Teotihuacan Hot Air Balloon: Flying Over Ancient Pyramids

A Teotihuacan hot air balloon ride is an unforgettable experience in Mexico. I’ll share everything you need to know to plan your perfect Mexico City hot air balloon trip. 

This article may contain affiliate / compensated links, that may earn me a small commission, at no extra cost to you. For full information, please see our disclaimer here. While all efforts have been taken to ensure the information included in this post is correct and current, travel information such as opening hours, business operations and prices change frequently. If you find anything in this post that is incorrect or outdated please let me know in the comments so I can update it for other readers.

Flying over Teotihuacan in a hot air balloon

Teotihuacan (teh – oh – tee – wah – kahn) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located a short distance from Mexico City, in the neighbouring state of Estado de Mexico. 

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to some of the largest pyramids in the world and is one of the greatest ancient ruins to explore in Mexico. 

But Teotihuacan has something extra special about it, that other ancient cities like Chichen Itza, Palenque or Monte Alban don’t have – hot air balloons! 

Soaring high over the pyramids in a hot air balloon as the sun comes up is simply magical, and is no doubt one of the best experiences you can have in Mexico. 

It was a highlight of our 6 months in the country, and I’ll tell anyone who will listen that this experience is a must-do if you’re in Mexico City. It’s worth every cent, and the early wake-up call! 

To ensure you have the best Teotihuacan experience, this guide will prepare you with everything you need to know. With the safest and most reputable companies, a full run-through of what you can expect from your flight, and some handy tips to get the most out of your day at the ruins. 

🎈 Book the exact Teotihuacan hot air balloon tour we did!

Teotihuacan hot air balloon tours

There are countless Teotihuacan hot air balloon tours available to book online, it can be really overwhelming to know which to choose. 

It doesn’t help that many of the tours you’ll see are sold via local tour companies so you don’t actually know who you’re flying with. 

Given you’re going to be a few hundred metres above the ground, you want to choose an operator that is experienced, reputable and safe. 

It is a pretty pricey experience though, so understandably for many of you (ourselves included), the price will be a factor. 

You want to strike a balance between safe and professional, and after extensive research, we narrowed it down to 3 options. 

Flying Pictures

We landed on Flying Pictures and have nothing but positive things to say about them! Our experience was magic, and it was completely well-run and organised from start to finish. 

• 💰 Cost from $165 USD (transport extra)
• ⏰ 45 – 60 minute flight 
• 🚐 Optional return transportation from Mexico City
• ☕️ Pre-flight coffee, tea and biscuits
• 🥂 Post-flight sparkling wine toast
• 🍳 Buffet breakfast at a local restaurant 
• 🛕 Optional extra time at Teotihuacan (no extra cost)
• 🚶🏻‍♂️ Optional guided tour of the site (extra cost)

🎈 Check prices and availability for Flying Pictures here

Volare

Volare is a very reputable hot air balloon operator in Teotihuacan and is one of the longest-standing companies. They run like a well-oiled machine and offer a great experience for an affordable price. They have thousands of five-star reviews, and I would be very happy to fly with them. 

• 💰 Cost from $165 USD (transport extra)
• ⏰ 30 – 50 minute flight 
• 🚐 Optional return transportation from Mexico City
• ☕️ Pre-flight coffee and tea
• 🥂 Post-flight sparkling wine toast
• 🍳 Mexican breakfast
• 🛕 Optional extra time at Teotihuacan (no extra cost)

🎈 Check prices and availability for Volare here

Sky Balloons

Sky Balloons is another reputable operator, with over 4,000 reviews on Google with an average of 4.8 stars. Their safety protocols are top-notch, with experienced and safe pilots. Do be aware that there is a bit of negative feedback, mostly about disorganisation with their transport services. If you go down this path, just be sure you are very clear about the arrangements and what’s included. 

