Sky Drifters
Sky Drifters
4.5
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About
Hot Air Balloon Rides in the Spectacular Sierra Nevada Foothills. Located just 30 minutes East of Sacramento in Rancho Murieta. Flying daily! Launching the balloon from the banks of the Consumes River is a spectacular experience and a true ballooning adventure. Unlike many other popular ballooning locations, we will be flying over rivers, lakes, creeks, tall trees and stunning scenery. In the early morning hours it is not unusual to see a variety of both ground and airborne wildlife. With stunning views of the Sacramento valley nature conservancy and thousands of acres of protected oak forests, vernal pools and wildlife, this location is one of Northern California’s best secrets.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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4.5
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tpatel162
Corpus Christi, TX5 contributions
Feb 2023 • Couples
This was one of the most memorable experiences of our lives. My boyfriend wanted to propose to me, and Tim and Erin made sure that I was completely surprised the whole time. They made sure we were comfortable and they went above and beyond what was expected. They're funny, kind, humble and very accommodating. It was an amazing day, and I 10/10 would recommend to anyone who wants to go on a ride, to go with Tim and Skydrifters. Erin also took a ton of fun and romantic photos before the ride and my fiancé and I will cherish those memories forever.
Written February 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
marla247
Roanoke, VA66 contributions
Jul 2021 • Couples
We had an amazing time on the flight and found Tim to be knowledgeable and friendly. He and his crew ensured we were at ease throughout the ride and landing. I would definitely recommend Sky Drifters! Just remember to check in the day prior to get the take off time. Tim was very patient with us, despite our oversight of this instruction, and he and his crew went to great lengths to make it happen for us. An experience I won’t soon forget.
Written July 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Debra K
Door County, WI2 contributions
Oct 2021
I was a little apprehensive at first and was wondering how that little basket was going to hold all of us, but it did. Tim was a great pilot, his wife Erin is an amazing photographer and put us all at ease. Once in flight it was a piece of cake. I'm afraid of heights and didn't even realize we were at 800 ft. The flight was slower than expected but very safe. The only negative is that we arrived very early in the morning and it was pitch black. We missed the driveway but after reading the instructions again realized we were in the wrong location. I would do this trip again and highly recommend it.
Written October 17, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jonas M
1 contribution
Jul 2014 • Family
Everything about our hot air balloon adventure was absolutely top rate. With our friends coming all the way from United Arab Emirates there were challenging schedule issues that Sky Drifters accommodated. The preflight briefing was thorough and made us all very comfortable with the high level of safety they maintain. The balloon basket itself was a great size for us. Not too crowded but not immense like a cattle car. A bonus was the swinging door that allowed us to walk in rather than having to climb over the rail. The flight itself was spectacular. Watching the sun rise over the Sierra Nevada was a postcard perfect moment. Then we flew over some of California's most beautiful oak grasslands. Except for no lions or hippos it felt like we could have been over Africa's Serengeti Plain (which is way beyond our budget). The owner and his wife personally ensured that this was a trip of a lifetime. Jonas Minton
Written January 9, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ashley R
Richmond, VA9 contributions
Oct 2019
Booking was easy (do not try a groupon!)
Everything went as planned (except landing in the tree lol)
Tim was friendly to us and is very knowledgeable
His wife Erin was the sweetest woman on the planet who took lots of pictures and videos for us included in the price (other companies charge extra!)
We felt very safe (even with the tree!)
We had a great time
I absolutely recommend flying with Sky Drifters
Tim, I know that landing in the tree was very dangerous, potentially very expensive, and extremely stressful for you. Your crew was CLEARLY confused and not deliberately defying your instructions. You were outrageously disrespectful to your wife and crew and I would disagree with your opinion that the circumstances excused your behavior.
Everything went as planned (except landing in the tree lol)
Tim was friendly to us and is very knowledgeable
His wife Erin was the sweetest woman on the planet who took lots of pictures and videos for us included in the price (other companies charge extra!)
We felt very safe (even with the tree!)
