The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta has been on my bucket list forever. I’ve always wanted to see the sky full of big colorful balloons. It was even more spectacular than I dreamed about. You really can’t convey how beautiful and large the balloons are as they float over your head in a photograph. You just have to go and experience it for yourself.
If you love color and taking pictures, it’s a photographer’s paradise. I came home with more than 1,000 photos in a 2-day period. They say the Fiesta is one of the most photographed events in the world. Below are some hints for planning to go next year.
Dates & Times
The Fiesta lasts two weeks and includes two weekends so you’ll have plenty of time to choose from. The balloons start filling with air around 5:30am and then will take off in sets. There is an app so you can check the schedule. By around 9:00am, they have all taken off and if you hang around another hour, you can see some of them land. In the evening, the teams blow up the balloons again starting around 5:30pm for the glow, where they will light them all up at once. In between, you can shop and eat at the many vendor tents and/or go back to the hotel and take a nap, which is what we did.
Weather
The balloons can’t fly in windy, foggy or stormy weather but there is still plenty to see on the ground. The first morning we went only the first batch of balloons took off and ended up in the fog. While it didn’t bode well for the pilots, I got a great photo of a “ghost” balloon.
Tickets
To save time at the gate, you can purchase your tickets ahead of time online. Tickets are sold for the mornings and the evenings. So, if you are going for a full day, you need to buy two tickets, one for each session. They are $10 each. I couldn’t find the button to actually purchase tickets and ended up calling them. (Hint: It’s at the top of the page in the little square-Click on “General Admission”.)
Accommodations
Reserve your hotel room early as the prices go sky high quickly. We were lucky to find a hotel that hadn’t yet raised its price and nabbed up the reservation before they realized that it was Fiesta weekend. We stayed in the Downtown, less than 15 minutes away. (With no traffic.)
Getting There
I flew into Albuquerque airport known as Albuquerque Sunport (ABQ), which is a short 10- minute drive to the Downtown.
Traffic
Traffic gets bad, on the first Saturday, we left the hotel at 5:00am and the traffic was already backed up on the freeway. It took us 45 minutes to get to our friend’s house who let us park at their place and walk. We had to have a pass to do this. Without one, you will be in the massive parking lot and plan on waiting. On Sunday, the second day we left at 5:15am and got there in about 30 minutes. Here are additional instructions.
Have an extra day? Here are a few ideas or our friends suggested take the Rail Runner train to Santa Fe, my absolutely favorite place to eat. Southwest cuisine. Mmmm. It’s about a 90-minute ride and only $9 each way