[Family Travel]The Taitung Hot Air Balloon Festival Has Begun – A Complete Guide to the Event

Planning a family trip? Look here!The 2017 Taitung Hot Air Balloon Festival schedule is out!June 30 to August 6, and the light show concert times and Q&A have just been updated!

Because many netizens have asked, Mom Niu has compiled the following information:
1. During non-hot air balloon tethering hours, there will be no balloons hovering in the sky.
2. Even during the morning and evening time slots, weather conditions such as wind can affect visibility, so you might not see the balloons. (It’s said that the morning session has a higher chance of balloons taking off.)
3. To get a better view of the hot air balloons, sit on the side of the hill.
4. The grass is often very wet in the morning due to dew—bring a picnic mat and try not to stand while watching to avoid blocking the view for others behind you.
(Recommended reading:)

Event inquiry hotline: 0905-959865
FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/balloontaiwan/
Official event website: http://balloontaiwan.taitung.gov.tw/

The tethered hot air balloon experience allows visitors to enjoy a taste of high-altitude adventure by having the balloon fixed to the ground via ropes. Details are as follows:

A:July 1 to August 6
Morning session: 5:30 AM – 7:30 AM | Ticket sales start at 5:00 AM
Evening session: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Ticket sales start at 4:00 PM
Experience times may be postponed or the event canceled due to unstable weather. Any changes will be announced on the FB page and the official website.

The July 1 morning session is the inaugural free flight, therefore no tethered experience will be available.
The August 6 afternoon tethered hot air balloon session, in conjunction with the closing light show, is expected to end at 6:00 PM.

A:NT$500 per person. (No distinction between adults and children; children must be at least 110 cm tall.)

A:Tickets are sold on-site only, with each session’s tickets available only for that day and time. Please note that due to weather sensitivity, purchased tickets may not guarantee a flight.

A:Tickets can be purchased at the Luye Gaotai ticket booth upon arrival—you can start queuing as soon as you get there.

A:5–7 minutes

A:Each hot air balloon can carry up to 200 kg (including the pilot), with adjustments made on-site based on actual passenger weight. (Usually limited to 3–4 people.)

A:
1. Each person may purchase a maximum of 2 tickets.
2. Boarding is by ticket number in sequence, and attendees will be called by number and guided to board by staff.

A:In case of unforeseen circumstances such as weather issues, final decisions will be made and announced on-site by the organizers. Full refunds will be issued, but tickets are only valid for the specific date and session and cannot be used for other sessions. Refunds will not be given for personal reasons.

A:
1. No age limit, but participants must be at least 110 cm tall. (This is due to the height of the basket.)
2. Children under elementary school age must be accompanied by an adult family member to ride.
3. As hot air balloons may sway when encountering unstable air currents during ascent or descent, and the basket itself is quite high, entering or exiting the basket can also pose risks. Therefore, pregnant women are not allowed to ride hot air balloons.
4. Individuals who are feeling unwell or have health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma, or acrophobia—ailments that can be aggravated by altitude—are advised not to ride for safety reasons.
5. Please leave pets on the ground near the hot air balloon.
6. During the ride, due to limited space in the basket, please hand over any items other than your camera (such as large backpacks) to staff for temporary safekeeping.
7. Please pay attention to the announcements from the event speakers at all times.
8. Please queue up and board in the order guided by the on-site staff. Do not attempt to board the hot air balloon without staff arrangement.
9. Once the balloon has lifted off the ground, if passengers request to stop the experience midway, refunds will not be issued regardless of the duration of the flight.
10. This activity is highly weather-dependent. The organizing team cannot guarantee that visitors will be able to ride on the scheduled day. We apologize for any inconvenience. Announcements regarding event cancellations or suspensions will be posted at the event site, on the official website, and on the hot air balloon’s Facebook fan page.

A: The process of using ropes to secure a hot air balloon for fixed-altitude ascent and descent is called tethering.

A: The availability of tethered ride tickets is not fixed daily and depends on the weather conditions on the day. When weather permits, usually two hundred tickets are made available for purchase first, followed by two hundred standby tickets.

If all two hundred ticket holders have ridden and weather continues to allow, standby ticket holders may also be allowed to purchase tickets. However, in unstable weather conditions, rides may be canceled temporarily, and the organizers cannot guarantee that those who have purchased tickets will definitely be able to ride.

A
1. You may drive yourself (search “LuYe Gaotai,” “Lao Wang Coffee Shop,” or “Hot Air Balloon Festival” on GOOGLE).
2. You may take a train to Luye Railway Station, then transfer to a shuttle bus: the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle’s Longitudinal Valley Luye Line to Luye Gaotai.

A: Please contact “Sky Rainbow Aviation” at http://www.skyrainbow.com.tw/
Reservation hotline: 089-552233
Reservation hotline hours: 8:30–12:00 / 13:30–17:00

Other details are being updated continuously. First, take a look at the 2016 hot air balloon records below.

Mommy Niu managed to get train tickets to Taitung this year Up!(They’re super, super hard to get!) Finally, she can go to Taitung to see the hot air balloons—so happy!! A dream come true, and little Niu Niu is super excited too!

The design of the balloons changes every day!! Mommy Niu saw an octopus, Noah’s Ark, a fish tank, a rocket, and a rooster this time—super lucky!! There were already crowds on the grass before dawn.

It started with five hot air balloons.

Then they began inflating the shaped balloons.

Seeing the octopus, Noah’s Ark, fish tank, rocket, and rooster slowly rise into the sky felt so lucky!! We heard that only five balloons went up the day before due to wind, but we got to see ten.

The shaped balloons slowly drifted toward the valley. How much does it cost to ride a hot air balloon? Flying out costs NT$9,000, tethered rides at the same spot are NT$500, and just watching is priceless. (Parking fee: NT$150)

Finally, a dream came true, and my heart is so touched. Niu Niu kept saying “wow!” I recommend that anyone who hasn’t seen hot air balloons in Taitung should definitely find a chance to do so in their lifetime!

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