We had a great time
I absolutely recommend flying with Sky Drifters
Tim, I know that landing in the tree was very dangerous, potentially very expensive, and extremely stressful for you. Your crew was CLEARLY confused and not deliberately defying your instructions. You were outrageously disrespectful to your wife and crew and I would disagree with your opinion that the circumstances excused your behavior.
Written October 14, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for your input. Our opinion on how the retrieval went will have to differ.
Written January 4, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Brian C
St. Petersburg, FL8 contributions
Mar 2015 • Couples
I took my wife and parents for a Hot Air Balloon Ride this last Sunday over Sacramento Valley. The whole crew at Sky Drifters was friendly and passionate about ensuring we all had a great time!
Tim's knowledge of ballooning made us all feel safe and the views were epic. His wife Erin is super friendly and great with the camera.
Thanks Sky Drifters for a memorable day.
Tim's knowledge of ballooning made us all feel safe and the views were epic. His wife Erin is super friendly and great with the camera.
Thanks Sky Drifters for a memorable day.
Written March 30, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
EveSimmo
Los Angeles, CA4 contributions
Jan 2015 • Family
Two days before my sister's birthday I decided to take her on a hot air balloon ride. I called the company and made a reservation for the six members of my family, they were extremely accommodating. All of us were blown away by the spectacular views of our town at sunrise.
After the ride, they offered champagne (and cider for non-alcohol drinkers) as the pilot told us the story of hot air ballooning.
I would recommend this company to anyone who wants to have a laugh and see something spectacular.
After the ride, they offered champagne (and cider for non-alcohol drinkers) as the pilot told us the story of hot air ballooning.
I would recommend this company to anyone who wants to have a laugh and see something spectacular.
Written January 10, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tnrl
4 contributions
May 2013
Do not schedule with this company. After our flight was cancelled several times, I asked him to give me some future dates. He became rude and hostile and stated he would never ever take me flying. I bought our trip on living social. He refered to me as a half off person. He then redeemed my voucher after not rendering a service. This is fraud!!!!!! Do not pay this company any money.
Written May 13, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rml424
Roseville, CA1 contribution
May 2013 • Couples
This business doesn't deserve the ONE star that yelp demands as a minimum.
It is painfully obvious for anyone reading these reviews that the owner of this business has no desire to accommodate the customers of Living Social or Groupon. I wish we had read these customer reviews before we purchased and ATTEMPTED to book a flight with this business.
My wife purchased one of these vouchers through Living Social back in November of 2012 as a surprise for my birthday in April of 2013. She booked 5 months in advance and followed all of the rules of the Living Social agreement. As with most every other customer who has written a review, our flight was cancelled. After MANY attempts to reach someone by telephone, she was told that there were no weekend flights available between April and October. So, we scheduled our flight for a Tuesday and both took the day off of work, only to have this flight cancelled as well. At this time the owner stated that we could fly on Monday if we could commit by 2:00 pm on that same day. So, we contacted our employers and moved our vacation days to Monday only to have this flight cancelled because the owner couldn't get confirmation from another customer. NO WHERE ON THE VOUCHER DOES IT STATE ANYTHING ABOUT HAVING TO CONFIRM WITH ANOTHER CUSTOMER IN ORDER TO FLY IN A HOT AIR BALLOON. It became very obvious at this point that the owner was simply trying to maximize his profits, by making sure that every flight is full. I point this out because the first two cancellations were due to wind. This third cancellation (which WE bent over backwards to accommodate) had nothing to do with weather at all.
Regardless of the frustration we had already experienced, we went ahead and scheduled again for tomorrow, the 13th of May. On Saturday afternoon, we received an email stating our flight had been cancelled again (I know... what a SHOCKER!!! Right?). However, they had room for us on Sunday, which was Mother's day. We wrote back immediately asking what time we needed to be there, and how long the flight was expected to be. By 8:30 Saturday night, we hadn't received any confirmation, so we didn't make plans to go. Later that evening, we received an email stating that Monday could potentially still happen, so “let's see what the weather brings”.
I realize that this is long winded...I am sorry, but people need to know how things go when dealing with sky drifters (notice the lower case letters... they represent my absolute lack of respect for the business owner).
