Scott and the group were amazing! I appreciated the information packet, reading gave me all I needed to know to be prepared. And surprisingly hot air balloon flights are quite smooth and easy landing. read more

See all

Great flight and wonderful experience the pilot was warm and the wether was perfect would tell everyone you have to experience it

Scott was great, this was a gift for my graduation. really good experience and it was fun

Do yourself a favor and book a flight NOW It was 100% worth it: beautiful views,​ an experienced, friendly, and professional crew, and unforgettable memories. read more

this was an Incredible experience!! Scott is an exceptional pilot with knowledge and experience enough to make even the squirmiest passenger feel at ease. I think my favorite was maybe watching him negotiate with the woman whose property we had to land on -- you can tell he's been doing this a while! read more

See all

Amazing!! A must do! Scott is so awesome! He has so much experience and was so fun to talk to. We got to help inflate the balloon. The flight was so gorgeous. The landing was so well planned and so smooth. We had the best time! read more

Great experience!!! Captain pilot Scott has 40 years of professional experience and he is in to hot air balloon industry since he was 13. Literally couldn't be better than this! This is a very big balloon with 20 people capacity. We did group bookings long back but had to wait to get good weather conditions which is very important for this. Today was our lucky day. Weather was perfect. They picked us at 6.15 and went to the open field in the shuttle. They were crew of five people , everyone was doing their job professionally. We helped a bit when balloon was inflating. It is an amazing experience to see how a big flat cloth becomes humongous ballon. Scott is very knowledgeable and gave us all technical / scientific info too. So I would recommend this activity with group of teenagers as well. Best part was landing ... I think this was the safest and probably the best landing anyone can hope for. We landed very smoothly on internal road in aviation area. Weather helped and Crew made it so smooth that we didn't feel any jerk, it was smooth like butter . Thanks Scott and Crew for giving us this great experience! read more

See all

This was an amazing experience! Scott & his crew were fabulous. Scott provides a hilarious history lesson throughout the ride. I can't wait to bring my kids back for a ride someday. Couldn't recommend enough. read more

Wine Country Balloons - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

Amazing day!!! What a peaceful and quiet experience. Scott was such a fun pilot and put us at ease. read more

Wine Country Balloons - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

Great experience flying with Scott! He made us feel very comfortable, and we had a great time!

Scott and Wine Country Balloons are simply the best!! Our December balloon ride was so amazing that we decided to have our wedding with Scott as our officiant and to have a private ceremony and balloon ride with him today. We were so honored to get married in the heavens and with Scott. Thank you so much for a wonderful and memorable experience. Phil and Kyndra read more

Wonderful, beautiful experience and wonderful team. Thank you to Scott and his team for giving us an amazing experience read more

Wine Country Balloons - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

See all

I am a wheelchair user and had the MOST incredible experience! The views were fantastic and so peaceful highly recommend

NO ONE SHOULD TRUST THIS BUSINESS OR OWNER, LET ALONE BE IN A BALLOON, IN THE AIR WITH HIM!! DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS PLACE. You will regret it! No service was given and no refund given. This guy advertises a "discounted price" but doesn't tell you it's non refundable. DONT FALL FOR IT!! He then refuses to give you your money back or even talk to you. He puts in comments "this person can their credit for up to 12 months and we'll be happy to give a great experience" like he's doing them a favor after he SCAMMED them! He's a gaslighter and no one you should trust talking to him or being in the air with him! Also if you read other negative reviews he usually cancels due to weather and doesn't refund you, or the experience is trashy or unpleasant. Just take a second to read the bad reviews. You'll be happy you did. BE SMART AND DONT RUIN YOUR OCCASIONS OR FUN DAY WITH THIS COMPANY! I never write bad reviews I'm literally trying to help people read more

amazing experience. wonderful pilot and ground crew. beautiful views and great banter and rapport with extremely knowledgeable pilot. highly recommended! read more

