Sunrise Balloons — Local services in Temecula

Six of my friends and I took the 4-hour 3-winery bus tour for my 50th birthday in April and we had a blast! Ali and Megan were our tour guides and driver and they were fun and delightful, took great photos of everyone, and the limo bus was awesome. The wineries were very cool and all the winery staff were super nice and informative. One winery had animals for petting and that was a really fun bonus. However... several things could have been better. The text message that went out the morning of the event to remind us where to meet, included a friend of mine who was going to be surprising me by showing up. Even though she was technically in a party by herself and that party's contact person, she'd asked that the wine tour not let me know she was a part of this. And they included her in that day's group text. So I saw that she was being texted and didn't know why. Hence, they kind of ruined the surprise that my other 5 friends were in on. A small detail that could have been avoided. The website says "Special occasion mementos offered (varies from souvenir glass and or cork necklace)!" We did not see or receive or get offered this. I was looking forward to it. Disappointing. The website says "Light appetizers and water are also served aboard." Where were the appetizers on the bus? One of my group, thankfully, had brought snacks for us. The first winery gave us a chunk of bread with brie that was yummy. But that was the only tour or winery food the entire time. I'd called specifically to ask about food at the wineries. I was told the second one would have food vendors. We never saw one or any indication of food. And the last winery had a kitchen (?), but there was never a mention of it. Because we were having such a great time drinking and all getting to know each other, we didn't wander around the wineries looking for food. If that's on us, please tell us when we arrive how and where to get food. We're drinking, so help us out a tiny bit and remind us where to eat. I wish someone had said, "here's the menu" so we could've ordered food to go with all the wine. I was thinking we'd see "vendors" and remember to eat. Out of sight when drinking, out of mind. Needless to say, we didn't eat enough. Three of my friends got sick afterwards and had to either vomit in my car (thank goodness I have a trashcan handy), or go to sleep at the hotel immediately and missed dinner. We were done with the wine tour at 3pm and we lost them before 4pm. I even thought at one point that we might have gotten food or alcohol poisoning. Take my advice - appoint someone in your group to watch out for opportunities to eat and make sure your friends and family do so. Yes, we're all adults and we know we're going to be drinking (and having a marvelous time!), but I wish there'd been a tiny bit of guidance on where the food was at the wineries. We didn't see any or get steered in that direction so we forgot. And realized later when it was too late, "hey, we didn't eat." Definitely a great time, though. Oh, and know that you need to pay your group's tip in cash before the event, before you...

Going on a hot air balloon ride has always been a bucket list item of mine, so we took advantage of the kids being out of school for winter break to finally check this item off! Got a great deal equivalent to GroupOn directly off their website, signed the waiver for everyone, and woke up very early the morning of. Everyone checks in at a Temecula winery, then a party bus (the company also does winery tours) took us to the spot the pilot had picked for liftoff that day. It was extremely cold, which we were not totally prepared for; that was totally our fault though. :-)

Few tips: definitely dress in layers and check the weather forecast; in the frosty weather we went up in, we should have been dressed for snow. They say it is a bit warmer in the basket but it really isn't, not by much. You do have to hop into the basket by swinging your leg over an approx chest/waist-high basket side, so hopefully that and then standing for the duration of the ride isn't too much of a challenge. The interior of the basket is divided up into compartments, so it can get a bit tight depending on how many are in your party. The staff take lots of photos during inflation/deflation and welcome you to take as many of your own as you want, at any time. And lastly, gratuity of minimum $25/pp is really mandatory; for parties of 4+ they charge it right at check-in.

Overall, an incredible experience for not as much as I thought it would cost. Unfortunately we missed the actual sunrise -- we seemed to be running a bit behind other balloon companies as many balloons were already in the air while we were still waiting for ours to inflate -- but it didn't matter, we still got an incredible experience and would...

Myself and 5 other women went on the wine tour for my sisters Bachelorette. The tour itself is fun, but definitely not what is advertised. If you are looking for an informative and classy drinking experience, this is not it. We were shoved onto a party bus with a stripper poke and 19 other strangers. Having others on the bus was no issues, until the other groups became VERY drunk, yelling and twerking on each other. Instead of intervening when the dancing because invasive upon our group, the guide continued to play their song requests, ignoring ours, prompting the behavior to become even worse. It surpassed drunken fun and quickly became uncomfortable and inappropriate.

The wineries themselves are only decent, not bad but not anything to remember. The Second winery is young, but should be removed from this tour, there was not a single wine we were impressed with. The third winery was the best by far, but ruined by dunken guests yelling during the wine tour, which is the only informative portion of this experience. To top this all off, you are forced to pay gratuity up front. A very sly way for the company to ensure you actually tip, because if it was up to you, by the end you wouldn't want to give them another cent.

There are multiple other companies that do tours in Temecula, you can even plan you own tastings at almost every winery. Take it from me unless you are looking for a glorified bar crawl- DO NOT USE...