The night before
Confirm your exact pickup time and location with the operator — riads inside the medina sometimes need a slightly earlier pickup to allow for narrow-street access. Set two alarms; pickup windows in Marrakech are tight and balloons cannot wait for late guests.
What to wear
Layers work best. Pre-dawn temperatures typically sit between 10–15°C, cool enough for a light jacket, but the basket warms quickly once the sun is up and the burner is running. Closed, flat shoes are strongly recommended — the launch field and landing site are uneven ground, and heels or sandals aren't practical.
What to bring
- Camera or phone, ideally with a wrist strap — the basket can jostle slightly on landing
- A light jacket you can remove once the sun is up
- Sunglasses for the flight back down toward the horizon
- Cash for tipping the pilot and ground crew, if you choose to
If you're nervous about heights
This is one of the most common concerns first-time flyers raise, and also one of the most consistently resolved in reviews. A hot air balloon moves with the wind rather than against it, so there's no sensation of speed, no turbulence, and no sudden drop. Pilots explain each stage of the flight as it happens, which helps most nervous flyers settle within the first few minutes.
During the flight
You'll stand for the full flight — there's no seating in a standard balloon basket. Hold the basket's edge rope during takeoff and landing as instructed by your pilot; for the rest of the flight, you're free to move around and photograph in any direction.
After landing
Expect a short walk from the landing site to the breakfast area — comfortable shoes matter here too. Breakfast typically runs 30–45 minutes, giving you time to relax before the return transfer.
What no one tells you about the wait before takeoff
Between arriving at the launch field and actually lifting off, there's often a 20–30 minute window of standing around while the balloon inflates and other groups gather. This is usually the coldest part of the whole morning, since you're stationary rather than moving — pack that extra layer specifically for this window, not just the flight itself.
Motion sensitivity and altitude
If you're prone to motion sickness, the good news is that a hot air balloon has none of the swaying or engine vibration that triggers it in cars or boats — it moves smoothly with the air around it. Altitude itself (up to roughly 800m) is well below where thinner air becomes noticeable, so there's no altitude-sickness concern either.
Traveling with contact lenses or glasses
Both are fine to wear during the flight. If you wear contacts and find early mornings dry your eyes, a small bottle of rewetting drops is worth having in a pocket, since the pre-dawn air can be noticeably dry.