Panorama Balloon Tours

This company gets 0 stars. Purchased Groupon, called three weeks in advance of my wife’s birthday and nobody called me back. Got Groupon involved and still took two full days to contact me. The guy on the phone was rude and very unprofessional. I have requested a refund from Groupon and will take my business somewhere else.

This experience was amazing. Brought my girlfriend for her birthday and it’s scary, nervous at first but truly is a great experience. These guys really go out of their way to make sure your experience is memorable. From the pilot to driver and crew members taking ur camera and capturing perfect pictures. Awesome

I absolutely loved it! My boyfriend brought me for my birthday and although I was a bit nervous at first, it was an amazing experience. The crew and pilot were very friendly. We had a rough landing but I must admit that it was the icing on the cake Once we landed we had mimosas and the pilot shared some of the hot air balloon history.

Horrible customer service over the phone.

Today, around 3:00PM, attempted to get some questions answered by calling the company. The person that answered the phone was very rude throughout the entire comversation. I did not get a single question answered.

I loved it. We did the Del Mar sunset flight. It was beautiful.
I think they are working on their customer service end by means of phone calls. In the beginning there was a little bit of bad customer service but overall I’d give them a ⁴⁄₅ for customer service only on the phone call side. Everything else was a 5 star experience.
We arrived early to the parking meeting spot and waited about 30 minutes for others to arrive (got there at the required time of 2:30 and they have a 30 minute grace period for people to arrive). We signed some waivers, showed our paper groupon and our phone one (bring both like it recommended on the confirmation email, also make sure to bring tip money, which was also recommended on the confirmation email documentation).
It was then a 15 minute van ride to the launch site. It was cool watching them set up when we got there. It looks like a ton of work, and really a huge production. Our tour guide was wonderful. He was very friendly and showed us different aspects of the balloon and explained a lot of the city and beyond. We had one of the clearest days of the year and we could see three islands and TJ, which he said was rare due to the fog of the bay.
After not being able to land at our first spot, we landed shortly after at the next. The crew really knows what they are doing and it’s kind entertaining how the crew chases the balloons around hahaha. Once we landed, it took about 30 minutes for take down. Our pilot told us the hot air balloon pilots prayer and we had a champagne/​cider toast. It was beautiful. Nothing was mentioned as far as a tip, but the pilot and the guys deserve it. I gave what I could. $ 100… it was recommended 20% per person on the price paid. which was close to that but not quite. Just hard for me as a college student and wanting to do a really unique experience. I di what I could ok! /​cry.
A few helpful tips: dress for the weather that is on the ground. The weather is pretty much the same on the ground as it is 3000 ft up (about as high as you get). Maybe a 10 degree cooler feel if anything at all. Bring a light jacket for the early morning or evening. Layers help. The heat from the flame helps though. Dont wear open toed shoes or heels (as directed by the instructions sent in a confirmation email). You land in open fields and it’s easier to get in and out of the basket in flats or tennis shoes. Expect your flight to havw a high chance of being cancelled. I learned from our pilot that even if the sun is shining and the skies are clear, doesn’t mean it is good weather conditions. If winds exceed 10mph, they have to cancel. don’t wanna be swept away in TJ or have a harsh landing now do we?! Our pilot said a lot of their landing/​take off spots in Del Mar are getting built up, so the Del Mar one might be ending soon. Book soon if you want this over their other locations!
Overall, amazing experience. I would go again.

All the reviews here are true, but once (if) you end up flying out it is worth it. Jaime was the person I dealt with for the booking. We communicated the day before and he gave us a location to meet in the morning. The meet up and checking in was very unorganized. They overbooked the ride and they ran out of waiver forms. After about 45 minutes of figuring out the weather situation and the over booking we headed out to a different spot, instead of the original location (Temecula wineries). Once we headed out, our pilot made it a great experience. He was the shuttle driver and the pilot. The ride was very smooth and the views were awesome. Once we landed he served us mimosas and gave a us a toast. Overall, the ride was good.

