Albuquerque's International Balloon Fiesta

I’m not sure why, but something that has been on my bucket list for a while was Albuquerque’s International Balloon Fiesta. It is the world’s largest hot air balloon festival where over 700 hot air balloons come for the week long fest. This fest generates the bulk of the revenue for New Mexico and hundreds of thousands of people visit during the event.

This was my first time in New Mexico. I got there on a Thursday and the first day of the fest wasn’t until Saturday so I was able to do some exploring during my trip. The first day I was there, I visited Old Town Albuquerque. It was a charming little town with beautiful architecture. There were tons of shops and street vendors selling handmade items.

Old Town Albuquerque San Felipe de Neri Church

Some of our family friends who have been to New Mexico told us there was nothing to do in Albuquerque and that we should make our way to Santa Fe. There’s even a train that will take you there from Albuquerque for $9! So we headed there for the day. And honestly… I wasn’t impressed. Santa Fe was too tourist-y for me. So we took the train back in hopes of getting to see the sunset from the tram back in Albuquerque. Unfortunately, the line to get on the tram was over an hour long, so we had to view the sunset from the visitors center.

Santa Fe, New Mexico Sandia Peak Tram

Now for the Albuquerque’s International Balloon Fiesta, you need to choose AM or PM tickets. I chose the PM because of this thing called a Glowdeo. So we didn’t have to be at the shuttles until 3PM. Since the rest of the group arrived, we went back to Old Town so they could see it, too. When the time came, we got in the lines to take the shuttles (school buses) to the event. It was incredibly organized and we were there in no time.

The balloons were spectacular. So many colors and shapes. ALl of them lighting up in unison to put on a beautiful show. However, they were all on the ground instead of in the air. We all decided we wanted to see the Mass Ascension so even though we were leaving Sunday afternoon, we purchased tickets for Sunday morning to see the balloons in the air. Back in the security line at 4:30AM to see the balloons go up at sunrise.

What we witnessed was something I couldn’t explain if I tried and I would recommend it to everyone. There’s something about hundreds going up at once that makes it feel like magic. I’m thankful I was able to share the experience with my family and cross another adventure off my bucket list.