Picture This Ballooning - Melbourne

An absolutely amazing experience thanks to Brian and Jason for making this experience unforgettable. And a perfect breakfast at the end to top it off

The provider emailed me with a meeting point and time and wrote that I should call a number the evening before the tour, after 6: 30 p.m. A band would be playing there, whether the flight was taking place, whether there was time for the meeting point, etc. I called there several times, even in the early morning hours, and the band was the same every time. “You should call after 6.30pm”. There was no information whatsoever. I was at the meeting point in the specified hotel lobby at 4 a.m. Neither a guide showed up, nor did anyone answer the phone or respond to my emails. During the morning an email came from the provider saying the flight had to be canceled due to the wind conditions. My ticket would still be valid for 36 months, so I should choose another day. Thank God I booked through a third-party provider through whom I can now get my money back. Otherwise I would have been stuck with €280 because the provider, as you can read here, passes on the risk of failure to the customer. Absolutely disgraceful and cheeky, not even letting them know that the flight was canceled and then not refunding any money.

They offer a very poor customer service. They postponed our flight due to weather conditions
However, when we contacted them for arranging another flight, they have ignored all my emails and calls. They've held our money (more than 20k) without doing anything. Despite a continuous effort of raising our concern, they have done nothing but ignoring us.

My parents booked a flight and was supposedly canceled for bad weather, they’re from WA so chances of them getting back over there to rebook are slim and picture this are refusing a refund. Very similar situation to other people here. Do not book!

Purchased tickets a year in advanced for my anniversary. When time comes around, pilot cancelled flight due to bad weather. We asked for a refund multiple times however company REFUSED FOR A MONTH and told us to reschedule or they will hold funds for 3 years. We had to escalate the dispute via our bank due to refusal to refund. Despite the initial transaction being over a year old, luckily our bank sorted it out. DO NOT buy from this company or through Adrenaline as they will hold onto funds and refuse to refund despite it not being customer’s choice to cancel. Anniversary ruined and almost $1000 being held up for no reason other than greed. 0 stars if I could.

What an amazing experience!
Our first attempt at flying was cancelled due to poor weather but PTB were so helpful in rescheduling our flight.

From the outset the experience was great. We met our pilot Peter and his colleague on the ground, also Peter. The introduction at the Sofitel was warm and friendly and I instantly felt I was in safe hands (I was quite nervous as I am not the best with heights).
On route to our take off destination, we were all briefed about safety and the path we'd be flying etc. We were welcomed to ask questions too.

Once the balloon was up and we were all in, everything was seamless. I didn't even realise we were off the ground.
The flight was incredibly smooth and the views phenomenal. It is so quiet! The first few times he used the gas jet thingies (clearly I'm a novice), we all jumped, but you soon get used to it.
Sadly, our flight had to come to an end and we landed with barely a bump. Then we all chipped in and packed the balloon up before we were taken back to the Sofitel for an amazing breakfast! Pete x 2 stuck around with us for a chat and we learned lots more about balloon flying!

I would not hesitate to fly with PTB again. Their professionalism was amazing. As stated before, I felt safe and comfortable at all times. We highly recommend PTB!

One of the most amazing experiences ever. Everything you could imagine and more. A must do once in a life time kind of thing.

Gifted to me via red balloon. My partner and I shared this experience and absolutely loved it. Not only were the staff great, the experience itself was spectacular. Would definitely use this company again. Great work team!

My daughter and I drifted serenely over Melbourne CBD, carefully guided by Viktor and aided by Peter on the ground. We then finished off with a champagne breakfast at the Sofitel. A fantastic experience and a wonderful way to view the city.

Nic is a greats salesman! A beautiful morning spent with my partner on Valentine’s Day! Would do it again in a heartbeat!

I would not recommend booking a hot air ballooning ride with this company. Poor customer service, sexism, discrimination and aggressive tendencies from the pilot to not only the majority of passengers but the one other staff member they had with them on the ground. There was also no emergency contact given prior to the flight despite a request and misleading information given prior to flight and booking.

