and I do not think that is an accident. We went up, it was beautiful, and it was over before I had finished taking it in. If you are reading this before booking: pay attention to the minutes in the option name.

★★★★★

Went up on a clear morning in February and the visibility went on for ever — you could see Cerro Gordo behind the Pyramid of the Moon and, in the other direction, the volcanoes on the far side of the valley catching the first light. Our pilot took us down low over the nopal fields on the way to the landing site, close enough to see people looking up, and then put the basket down so gently that nobody in it needed the bracing position he had taught us. The ground crew had the envelope packed within ten minutes. These people clearly do this every single day of their lives and it shows.

★★★★★

気球は静かで、朝焼けが美しかったです。A wonderful morning. Warm clothes are essential before sunrise — I only had a light jacket and regretted it until we lifted off.

★★★★★

Took the eleven-hour option and it is a proper day out rather than a balloon flight with padding. Balloon at dawn, three hours walking the site with a guide who knew what she was talking about, the obsidian workshop, and the Basilica in the afternoon. By the time we got back to Reforma we had been going for eleven hours and I was finished, but I would not have cut any of it. Eat something before the pickup — the first proper food is a long way in.

★★★★☆

Beautiful flight, but do read the weight note. My partner was asked for a supplement in cash at the launch site and neither of us had any pesos on us, which made for an awkward ten minutes at five in the morning while somebody found a solution. It was resolved politely and we flew, but it is a strange thing to discover in a field in the dark. Bring cash, and check the number on your own booking before you go.

★★★★★

Our guide was the reason the day worked. He kept a group of twelve moving, told us stories at every stop rather than reciting dates, and noticed that I was travelling on my own and made sure I was never standing by myself. The balloon was spectacular. The guide is what I will remember.

★★★★★

Una experiencia irrepetible. In English, because I want other people to book this: we had it cancelled on the first morning for wind and rebooked for two days later at no cost, which is the only reason I am writing a five-star review instead of a furious one. If you are travelling for this, leave yourself a spare morning — the operator was completely straightforward about it, moved us without argument, and the second attempt was a flawless sky. The people complaining about cancellations are complaining about the weather, and the weather over that valley in August does what it likes.

★★★★☆

The flight deserves five stars and the 4:15am pickup deserves three. Nobody tells you clearly enough how early it really is, and with a six-year-old it was a long morning before anything happened. Worth it in the end. Just do not plan anything for that afternoon.

★★★★★

I have taken a lot of tours that are sold on one image and do not deliver it. This one delivers the image. You are over the Pyramid of the Sun at sunrise with thirty other balloons in the frame and it looks exactly like the photographs, which almost never happens. Buy the pictures at the end if you want them, because you will be too busy looking to take good ones yourself.

Ready when you are

Book the Best Teotihuacan Hot Air Balloon Flight

If you have one morning in Mexico City and you want this valley properly — the envelopes inflating in the dark, the lift off the valley floor as the light arrives, the Pyramid of the Sun throwing its shadow down the Avenue of the Dead, and the Pyramid of the Moon closing the view at the far end — the tour we would put in the calendar is Amigo Tours LATAM's flight with optional pyramids. Four price tiers, English and Spanish guides, and a toast on the grass when you land.

It is rated 4.6 out of 5 by 1,247 travellers, thirty times the review base of anything else flying over Teotihuacan, and it carries GetYourGuide's own certification. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before and you can reserve now and pay later, so a changeable forecast is no reason to wait — but pick the 45-minute option rather than the 15-minute one, and take your passport.

~$159

per person · 3–11 hours · Amigo Tours LATAM

Check Availability

✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
✓ Reserve now, pay later
✓ Sparkling wine toast and flight certificate
✓ Four option tiers, from the flight alone to a full day

Curious Minds

Teotihuacan Hot Air Balloon FAQ: Your Questions Answered

The questions we get asked most often before people book a flight over the City of the Gods.

Which Teotihuacan hot air balloon tour is the best one overall?

For most people it is CDMX: Teotihuacan Balloon Flight with Optional Pyramids Tour, run by Amigo Tours LATAM. It starts from ~$159 per person, is rated 4.6/5 from 1,247 reviews — around thirty times the review base of any other balloon flight over this valley — and carries GetYourGuide's own certification. It sells four option tiers under one listing, from a flight on its own to an eleven-hour day with the archaeological zone and the Basilica of Guadalupe attached, so you can size the day at checkout. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before. The one thing to watch is that the cheapest tier is a fifteen-minute flight rather than the forty-five-minute one shown in the photographs.

How much does a Teotihuacan balloon ride cost?

Shared flights on this page run from ~$159 to ~$266 per person. The flexible listing from Amigo Tours LATAM starts at ~$159, the transport-and-breakfast flight is ~$224, and the full eleven-hour day with the pyramids and the Basilica of Guadalupe is ~$266. A private basket for one or two people is ~$1,045 per group, which works out at roughly ~$523 each. Cheaper listings exist on the market — some advertise from ~$91 — but at the time of writing every one of those is a new activity with no reviews. All prices are the "from" fare in US dollars and they move with the season and your chosen date.

How long is the actual balloon flight over Teotihuacan?

Between 45 and 60 minutes on the standard tiers, and that is true whether your total tour is six hours or eleven. The rest of the day is the drive out, watching the envelopes inflate, the safety briefing, the sparkling wine toast and certificate on landing, and whatever archaeology or breakfast you have bolted on. There is one important exception: our top pick's cheapest option is explicitly named "Balloon Ride (15 mins) without Transport", so a quarter of an hour in the air is a real product being sold under the same listing title. On the private flight, the stated flight time is 30 to 60 minutes depending on conditions.

What time do Teotihuacan balloon tours start?

