Compass Balloons — Attraction in Temecula

Our experience with Compass is nothing but extremely satisfying. It was a last-minute plan for us and Compass was able to place us on their balloon. I'm extremely afraid of height but I have done hot air balloons so many times. I honestly encourage folks who are afraid of height to do this and conquer their fear. Of course, Compass is an excellent option to start with. They are affordable and well-trained. I believe the reason why a compass is more affordable than other companies is that we are not being transported in a party bus and are waiting in a winery location so their overhead is lower. I have done with Sunrise Balloon many years ago, but their price is higher, my guess is because of the glamorous party bus and meeting location. It has nothing to do with the balloon experience or safety. Once you are at the destination site and in the air you are sharing the same universe. The scenic, landmark of Temecula is nothing but meticulous. It is extraordinarily stunning! A perfect time to check off your bucket list or do it for a very first-timer. Our pilot is skillful, smart, and knows exactly what he is doing. The only thing I wish they could have done is to tell us a bit about the area of the region we are flying over but having our pilot focus on flying is more important. Compass perhaps should consider doing audio to play so the ride is more knowledgeable and interesting! I thought Compass made everything pretty straightforward, from their booking to confirm the meeting and location time. They are even super patient and nice to accommodate the two couple that was running behind. Still perfectly worth every dime for the experience! Don't hesitate, just do it, people. You are in good hands. Life is too short...

Found this place online. For balancing purposes they will ask for your weight (be honest, people's lives are at stake). We received a confirmation email for with meeting logistics shortly after booking.

Our call time was 6 am in Temecula for a sunrise ride. We arrived at the Starbucks ad there were a couple of guys chatting around a large van and SUV with a balloon basket attached to their vehicles. We checked in and sat in the van and waited for the others to arrive.

Everyone checked in and we went to a winery to use the restroom (no bathrooms in the sky) and watched them release a balloon to determine the direction and speed of the wind.

We drove to a different site and watched them inflate the balloon. No door on the balloon so you have to hop in the balloon. There were 8 passengers, 1 pilot (Ryan), and 1 assistant in our balloon. They installed a metal plate on the top of the balloon so you can't feel the heat in the basket.

Then we were off. Smooth take off; at one point we were moving at 20 MPH, it didn't feel like it but we saw another balloon moving at the same pace and it was pretty fast. Once we broke through that wind layer we were coasting at 1-2 MPH about 5000 feet in the air. The sunrise was beautiful.

We saw many other balloons in the air and random guy came Paragliding around us. It was a beautiful hour long ride. Ryan and the other guy were super friendly and educated us on some of the history of the property we were flying over.

When is was over, Ryan braced us for landing impact and he said it was a smoother landing even though the basket almost tipped over.

While they packed up the balloon they gave us some mimosas and cookies. Then took us back to Starbucks.

Definitely...

Met at the Starbucks in Temecula at 4:30 am (time was moved up from 5 am). The company had emailed us beforehand to let us know the meeting time had changed to the earlier time. This worked out great for us, since we would rather get started early. My husband and I did a private balloon, and it was well worth it. We rode in the company SUV to a local winery to use the restrooms and test the wind direction, and then we headed to the launch site. We were up in the air by 5:15-5:20 am. I felt the crew was very efficient in getting us up quickly. For ladies, I would definitely wear pants (due to having to climb into and out of the basket with the toeholds on the side) and shoes you don’t mind getting dusty/dirty. You will be standing on a dirt field for awhile at the launch site. Ryan was our pilot, and he was awesome. He gave us history of the wine valley and of hot air ballooning. He pointed out places of interest. I loved flying over the grapefruit orchard. There was a lady taking photos of us and our balloon for free, and we accessed the pics later that day on Facebook. Our landing was smooth. It was a beautiful day. Mimosas and snacks were provided after the ride. Our pilot also recommended the Oak Mountain Winery to us, which we visited later in the day. It is actually a cave built into the mountain. We got back to...