• 💰 Cost from $200 USD (including transport)
• ⏰ 30 – 45 minute flight 
• 🚐 Return transportation from Mexico City
• ☕️ Pre-flight coffee and tea
• 🥂 Post-flight sparkling wine toast
• 🍳 Breakfast
• 🛕 Optional extra time at Teotihuacan (no extra cost)

🎈 Check prices and availability for Sky Balloons here

Transport information

I wanted to expand a bit on transport, as this is where it can get a little messy and where most of the negative feedback for certain companies comes from. 

Teotihuacan is about 45 – 60 minutes drive from Mexico City. It’s quicker early in the morning with light traffic but can take longer on the way back. The city has notoriously heavy traffic, and that’s not your driver’s fault. 

Most balloon companies offer return transportation from Mexico City. It might be included as a standard in your tour price, but usually, it’s an optional add-on that you pay a bit extra for.

It’s worth including, given how early you need to be at Teotihuacan. You won’t be able to use public transport at this time, and taking a taxi or Uber won’t be any cheaper than the transport your flight company offers.

🌞 MORNING PICKUPS

The pick-ups in the morning start from around 4:30 am, and you should be picked up by around 5:30 – 5:45 am. 

Where you will get picked up from differs between companies.

Some list a handful of central locations around the city, and you have to get yourself there. If you’re lucky, you might be close enough to walk, otherwise you might need to organise an Uber or taxi. 

Some will only offer pick-up from hotels or hotels, not Airbnbs or private residences. This is to avoid confusing addresses or delays trying to find random apartments. If this is the case, you’re more than likely able to find a formal hotel or hostel very close to your Airbnb, select this as your pick-up spot and walk there within a few minutes. 

Some will include pick-up from anywhere – Airbnb, hotel, hostel, private house etc. within the bounds of the central city area (including areas like Roma and Condesa). 

You should get a message (most likely via WhatsApp) the day prior confirming your pick-up time and location. If you don’t hear from your company, I strongly recommend contacting them to confirm the details. 

🚐 RETURN TRANSPORT

You’ll get the option to return to the city straight after breakfast, or to get dropped at the Teotihuacan ruins for 2 – 3 hours before heading back. 

Either way, the return transport will probably take much longer than in the morning with the heavy traffic coming into the city. 

Because of this, many operators will NOT drop you back at your original pick-up point (hotel, Airbnb etc.). Some will, but a lot will take you to a central location in the city, and everyone disembarks there. 

It means you don’t spend extra hours driving around the city to drop people off at different hotels. It’s probably quicker for you to jump on the metro or in an Uber than to wait for your hotel stop. 

Some people seem to get upset about this, so just confirm in advance what your balloon company offers so you have appropriate expectations. 

❌ OPTING OUT OF RETURN TRANSPORT

You may find that you want to stay longer at Teotihuacan than your provider allows. 

Chances are you won’t have this issue, as the time allocated for you to explore the site is usually 3 hours, which is enough for most people. But if the schedule is running behind for whatever reason, this free time might be reduced. 

I highly suggest not rushing your time at Teotihuacan.

If you don’t feel like you’ve got enough time to properly see the city, just contact your provider via WhatsApp and opt out of the return transfer. 

We also really recommend visiting La Gruta, a restaurant inside a cave, for lunch, which you may not have time to do in just 3 hours. 

It’s very easy and cheap to get yourself back to the city when you’re ready. A bus departs from nearby Gate 2 (~ 50 pesos). It will take you to the Autobuses del Norte bus station, which is also a metro stop on Line 5 which you can use to get back into the city centre (5 pesos).

It’s also pretty cheap and easy to take an Uber, so long as your timing is right and you can connect with a driver dropping someone off at Teotihuacan. 

🚊 You’ve probably used the Metro by this point, but if you need some info check out our Mexico City transportation guide.

