Tour Description

For the past 42 years, Albuquerque, New Mexico has painted her skies with hundreds of balloons as they lift off the ground and change the landscape of the skies with phenomenal colors and shapes. These graceful giants are sensational during the early morning lift-off or the glorious glow of night balloons. The large balloon park, (think 54 football fields smashed together) leaves balloon enthusiasts of all levels awestruck from the wonder of balloon flight. These magical days are world renowned as “Spirit of the Winds.” Come and be a part of it! What a unique brag book of photos you’ll have returning from this whirlwind trip.

Day 1:

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Lodging: Drury Inn & Suites

Heading out for a day of travel takes us across the landscape of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma with our final destination for the day being Amarillo, Texas. And you don’t have to drive a mile of it! This is truly a relaxing way of travel where all of the details are cared for, so you can enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Day 2:

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Lodging: Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Our morning travels pay off big as we arrive in Santa Fe, New Mexico, inviting a step-on tour guide escorting us through our nation’s oldest capitol city. It also houses the oldest public building in our nation, The Palace of the Governors boasts the only round capitol building in the nation. This tour offers old world charm with a vibe of contemporary Santa Fe is notorious for. Our afternoon arrival at the elegant 300 year-old hacienda, the renowned Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza is sure to be a hotel stay to remember. Our dinner is hosted by none other than a local favorite and best-ranked, Tomasita’s Restaurant. Here we can sample classic northern New Mexican cuisine in this well-established, 40 year-old owned family restaurant.

Day 3:

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Lodging: Hampton Inn & Suites

Meals: Breakfast

As we say good-bye to Santa Fe, we say hello to Albuquerque, with a step-on tour guide introducing us to our host city. We will meet the Sandia Mountains to the east and the Rio Grande River flowing through the city. An afternoon of free time allows you to discover quirky Albuquerque and have loads of fun. Tomorrow anticipation of experiencing the hot air balloons up close and personal is a reality!

Day 4:

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Lodging: Hampton Inn & Suites

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

You cannot come close to imagining this visual treat – the Special Shape Rodeo. A highly anticipated event in which larger than life items such as fire hydrants, space rockets and castles all in the form of hot air balloons are seen lifting above the New Mexico landscape . Visualize owls, whales, frogs and others in a balloon zoo taking to the sky before your very eyes. Even Elvis has been spied flying high! You imagine it, and you can anticipate seeing it in balloon form. This unique balloon launch is known for causing major traffic jams as faces turn skyward during the magnificent spectator intensive involvement. The early rise and shine for attending this balloon launch is a must. After this very enjoyable morning together, we will soar to grand heights of our own, with a visit to Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway. It features a 2.7 mile birds-eye view of the majestic deep canyons and breathtaking terrain in the Sandia Mountain range which lines the eastern sky of Albuquerque. An observation deck gives a panoramic view of the Rio Grande Valley. Plan on free time to hike, explore and shop where it is 20 degrees cooler than the city temperatures. Lunch will be taken in at the High Finance Restaurant at the top of Sandia Peak. A few hours of rest can be had at the hotel in the afternoon. Then we are off again to the festive and unforgettable Special Shapes Glowdeo a specially designed Special Shape Rodeo. The Glowdeo is a dazzling evening event enhancing the creative airs of balloons.

Day 5:

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Lodging: Hampton Inn & Suites

Meals: Breakfast

Rise and shine on time because you will not want to miss this extraordinary morning! Today is Mass Ascension, when all 750 balloons launch at Fiesta Park. Imagine this glorious celebration, reserve your trip and experience up close and personal this amazing event. Did we mention Fiesta Park allows you to wander the balloons and speak to the drivers and crew? This is indeed a trip full of surprise. Since the first balloon flights in 1783, there have been many feats recorded in the story of balloon flight. Hot air and gas balloons have been used for adventure, scientific experiments, arts, warfare, espionage and the exploration of space. Visiting the exhibits at the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum help us see and understand how all this happened. Staying in New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment, we would be remiss if we didn’t expose you to the Gateway to the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico. The heritage, history, culture and current day life of Pueblo people are discovered at the fascinating Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, featuring a 10,000 square foot museum with permanent and changing exhibits. Here, the Harvest Café features Native American Cuisine. We will spend a couple of hours appreciating the Pueblo people before a respite at the hotel.

Then, we round up to attend the Night Magic Glow. You’ll want to take a flashlight as we explore the many static balloon displays in Fiesta Park. As an added benefit, you won’t have to remember where you parked your car because Making Memories will take care of you.

Day 6:

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Lodging: Holiday Inn Express

Menu: Breakfast

Make sure your camera has fresh batteries as we visit Fiesta Park for our final time on this trip. The Farewell Mass Ascension of balloons will fill the sky and the memory card on your camera as you click away. This early morning balloon lift against the desert sky will give you a memory of a lifetime. After all, how many people do you know who have experienced this unique time? Time will travel quickly as we finish our time in Albuquerque, load the coach and begin the drive back home, where we will make Elk City, OK our overnight location.

Day 7:

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Expecting to travel just over 2000 miles for this once in a lifetime excursion will bring us back to our beginning point when we launched out for our balloon sight-seeing extraordinaire! Don’t expect to keep all those memories to yourself. We will have some time to decompress from our high-flying experience over the past week as we gain momentum back to home base.