Odds are, even if you’ve never been and are not an RVer, you’ve heard of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. In its 47th year in 2018, it takes place each October. What started with a few balloons in a mall parking lot is now an international event, bringing over 500 balloonists and a million spectators.

Attending the Fiesta was on my bucket list, for sure, and my friend Marsha joined me from Seattle. Here are some tips and tricks we gleaned from the experience.

1. Set Up Camp At The Field

It’s hard to imagine any event more RV-friendly than Balloon Fiesta. Thousands of motorhomes descend on Balloon Fiesta Park, for good reason. It couldn’t be easier or less stressful to step out of your rig and directly through the entry gates onto the field, especially for those 6:00 a.m. Dawn Patrols.

If you camp elsewhere and drive to Balloon Fiesta, be prepared for traffic, detours, parking fees, and lots of walking. On opening day on the first Saturday, people waited over two hours to get from the freeway offramp to the park, which is only a couple of miles.

RV camps are set up in various areas around the field, at differing price points, some with easier access than others. We stayed in the VIP West parking lot, directly next to the balloon museum, a very short walk to the entry gates. We arrived a day early to avoid the traffic and consternation and paid $45. $100 per day thereafter included dry camping, two admission tickets ($10 per person per event, and on average there are two events per day), and Toad parking ($15 per day). Less expensive options do not include admission, and are far enough away from the field that a shuttle is provided. A couple of pricey areas included water and electricity, but they were out of my league. (For the dry campers, $25 pump outs are available, and so is water, at a dollar a gallon.)

2. Plan Well In Advance

Reservations for Balloon Fiesta open nine days after the closing of the prior year’s event. In January I foolishly requested reservations for October and was summarily rejected; the waiting list was already 500 rigs long. This brings me to my third tip.

3. Consider Group Rallies

(Before and after the five rows of Airstreams arrived)

Just about every RV group on the planet rallies at the Balloon Fiesta. When I could not get a reservation on my own in January, I began searching out my RV memberships for a rally opportunity. I found it with the Newmar Kountry Klub, a group for Newmar owners. They had 20 spaces reserved for the first half of Fiesta, and reservations opened April 1.

Sure, rallies are more expensive than striking out on your own, but I was in dire straits; Nellie and I will not be in the west for the next two years, so 2018 was our year to make it happen.

(A balloonist talks to our group and demonstrates firing up the burner)

4. Stay For The Entire Fiesta If You Can

You might be wondering who would want to look at hot air balloons for almost two weeks straight. You might be thinking it would be cost prohibitive to stay for the whole time. Upon hearing that events are canceled due to weather, you might be asking yourself, “How much could it rain in Albuquerque?” But trust me, if you can, book the entire thing.

Given its location, Albuquerque is well-suited for hot air ballooning. The lower altitude of the river valley to the west and higher altitude of the mountain range to the east create the legendary “Albuquerque Box,” in which gentle winds blow in a box pattern, sometimes leading balloons right back to where they started. While rain cancellations do occur, the main reason balloonists do not go up is wind – too much of it, or not enough. Almost every day at least one event was canceled due to weather. If you stay the entire time you may be able to experience each event at least once.

5. If You Cannot Stay For The Entire Event, Try To Include Special Shapes

Our rally was for the first five days of Fiesta; we arrived on Friday and departed on Wednesday. Events focusing on special shapes started on Thursday!

Sure, some of the specially-shaped balloons were at events earlier that week, but it’s pretty spectacular to see over 100 balloons in nontraditional shapes all together at the same time. I parked Nellie at a nearby Albuquerque RV park and returned for the Special Shapes Glowdeo, celebrating its 30th year this year.

6. Download The App

While there is certainly room for improvement, especially timely push notifications about weather cancellations, the Balloon Fiesta app is useful. It includes a directory of all the balloons and balloonists, a map of vendors and concessions, and the current weather.

7. Outfit Yourself

Our Balloon Fiesta uniform consisted of layered clothing, (including a hooded, waterproof jacket); lanyard for displaying passes; flashlight for those early morning glows; water bottle; backpack with small collapsible stools (the few benches and picnic tables at the park are commandeered quickly);

and comfortable walking shoes we were prepared to throw away at the end of the event due to freshly paved asphalt and wet grass.

8. Be Respectful

As a liability lawyer, I amazed that spectators are allowed on the field, so close to fire and flammable gases and trucks backing trailers and ropes laying on the ground, then up in the air, especially in the dark.

When you’re out there, don’t ruin it for everybody. Don’t walk on the balloons. Don’t walk under or around ropes, especially as the balloon is about to stand upright. And crimine, don’t smoke! I can’t tell you how many times I heard balloonists and staff frantically yell at smokers to put them out. Morons.

9. Make Friends

In the old days balloon crews handed out enamel pins of their balloons as mementos. A little bit of that still goes on, especially for the kids, but most pins are purchased now. The crews still hand out colorful business cards, which people collect. Don’t be shy – chat up a balloonist. They love talking about their balloons, answering questions, and allowing you to take pictures inside the balloon as it inflates.

Maybe it’s because the Balloon Fiesta is sponsored by Canon, but they claim it is the most photographed event in the United States. We enjoyed sending our photos to the balloonists, which was easy to do with the cards, and the photo directory on the app and in the printed Fiesta booklet.

10. Take Advantage Of First Friday

If you happen to be at Balloon Fiesta Park on the first Friday of the month, admission to the Balloon Museum, normally $10, is free.

11. Do Some Sightseeing

(Drinks at Apothecary at the Hotel Parq Central with Lynne & Jerry on a free evening. Lynne reads the blog and is a faithful commenter, and we finally ended up at the same rally in Albuquerque! Follow her at curvyroads.info)

Some days, they are only morning events. Other days, events are canceled due to weather. Take those opportunities to explore Albuquerque. When you leave Balloon Fiesta Park, be prepared for traffic detours where the left turn is demonized, and just go with the flow; those Albuquerque PD officers really know what they’re doing, and they move people quickly out of the area.

12. Schedule A Balloon Ride … Or Not

Riding in a hot air balloon is on my bucket list, and I thought surely I would check it off at the Balloon Fiesta. As fate would have it, that did not occur, because I waited too long to make a reservation. In retrospect, having now been on the field, I’m glad it worked out that way. As you can imagine, hot air balloon rides are priced at a premium during the Fiesta. People are packed into the baskets like sardines. While I’m sure it would be very cool to watch everything from the air, I preferred being down where the action is. I’ll take a hot air balloon ride somewhere else, when things are calmer and less crowded. Only you can decide what works for you.

After all the preparation and anticipation, I can’t believe Balloon Fiesta is over! Whatever your plans, I hope you have at least as much fun as we did!