Hot Air Balloon in Siem Reap, Cambodia

The temples of Angkor look different from above. The way you get up there decides what you see, though. The free flight is the real adventure: a basket under a hot air balloon, 30 to 60 minutes in the air, villages and sugar palms turning into a toy town below. It does not fly over Angkor Wat or any other temple inside the park, because the temples are under UNESCO protection and the airspace above them is off limits. The tethered balloon is the cheaper option, and the only one that shows you Angkor Wat itself. It goes straight up on a mechanical cable a short way west of the moat and hangs there long enough for photos of the towers, Phnom Bakheng and the West Baray.

Prices on this page were checked on 3 November 2026 against siemreap.net, the free-flight listing on GetYourGuide and Anantara's 2025 season release and 2026 resort guidebook (all named under Sources), and converted at Rs 95 to the US dollar. Fares are set in US dollars, and the tethered counter takes cash.

Angkor Balloon vs hot air balloon at a glance

Angkor Balloon (tethered helium ride)

The Angkor Balloon is the big yellow helium balloon you see from the road to Angkor Wat. It sits on Balloon Street, about 1 km west of the temple's west entrance, and Google Maps lists it under that name. The German-made balloon is held by a steel cable. It rises vertically, stays at a set height of about 120 m for 10 to 15 minutes, then winches back down. Up to 30 people fit in the ring-shaped gondola, and it lifts about 30 times a day.

From the top you look across at the five towers of Angkor Wat rather than down on them. Turn around and Phnom Bakheng sits on its hill to the north, with the long rectangle of the West Baray reservoir to the west. On a clear day you can pick out the Tonle Sap lake and the hill of Phnom Krom to the south. Dust in March and April, and smoke from field burning in the same months, can flatten the view, so the ride is sharpest from November to February.

The balloon flies from sunrise to sunset, weather permitting. siemreap.net recommends afternoon flights from November to April and morning flights from May to October, when afternoon storms build. The simplest check is to look at the sky on your way past. If the balloon is up, it is flying.

Free-flight hot air balloon over Bakong and the rice fields

The free flight is a proper hot air balloon, with a burner, a wicker basket and a licensed pilot. Two names dominate in Siem Reap: Cambodia Balloon Adventures, which flies with expatriate pilots and also runs private charters, and Angkor Hot Air Balloon, which most online platforms resell. Anantara Angkor launched a premium version in October 2023 with UK-registered balloons and 35 to 60 minute flights. It is flown with Cambodia Balloon Adventures, takes up to 8 guests per flight and is still on sale for the 2026-27 season, from November to March, with sunset flights only in December and January.

Where you fly depends on the operator's launch field and on the wind that morning. Angkor Hot Air Balloon flights launch in the Roluos area, about 13 km south-east of town, while Cambodia Balloon Adventures flights have passed close to Banteay Samre, with Pre Rup and the barays in view. On the Roluos route you float over the stepped pyramid of Bakong, the brick towers of Lolei, sugar palms, rice fields and stilt-house villages, and land in a farmer's field where the ground crew opens a drink and hands out a flight certificate. The pilots double as guides and point out what you are passing over.

What you actually see: myth vs fact

The morning, door to door

Your driver collects you at about 5 am for the hour's drive to the launch field. You watch the crew inflate the balloon (Cambodia Balloon Adventures serves coffee, tea and croissants while you wait), then take off at about 6:20 to 6:30 am, fly for around 35 minutes and land at about 7:15. The drive back takes 30 minutes, so you are at breakfast by 8 to 8:30 am. The sunset flight runs the same way in reverse, with pickup around 4:15 and take-off at about 5:30 to 5:40 pm. There is no toilet in the basket or at most launch fields, so use the one at your hotel before you leave.

Hot air balloon Siem Reap ticket price in rupees and US$ (2026)

A tethered Angkor Balloon ticket costs US$20 (about Rs 1,900) for an adult. A shared free flight starts at about US$125 (Rs 11,875). Prices below were checked on 3 November 2026.