An uplifting experience! Loads of laughter and scenery ... everyone should get a ride. Our guide Scott is incredibly charming and knowledgeable. Don't miss this! read more

They are the lowest rated hot air balloon company in the area for a reason!!! Save yourself the headache and take your money somewhere else. This company sets up their "customers" to take their money and never give a refund, even with the "fully refundable" tickets. After they scam you, they will offer you a transferable certificate for a future flight. The certificate they sent me for my future flight even had another womans name and was 2017!!!!! (my 2 tickets were for men). I bought 2 Refundable tickets. When you book a flight they require you to put 2 dates (Part 1 of Scam). The 1st flight date was canceled due to weather. The 2nd flight date was the following day. After they canceled our 1st flight there was no communication from the company until I reached out to the pilot, Scott, at noon. They did respond until 5:00 that night and the 2nd attempt at a flight was allegedly the following morning at 6am. The only communication that we received was "You are automatically on the list to fly tomorrow".... There was Zero communication about weather or meeting place or probability that the 2nd flight attempt was likely. The pilot, Scott, raves about having over 40 years of ballooning experience. With all that experience you would think the bare minimum would be to be able to communicate to new flyers about the probability of flight or the weather. I would not feel safe going in a balloon with them and I certainly would never "transfer" my flight to someone I know and risk their safety. read more

Wine Country Balloons - here is "my" flight certificate to use on a future flight... Again not my name and was from 2017! - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

Fantastic experience and spectacular views of Sonoma valley! The only way to appreciate wine country (apart from wine tasting)! Scott has been ballooning since age 13 and it shows. read more

See all

Scott is a balloon pilot. I mean "pilot" literally. We were not simply drifting. Scott was always scouting and scanning. What direction are we heading and how fast? Where will this take us? What altitude do we select to catch a different wind direction or speed? And almost all the while answering questions or chatting or letting you just drink in the experience silently if that is what you want. Between throaty blasts of the propane burners, you quietly and smoothly ascend. In no time you are a thousand feet up. I forgot to be scared in about a minute. Early morning is when you go because winds are light. Early morning is also the Golden Hour. The light is warm, the air is often clear, and the shadows are long and crisp. And you get what you get as far as views, but it is not entirely random. Scott chose one of many take-off points available to the company. That point was obviously upwind of our planned destination near the airport. Did we make it? Nope. The wind does what it does. We ended instead in a large field; a light bump bump drift and settle. Landing was fun! Groundlings once again. We were close enough that the bus had us back at the Kaffe Mocha & Grill for a champagne (coffee for me!) toast in about 10 minutes. Our party of three had a nice chat with our 5 amiable companions while eating a good breakfast. Those balloons are huge! I mean, you had to be there... and we were! I recommend the same to you. read more

See all

What a fantastic experience! The family met up with our pilot (Mike) and crew at a coffee shop in Santa Rosa. They drove us to a launch spot based on the morning winds. We helped getting the balloon inflated and then took off! We glided over the valley as the sun rose seeing from coast to mountains. Mike was very experienced and answered all of our questions about ballooning and the Sonoma area. Very serene and pretty. We landed softly near the airport where the crew was waiting to pick us up. What a great experience. Thanks. read more

Best experience ever! An absolute must try when in the area! Scott was very knowledgeable and you can truly tell he loves what he does! read more

Wine Country Balloons - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

Birthday weekend above Sonoma county. Birthday weekend celebrations started with an early wake up call at 5:30 am. We were excited to see the morning sunrise. Meeting location was set for a wine bus pick up at Kaffe Mocha & Grill. We drove to our balloon launch spot and helped set up the hot air balloon. This was our second balloon flight and part of ballooning is appreciating the set up. The views this tour provides allows extensive and spectacular landscapes of the Mountainous Pacific Coast, Russian River, Mighty Redwoods, Geyser Mountains, and most importantly--the beautiful Sonoma county vineyards. The flight is smooth and the height or motion in the hot air balloon -as you travel with gentle air currents-is stunning and feels as if you are drifting through the sky. Nothing like viewing Sonoma County in a hot air balloon. We landed in a local cow pasture that provided a huge landing location with easy access to the road. The wine bus and the crew followed close by and kept watch as we floated through the air. We ended our tour with a champagne toast and lunch at our Kaffe Mocha & Grill. (Lunch not included in cost). Note: book early. Perk: Great service, luxury wine bus transport, and Champagne toast. read more

