Our top pick95 reviews
5 hCairns: Hot Air Balloon Flight with Transfers
★ 4.9 · 95 reviews
- 5h, above the Atherton Tablelands
- Hotel pickup included
- Bestseller
- Free cancellation
$310
Check availability→ 
Cairns hot air balloon
A Cairns hot air balloon flight offers Atherton Tablelands views from above. We compare 13 flights from $310, with free cancellation, and the top option is rated 4.9 from 95 reviews. Book it for bird's-eye-view photos above the rainforest-covered hills of the Atherton Tablelands.
balloon fare
Balloon flight$310
Today's lowest balloon fare across all 13 tours
Average rating
All 13 tours46
4,300 verified reviews across 13 tours
Time in the air
Shortest to longest4–5h
Shortest: Scenic Hot Air Balloon
Longest: Hot Air Balloon Flight
Free cancellation
Reserve now, pay later
Verified reviews
Secure payment
Instant confirmation
Mobile voucher
Everything you can book here
Hot air balloon rides Cairns, and the days around them
Thirteen listings from one city: two of them balloons, eleven of them reef, rainforest and island days. The hot air balloon Cairns morning is $310 with hotel transfers; the Port Douglas ride is $313.
1,046 reviewsFull day
10 hCairns: Waterfall Tour with Lunch
★ 4.7 · 1 046 reviews
- 10h
- Hotel pickup included
- Bestseller
- Free cancellation
$118
Check availability→ 
886 reviewsIsland day
6.5 - 7.5 hCairns: Fitzroy Island Ferry + Optional Lunch & Activities
★ 4.4 · 886 reviews
- 6.5 - 7.5h
- Rainforest trails
- Picnic lunch box
- Free cancellation
256 reviewsFerry only
6.5 - 7.5 hCairns: Fitzroy Island Ferry
★ 4.4 · 256 reviews
- 6.5 - 7.5h
- One way ferry
- Return ferry
- Free cancellation
Lowest price here188 reviews
30 min - 1 hCairns: Guided Jet Ski Tour 30 or 60 min
★ 4.7 · 188 reviews
- 30min - 1h, a jet ski ride
- Small group
- Cheapest here
- Free cancellation
425 reviewsEvening
2.5 hCairns: Spirit of Cairns Dinner Cruise
★ 4.5 · 425 reviews
- 2.5h, along Trinity Inlet
- Sights and sounds
- Meal included
- Free cancellation
$101
Check availability→ 
173 reviewsDinner included
2 hCairns: Night at the Aquarium Guided Tour & 2 Course Dinner
★ 4.7 · 173 reviews
- 2h
- Wheelchair accessible
- Meal included
- Free cancellation
$106
Check availability→ 
201 reviewsDay into night
8 hFrom Cairns: Rainforest, Platypus & Nocturnal Wildlife Tour
★ 4.8 · 201 reviews
- 8h, like the platypus
- Hotel pickup included
- Likely to sell out
- Free cancellation
$153
Check availability→ 
216 reviewsLongest day here
11 hFrom Cairns: Chillagoe Caves and Outback Full-Day Tour
★ 4.6 · 216 reviews
- 11h, birdlife and wildlife
- Limestone caves
- Longest tour here
- Free cancellation
$166
Check availability→ 
229 reviewsRated 4.9
5.5 hCairns: Behana Gorge Rainforest Canyoning Tour
★ 4.9 · 229 reviews
- 5.5h, through Behana Gorge
- Hotel pickup included
- Slides and cliff jumps
- Free cancellation
$184
Check availability→ 
404 reviewsPontoon day
7.5 hCairns: Outer Great Barrier Reef Pontoon with Activities
★ 4.5 · 404 reviews
- 7.5h, from a multi-level pontoon
- Glass bottom boat tour
- Wheelchair accessible
- Free cancellation
$198
Check availability→ 
158 reviewsSand cay
8.5 hCairns: Michaelmas Cay & Great Barrier Reef Full-Day Snorkel
★ 4.7 · 158 reviews
- 8.5h, aboard Ocean Spirit
- Meal included
- Must book at least 3h in advance
- Free cancellation
$200
Check availability→ 
23 reviewsFrom Port Douglas
4 hPort Douglas: Scenic Hot Air Balloon Ride
★ 5 · 23 reviews
- 4h, above the Atherton Tablelands
- Glass of sparkling wine or juice
- Bestseller
- Free cancellation
$313
Check availability→ Two questions
Which balloon flight is yours?