Pay the tethered balloon in cash at the counter. Free flights booked online are paid by card, and one booked through your hotel or a local agent is usually settled in dollars. The same flight can cost US$30 to 50 more on one platform than another, so compare two before you pay. Ignore any listing that shows a rupee "from" figure in the hundreds. No balloon ride here costs that little.

Should you pay more for a private basket? A shared flight is cheaper and puts you in a basket of up to 25 people. A private flight carries only your family or friends, and couples book it for proposals and anniversaries.

Timings and best time to go

The Angkor Balloon runs daily from sunrise, with the first lift at about 5:15 am, until about 6 pm. Free flights take off twice a day in season, at about 6:20 am and 5:30 pm. Calm, cool air makes the early slot the most reliable. The best window is 5 to 6:30 am or 4:30 to 5:30 pm, when the light is low and the heat has not built.

The free-flight season follows the dry months. December to March is the main season at every operator, some start in late November, and in a dry year flights continue into April and early May (verified traveller reviews on GetYourGuide run to 2 May 2026). For the clearest views, plan your balloon ride between November and February. From June to October, rain and wind ground most free flights, while the tethered balloon keeps going whenever the wind allows. See the best time to visit Siem Reap for month-by-month weather.

How to reach the Angkor Balloon launch site

The tethered balloon is about 7 km north of Pub Street, a 15 to 20 minute tuk-tuk ride. Ask for "Angkor Balloon" or drop the Balloon Street pin into PassApp or Grab. The easiest plan is to stop there on a temple day, since it sits on the road your driver already takes to Angkor Wat. A tuk-tuk hired for the day (about US$15 to 20) waits while you ride.

For a free flight, you do not need to get anywhere. Every operator collects you from your hotel and drops you back, so give the exact hotel name and check the pickup time the evening before. If you're flying into Cambodia for this, our guide on how to reach Siem Reap covers flights and the airport transfer.

Do you need the Angkor Pass for the balloon?

No. Neither balloon needs the Angkor Pass. The Angkor Balloon sells its own ticket at the site and siemreap.net states that no temple pass is required. The balloon stands short of the park's ticket checkpoint, so the ride alone needs no Pass, but you must show one if your driver carries on to the temples. The free flight launches outside the temple park, and flying over Bakong is not a temple visit. Bakong does need the Pass if you want to walk in it afterwards. If you're seeing the temples on the same day, buy the Pass anyway: US$37 (Rs 3,515) for one day, US$62 for three days and US$72 for seven, with children under 12 free with a passport. Our Angkor Wat ticket price guide explains where to buy it.

Is it safe? Weather and flight rules

Yes, if you fly with a licensed operator. Operators in Siem Reap ground flights at the first sign of bad weather. Rain, strong wind, low cloud, thunderstorms and extreme heat all ground a flight. Every free flight starts with a ground briefing on how to stand in the basket and brace for landing. At its 2023 launch, Anantara's balloons were registered with the UK Civil Aviation Authority, insured through Lloyd's of London and flown by pilots with UK, EU or US commercial licences. Drones are not allowed on the flights.

Who can ride

Anyone can ride the tethered balloon, and children under 6 go free. The free flight is stricter. Most listings exclude children under 11, adults over 70, pregnant travellers and anyone with a heart condition, and passengers over 110 kg pay double because they take two places. Check the rules with your operator before you book a family flight.

Is it worth it? Balloon vs helicopter vs Phnom Bakheng sunset

The tethered Angkor Balloon is worth it if you want a view of Angkor Wat from above for under Rs 2,000. The free flight is worth it for the experience of flying, not for temple views. Here is how the four aerial options compare.

One sunset passenger on GetYourGuide this year called the free flight expensive but worth it, and still noted that you are not allowed over Angkor Wat. So book the tethered ride for the temple photo and the free flight for the flying itself.

