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Location & Directions Beethoven’s Air over farm fileds (left) Passengers enjoy the view (right) We fly our hot air balloons in the Redlands area south of Miami. Travel time from greater Miami and the Beaches to the meeting point is approximately 30-40 minutes. Travel time from the Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach area is approximately 45-60 minutes. Traffic early in the morning should not be a factor. The preferred travel route to the meeting point is the Florida Turnpike. Alternate routes are US 1, Hwy 826 and Hwy 836 for those coming from Miami Beach or points east. ALL FLIGHTS ARE AT SUNRISE MEETING TIME 6:00 AM Directions to meeting point
13475 SW 131 St. Miami, FL 33186 You may want to copy, paste and print the directions below. You can click on the address or hotel link above for a map. If you need to stay in Miami the night before your balloon ride, we exclusively recommend the Holiday Inn Express Kendall. The Holiday Inn Express Kendall is close to shops, restaurants and entertainment. Please be sure to tell them that you’re our customer and receive a special rate. If you need to make a reservation at the Holiday Inn Express Kendall their phone number is 786 837 2100. Please do not call the hotel for balloon ride information. Florida Turnpike- Take the Florida Turnpike to exit 19(SW 120th Street). Turn at the bottom of the exit ramp on to SW 120 Street and proceed West. Turn left onto SW 137th Avenue. Proceed South on 137th Avenue to SW 131st Street. The street sign for SW 131st Street is not well marked, so look for the Mercantile Bank which is on the corner. Turn left onto SW 131st Street and look for the Holiday Inn Express on the left. Proceed to the rear of the hotel parking lot and park your vehicle. Look for Miami Balloon Rides representative in rear parking area. US 1 Take US Hwy 1 to SW 152 Street. Proceed West on 152nd Street to SW 137th Avenue. Turn right on SW 137th Avenue. Proceed North on SW 137th Ave to SW 131 Street. Make right on SW 131 Street.The Holiday Inn Express is located on left. Proceed to the rear of the hotel parking lot and park your vehicle. Look for Miami Balloon Rides representative in rear parking area Hwy 826 Take Hwy 826 south, follow signs for toll road. Exit at Killian Pkwy.Turn left at the light onto SW 104th St. Turn left at SW 137th Ave. Turn left at SW 131st St. Look for the Holiday Inn Express ahead on your left. Proceed to the rear of the hotel parking lot and park your vehicle. Look for Miami Balloon Rides representative in rear parking area Hwy 836 Take Hwy 836 west. Once you pass the Miami International Airport (on right) look for HWY 826 south (exit on left side) or proceed west to the Florida Turnpike. Use Turnpike or HWY 826 directions above. Your vehicle will remain at the meeting point parking lot. You will be taken back to your vehicle after the post flight celebration. Lost ? Please call us at (305) 860-5830 or (305) 496-1297 so that we can help you find your way :)) PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION On the morning of the flight your pilot will launch a helium PIBAL (pilot balloon) to confirm wind direction and speed. Once flight direction is determined, we will proceed to a launch location that coincides with the observed wind direction. Launch location varies according to wind direction, wind speed and general weather conditions for the particular day. Travel time to the selected launch site can vary from 5 minutes to 25 minutes depending on which launch site we proceed to. All flights are weather dependent. Strong winds on the surface and/or aloft, rain, low clouds and persistent fog can cause a flight to be delayed or canceled. Please plan on being with us for at least 3 to 3 1/2 hours the day of your balloon ride. We reserve the right to cancel any flight if safety is ever in question and/or the weather conditions are deemed unfavorable by the pilot. It is important to schedule a balloon flight with a back-up date in mind just in case weather conditions on the scheduled date are unfavorable for balloon flying. We will contact passengers on the evening before the flight between 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM and the morning of the flight between 4:30 AM- 5:00 AM to inform then of their flight status and ensure that they have directions to the meeting point. Please try to provide us with at least two (2) phone numbers were we can contact you. We do not schedule PM flights as weather conditions in South Florida rarely allow ballooning in the afternoon. Out of town pilots & crew We gladly welcome out of town balloonists and crew that are visiting or relocating to South Florida. If you’re considering flying your balloon down here, please be sure to contact us and we would gladly brief you on the flying area. Remember you are flying between the ocean and the everglades!! We also welcome new crew members and aspiring balloon pilots wishing to join us in a ballooning adventure. As a crew member you learn how to set up, inflate and launch the balloons. You will also experience the thrill of the "chase" to the landing site, the recovery and pack-up followed by the traditional post-flight celebration. We compensate our crew with money or exchange for balloon rides. Ideally we would like potential crew members to be at least18 years of age with a valid driver’s license, however, younger crew members are welcome as long as they have written parental permission. One word of caution, ballooning is for early risers. The ballooning experience will be well worth the early wake up! Please call us with any questions at (305) 860-5830 or (305) 496-1297 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Balloon flights and tethers are weather dependent. All flights are early morning.Your safety and enjoyment are our top priorities. Restrictions may apply. Policies, procedures and pricing subject to change without notice. |
