Bagan Premium Balloon Flight with Sparkling Wine Breakfast

A premium flight over Bagan adds comfort to the best-known way of seeing the temples. This Viator listing offers a flight of 45 minutes at sunrise, with drinks before it, a breakfast with sparkling wine after the landing and a pick-up in a converted antique bus. Viator shows it from about US$481 per person, which is 418 euros on the page, and rates it 5.0 from 39 reviews. It is the more expensive version of a flight run by Balloons over Bagan.

The listing describes the morning in three steps. You enjoy hot and cold drinks before the flight, while the crew inflates the balloon, you board and take in the sight of the temples and of the local people below, and, after the landing, you have a breakfast accompanied by sparkling wine before returning to your hotel. The itinerary gives the flight as 45 minutes, and the admission ticket is free.

The pick-up is part of the premium touch. The page says that passengers are picked up at their hotels or guest houses by the operator's converted antique buses between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning, depending on the location of the hotel and those of the other passengers. The pick-up is complimentary, and the drop-off is included. Be ready at the door at the start of the window, since the bus makes several stops.

The view is the same as that of the standard flight, but the experience around it is different. The page promises aerial views of Bagan at sunrise, with the temples and the villages below, and says that every flight is different, since the balloon drifts with the wind. You may fly over villages and see people on their early morning rounds, and temples appear in the distance from every side.

The take-off site changes with the wind and is chosen by the pilot in command on the day, according to the listing. This means that you cannot choose where you take off, and that the route is set by the weather. The pilot's decision comes first, and the listing says clearly that the flight depends on conditions. Accept that, and you will enjoy the flight more.

The rules are strict. The balloon is not wheelchair accessible, and the minimum age is 8 years and 137 centimetres, which is higher than on the standard flight. A passenger weighing more than 125 kilograms, or who needs the space of two people in the basket, must book the extra space at the time of booking and pay a surcharge of 100 percent of the ticket price, or the flight can be refused at the launch site without a refund.

The cancellation terms matter even more at this price. The page states that the experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason, and that if you cancel or ask for a change, the amount you paid will not be refunded. Ask the operator before you pay what happens when a flight is cancelled for weather, and whether you receive another date or a refund in that case.

The price is about twice that of the standard flight from the same operator, which costs about US$240. The difference pays for the breakfast with sparkling wine, the pre-flight drinks and the antique bus. The flight itself lasts the same 45 minutes, so decide whether the extras justify the difference for you, especially as the cancellation terms are the same.

Confirmation is received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability. Balloons in Bagan usually fly in the cooler months, roughly from October to April, so check the operating dates for your trip. Dress in layers for the cool morning and wear shoes that stay on your feet when the basket lands. A hat and sunglasses help after sunrise.

Think about the group. The price is quoted per person, so a couple pays about twice the amount, and the pick-up is by a shared antique bus, so you travel with other passengers to the launch site. Ask the operator how many passengers share a basket, since this is a flight with other travellers and not a private balloon, and ask whether two people can be placed together.

Souvenir photos can be bought, and tips are not included, so take a little cash for the crew. A camera with a good zoom is useful, but keep both hands free during the landing. If you travel as a couple, the quiet of the flight and the sparkling wine make the morning suit a celebration.

Choose this flight if you want a more complete morning, with breakfast and a special pick-up, and if you accept the strict cancellation terms. For a shorter and cheaper outing with the same view, the standard flight is the other choice, and both give the same sight of the temples at dawn.