The only redeeming thing about this company is the pilot, Bill. I wish I could write a separate review for him because he is kind, polite, and genuinely felt bad for us when he had to tell us we wouldn’t be flying. Bill is great — but everything else about this company is horrible.
My boyfriend purchased this for us as a gift for my birthday. We had to call to schedule our ride — the man who you have to schedule your ride with (and speak to in order to confirm the day of the ride) is the most rude person I have ever spoken. I had multiple calls with him trying to confirm my flight and each call, he was more rude than the last. I have no idea why he is in a customer service role.
Day of the flight they had us arrive at 3pm, and drove us away from our cars to the take off spot where we waited for over two hours — with no champagne or chocolate or updates or anything to keep us entertained — until they finally told us we wouldn’t be flying. I am sure this process could be easily improved if they had any sense of customer service.
We didn’t end up flying and we will be demanding a refund.

Okay, after thoroughly reading most reviews on here, I was super skeptical and thought I’d be dealing with less than friendly people. I bought a Groupon and uses it on a brother/​sister date with my little! Here’s how the process goes down:
1. You book your trip
2. They email you paperwork, and highlight pertinent info… when and where to meet, clothes/​shoes to wear, info for your Groupon, and cash for a tip.
3. Follow said directions — call on the day of your flight to check on weather.
My experience was great. Called Jaimie at noon for a 3:30 meeting time. He said to call back at 2 because they weren’t sure I’d weather would allow flight. He called me back at about 1:30 and said we were still meeting, but flight was pending the balloon test.
Everything was perfect. We met at Wells Fargo. It was easy as hell to find the black vans.
Jaimie was matter of fact… far from an a-​hole like most people on here make it sound.
Farrell (sorry if I butchered the spelling!) was a rad pilot! The rest of the crew was amazing. They all worked INCREDIBLY (and I mean PHYSICALLY) hard to ensure that we had a great time.
Jaimie was matter of fact in his approach on payment for us using groupon. It’s a business and he gets paid once the vouchers are deemed. Nobody was pushy about a tip… it was mentioned when we got out of the van.
And seriously, if you don’t tip WELL, you are a dick, because that experience was amazing and the whole crew rocked!

Doing a hot air balloon ride is something that I have often wanted to do and finally today that dream came true. I was excited and anxious at first, but it turned into a peaceful and calm ride over Southern California with a fantastic view of the sunset and of the surrounding area. To Bill our pilot and his ground crew you guys were terrific and made this ride perfect. To Kerri thank you for prompt and professional service over the phone and email and to all at Panorama Balloon Rides you ROCK!!!

DO NOT RIDE WITH THEM!!! Such an upset this morning.
I wish I could give this a 5 star because the experience was great, the crew and pilot (Bill & Dereck) were so helpful and accommodating, but the owner, JAIME (who is present before & after the ride to collect $/​take pictures of any special occasions) is one of the worst business owners I’ve EVER met in my life.
I approached him after the briefing, wondering how many feet above ground we would be reaching that morning. He ignored me the first time, and then after asking him a second time, he said «it was covered in the briefing» — which it wasn’t because truthfully it all depends on the weather… and even that would’ve been an ok answer.
After complaining to my boyfriend, he approached us saying if we were going to keep «bitching and complaining» he would just drive us back to our car.
When taking photos of all of the people celebrating something, he deliberately skipped us and when I told him how rude and unprofessional that was, he said «he didn’t have time for us». I asked him what his name was to make sure I could address this with someone at the end of the trip and he said «Jeff». I knew it was a lie because he hesitated.
We decided to ride anyway because it was my boyfriends 24^th birthday and we’d driven an hour just to get there. After the ride we wanted to reach someone before we left the area– we called the 260 number, that’s listed online thinking there was offices but after realizing the voice on the other side of the phone was ALSO Jaime, I gave up.
Before leaving the parking lot I told him what a terrible experience he’d made this for us and he flicked us off.
I’m just appalled that a business owner would treat their guests that way. I work in the service industry and I’ve never encountered someone like this.
Also, it’s advertised as a sunrise tour and we weren’t up until about 7:10 am… The sun this morning, 9÷12÷15, came up at 6:30 am.
If you’re getting a groupon I suggest you go with the one that’s $ 20 or $ 30 more and save yourself an upset.

