Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta with Kids

The Albuquerque International Fiesta is an annual festival held in Albuquerque, New Mexico for nine days every October. This festival is labeled the largest balloon festival in the world, which of course brings guests from all over the world to witness the sky filled with beautiful hot air balloons. Each of the days are filled with special events from balloon competitions, special shape rodeo, chainsaw carving, a balloon discovery center sponsored by big name companies, after glow fireworks for night balloon events, along with glow in the dark balloons at night, and dawn patrol for early morning balloon events. There really are so many events you could attend multiple days and enjoy something new each time!

Although the mass ascension days where you can see hundreds of hot air balloons fill the sky are typically held on the weekend, I opted to have me and Laila visit on one of the weekday early morning events in order to be a part of a smaller crowd size. I wasn’t sure if that meant we wouldn’t be able to see a sky full of balloons, but boy was I wrong! I was so happy to see Laila’s eyes light up with pure joy looking at what seemed like endless balloons ascending in the sky. I can only imagine what the mass ascensions look like!

There are a couple of different price points to meet everyone’s pockets, starting with general admission at only $10.00 a ticket for those 13 and older (anyone younger than this is free…Umm yes please)! General admission includes entry to the event space where you can bring lawn chairs to sit and watch or try to get one of the seats on random benches available or just stand and watch the beautiful scenery. Food and drinks along with souvenirs are available for purchase on the event grounds. Park and ride tickets are available for additional small fees because the lots definitely get crowded quickly. There are also two more expensive ticket options to choose from. The middle-priced ticket (the option I selected for me and Laila) is labeled the Chaser’s Club ticket at $45.00 a person with children under 6 gaining free entry. This ticket option includes admission, guaranteed seating in a private open-air patio, and a full breakfast spread and beverages including hot coco and coffee. The most expensive option is labeled as the Gondola Club tickets priced at $110.00 per adult, $55.00 per child aged 4-12, and children 3 and under can enter free of charge. For these hefty prices you have access to a private area away from crowds with a private seat, privately catered food, courtesy shuttles, private restrooms, and local entertainment. You’re able to venture back and forth between the private space of the Gondola club and the open crowds experiencing the balloon ascension up close and personal. Overall, I would select the middle-priced ticket again, I was comfortable able to leave our things in the private area and walk around with Laila to see the balloons then walk back to the space when she wanted to sit and rest.

We arrived at the event space before the sun started to rise and although it was super early, we were both in good spirits and excited about the day’s events to come. I suggest you take a ride sharing service to the event, so you don’t have to waste time trying to find parking. I took the time to print our tickets at the hotel, so we were able to bypass the line of people buying tickets the day of and ventured into the event space to find the Chaser’s Club. We passed so many concession stands while walking and they all look like they had great food options at reasonable prices. Since our food was included in my ticket option, I didn’t try any of them out, but if you buy a general admission ticket you will have plenty of food and beverage options. Once we found our space, we settled down to eat and drink then went walked off our patio to experience all of the pilots and their teams start to inflate their balloons. Seeing all of balloons get cleared for takeoff and actually fill the sky was so mesmerizing and something me and Laila will always remember. 

This is such a special event to attend with kids. I’d absolutely come back here with Laila to experience a different event. If you’re interested in planning a domestic trip in the U.S. I’d totally recommend this as an option!