Hot air balloon Siem Reap tips

• No temple overflights. Do not ask the pilot to fly over Angkor Wat, the Bayon or the other temples of the main Angkor circuit. That airspace is closed, so they cannot. Outlying temples such as Bakong are a different matter, as the next tip explains.

• The wind picks the route. A pilot can only climb or sink to catch a breeze moving another way, so nobody can promise you a particular temple. Depending on the operator's field and the morning's wind, you may drift over Bakong and the Roluos rice fields or pass close to Banteay Samre, with Angkor Wat a speck on the horizon. A flight that heads the "wrong" way is the wind, not a scam.

• Check what the price includes. The standard free flight comes with two-way hotel pickup, water, a cold towel, a drink on landing and a flight certificate. If a cheaper listing leaves out the pickup, it is not the same deal.

• Listen to the landing brief. When the pilot calls the landing, face away from the direction of travel, bend your knees and hold the rope handles. Stay in the basket until the crew tells you to climb out.

• Closed shoes, small bags. Balloons come down in dry, bumpy rice fields, so leave sandals and heels at the hotel. Keep big backpacks and camera bags in the van, because the basket has no room for them.

• Book early in peak season. Free flights run only in the dry season (about December to March), and each field sends up just a balloon or two. From mid-December to January the morning flights sell out, so book a week or more ahead. When you book, give each passenger's weight, your hotel name and your room number. The crew uses the weights to balance the basket and the room number to find you at 5 am.

• Carry small US$ notes. The tethered counter takes cash, and crew tips are not in the price. A few dollars per person for the ground crew is a kind gesture. The 10 to 20% you may read online comes from American balloon companies, not Siem Reap.

• Wear a light layer. Dawn in December and January can be about 20°C, and the wait in the open field before take-off feels cooler still.

• Toilet first, shades for sunset. Use the toilet before pickup, and bring sunglasses and a cap for the sunset flight.

• Shoot wide. Phones on the 0.5× setting or a wide-angle lens fit the basket, the burner flame and the rice fields below into one frame. Only a balloon or two goes up from each field, so do not expect a sky full of them.

• Leave the drone at the hotel. Drones are not allowed on the flights, and flying one at Angkor needs APSARA permission.

• Confirm the pickup the evening before. Check the forecast and message the operator on WhatsApp to confirm your pickup time. If the wind is too strong, the call can come at pickup time, so keep your phone on and save the operator's number.

• Split the two rides. Ride the tethered balloon at the end of a temple day and keep the free flight for a morning with no temples, so you are not up at 4:30 twice.

Adding the balloon to a Siem Reap trip from India

IndiGo flies direct from Kolkata to Siem Reap, and Indian passport holders can apply for a Cambodian e-visa online before travel (see our Cambodia visa for Indians guide). A balloon fits best on day 2 or 3 of a 3 nights 4 days trip. Take the free flight at dawn, sleep for two hours, then spend the afternoon at the Roluos temples. Or ride the tethered balloon late in the afternoon, straight after Angkor Wat. Our 3 nights 4 days Angkor Wat tour and other Siem Reap tour packages can include either ride, and agents can pair the flight with a Khmer lunch on request.

The balloon is one of 30 things to do in Siem Reap, from Phare, the Cambodian Circus, to a boat trip out to a floating village. Comparing it with a ride closer to home? Our list of the best places in India for a hot air balloon ride covers nine options, from Rajasthan and Maharashtra to Goa and Manali.

Sources: siemreap.net "Angkor Balloon" (prices, height, no Pass required); free-flight listing on GetYourGuide, provider Passion Indochina (route, slots, age and weight rules, reviews to May 2026); Minor Hotels / Anantara Angkor press releases, October 2023 and October 2025, and the Anantara Angkor guidebook, September 2026 (premium flight); DiscoveryDMC on Cambodia Balloon Adventures; Cambo Tours (balloon location and frequency); Angkor Enterprise (Angkor Pass).

Edited by TravelTriangle