We were not told until in the air that we would not be flying over the Melbourne CBD as described and booked. We instead flew at low altitude over the far outer suburbs of Melbourne before landing in a park. We were told this was due to cloud despite seeing a cluster of other balloons with other companies flying in the direction of the CBD at much higher altitudes. This was particularly disappointing considering for under an hour flight you are charged upwards of $900 for two people.

Setup and Packup - at no time during the booking experience or researching on their website does Picture This Ballooning state that it would be the responsibility of the passengers to unpack and re-pack the balloon and basket. To add salt to the wound, having the pilot proceed to be-little some of the passengers as they tried to assist in the forced pickup.

Overall a disappointing morning not linked to Hot Air Ballooning as an experience but directly to this company.

Amazing experience. The pilots were experts and my nerves were gone once we were in the air. Had fantastic views over the city. Company was professional and highly organised. Couldn't recommend them enough!

This was the best experience of my life, from start to finish. Picture This Ballooning provide gold star service service with the most unique way to experience Melbourne. Richard was a sensational pilot and will take care of you ever step of the way. Don’t sleep on this experience, one in a life time opportunity!

Excellent experience in Melbourne to take a hot balloon flight. The pilot Viktor is very professional and keep us safe in the flight. Must try!

It was an amazing experience which we enjoyed a lot. But unfortunately we weren't warned how loud the gas jets are and I think I have sustained permanent hearing damage and I now have really bad tinnitus ever since our flight. The pilot wore ear plugs and I'm disappointed they didn't provide us with ear plugs or recommend ahead of time that we bring our own. Apparently our balloon used older style jets so this may not be a problem in every balloon, but I wish I was warned beforehand. I've always been careful to protect my hearing and am sad that this experience has had this impact on me. I am now having to book in with hearing specialists to see if I can improve things. Aside from this it was a 5 star experience but the potentially permanent damage I've sustained kind of spoiled it for me, hence why I can't give more than 3 stars.

Might be an early start but so worth it! Great experience. Mitch our pilot was awesome and rick our driver was also great. Highly recommend this company.

Mitch from Picture this ballooning was a great host for this experience! He was very enthusiastic which was much appreciated in the early morning. Would 100% recommend this experience and Mitch as a pilot.

Absolute magic. Surfacing above the clouds in a basket held up by flame and fabric was just spectacular.
Mitch was the best pilot ever and we felt so looked after by the whole team. Not to mention the breakfast afterwards was to die for
Couldn’t recommend this experience enough!

City balloon ride with pilot Pete and driver Pete. Great team. Very professional. Told us all we needed to know so we knew what was going to happen and all the safety information. We met at the Sophitel Hotel, departed around 5.30am. Travelled comfortable in a mini bus up to the departure point. Got to see how a balloon is inflated. Soft lift off into the world above. Drifted calmly while enjoying the sunrise coming up. Got to fly past the city and have a soft landing in Fawkner park after an hour of flying. Balloon pack up and then off back to the Sophitel for a delicious champagne buffer breakfast. A wonderful experience and way to celebrate our anniversary. Couldn't recommend it enough. Thanks Pete's for an amazing morning!

Hubby bought this Melbourne sunrise flight for my 50th birthday Sept, 21 with champagne breakfast included afterwards at the Sofitel package deal. We stayed at the Sofitel to make it easier as this is the pickup point for the morning. WOW WOW WOW AMAZING BREATH TAKING & PEACEFUL! Booked for Nov, 21 but due to weather conditions couldn't go so we re-booked for Feb, 22. Our guys were Dom & driver Rick. So professional we were intrigued & asked so many questions & Dom answered with all. Didn't realise they were in contact with Melbourne Airport tower but they are. This experience is well worth doing. So peaceful & quiet up high just floating. No noise, no birds chirping nothing. You get so low to roof tops sometimes it's exciting I loved every minute of it & would do it all again thinking of doing Yarra Valley next time. Thanks guys keep up the good work.