Two balloon flights leave for the Atherton Tablelands, and the rest of this page is what you do instead. Tell us where you wake up, or what you would rather spend the morning on, and we will point at one.
See it before you pay for it
What the Tablelands look like from a balloon
Booking a hot air balloon in Cairns means a pickup in town and a launch field out on the Atherton Tablelands. These four frames are that morning, in order: the burner in the dark, the envelope filling, the climb, and the shadow running over the fields.
The burner, before light
The envelope stands lit in the dark, long before the first light.
The launch field
Crew, trailers and two envelopes filling on open ground at first light.
Out of the basket
Your own envelope overhead, other balloons already up, the sun just over the ridge.
The shadow below
Your own shadow crossing cut fields and hay bales on the Tablelands.
Side by side
Two balloon flights, and the day below them
Three dollars separate the two flights; the evidence behind them is what differs. The waterfall day is here because it crosses the same plateau by road, for people who want the Tablelands without the pre-dawn alarm.
Swipe the table sideways →
| Port Douglas: Scenic Hot Air Balloon Ride | TOP PICKCairns: Hot Air Balloon Flight with Transfers | Cairns: Waterfall Tour with Lunch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per person | $313 | $310 | $118 |
| Total time out | 4 hours | 5 hours | 10 hours |
| Leaves from | Port Douglas | Cairns | Cairns |
| What you are buying | A balloon flight | A balloon flight | A road day with lunch |
| Where it goes | Atherton Tablelands | Atherton Tablelands | Atherton Tablelands |
| Named in the listing | Sparkling wine or juice after landing | Hotel transfers | Lunch |
| Rating | 5 · 23 reviews | 4.9 · 95 reviews | 4.7 · 1,046 reviews |
| Best for | Staying in Port Douglas | The more reviewed of the two flights | The plateau without a pre-dawn start |
| Check dates | Book this one→ | Check dates |
TOP PICK
Cairns: Hot Air Balloon Flight with Transfers
$310- Total time out
- 5 hours
- Leaves from
- Cairns
- What you are buying
- A balloon flight
- Where it goes
- Atherton Tablelands
- Named in the listing
- Hotel transfers
- Rating
- 4.9 · 95 reviews
- Best for
- The more reviewed of the two flights
Free cancellation up to 24 h · Reserve now, pay later
Port Douglas: Scenic Hot Air Balloon Ride
$313- Total time out
- 4 hours
- Leaves from
- Port Douglas
- What you are buying
- A balloon flight
- Where it goes
- Atherton Tablelands
- Named in the listing
- Sparkling wine or juice after landing
- Rating
- 5 · 23 reviews
- Best for
- Staying in Port Douglas
Cairns: Waterfall Tour with Lunch
$118- Total time out
- 10 hours
- Leaves from
- Cairns
- What you are buying
- A road day with lunch
- Where it goes
- Atherton Tablelands
- Named in the listing
- Lunch
- Rating
- 4.7 · 1,046 reviews
- Best for
- The plateau without a pre-dawn start
Verdict
Start with the Cairns flight
Two balloon bookings, three dollars apart, and both fly over the same plateau. The difference is the evidence: 95 reviews at 4.9 for the Cairns flight, 23 at 5.0 for Port Douglas. Pick Port Douglas if you are staying there — the transfer is the real reason to choose between them.
Check dates and availability→Before you book
The balloons fly over the Tablelands
Neither flight goes over Cairns, over Port Douglas or over the Great Barrier Reef. Both listings describe the same place: the Atherton Tablelands, the farmed plateau inland from the coast, reached by road before dawn. The five hours and four hours in the listings are the whole outing, transfer included — how long the balloon itself is up is not stated anywhere, and nobody should promise you a number.