See all

It was the best flight ever! The crew and helpers were amazing! Beautiful scenery! A flight to remember.

One of the most delightful experiences of our lives! We could not imagine a better pilot and crew to lift our spirits up to the sky and carry us safely and expertly over the glorious Sonoma county wine country. The flight was even more enjoyable than we expected! Special thanks to the Captain whose skill and expertise is exceeded only by his wit and warm personality. Enjoy your day in the sky! read more

Wine Country Balloons - Glorious view of Sonoma county wine country with the shadow of our hot air balloon. - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

See all

Actually, the fact is I paid $199 for the Groupon voucher and $118.40 for that extra transportation fee that you charge your customers :) $199 + $118.40= $317.40 "We've literally done everything we possibly could"...... I really wish you did Mikael. I really wish you did provide us with a marvelous ballooning experience for my 23rd birthday. read more

Wine Country Balloons - Is this the flight confirmation you are talking about? - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

See all

Went on a wonderful tour with Wine Country Balloons this weekend. A great way to spend time to see the beauty of wine country. Captain Scott was awesome and we had an awesome time. We will definitely do this again when we're in the area! read more

If i could give u a zero i would but i can't so i give u a 1. Anyways, mikael clearly has a history of stretching the truth on the how they treat their customers because as i had already said, we had been texting and emailing back and forth about this issue. He literally had scott attach our text conversations onto the dispute file because our credit companies requested proof. It's really weird how you also revealed my flying companion's name because that is my right of privacy. I never stated her name. So how about you guys take some courses on how to function as a proper business instead of wasting time responding to every single review. Why not make use of the feedback before your reputation gets worse... You guys literally would cancel hours before so idk why you like to respond to every single customer review this way but it's clear the problem is you when everyone has the same complaint. By the way it's erica with a c, mikael. Just for more proof, here's an actual email of the FIRST time we had to reschedule and look at that! It's the day of... not two months later like mikael likes to believe. The second picture is the second cancellation. read more

Wine Country Balloons - Proof that scott and mikael are snakes - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

See all

Late Mother's Day Celebration. That was a fantastic experience. Scott is very knowledgable about the area and could let us know about the areas that we flew over. He let us know about what was going on as they set the balloon up and what and how they inflated and got everything set up. Then as I mentioned told us about the areas we flew over and how they figured out where he would try to land read more

Wine country balloons has canceled our flight and does not plan on refunding us. The discounted option is advertised as 25 dollars off which they send you a text afterwards stating no refunds if you choose the discounted option . So the weather controls the flight of the balloons. So if you're from out of town or live in town and are extremely busy, choose the full price option otherwise your out 250 or stuck with having to reschedule and possibly having the same weather obstacle occur once more.There is a lesson learned here for me ( Read the fine print). Just wanted to mention this so others don't get inconvenienced. Balloon rides are a fun experience Ive been on a couple . read more

It was my first time in a hot air balloon and it was an amazing time. If you're looking for a unique experience, this is it. Don't discount the value of the pilot when choosing who to fly with. Scott Van Der Horst, the owner/ operator of Wine Country Balloons, serves as the pilot as well. I don't know that a more knowledgeable man than Scott exists when it comes to ballooning. You'll feel safe and secure with him at the helm as you float over parts of the Napa-Sonoma wine country landscape. Wine Country Balloons! You can't miss. read more

