Yolo Ballooning Adventures

We did a balloon ride for my son’s 18^th birthday. Super professional and very safe operation. Mike and his assistant Derek (sp?) were just outstanding in all aspects. Super friendly, funny, and supportive. My wife, who often has a fear of heights on land, felt totally comfortable the whole time in the air. We lucked out with a day of very clear air (it had rained lightly the day before) so could see clearly from Mt. Diablo to the Sutter Buttes. Gorgeous. One especially nice thing about Yolo Ballooning Adventures is that they use smaller baskets than many of the operations in Napa, so it is more of a private experience. For us, it was just our family and Mike as pilot. A real treat.

This is something my husband and I had always wanted to do and when we saw balloons in the sky above Davis, it seemed like the right time to try it. First of all, I can’t say enough good things about Yolo Ballooning Adventures and its general manager Mike Veliz. He is professional, extremely knowledgable, and a really nice guy. His assistant Derek, sister Maria and our fellow balloon rider were great too. We started with safety instructions and then a drive to the Yolo County Fairgrounds, which was selected as our launch site based on weather, winds, etc. the basket and balloon were unloaded and set up and they started inflating the balloon with a large fan. The hot air from the burners continued to inflate the balloon and pulled it upright. We climbed in and headed off for our adventure. It was surprisingly smooth and quiet — except for when Mike used the burners to adjust our course. For part of the journey we were high enough to see the patchwork pattern of the various agricultural crops, and then sometimes we were low enough to see details of the alfalfa, wheat, and tomato plants and even some baby birds in the marshes. It was so cool to see familiar things from a very different perspective. All too soon it was time to find a landing site — today it was a cut hay field. We were moving fast enough on landing (due to the wind) that we did a «high speed landing» where the basket tips over on its side. Mike and Doug had prepared us for this possibility so even this was not at all scary but just part of the adventure. After our drive back to Dixon there was excellent champagne (in beautiful engraved flutes we got to keep), photo viewing and sharing of stories.
I know there are a lot of places to go ballooning, but if anyone wants an amazing experience in Yolo County, I would highly recommend this!

Had the best time of my life!!! Excellent service! Definitely worth doing! Mike was great. The views were amazing and would definitely do it again.

My boyfriend surprised me with a private hot air balloon flight for our anniversary. What an experience!
We started in Woodland and landed in Dixon. It was exhilarating to see Yolo County from the air. We could see Woodland, West Davis, Dixon, the 80, and the 113 from above. In the distance, we could see Winters, the peaks of the Sierra Nevadas, and the shadow of Mt. Diablo.
I loved how friendly and knowledgeable the staff were. My boyfriend and I got to help out a bit in setting up the hot air balloon and then watched as they inflated the balloon with cold and then hot air. After securing a Go Pro to one of the ropes, we went up up and away!
Mike is an awesome pilot and I felt completely at ease with him piloting. During the flight, there was constant communication between Mike and the drivers (because you never know where you’re going to end up landing). Our journey ended in a dead alfalfa field going 20 mph and sideways.
The Go Pro photos turned out to be amazing and Mike showed us the route we took by air.
As tradition has it, the Balloonist’s Prayer was recited and we made a toast to our safe landing.
I highly recommend booking your next hot air ballooning experience with Yolo Ballooning Adventures. Adventure awaits!

Mike and his crew were very professional and fun to be around. We booked a flight for my sons 7^th Birthday. Mike and his crew went above and beyond explaining all the rules making us all feel safe and made sure to involve my young boys in the whole process of set up and deflation of the balloon. We took off from our Historic Ranch Historicaoakdaleranch in Esparto and landed at Turkovich Winery in WInters. Text book perfect take off and smooth as glass landing. The pictures were fantastic. We were all smiling the whole time. The 360 deg view of Yolo County was absolutely amazing! Mike is a true professional as well as his crew. I was so impressed with Mikes operation and Balloon Ride Adventure that I asked him to partner up with our Outdoor Wedding and Event Venue in Esparto
. I’d recommend Mike to anyone. He is simply the best! A true commercial Balloon Pilot that is not only safe, but makes sure you experience a Balloon Ride of a life time. I cant wait to work with Mike again at our ranch and go up for another ride. By far one of the most exhilarating experiences I have witnessed. Book your ride today and mark off one more item from your bucket list! The toast at the end of the ride was a perfect way to end an amazing experience! The ride was worth every dollar. A once in a life time experience. Cheers!