Two-minute check
Which balloon morning fits your trip?
Balloons go up at first light, which decides where you need to be sleeping the night before. Answer three questions and find out which of the two flights your trip actually allows.
Where are you staying?Both flights collect you, but from different towns
How early can you be ready?Both flights are built around first light
What do you want from the morning?This is the one that picks your booking
Answer the three questions above
You’ll get the one that fits your answers, and the thing about it that catches people out.
What the numbers say
4,300 reviews across 13 bookings on this page
Ratings are the operators’ own figures on GetYourGuide, shown as published. Only 118 of these reviews sit on the two hot air balloon rides near Cairns — the rest belong to the days below them.
4.6
★★★★★
Based on 4,300
verified reviews
5 ★79%
4 ★15%
3 ★4%
2 ★1%
1 ★1%
All 13 Cairns and Port Douglas bookings on this page, rated on GetYourGuide.
Read all 4,300→🎐
Balloon flight from Cairns
From $310 · 95 reviews
★★★★★
The flight with the deeper record behind it
Five hours door to door with transfers in the title, floating above the rainforest-covered hills of the Atherton Tablelands. Rated 4.9 across 95 reviews — against 23 reviews for the other flight, that is the only real difference between them.
🎐
Balloon flight from Port Douglas
From $313 · 23 reviews
★★★★★
Same plateau, a different pickup town
Four hours out of Port Douglas, above the same Atherton Tablelands, with a glass of sparkling wine or juice afterwards. It carries a 5.0, but that sits on 23 reviews, so read it next to the 95 reviews behind the Cairns flight.
🚶
Waterfall day on the Tablelands
From $118 · 1,046 reviews
★★★★★
The waterfalls, without leaving the ground
A full day out of Cairns through the waterfalls and rainforests of North Queensland, with lunch named in the title. At $118 it is a third of the flight, and 1,046 reviews stand behind its 4.7.
🌌
Rainforest by day and night
From $153 · 201 reviews
★★★★★
The plateau after dark
Eight hours in a small group looking for platypus, tree kangaroos and forest dragons, then the nocturnal round once the rainforest wakes up. These are tours that go looking: the listing promises the search, not the animal.
💧
Canyoning at Behana Gorge
From $184 · 229 reviews
★★★★★
Slides, jumps and an abseil
Five and a half hours of rainforest canyoning in Behana Gorge, in small groups, with all the gear and an age range the operator puts at 8 to 80. Rated 4.9 across 229 reviews.
Small group · gear supplied
🐋
Michaelmas Cay snorkel day
From $200 · 158 reviews
★★★★☆
The other half of a Cairns week
Eight and a half hours out of Cairns on a catamaran to Michaelmas Cay on the Great Barrier Reef. It loses a star here only because it is a whole day and a long way from a balloon basket, not because of its 4.7.
Rated 4.7 across 158 reviews
What it really costs
Two flights, three dollars apart
Two bookings cover this plateau and they are three dollars apart. What separates them is the town the transfer leaves from and how long the whole morning takes. Every figure below is the operator’s own, from the listing you book on.
Swipe sideways →
| What you book | Price | What that buys | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balloon flight from Cairns | $310 | A five-hour morning, hotel transfers both ways | Free cancellation |
| Balloon flight from Port Douglas | $313 | A four-hour morning, a glass of sparkling wine or juice after | Free cancellation |
| The same plateau by road | $118 | Ten hours of waterfalls and rainforest, on the ground | Check the listing |
Costs the listing doesn’t show you
- The fare is per person and it is a from price: $310 is the lowest the Cairns morning is shown at, and the date you pick can move it.
- The quoted hours are the whole outing: five from Cairns, four from Port Douglas, pickup to drop-off. Neither listing says how long the balloon itself is up.
- Two bookings leave from two towns. Check which one your transfer starts in before you pay, because the cheaper morning is the one that collects you in Cairns.
- The flying is over the Atherton Tablelands, inland of the coast. If you came wanting the Great Barrier Reef from the air, this is not that booking.