Very early. Balloons fly in the calm, stable air between first light and roughly two hours after sunrise, so pickups from central Mexico City generally fall somewhere between about 4:00 and 5:30 in the morning, followed by an hour's drive north-east to the balloon port. Our top pick notes that its start times shift between two seasons — October to March and April to September — because sunrise does. If you book an option without transport you will be driving yourself to San Martín de las Pirámides in the dark, so allow extra time. Whatever the confirmation says, plan an early night and nothing demanding for that afternoon.

Is there a weight limit for Teotihuacan hot air balloons?

Yes, and it is declared in advance rather than checked at the door. Mexican regulations require your full name, weight and medical conditions before a balloon flight, so expect to supply them at booking. Several listings over this valley price around it openly: the Teotihuacán Sunrise Balloon Ride states that its fare covers passengers up to 99 kg and charges MXN 35 for every additional kilogram, payable in cash at the launch site, and listings elsewhere quote an upper ceiling around 150 kg. The exact figure varies by operator, so check the one on your specific booking — and if you are near it, bring pesos in cash.

Who is not allowed on a Teotihuacan balloon flight?

The restriction list is wider than most people expect and it is enforced at the launch site. Our top pick states that the tour is not suitable for children under 4, pregnant women, people with mobility impairments, wheelchair users, people with respiratory issues or people with high blood pressure. Because this is refused on the day rather than refunded afterwards, anyone in your party who is close to any of those categories should confirm with the operator in writing before paying. There is also a dress and luggage code: no high-heeled shoes, sandals or flip-flops, no strollers, no luggage or large bags, no backpacks or bags, and no selfie sticks.

Is a Teotihuacan balloon ride scary if you are afraid of heights?

Usually far less than people expect, and this comes up constantly in reviews. A balloon moves with the air rather than through it, so there is no wind, no swaying and none of the stomach-drop sensation you get on a fairground ride or in turbulence — the basket simply sits there while the landscape moves beneath it. The sides come up to roughly chest height on most adults and there is nothing to lean over. What does startle people is the burner, which is loud and fires directly above your head every minute or two. It stops being alarming after the third burn.

What happens if the balloon flight is cancelled for weather?

Flights are grounded for wind, low cloud or rain, and it happens often enough through the July to September rainy season that you should keep a spare morning if you can. What you get back is set by the listing rather than by law: the Teotihuacán Sunrise Balloon Ride, for example, refunds the fare minus MXN 420 per passenger to cover the ground transport that has already run. Most operators will offer to move you to another morning first. Separately, every tour on this page carries free cancellation up to 24 hours before, so holding a slot early in your trip costs you nothing and leaves room for a second attempt.

Do I need transport, or can I drive myself to the balloon port?

Both are possible, and the choice changes the price significantly. Options with transport collect you at the Citibanamex beside the Ángel de la Independencia at Paseo de la Reforma 31 in Mexico City, about 57 minutes from the launch field by coach. Options without it send you directly to the balloon port at San Martín de las Pirámides in the State of Mexico, which means driving an unfamiliar road in the dark to arrive before first light. The private flight is different again: it collects you from your own accommodation and takes you back there afterwards.

Is breakfast included on Teotihuacan balloon tours?

It depends on the tour, and on our top pick the listing genuinely contradicts itself — "Breakfast" appears in the Includes list, "Food and drinks" appears in the Not included list, and the description says you get free time to eat breakfast at your own cost. Which applies almost certainly depends on the option tier. The transport-and-breakfast flight at ~$224 is unambiguous by comparison: breakfast and transport are both simply included, with only photographs and tips excluded. The private flight includes a buffet breakfast. If a meal matters to you, message the operator and get the answer in writing before booking.

Are photographs included with the balloon flight?

No. Every tour on this page lists professional photographs as an exclusion, and several mention that they will be available to buy at the landing site afterwards. You are welcome to use your own camera or phone, but selfie sticks are on the banned list, you will be in layers against the pre-dawn cold, and the basket is a shared space — so agree beforehand who in your group is shooting. Expect a sales table at the end. A printed flight certificate, by contrast, is included on every flight here.

What should I wear and bring for a sunrise balloon flight?

Layers, and closed shoes. The valley sits at around 2,300 metres and it is genuinely cold before dawn, even in summer, but you will warm up once the sun is properly up — and because a balloon moves with the air there is no wind chill in the basket. Sandals, flip-flops and high heels are all explicitly refused, as are backpacks, bags, luggage and strollers, so travel with as little in your hands as possible. Bring a passport or ID card, which our top pick lists as a hard requirement, and some cash in pesos for tips, photographs or a weight supplement.

Can you visit the pyramids on the same day as the balloon flight?

Yes, and it is the best way to do both. Two tours on this page include the archaeological zone: our top pick's upgraded tier and the eleven-hour Balloon Flight, Teotihuacan & Guadalupe Shrine, which builds in entry tickets, a certified guide, an obsidian workshop with a tequila tasting, and the Basilica of Guadalupe on the way back to the city. Flying first and walking the site afterwards is the right order — from the basket you see the plan of the whole city and how deliberately it was laid out, and on the ground you see the stonework. Reviewers who did it that way say it changed what they understood about the place.

Is a Teotihuacan hot air balloon ride worth the money?

Travellers rate the experience higher than the price, and the subscores show it honestly. Across these tours the guide scores run from 4.7 to a perfect 5.0, while value for money runs from 4.5 to 4.8 — and the tour that scores best on value is the most expensive shared one, the ~$266 full day, not the cheapest. That pattern usually means the cheap entry fare is buying less than people assumed, which is exactly what the fifteen-minute option tier suggests. Our view: this is the only way to see the full plan of the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas laid out beneath you at sunrise, and at the 45-minute tier it is worth it. At the 15-minute tier it is not.