Had a great time on my hot air balloon ride today! We had our anniversary we had a smooth ride everyone was so nice and offered to take pictures which was awesome !‘l def going to recommend this to my family and friends take care!

I enjoyed everything about this experience. The staff was hilarious, friendly, very good looking, attentive, entertaining and very Very knowledgeable! The ride itself was a blast, great view and great stories and bullet points from pilot.
We got the Groupon rate and it was fantastic! Great price for amazing service.
A toast with champagne at the end of our flight! :)
A good way to cross out this experience from my bucket list.

So, I am one of the many that purchased a Groupon for this tour and I didn’t read the reviews ahead of time. Going into the experience, I was super worried that I would be hassled about using a groupon, but that’s not the case at all! Every employee we encountered was absolutely wonderful, helpful, energetic, and nice.
We were told to meet at a Wells Fargo parking lot and look for a black van. We got there 30 minutes early just in case, and I’d definitely recommend that. The van was easy to find and the driver was very friendly. Filled out some waivers with a bunch of other couples, then we hopped in the van and headed to our take off site.
After about 20 minutes of testing the location to make sure it was a good spot, the crew started prepping the balloon. There were 3 other balloon companies leaving from the same spot so it was fun to watch the balloons getting prepped and taking off.
Our balloon was HUGE, far bigger than the other 3. There were 16 people total in the balloon, but it could hold 20. Didn’t feel too cramped at all. The flying experience was AMAZING! We were up in the air about 2000 feet for about 50 minutes. Our pilot was fantastic and gave us random fun facts about hot air balloons and Del Mar as we flew.
The landing was a bit rough, but what can you expect? It’s a balloon people! It doesn’t steer like a plane! The owner did come around and ask for a tip, which we were happy to give.
All in all, phenomenal experience and I would recommend this company to anyone!

What an awesome experience to enjoy the Del Mar sunset from breathtaking heights in a hot air balloon. The total flight was only 30 minutes but the views and experience will be remembered forever, five stars !!!

Panorama Balloon Tours gave me one of the most memorable and thrilling experiences of my life. I will start off with recommending this place now or never because we were told the business may end after summer.
The service was beyond friendly and informative on what to expect from beginning to end. We were given direction to meet at a parking lot off Via de la Valle where we met our tour guide and other pairs of people who were going to join us on the ride. At that point we had to sign a liability form then scale our weight for the workers to calibrate the total weight of people with the speed of the winds. Weighing myself was honestly the worst part of the experience ha ha. We waited thirty minutes until our group of 16 took a shuttle deeper into rancho Santa Fe where the hot air balloons were testing the winds. From there we waited another 30 – 60 minutes until we went aboard.
A worker noticed that my boyfriend had a gopro so he let us board first! The basket was actually laying on one side so we laid on our backs while our tour guide blew fire into the hot air balloon. That’s when the basket started to lift upward and as it raised higher and higher, more people would climb into the basket then off we went! It was beautiful.
Landing was rough yet super fun! We hit a small hill and the basket landed on its side while everyone was still on it. Luckily our tour guide warned us on what to expect and gave us directions on what to do if we were to deal with that situation. Supposedly that was the first time it happened in a long time, but I thought that landing was a great part of the experience! After landing, everyone was poured a glass of champagne and toasted to a safe flight. We were also given stories on the very first hot air balloons and were recited a beautiful poem to end off our amazing ride.
Riding on a hot air balloon was one of the best experiences of my life and I highly suggest you experience it once in your lifetime. panorama is a great recommendation!
My boyfriend purchased a groupon for two for a good deal, so check out groupon if you’re considering a beautiful date in the sky.