What is genuinely included
- Return transfers on the Cairns booking — they are in the listing’s own name
- A glass of sparkling wine or juice after the Port Douglas landing
- The flight over the rainforest-covered hills of the Atherton Tablelands
- Free cancellation, so holding a date costs you nothing to change
- A mobile voucher — nothing to print before you go
The honest answer
Is the balloon morning worth it?
$310 is a lot for a morning, and the part no listing answers is how long the balloon is up. What you can check is where it flies, what the fare covers, and how many people have been.
What makes it worth it
- You float over the rainforest-covered hills of the Atherton Tablelands, which roads only cross
- Transfers are in the Cairns fare, so you are not driving inland yourself
- 95 reviews at 4.9 on the Cairns flight, against 23 on the other
- The operator’s own words for it are peace and serenity
- Free cancellation, so a date can be held before the trip is fixed
Keep in mind
- $310 per person buys a morning, and the time in the air is unpublished
- Balloons go up on the wind; no listing promises your date will fly
- The Port Douglas ride shows 5.0, but on 23 reviews
- You do not fly over the Great Barrier Reef — the plateau is inland
- Two bookings, two towns: one collects in Cairns, the other in Port Douglas
The morning, hour by hour
Pickup to drop-off
Hold the date, not the hour
Both listings sell a morning rather than a flight time. Free cancellation means you can hold a date now and let the rest of the trip settle around it.
The transfer collects you
The Cairns booking carries transfers in its own name; the Port Douglas one starts in Port Douglas. The five hours and the four hours both begin here.
Off the coast and up
The balloons fly over the Atherton Tablelands, the rainforest-covered hills west of the coast. The road up there is part of the quoted hours, not an extra.
The flight itself
The Cairns listing is sold as a sunrise flight. How many minutes a balloon stays up is published by neither operator, so plan around the whole outing instead.
Port Douglas pours a glass
The Port Douglas listing finishes with sparkling wine or juice. The Cairns listing says nothing about what follows the landing, so expect only the transfer back.
Five hours, or four
That is the figure to build the rest of the day on — door to door, not time in the air. Both mornings leave the afternoon free.
Best time of day
Balloons go up at first light
Both bookings start before dawn, which is the whole reason the morning is long: the Cairns flight is five hours door to door and the Port Douglas one four, and the transfer is counted inside those hours. Neither listing says how long the balloon itself is up, so book the flight as a morning rather than as a number of minutes in the air. Either way you are back in town with the afternoon free, which is where the reef days, the waterfall day and the rainforest nights on this page fit.
From the air
What you actually see up there
Farmland, in squares
A plateau of crops and pasture, laid out in squares.
Low over the water
Balloons drift where the wind takes them, wetlands included.
Two baskets, one morning
More than one balloon goes up, and you see the others from your own.
Rainforest and road
Rainforest runs up to the farmland, cut by the road you came in on.
What it's like
A morning over the Tablelands, not over Cairns
Most people who search for a balloon here picture themselves over the city, with the reef somewhere off to the right. That is not what either booking sells. The balloons fly over the Atherton Tablelands, the plateau that sits inland and west of the coast, and the first thing the morning involves is driving away from the water.
There are exactly two bookings. One leaves Cairns at $310 and runs five hours; one leaves Port Douglas at $313 and runs four. Three dollars apart, an hour apart in length, and the real choice between them is which town you are sleeping in.
The numbers under them are not the same, though. The Cairns morning carries 95 reviews at 4.9. The Port Douglas one shows a 5.0, which reads better until you see it rests on 23. Both are small numbers on a page where a single reef day carries over a thousand.
The hours quoted are the whole outing, pickup to drop-off, and that is the most useful thing to understand before booking. Five hours out of Cairns is not five hours in a balloon. How long the envelope is actually up is something neither listing publishes, and this page is not going to invent a number for it.
What the Cairns listing does say is sunrise, and that it floats above rainforest-covered hills. The Port Douglas one names the same plateau and adds a glass of sparkling wine or juice once you are back on the ground. That is the whole of the published detail, and it is less than most people expect to find.