Mike & Darren are both awesome! I felt totally safe trough out the whole experience. There were 5 of us in the basket, which was perfect because it never felt crowded. It is easy to see that Mike is passionate about his business. He truly loves ballooning. Providing a great and safe experience is #1 on his list. I would recommend this to all my family, friends, and to you :)
Choose them, they are totally worth it!

This was truely a great experience. From start to finish I had a really good time.
Now, I’m not a morning person, but the coffee and pasteries helped a lot. We then spent a few minutes going over a few safety precautions. Then we were off! We got to the launch site before anyone else and we got to see the set up process, which was really cool.
The pilot of the balloon was also the business owner, which is way cool in my book. He was very knowledgeable about everything we saw from the air and answered all of our questions.
Up in the air the views were amazing! We could see all around the town and recognize buildings and other places that we’ve been to. Another thing we could see were the balloons from the other companies already landing even though we were the first ones in the air.
When we landed, they were able to break down everything very quickly and get us back for the champagne toast. This was worth every penny, and I love that it’s a local small business!

Mike and his team at Yolo ballooning were just outstanding in all ways. I had multiple moving parts for my proposal to my girlfriend (now fiancé :)) in the hot air balloon. Mike did a tremendous job of communicating and coordinating with a plane pilot who was responsible for additional surprises.
Mike went beyond his duty and did all that he could possibly have to make sure that everything went just perfect and as per plans. He arranged flowers, champagne toast as well as some breakfast before our hot air balloon flight. He was extremely cooperative through the whole setup which I must say wasn’t easy but he was welcoming, easily accessible and tried to incorporate all my requests.
The flight itself was great. Mike and his team were thorough professionals, right from beginning till the end. The decision of the take off location as well as the landing location was carefully chosen on the fly and handled perfectly. There was a personal touch to the entire journey where they explained the mechanism of inflating the balloon as well. Mike was kind enough to take pictures and videos as well using his GoPros which were hanging on the balloon itself.
All in total I couldn’t have asked for anything more from Yolo ballooning. From my experience I would say just go with them without doubts.

Most amazing Birthday Gift EVER! We loved every minute of it! Staff was phenomenal and the views were breathtaking. Definitely an experience of a lifetime! A big Thank You for a birthday that was way ABOVE and beyond! It’s a time we will always remember! We hope to do it again soon.

What a cool experience! Mike was a fabulous pilot and I always felt confident and safe, even while cruising 2000 feet above the ground. I was able to do a flight for my birthday and it was an unforgettable ride! It was amazing to see Yolo farmland and sweeping landscapes from way up high. I would HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who’s ever considered a hot air balloon ride!

Mike and crew were great. My wife and I really enjoyed the experience and cannot wait to fly again with Yolo Ballooning Adventures. Mike really went the extra mile to make our first trip a memorable moment one. Such serene relaxing views of Yolo County.

I can’t wait to take my first ballon ride! Mike is awesome, totally accommodating and easy to talk to!

Had an awesome experience with Mike! Took my girlfriend on a flight for her birthday. She loved it. The views were amazing and it’s hard to describe the experience without actually doing it. Pictures don’t give the views justice.
Mike was a great pilot. He was always one step ahead letting us know about safety, the landmarks, and how the balloon works. The ride went seamlessly from take off to the landing. I would def recommend their services to anyone interested in going on a flight. The prices are great and it’s now intimate then getting thrown into a basket with 12+ people like other ride companies.

I thought I was settling for convenience when I considered taking my very first balloon ride near home rather than making the trek to Napa, where the ads say the «real» experience takes place. Nothing could be further from the truth! Ditto everything previous Unilocalers posted about the supremely personalized adventure, plus the fact our flight path was breathtaking! Beautiful colors and topography… Amazingly enough, Napa companies bring their tours to Dixon/​Winters/​Woodland when weather isn’t ideal in their area. I will definitely book with Mike’s crew again, once-​in-​a-​lifetime experience worth repeating…

I second what the previous reviewer said!
Also, one other thing to consider is the experience you’ll get when you ride with Mike. Some other balloon rides are in HUGE 12 person gondolas. In this case, the experience is more personal. You get to see how it all goes together, and Mike can coach you on how setup, and how things work. It’s a much more personal experience IMO.
I highly recommend this to anyone really. It’s a great experience.

Wow what a great experience! Mike and his team made the trip fun and worry free. All safety precautions were covered very thoroughly before hand which put me completely at ease because I could tell they had done this a million times. The prep for inflating the balloon was fascinating and the take off and landing were as smooth as you could imagine. Being up in the air for an hour with just the wind and a slow crawl above the landscape is serene and I highly recommend anyone at least try it once. Definitely good to take a date on :)