Hot air balloon ride has been on my bucket list for years. After my experience with Scott and crew at Wine Country Balloons, I'm putting it on my list again for a re-do. What an incredible experience! Scott took the time to explain everything about set up, launching, catching the wind currents at different altitudes, how's and why's about everything. Made us feel totally relaxed. I will be back! read more

After getting fogged out multiple times (darn weather!), we finally managed to get in the air with Scott and it was such a pleasure! Scott and his team were so much fun to fly with. We got to witness them set up and inflate the balloon and learn all about the flight process. Once we were up in the air, the wind took us for an incredible journey through the Russian River Valley and Scott shared decades of accumulated knowledge on the area. It was so lovely getting to fly and get to know Scott. He's an absolute delight and we highly recommend Wine Country Balloons for any special occasions! read more

Terrible customer service and responses from this company. Our first flight was cancelled with minimal notice due to weather which is understandable but on the flight that we rebooked we called to confirm the day before and chief pilot Scott was not very helpful and said he would confirm morning of. We leave to arrive at the designated spot and no communication from Scott and then waited in the parking lot for 45 mins waiting to hear from Scott and no responses. Would not book with this Company as they don't seek to treat their customers well read more

Went ballooning recently with a competitor and was reminded about how terrible the experience with this place was. Guy's a dipshit, unprofessional, and unsafe. Stay away. read more

We had a truly fabulous experience on our hot air balloon ride! Our balloon pilot, Scott, was so wonderful and made everyone feel extremely comfortable! He was knowledgeable and friendly, and we felt very safe. Our flight was incredibly fun, and the views over wine country were stunning. Would recommend this company to anyone! We also enjoyed a lovely champagne toast together after our ride was complete. Such a fun morning! Thank you Wine Country Balloons! read more

I have never written a negative review for anyone. As a rule, if I have an issue or a concern with a merchant, I discuss it privately with them. Unfortunately, my attempt to do that with Scott at Wine Country Balloons with met with extremely rude and unhelpful behavior. We had a truly horrible experience. We were charged $1500 and then they cancelled 3 times in a row due to "weather", and then wanted to charge us more money to "reinstate" our flight certificates. I would recommend against booking with Wine Country Balloons. read more

In typical fashion, as in all unfavorable reviews for this particular business, the owner ATTACKS anyone who doesn't put up a five star review. I wish we had read them before booking and losing over $350 in the balloon costs alone. The reason you didn't see a "Jessica H." In your database is the fact that my HUSBAND, who doesn't have Yelp, booked it as a surprise for our anniversary in July. Hard to find more favorable weather in Northern Ca than that. Here's a thought.... Maybe just be sincere, APOLOGIZE and try to make it right for the customer. I VERY RARELY post bad reviews. Only when I feel I've been ripped off as I am 100% sure we were in this instance. You should be ashamed of your actions and trying to attack your dissatisfied customers. A bad review in lieu of the $350+ you profited, still puts you ahead! Quite the scheme! read more

This balloon ride with Scott van der Horst and team was spectacular. Beautiful views. The team provides such care for all participants. Scott is a top notch Pilot in that he assured everyone we would safe and have a blast. Admittedly I was scared about the ride, but Scott's reassuring and confidence of his 50+ years of ballooning and flying, with very calming statements about the risks left me with zero/zilch anxiety after boarding the balloon basket. It was quite surprising as I have a known fear of heights. I highly recommend the experience and encourage everyone to fly with Wine Country Balloons!! They are the best. read more

Wine country Balloons are the best- from the first phone call to the Toast , Scott was the best. Imagine yourself floating like the white feather was in the Forrest Gump movie. I was fun, exciting and an experience of a lifetime. read more

Wine Country Balloons - Hot Air Balloons Near Me - Santa Rosa, California

See all

We were delayed by weather but able to reschedule quickly. Weather cooperated and flight was great. Great landing, great crew, great pilot. Must do experience! read more