Wind is the part nobody can sell you. A balloon goes where the air goes, which is why the free cancellation on both bookings is worth more here than it would be on a bus tour. Hold a date early, keep a second morning in reserve, and the decision costs you nothing if the air does not cooperate.
The plateau underneath is not only a view. The same Tablelands carry the waterfall country and the rainforest that the day tours out of Cairns spend ten and eight hours in. People with two mornings often do one of each: the plateau from above, then the plateau from the road.
So the shape that works is simple. Decide which town collects you, book the flight for the first morning you are in it rather than the last, and treat the quoted hours as the whole of that morning. If it flies, the afternoon is still yours; if it does not, the road up is still there.
While you're here
What the rest of the plateau is for
The balloons cover the Atherton Tablelands in a morning. These three cover the same plateau from the ground, and they are what people book on the days the wind has other ideas.
Practical
Plan the morning
Four things decide how this goes: which of the two bookings collects you, what the fare actually covers, how early you hold the date, and what the plateau offers on a morning the wind does not allow.
The Cairns morning
$310 per person, five hours door to door, transfers in the listing’s own name. 95 reviews at 4.9.
The Port Douglas morning
$313 per person, four hours, and a glass of sparkling wine or juice after the landing. 23 reviews at 5.0.
What separates them
Three dollars, one hour of outing, and the town the transfer leaves from. Both fly over the same plateau.
The fare
Per person, and shown as a from price. The date you choose can move it, so check it before you commit.
Free cancellation
Both bookings cancel free, which is what makes holding a date early the cheap move here.
Reserve now, pay later
You can hold a morning without paying today, useful while the rest of the trip is still moving.
Instant confirmation
The booking is confirmed when you make it, so there is no waiting on an operator to reply.
Mobile voucher
Nothing to print. Screenshot it the night before if you are unsure of signal on the drive.
Five hours, or four
The quoted hours run pickup to drop-off. They are not time in the air, and the two are a long way apart.
Time in the balloon
Not published by either operator. Anyone quoting you a figure in minutes is quoting something the listings do not say.
Sunrise
The Cairns listing is sold as a sunrise flight. That is what sets the pickup, and it sets how early the alarm goes.
After the landing
Port Douglas pours sparkling wine or juice. The Cairns listing says nothing about what happens once you are down.
The Atherton Tablelands
A plateau inland and west of the coast: rainforest-covered hills rather than city, ocean or outer reef.
Not over the coast
Neither booking flies over Cairns, over the ocean or over the Great Barrier Reef. The morning goes the other way.
Two pickup towns
Cairns for one booking, Port Douglas for the other. Book the one that matches where you are sleeping.
The same plateau by road
The waterfall day and the night rainforest tour both work the Tablelands, at ten and eight hours.
Best time
When to book the morning
The balloons are sold year round and the wind decides the day, not the month. What changes across the year is how busy the plateau is and how far ahead the mornings go.
May – Jul
The dry months
North Queensland’s dry season opens and the Tablelands day tours fill alongside the flights. Hold a morning as soon as your dates are firm; cancelling costs nothing.
Aug – Oct
Still dry, still busy
The back half of the dry season, and the stretch where the two balloon bookings compete with every reef boat for the same early starts.
Nov – Jan
Into the wet
The wet half of the year in North Queensland. Flights are still sold, the wind still decides, and free cancellation is doing more work than usual.
Feb – Apr
The quiet end
The wet season tails off. This is the easiest stretch of the year to get a morning at short notice, and the waterfall circuit is at its quietest.
Worth knowing
Six things the listings don't say
01
The balloons do not fly over Cairns. The field is the Atherton Tablelands, inland and west, and the morning starts by driving away from the coast.
02
The quoted hours are the whole outing. Five from Cairns, four from Port Douglas, pickup to drop-off. How long the balloon is up is published nowhere.
03
Two listings, two towns. The $310 morning collects in Cairns, the $313 one in Port Douglas. Book the one that matches your bed.
04
5.0 reads better than 4.9 until you reach the second number: 23 reviews against 95. Both are small, and the larger one is the Cairns flight.
