One of the most magically memorable of the Serengeti experiences, a balloon safari allows you to drift in silence above the splendor of the plains. Awakened by an early morning cup of tea, you’ll be driven to the balloon take-off point. There, you’ll meet your fully qualified balloon pilot and watch as the team inflates the enormous rainbow-colored balloon.

As dawn breaks and the balloon slowly rights itself, you’ll be helped into the wicker basket. Then the sandbags are cast off and the balloon rises majestically into the cool of the morning air and floats in whichever direction the winds of the morning take you. You may dip down to visit the hippo pools of the Grumeti River, or float just above the tree-tops to enjoy a bird's-eye view of the wildlife theater as it is enacted below you.

After a 45-minute flight, your balloon will descend to the plains, where the ground crew will greet you with a glass of chilled champagne. Then you’ll be treated to a full English breakfast, which is traditionally cooked on the burners of the balloon. After breakfast, enjoy a leisurely game drive back to the lodge.

Enhance your African safari tour by floating above it all as you embark on the balloon ride of a lifetime. This one-hour flight, starting early in the morning, will give you a bird’s-eye view of the best east Africa has to offer, in the magnificent setting of the Great Rift Valley just as the sun begins the rise. A champagne breakfast in the bush after you land adds to the buzz you’ll get from the early morning air, and the sense of serenity that comes from drifting silently above one of the world’s most beautiful wildernesses. A morning game drive back to your lodge offers an excellent opportunity for wildlife viewing, as early morning is the ideal time to see wild animals on the plains.