In most cases, you can only pay for return transport as part of your balloon tour, and you won’t get any money back if you decide you don’t want to take their ride back to the city. We figure it’s a sunk cost, and it’s better to properly enjoy your time at the ruins than to rush it. 

Is a hot air balloon ride at Teotihuacan worth it?

10000% YES! This was one of the most magical and unique experiences we had in Mexico, and honestly in all of our travels to date. 

We had previously done a hot air balloon ride in Vang Vieng in Laos, which we loved. But it didn’t even come close to the experience of flying over enormous pyramids over 2,000 years old. 

To witness the sheer size and scale of this ancient city from above was so special, and it gave us a perspective we could never have replicated from the ground. 

Personally, I think it’s worth every cent and the Mexico City hot air balloon tours are some of the cheapest in the world. 

Is it safe?

Neither of us is scared of heights, and we weren’t particularly scared or apprehensive about the flight (I was too excited to be scared!), but understandably you might be wondering if it’s safe to fly hundreds of metres in the air in a balloon. 

I get it! 

Hot air ballooning is generally a very safe form of flying. Hundreds of balloons go up over Teotihuacan each morning, and most pilots have done hundreds, if not thousands of flights. Aka, they know what they’re doing, they’re familiar with the terrain and the risk of something going wrong is minimal. 

Although the risk isn’t zero, you may or may not have heard about the tragic accident in 2023 that left two people dead after a balloon caught fire in the air.

It’s up to you to do your own research, but the pilot and balloon company involved in the accident were not reputable, were not registered with the local governing body and the pilot didn’t have the necessary training to be offering flights. 

In short, if you choose a reputable balloon operator, the experience will most likely be completely safe.  

Best time for a Mexico City hot air balloon ride

Balloons fly over Teotihuacan almost every day of the year. Flights are cancelled if the weather is poor or unsafe, but this rarely happens as the weather is relatively consistent year-round. 

Generally, I would always recommend choosing a weekday to do touristy activities to avoid the local crowds on the weekend. But Teotihuacan is an exception!

The more balloons in the sky, the more magical the experience so I would suggest booking your flight for a Saturday if it works in your Mexico City itinerary. 

Sunday will also have a lot of balloons, however entry to the ancient city is free for Mexicans on Sundays, so if you plan to explore the site after your flight, Sundays can be a bit hectic. 

Flights are always done first thing in the morning as this is when the conditions and winds are the best. However, some companies will offer a first and a second flight. 

You want to depart as close to sunrise as possible to enjoy the golden light and watch the sky change colours, so make sure you ask if your flight will be going up around sunrise.

What to expect on a Teotihuacan balloon ride

All the hot air balloon operators I’ve recommended in this post offer a very similar experience. There are only slight variations to how the day runs. 

We went with Flying Pictures, so I can only give you a rundown of their schedule, but from what I understand, if you choose Volare or Sky Balloons, you’re going to have a pretty similar experience.

Early morning pick-up

Pick-ups can start in the city from as early as 4:30 am. Depending on your company, you might be picked up directly from your accommodation, or you may need to get yourself to a central meeting point. 

Make sure you are clear on your pick-up time and location the night before and you have confirmed it with your company. 

The drive to Teotihuacan should take 45 – 60 minutes. Try and go back to sleep!

Arrival at the balloon port

You’ll be dropped off at your company’s ‘balloon port’ where they prepare and take off from. 

At Flying Pictures, we had to check in and show our ID. There were desks for English or Spanish speakers and we got brief instructions on what was going to happen. We were allocated to a balloon and given a sticker on our jackets to distinguish where we needed to be. 

There was hot coffee and tea available which was very welcome, as well as some biscuits which I appreciated to fill my stomach a bit before the flight. There are also bathrooms here.

It was seriously cold at this time of the morning, and I was thankful for my long pants, socks, puffer jacket and beanie! There were outdoor heaters set up around the port, and if you stood near the balloons getting blown up you could catch some warmth from the flames. 