05
Wind decides, not the forecast you read the night before. Free cancellation is the part of this booking that earns its place.
06
The plateau has a ground version. The waterfall day and the night rainforest tour run the same Tablelands, at ten and eight hours.
Round out the trip
Booked alongside
Island day
Cairns: Fitzroy Island Ferry + Optional Lunch & Activities
6.5–7.5 hours · ★ 4.4 (886)
$73View On the reef
Cairns: Outer Great Barrier Reef Pontoon with Activities
7.5 hours · ★ 4.5 (404)
$198View Cay and reef
Cairns: Michaelmas Cay & Great Barrier Reef Full-Day Snorkel
8.5 hours · ★ 4.7 (158)
$200ViewGo deeper
More on balloons over the Atherton Tablelands
Common questions
Balloon flights over the Tablelands, answered
How much is a balloon flight here?
Two bookings. The Cairns flight is $310 per person for a five-hour morning with transfers; the Port Douglas one is $313 for four hours, with a glass of sparkling wine or juice after the landing. Both are from prices, so the date you pick can move them.
Where does a hot air balloon Cairns Australia flight go?
Over the Atherton Tablelands, the plateau inland and west of the coast. Both listings describe the same ground: rainforest-covered hills. Neither flies over the city, over the ocean or over the Great Barrier Reef, so if an aerial view of the water is what you want, this is not the booking.
How long are you actually in the air?
Neither operator publishes it. What is published is the length of the whole outing: five hours from Cairns, four from Port Douglas, measured pickup to drop-off. Anyone quoting you a number of minutes is quoting something that is not in either listing.
Which of the two flights should I book?
Start with the town. One collects in Cairns, the other in Port Douglas, and the transfer is the difference that will actually shape your morning. On numbers, the Cairns flight carries 95 reviews at 4.9 and the Port Douglas one 23 at 5.0.
What happens if the wind stops the flight?
Both bookings carry free cancellation, so changing your own mind is simple. What the operator does on a morning that cannot fly is set out in the listing you book on, and it is worth reading before you choose the last day of your trip for this.
Is there a way to see the Tablelands without flying?
Yes, and it is the cheaper half of this page. The waterfall day runs ten hours from Cairns at $118; the rainforest and nocturnal tour runs eight at $153 and goes looking for the platypus and the tree kangaroos. Neither needs the wind.
Do the balloons fly over the Great Barrier Reef?
No. The reef is off the coast and the balloons fly inland, over the Atherton Tablelands. The reef trips on this page are boats: a pontoon day at $198 and a Michaelmas Cay snorkel at $200, both leaving from Cairns.
No account needed
A Cairns balloon morning, planned
One PDF: which of the two flights to book, what the five-hour morning is made of, and what to do with the afternoon you get back. Built from the same listings and the same live prices as this page.
- Both balloon bookings side by side, with prices, ratings and review counts
- Where the balloons fly, and how the morning splits between road and air
- What to pair with the afternoon: reef, waterfalls or rainforest
- Cancellation rules as the listings state them, and how far ahead to book
Check your inbox
The plan is on its way. If it isn't there in a minute, look in Promotions.
Why trust this page
How we put this together
Checked, not guessed
Prices, durations, ratings and review counts come from the live listings and update with the page. Where a listing says nothing, this page says nothing.
How we pick
Both balloon flights bookable near Cairns are on this page, and so are the reef, rainforest and island days beside them. Nobody pays to be featured.
Small numbers, said out loud
The Port Douglas ride rates 5.0, but on 23 reviews; the Cairns flight rates 4.9 on 95. The count stands beside every rating so you can weigh it.
Where the balloons actually fly
Both listings describe the Atherton Tablelands, the farmed plateau inland from the coast — not Cairns itself and not the reef. We say so rather than let the photographs imply it.
The answer
Book the Cairns flight
It is the more reviewed of the two balloon bookings — 4.9 from 95 reviews, against 5.0 from 23 for Port Douglas — and at $310 it is also the cheaper. Five hours from pickup to drop-off, over the Atherton Tablelands.
Check dates and availability→ Free cancellation up to 24 hours · Reserve now, pay later