Today we received yet another cancellation for tomorrow, at which time my wife wrote back and asked for the next 4 or 5 available weekend dates regardless of how far out they are, as we had already schedule 3 different days off of work in the last 3 weeks and flying on a week day no longer seemed feasible. The owner responded with "Hi Tracy we do not have control over the weather. Due to our Groupon experience we are tempted to have people show up despite the fact we will get blown out With Groupon it seems the only way people actually see that we can't fly is seeing it first hand... I can say yup looks great have you drive out and then see it is too windy for your self or I can simply say it's too windy tomorrow and have you understand that we would love to fly but there is a 90% chance of being blown out.”
With no further response from my wife, he wrote another email referring to us as “half off folks” and proceeded to state that “weather is weather, this is not a carnival ride”. He repeatedly emailed my wife and acted as though she had somehow complained about the cancellation due to weather. She merely asked for the next 4 or 5 available weekend dates. Yelp will only let me post 5001 characters, so I can’t go on to copy and paste all of the emails, but I would love to. My wife went on to let him know that if he couldn’t provide us with available dates that we intended to request a refund from Living Social. This apparently spun balloon boy out of control. He then started sending harassing emails stating that he would no longer deal with anyone from Groupon or Living Social, and that he will “never take us flying”. At this time, we let him know that since we have the day off tomorrow, and we won’t be flying, we will spend the day posting reviews. He then spun further out of control stating “I have already told Living Social that I won’t authorize a refund”. By this time my wife had stopped responding, and had begun writing to Living Social to explain our situation. However, he apparently decided it was time to have another drink. He then wrote stating “you got your way. I have decided to fly tomorrow. Be there @ 5:45”. Seriously? Like we would get into a balloon with this guy now. He then went ahead and redeemed our coupon, when we haven’t flown, nor do we have a scheduled flight.
Please, please, please don’t deal with sky drifters. The owner has absolutely ZERO PEOPLE SKILLS.
It is painfully obvious for anyone reading these reviews that the owner of this business has no desire to accommodate the customers of Living Social or Groupon. I wish we had read these customer reviews before we purchased and ATTEMPTED to book a flight with this business.
My wife purchased one of these vouchers through Living Social back in November of 2012 as a surprise for my birthday in April of 2013. She booked 5 months in advance and followed all of the rules of the Living Social agreement. As with most every other customer who has written a review, our flight was cancelled. After MANY attempts to reach someone by telephone, she was told that there were no weekend flights available between April and October. So, we scheduled our flight for a Tuesday and both took the day off of work, only to have this flight cancelled as well. At this time the owner stated that we could fly on Monday if we could commit by 2:00 pm on that same day. So, we contacted our employers and moved our vacation days to Monday only to have this flight cancelled because the owner couldn't get confirmation from another customer. NO WHERE ON THE VOUCHER DOES IT STATE ANYTHING ABOUT HAVING TO CONFIRM WITH ANOTHER CUSTOMER IN ORDER TO FLY IN A HOT AIR BALLOON. It became very obvious at this point that the owner was simply trying to maximize his profits, by making sure that every flight is full. I point this out because the first two cancellations were due to wind. This third cancellation (which WE bent over backwards to accommodate) had nothing to do with weather at all.
Regardless of the frustration we had already experienced, we went ahead and scheduled again for tomorrow, the 13th of May. On Saturday afternoon, we received an email stating our flight had been cancelled again (I know... what a SHOCKER!!! Right?). However, they had room for us on Sunday, which was Mother's day. We wrote back immediately asking what time we needed to be there, and how long the flight was expected to be. By 8:30 Saturday night, we hadn't received any confirmation, so we didn't make plans to go. Later that evening, we received an email stating that Monday could potentially still happen, so “let's see what the weather brings”.
I realize that this is long winded...I am sorry, but people need to know how things go when dealing with sky drifters (notice the lower case letters... they represent my absolute lack of respect for the business owner).
