ABQ International Balloon Fiesta

Albuquerque, New Mexico

People from around the world gathered in New Mexico for one of the biggest balloon festivals.  The sky was an explosion of colors with hundreds of balloons. 

Tickets can be bought online or at the door.  The line to get in at 5am was not long, and the tickets were only $8 per person.  However, the traffic to get into the park was another story.  Make sure you leave early because traffic was at least a 1.5 hour wait!  Of course, you have to pay for parking as well. 

Balloon Rides:

Our pilot explained that he is bald because of the heat from the gas! :)

For balloon rides, you can sign up for tour groups ahead of time.  I didn’t sign up until the day of the festival and was lucky enough to have a spot available.  Weekends are the best time to ride because hundreds of balloons are released vs. afternoons and weekdays when there aren't as many.

Balloon Rides:

Afternoon: $295

Weekdays: $395

Weekends: $429

The festival started off with a few balloons released before the crack of dawn.  The called it Krispy Cream show but I didn't see any donuts!

Around 7am, the rest of the balloons started to take flight.  We went up about 1800ft in the air and about 12 miles out.  Up in the air, you can barely feel any movement at 12 mph.  Part of it was because we were moving wight he wind. The weather was cold but the gas from the balloon kept me warm. 

There were small events set up throughout the park to keep people entertained, but after all the balloons had been released, most people went home.  So, around 11am, the park was pretty deserted.  There were fireworks at night, but to get back into the park, you had to pay again.  If you leave and come back before 3pm, you can get in for free.  I did not get to see the fireworks because the traffic was so bad that they stopped letting people into the park. 

My bad luck continued the next day when the balloons could not fly because it was too windy.  The flag remained yellow. 

Food:

The turkey I got at one booth was disappointing.  Unfortunately, there was no way to know which booth had good turkey legs.  Some booths did not even smoke their own turkey legs.  They ordered it in and reheated it.    

Turkey leg in the making.

Ribbon Fries

Boudain Balls.  My favorite!

Funnel Cake

The fiesta was amazing and each balloon was picture perfect!  I would definitely come back next year but I probably won't ride the balloons.  With price at $429, I think experiencing it once was enough.