We arrived at the port half an hour before sunrise and it was completely dark. Over the next half an hour the sky started to glow, and we watched the balloons starting to rise up in the sky. 

There were dozens of huge balloons at the port, in various stages of being blown up.

I loved this part of the day, and we spent about 30 minutes running around between the different balloons taking photos and watching them inflate. We even got to run inside a half-inflated balloon that was still partially on the ground. 

The different companies have take-off ports close by, so in every direction you look, you start to see colourful balloons floating up, silhouetted against the rising sun. It was magic before we’d even taken off! 

Flying over Teotihuacan

Our group was called over to our balloon, and it was time to hop in! It was a little awkward to climb into the basket, but we were settled in quickly and ready to go. 

The basket was divided into 5 sections. A central area for the pilot to fly the balloon, and then 4 baskets around the outside. 

I can’t even remember how many people were on our balloon (which tells you it’s not that important despite what people say) but it was somewhere between 12 – 16. I think it was Brayden, myself and one other person in our basket, but we could all easily see out and had a position along the barrier. 

The flight is incredibly smooth and eerily quiet. It is so peaceful as you start floating up, and the only sound you hear is the roar of the flames pushing the balloon higher. It’s like a symphony across the valley hearing all flames going off and on. 

We were quite chilly on the ground, but we warmed up once we were flying and had the flames keeping us toasty. 

For the next 45 minutes, our pilot guided us effortlessly over the ancient city. He navigated the balloon over all the major sights, and we got incredibly close to the Pirámide del Sol (Pyramid of the Sun) and the Pirámide de la Luna (Pyramid of the Moon). 

I don’t have the words to describe how spectacular it was to witness this history from above and to be surrounded by a golden sky filled with hundreds of colourful balloons. It was a very special experience, and I definitely had a few tears in my eyes. 

Landing and champagne toast

Exactly how long your flight is and where you land is very dependent on the wind and weather, but your pilot will be all over it. Ours was a true veteran, and landed us directly on the back of the waiting trailer!

We all climbed out, clapped and cheered and our pilot popped a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate a successful flight. It was a little early for bubbles for me, but they had some orange juice too. A mimosa was a lot more appetising! 

Most companies will also give you a printed flight certificate. This is cute, but honestly, if you’re continuing your travels through Mexico as we were, we didn’t have any room to carry this around for the next 3 months.

Breakfast

We briefly returned to the balloon port where we started, and the crew showed us some photos and videos of the flight we could purchase if we wanted to. We got some fantastic shots on our own camera and phone (including plenty of the 2 of us together which the crew and other passengers happily helped us with), so we didn’t feel the need to buy them.

We were then taken in a van to a local restaurant for a buffet breakfast. The place was absolutely pumping when we arrived, and I think it’s a pretty common spot for most balloon operators. 

There was a huge selection of Mexican and Western options for breakfast, and I think we spent about an hour eating and reflecting on a great flight. There was some mariachi bands playing too, which definitely added to the festive atmosphere. 

Exploring the ancient city from the ground (optional)

After breakfast, you have the option to either go straight back to Mexico City or spend some time exploring Teotihuacan on foot. They drop you off at the entrance. 

We definitely recommend doing this. The balloon flight is magic, but to really get a good understanding of this thriving metropolis, you have to see it from the ground too. 

Every balloon company offers a slightly different length of time at the site, but we think you need at least 2.5 hours. If not even more, in which case you can opt to get yourself back to Mexico City with the instructions I outlined above. 

We had the option to add on a guided tour of Teotihuacan with Flying Pictures, which also included the entrance fee to the city. 

We opted to go solo after learning a lot about the city at the Anthropology Museum and watching some really informative YouTube videos about the history of Teotihuacan. 

The entrance to the ancient city is 90 pesos per person. You can also pick up a local guide at the site if you’d like to. 