Today we received yet another cancellation for tomorrow, at which time my wife wrote back and asked for the next 4 or 5 available weekend dates regardless of how far out they are, as we had already schedule 3 different days off of work in the last 3 weeks and flying on a week day no longer seemed feasible. The owner responded with "Hi Tracy we do not have control over the weather. Due to our Groupon experience we are tempted to have people show up despite the fact we will get blown out With Groupon it seems the only way people actually see that we can't fly is seeing it first hand... I can say yup looks great have you drive out and then see it is too windy for your self or I can simply say it's too windy tomorrow and have you understand that we would love to fly but there is a 90% chance of being blown out.”
With no further response from my wife, he wrote another email referring to us as “half off folks” and proceeded to state that “weather is weather, this is not a carnival ride”. He repeatedly emailed my wife and acted as though she had somehow complained about the cancellation due to weather. She merely asked for the next 4 or 5 available weekend dates. Yelp will only let me post 5001 characters, so I can’t go on to copy and paste all of the emails, but I would love to. My wife went on to let him know that if he couldn’t provide us with available dates that we intended to request a refund from Living Social. This apparently spun balloon boy out of control. He then started sending harassing emails stating that he would no longer deal with anyone from Groupon or Living Social, and that he will “never take us flying”. At this time, we let him know that since we have the day off tomorrow, and we won’t be flying, we will spend the day posting reviews. He then spun further out of control stating “I have already told Living Social that I won’t authorize a refund”. By this time my wife had stopped responding, and had begun writing to Living Social to explain our situation. However, he apparently decided it was time to have another drink. He then wrote stating “you got your way. I have decided to fly tomorrow. Be there @ 5:45”. Seriously? Like we would get into a balloon with this guy now. He then went ahead and redeemed our coupon, when we haven’t flown, nor do we have a scheduled flight.
Please, please, please don’t deal with sky drifters. The owner has absolutely ZERO PEOPLE SKILLS.
Written May 13, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nutmeg2000
Pleasanton, CA179 contributions
Nov 2019 • Friends
Our pilot Tim was very experienced and prepared us well with his safety talk. It was a little windy (not by my unaware standards but by ballooning standards) but we really wanted to go since one of my friends was on her third try at ballooning (all with other operators, once cancelled due to getting sick, the other due to wind) and the other couple going was a man about to propose to his girlfriend. He warned us it would be a shorter fight due to the wind speed and the landing would have to involve the basket tipping over, but we were all game. Tim gave excellent instructions before the flight and as we landed. The actual landing was a piece of cake. Though I was on the up side, not the bottom "getting squished" side but they seemed to think it went well too. Tim's very clear explanations and directions made us all feel comfortable with everything and safe.
The ride itself was amazing. I'm scared of heights but wasn't scared at all in the balloon. Lifting off was really cool and it was amazing to see things on the ground get smaller and smaller. The scenery was beautiful and I got several good pictures of Mount Diablo. It's very calm and peaceful up there.
Erin, Tim's wife, also took several pictures of us both on the ground and in the air, included in the price, which we didn't expect. Her pictures were amazing and I've put some in here. She is quite the photographer. She was also super nice and cheerful even at 7am. Afterwards she gave us local info on nearby restaurants and a local farm that sells homemade pies. They make a perfect couple, Tim with his excellent flying and stories, and Erin with everything else! I heartily recommended!
The ride itself was amazing. I'm scared of heights but wasn't scared at all in the balloon. Lifting off was really cool and it was amazing to see things on the ground get smaller and smaller. The scenery was beautiful and I got several good pictures of Mount Diablo. It's very calm and peaceful up there.
Erin, Tim's wife, also took several pictures of us both on the ground and in the air, included in the price, which we didn't expect. Her pictures were amazing and I've put some in here. She is quite the photographer. She was also super nice and cheerful even at 7am. Afterwards she gave us local info on nearby restaurants and a local farm that sells homemade pies. They make a perfect couple, Tim with his excellent flying and stories, and Erin with everything else! I heartily recommended!
Written December 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We had a great time taking you all flying. It is not often we have an entire group wiling to fly on a day that we know is going to result in a fast landing. Glad you were all game, it made for a really fun morning!
Written January 4, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sky Drifters - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Sky Drifters Information
Excellent Reviews | 30 |
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Very Good Reviews | 3 |
Sky Drifters Photos | 84 |