I had a grat experience with Panorama Balloons! Let me tell you why…
I decided weeks in advance that I wanted to take my fiancé on a balloon ride for his birthday. It was on both of our bucket lists and I figured why not pair it with some wine tasting afterwards. Originally I bought a groupon thru another company (Sunrise Balloons) that offered a balloon ride and one night stay at Tusncany Hills and Resort… not a bad deal. However, after a whole week of calling the Sunrise balloon company, as well as, the Tuscany Hills and resort, leaving voicemails and only hearing automated voicemails (because apparently no one works at these places) I called groupon and got a refund because I’m not the only person this has happened to through the Sunrise company.
So when I called Panorama Balloon Tours and was able to reach someone (Kerri) on my first try, I was very estatic. Panorama Balloon Tours fly out of two locations. The sunrise tour takes off out of Temecula (the one my fiancé and I did) as well as the sunset Tour which departs out of Del Mar. Over the phone Kerri was very polite in answering all of my questions and had us booked two weekends out for our excursion. Within 30 min of getting off the phone with her she had sent a confirmation email and PDF with self-​explanatory instructions leading up to the day of our trip.
For the people complaining in their reviews in regards to forgetting to call the night ahead for weather conditions and confirming, as well as, complaining about no mention of tips… it was clearly in the PDF! Take responsibility for not reading/​preparing beforehand. Generally when I pay over $ 200 for something I make sure to follow directions.
The night before we were scheduled to drive down from LA I called in to confirm and Kerri informed us that the trip was a GO!
When we arrived to the pick up site (the grumpy man that everyone has referenced) made us fill out liability paperwork before taking us to Monte De Oro winery for launch. Turns out that if you try to engage him in conversation he’s really not that grumpy at all.
Our pilot gave us the briefing before we loaded into the basket, and the crew was hustling around getting everything set up… all in all everyone was quite pleasant. Our pilot was quite the comic, as well as very informative throughout the flight as we gracefully floated above the beautiful wineries that offered a breathtaking view. About an 1:15 minutes later we landed in an open field where the crew packed up, and everyone had the opportunity to ask questions over mimosas.
I would definitely recommend the Panorama Balloon Sunrise Tour out of Temecula! Just be sure to know how to read and follow directions and your experience will be smooth sailing :0)

I purchased a Groupon to surprise my boyfriend with. Unfortunately, we were both very unhappy with our flight.
Bill and the younger workers were very nice.
However, I did not have a good experience.
My boyfriend and I decided to only bring our phones, leaving behind my heavy purse and his wallet to avoid the additional weight (since the flight is weight-​based).
I think it was sixteen people in one basket? It was fairly crowded, not any arm space so we got annoyed with the couple next to us who kept extending their arms to take pictures.
It’s called hot-​air balloon for a reason; the flames will be hot.
The view was fairly nice. Unfortunately, we missed our landing spot due to the winds (which is understandable). We had to land elsewhere, in a field full of horse poo.
And when the land owners came out to complain (which Bill explained the situation and apologized for), they mentioned that they had killed two rattle snakes there the previous night o_​_​_​_​O
After getting out of the basket, my boyfriend and I started walking toward where the black van was parked (our ride back). The older man came out to collect our vouchers and asked for a tip. We explained that we didn’t bring anything with us. «Didn’t they tell you to bring a tip on the phone?!» No, they did not… «UNBELIEVABLE!»
He then got into the van and drove to other passengers getting off the balloon. Seriously? You couldn’t take us with you instead of making us walk back… IN HORSE POO?!
He then asked other passengers to meet on the other side of the vehicle, once again leaving us behind – intentionally excluding us.
We had to wait for them to load up, and during this time I was getting bitten by bugs: 7 bug bites and counting.
There was a champagne toast at the end, but my boyfriend and I decided to just drink water instead (which they were kind enough to provide).
I do, however, want to credit the other workers because their jobs seem rather difficult and they are deserving of a tip. But the customer service from that older man was just unacceptable!

Purchased a Groupon for $ 270 for 2 people to fly the Sunset tour.
I’ve tried the Sunrise Tour out of Temecula and I much prefer the Sunset tour for 1 main reason: In order to the the sunrise tour, you need to get there at the crack of dawn! If you’re not already staying in Temecula, that means you’ll need to wake up super early!
For the sunset tour, our party met up at 3pm where we all boarded a van where they drove us to our take off location, which was about 10 min away.
Disclaimer: Any riders over 225 lbs will need to pay an additional $ 50. They WILL weigh you, so don’t even try lying on the forms you sign. :)
The flight started in Rancho Santa Fe which was kinda neat because you got to see how the rich people live. You could peer into their backyards from above and see their nice tennis courts and pools. Bill, our pilot, pointed out homes that belonged to various rich and famous people such as Bill Gates and Phil Michelson.
Tip: Use the toilet before you board the van and bring a bottle of water! I got quite thirsty since I was standing right below the fire that was used to fill the balloon with hot air. They do accept credit cards to pay the addtional $ 50.
The highlight of our trip was seeing 3 paragliders fly right past our balloon.
The flight can last 30 min to over an hour depending on wind conditions. Our flight lasted an hour. I was not bored one bit at all during the flight (which you might think you would be because it’s a slow flight) because I was so intrigued with all that I saw from up above.
After the flight, we got to do a champagne or apple cider toast.
Tip #2: Bring cash to tip the flight crew.

