Dating Free Site - Hot Air Balloon Ride

Hot air balloon ride at dusk

What can be a more romantic date than one spent soaring silently above fields and villages while sipping a glass of champagne

Hot air balloon flights have to be one of the most romantic date ideas that you can think up. Forget all the noise and hubbub of city life, traffic, nightclubs and busy restaurants, you can't beat the peace and quiet of a late evening spent looking down on the world. It's a perfect opportunity to get close to the one you love and whisper a few carefully chosen epithets in their ears.

But how does a hot air balloon flight work?

Obviously each operator will have their own procedures but a standard hot air balloon ride at dusk will start with the passengers meeting up at a base point and then being ferried out to the waiting balloon. Sometimes this will be pre-inflated but it may be part of the deal to have the opportunity to see it being blown up. This is an experience in itself - these balloons are huge and their fabric is almost always a veritable riot of colour. You may even be asked to assist with the inflation (or deflation, later).

Contrary to what television and the movies would have you believe (no, you are not left to hang on for grim life to the side of a basket while it wobbles from side to side), the balloon basket is divided up into compartments (up to 8), each of which is fully lined and separate from its neighbours. That way you've each got your own body space and won't bash into one another. You should also feel more secure.

A typical dusk balloon flight will last around an hour and the flight will commence before sunset to give you an opportunity to settle down and to either get better acquainted or to use the time more practically by taking some photographs by which you can remember the occasion.

Blown along by the wind, you have only the occasional snort as the burner injects more hot air into the balloon. Enjoy the reverie of the moment to just get close to one another and sip your complimentary champagne from the fluted glass in your hand. There may even be light snacks on board.

It is quite common for a car to follow the balloon and this will probably take photographs of you from below for you to take with you. It adds another dimension to the trip. This same car will collect you from your landing site.

At the end of the hour, the pilot will select a suitable empty field to bring the balloon down. There will be one final photo-opportunity as the balloon is being tied down and the deflated. You will then be issued a flight certificate and taken back to where you have left your car.

The total cost depends on how many of you there are in the balloon. For example, if you share with, say, four to six other passengers, a couple can expect to pay around £300 (US$450) whereas if it is just the two of you (and the pilot), then the cost rises to £700 (US$1,000). It is not cheap but it will be memorable and definitely romantic.

Finally, the perfect way to cap your hot air balloon ride at dusk experience off is by having pre-booked a table for two at a quiet nearby restaurant where you can both discuss the flight and, in all probability, about when you will be able to go again.

We hope you enjoyed our romantic date idea for a hot air balloon ride at dusk.

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