"550quid"
Thats a scarey price mate, I think I would want a bit more than just a balloon flight for that sort of cash.
I think thats more than wifey and I paid for a 3 day safari on its own, but it really depends on exactly what they give you for your money. If its exclusive to you and you get the royalty treatment (champagne breakfast etc )and a dvd of your trip, then maybe quite worth it, however if you are going to be taken up 12 to a basket like Egypt then thats a different matter.
In Luxor you get good value at @£40 for half hours flight or so. Years ago it was £150 but competition brought the prices down to what it is now.
Perhaps there is only 1 company offering the service and they can just pluck a price from the air and know that every day at least 1 customer will pay

Gaz

I think that is part of my problem, I am used to paying about £40 for an hours flight in Egypt, I am not sure if it is an exclusive flight for the 2 of us or as in Egypt it is a shared flight with others.

I don't think I could justify spending that on an hours flight lovely as it would be

Hi mate I had a little free time this morning and I,ve done a bit of checking on the ballooning in Kenya.
It seems that they all offer only @ a 1hr flight and they usually take between 12 and 16 passengers same as your Egyptian experience .
I didn,t find anyone offering exclusive flights at all, but same as Egypt in the early morning meet and a coffee before safety talk and take off.
You do get to have a champagne breakfast with most of the Kenyan flights though, 1 mentioned a full English breakfast.
Hardly a Royal experience ay?
However,
A; you may never get the chance to do again
B; you would see the animals etc from a very different perspective
C; money is for spending... its what you work for.

I think I would not book it from home, but wait until i,m there and find a company to book with (not a guy called Max who has an office in his pocket ) then pay for it in dollars cash that I brought with me specifically for that reason.

Gaz

Thanks Gaz, similar to what I have found which still doesn't sound a good price, mind you that might be the Scottish part of me

Mrs Kiltie say's we should do it, I intend to wait until we get out there and go and visit a couple of companies with actual premises not a beach.

I think as you say US $ is a good choice with the current exchange rate, have to try haggling the price down.

Thanks again
Graham

I'm off to Kenya in October - I was appalled by the cost of the balloon flights relative to the rest of the holiday costs - as untidytdi says you can get a 2 night/3 day safari for that!!
We have decided its just too much money - looking at some of the posts on other forums some of our US friends think nothing of paying $10,000 per person for a safari - suspect thats why the balloon flights come so expensive!

some of our US friends think nothing of paying $10,000 per person for a safari

You could well be correct Dave, well I am not as daft as those US visitors and have no intention of paying anything close to that.

We are doing a 3 night 4 day Safari to Ashnil Aruba Lodge (Tsavo East) 1 night, Kilaguni Serena Lodge (Tsavo West) 1 night & Sentrim Camp (Amboseli) 1 night and there will be NO balloon flight at that price.

I have been told that I can negotiate a price for the balloon flight at Amboseli however their starting price is $400 pp.

Graham, how much are you paying pp for your safari -if you don't mind me asking - I'm getting very confused with all the alternatives !!

Graham, how much are you paying pp for your safari -if you don't mind me asking - I'm getting very confused with all the alternatives

£480 pp, there were cheaper alternatives however I have gone for better lodges / Camps as it is our 30th wedding anniversary.

Check this website http://www.katokenya.org/ it is the Kenya Association of Tour Operators and they have a good price quotation section under the 'Travelling To Kenya Tab'.

Thanks Graham - I'd been given a couple of quotes much higher than that (£780 pp for 4 nights/5 days with JT Safaris and £600 for 3 nights/4 days with another company, both of which seemed a bit steep) - so it'll be interesting to see what sort of range of quotes I get back from that site you suggested.

(£780 pp for 4 nights/5 days with JT Safaris and £600 for 3 nights/4 days with another company, both of which seemed a bit steep)

JT Safaris quoted me £550 pp for the same Safari and accommodation as we have booked, however I have booked with a different company as they have gone the extra mile and provided me with excellent information not just about the Safari but about Kenya, the area around Mombasa and Diani Beach, money and so much more

Their UK representative Wilma has been VERY helpful and answered lots of questions and arranged everything for us plus they only took a small token deposit with the rest payable when we are in Kenya.

http://www.ekeasafaris.com/

Or email Wilma at info@ekeasafaris.com

Graham