PLAN A, PLAN B, PLAN C etc
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If you consider go with this adventure, beware that you shall be flexible like rubber band. A lot of uncertainty.
Everything is scheduled but could be cancelled due to weather.
1. You will make appointment first. The time for the ride changes based on when the sun sets. This particular tour has sunset tour which is one of the reason I choose this tour. Imagine if I choose sunrise tour then it got cancelled?!
1a. The person who assigned to schedule your appointment is very RUDE which couldn’t answer politely. In short, no customer service skill.
1b. We have to call again on the day of appointment, in case it got cancelled. No point to drive down there from Los Angeles for 2.5 hours if it got cancelled. The person didn’t pick up. We had to keep calling and leave message because we need to know if we really have to drive that far. Finally, he called back when it’s time for us to already start driving from Los Angeles to that meeting point. In short, a lot of uncertainty, even on the DAY.
2. Plan when you arrive there, especially if you’re not local. They will pick you up in front of WELLS FARGO BANK. Our meeting time was 230pm. The van has no marking of company’s name and the driver didn’t have any name sign or anything and just stand silently, looking blank to the sky. We just guessed and had to ask him to know it’s the right van to go to hot Balloon area. The other people also looked dazzled and asking if its the right van. We were waiting 15 minutes for everyone to show up. We found out that the driver is the same person who schedule appointment because he recognized my friend name who keeps calling him!
2a. I would recommend to just take the whole day off for this tour, although the tour itself is only 1 hour, but going to meeting time, preparation time, closing down time, going home time, will take at least half day.
3. When we got to the premise (like 15 minutes ride), the balloon crews just started to put all stuffs on the ground and prepare them. Total is 4 hot balloons. Some celebrating birthday and have banner outside the balloon. Some celebrating engagement etc.
It will take sometime for the balloons to get ready to fly. In the meantime, you could take pictures and get safety briefing, signing your waivers and go to potter potty.
3a. One hot balloons could accommodate up to 11 people, including the tour guide. Everyone got to be standing up, but got their own space to see the panorama.
4. Up to the sky: 5pm. VERY COLD AND COOL. Be sure to wear warm outfits. Everything look like from LEGO LAND. Tiny ranch, tiny pool, tiny horse, tiny houses, tiny forest, tiny golf course. I feel like snooping other people houses, it looks so clear what they’re doing at backyard. VERY BREATHTAKINGLY BEAUTIFUL PANORAMA. Until certain latitude, it will stop and not that cold anymore. Then the tour guide (friendly, professional and knowledgeable) will explain to you the scenery, where is mount baldy, where is big bear, where is the house of famous celebrities etc. Including all technical aspects, e.g. how high we are, what do we use to go up here, etc.
5. Uncertainty where we are going to landed. We ended up close to backyard of someone:550pm. The tour guide said one time they ended up at the sea and forest. The tour company got the van pulling to pick us up.
6. Got cheap champagne when landed. We drank that before getting into the van again: 6pm. Then they drove us back to Wells Fargo bank.
##The panorama is worth a drive and all the hassle.
Beautiful, especially sunset time and perfect for special occasion (engagament, birthday)##
However:
#If you can’t stand to be rescheduled: this is not for you (one person on my hot balloon said she got rescheduled for 4 times)-I’m super lucky for first time scheduling and everything gone smooth.
#If you can’t stand facing the scheduling person attitude: this is not for you.
#If you can’t dedicate 1 day to be flexible with this tour: this is not for you.
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RIDE ON YOUR OWN RISK!