If you have the time, I highly recommend having lunch at La Gruta, just outside the site. If you know roughly what time you’ll be at the restaurant, I would recommend booking in advance. 

This unique restaurant is set inside a cave (gruta) and is dimly lit by candles. The menu features traditional pre-Hispanic dishes, using ingredients that were probably important to the inhabitants of Teotihuacan. I’ll admit, the food is pricey and nothing amazing, but we loved the experience. 

Return to Mexico City

Your balloon company will let you know when and where they will collect you from Teotihuacan to drive you back to Mexico City. 

Prepare for this trip to be a lot slower, and depending on your company, you might get dropped at the same place you were picked up, or at a central location in the city. 

About the ancient city of Teotihuacan

I won’t make this a history lesson, as I always prefer seeing history in front of me with my own eyes, rather than reading about it, but it’s important you have a little bit of context on the city before your visit.

Teotihuacan is an ancient city over 2,000 years old, that was once a thriving metropolis in Mesoamerica. Boasting two spectacular pyramids and a number of other temples and structures, these ruins are mind-blowing.

Very little is known about the people who lived there, and it remains a mystery who built this spectacular city. It is often incorrectly assumed that Teotihuacan was an Aztec city, but this isn’t true. 

The Aztecs from Tenochtitlán (the city on which Mexico City’s Historic Centre is built) only discovered the city once it was well and truly abandoned. They gave it the name Teotihuacán, meaning the place where the gods were created. They seemed to be just as intrigued by this abandoned metropolis as we are today.

Whoever it was that constructed Teotihuacan so long ago, it is incredibly preserved and offers a fascinating insight into one of the earliest Mexican civilisations. It is mind-boggling to me that such a civilisation existed and we don’t know anything about it! 

The city doesn’t seem that large, but the Calzada de los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead) runs for over 2 km down the centre of the city, and it takes quite some time to see it all.

It connects the Pirámide de la Luna (Pyramid of the Moon) at one end, with the Templo de Quetzalcoatl (Quetzalcoatl Temple) at the other. The Pirámide del Sol (Pyramid of the Sun) is located between them, along with many other structures. Some had religious purposes, and others were for housing and social activities. 

You can no longer climb up the two pyramids to preserve them, but it is possible to climb up the Quetzalcoatl Temple though. 

What to wear and bring for your Teotihuacan balloon ride

It is COLD in the mornings in Mexico City and Teotihuacan, and you’ll most likely be chilly until you board the balloon. 

You need to wear warm clothes, like pants, a jumper or jacket and a beanie. It’s best to dress with layers because once the sun comes out you’ll be hot. 

This is especially true if you’re planning to spend time walking around the site. It went from freezing to boiling in a matter of minutes, and I was stripped down to a singlet in the sun! 

Make sure you’ve got a bag to carry all your layers as you start peeling them off. You can bring a small bag in the balloon with you, it sits on the ground at your feet. 

Other things to pack: 

• 😎 Sun protection: there is no shade in the city, so bring whatever you need to protect yourself from the sun, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat etc. 
• 🛂 Your ID or passport: needed to check into your flight, check exactly what your operator requires. 

• 📸 Phone, GoPro and/or camera: fully charged, with empty memory cards and preferably some kind of strap to secure it to yourself in the balloon. 
• 💧 Water bottle: you’ll most likely have the chance to refill it at breakfast too. Bring a snack if you’re worried about being hungry before the flight, not all operators include biscuits beforehand.  

Final thoughts on Teotihuacan balloons

Floating over some of the world’s largest pyramids in the golden glow of sunrise with hundreds of rainbow balloons filling the sky around us was one of our favourite Mexico moments. 

This experience is worth every cent and will be an easy highlight of your Mexico City itinerary. If you’ve got any hesitations about doing it, or you’re concerned about the cost, my opinion is JUST DO IT! You won’t regret it. 

Don’t forget to explore the canals of Xochimilco and Centro Historico for more ancient history.