Balloon ride for an acrophobic

If you think it will be less than a positive experience for you, just skip it. I chose not to do the balloon ride and while I enjoyed hearing about it from others, I didn’t regret the choice. It is a lot of money and it isn’t required to enjoy a visit to Cappadocia.

Well, chances are you won't fall out. I don't know about throwing up. However, if I were in a hot air balloon and a fellow passenger threw up or started freaking out, I'd be upset.

How are you at scenic overlooks with a railing? Do you walk up to the edge and look out or do stand far back? Do you get anxious or physically ill?

You're going to have a great time in Turkey even if you decide not to go ballooning. Don't let FOMO force you into something you're not comfortable doing.

I'm a bit fearful with heights. I was ok at the Grand Canyon if there was a railing, but felt pretty freaked out being in an area where there was no railing and people were sitting on the edge. But I went on a hot air balloon ride in Morroco last year and I was fine.

Thanks to all 3 of you. At this point I'll probably skip, but my wife will probably choose to stay with me, and I'll hate to make her feel like she'll miss out.

I am quite afraid of heights and did fine on the balloon ride, which ranks on the top 10 list of my travel experiences. The sides of the basket are quite high and I stayed as far center of the basket as I could. The baskets hold 20 ish people. I looked out and not down and felt fine. The flight is gentle not bumpy like an airplane can be, and they won't let the balloons fly if the conditions are in any way turbulent.

Compared to something like a suspension bridge which is 10/10 terrifying for me I would give the experience a 2/10 on the worry level. But each person is different so you should listen to your gut.

I am like CL, I am not great with heights (and still a bit afraid of flying, tho I do it anyway) but I actually loved going up in a hot air balloon, so much that now I've done it three times, tho never in Turkey. You really don't go that high, and it's so peaceful and gentle you barely feel like you are moving. Maybe look at some videos online so you can judge if it's something you would like.

Thanks to you two as well -- you've convinced me wait at least till the eve of liftoff to make my decision, though at this point it's a "go."

you've convinced me wait at least till the eve of liftoff to make my
decision, though at this point it's a "go."

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! And just a caution, read the terms of the reservation for your balloon company as some require more than 24 hour notice on a cancellation to get your money back. On our RS tour, someone wasn't able to go because they were quite sick and didn't alert the company with sufficient notice to get their refund. They were offered to transfer to another morning but that may have been the RS tour guide's magic and not necessarily the typical response.

My trip to Cappadocia was less than one year ago, so quite recent memories and experience.

I had no problems forgoing the balloon ride. Simply not in my comfort zone. There is much more to be seen in Cappadocia than balloons. With fear of heights, scrambling around some of the cave villages may also be nerve wracking. My fear of heights kicked in a few times, but I managed that.

I think your decision to wait till the last moment to decide is a good one - will you be required to pay or deposit in advance? I wouldn't hesitate to wave good-by and cheer my spouse on if I wasn't comfortable - even at the loss of a prepayment.

Maybe you could hire a car and driver to follow the chase car. You would see your wife's balloon landing and get some great pics.

I was on the RS Best of Turkey tour in fall 2022 and had signed up for the balloon ride. Then learned that the day before our group arrived in Cappadocia, two Spanish tourists had been killed during a landing. I decided to opt out. I have no regrets and felt that I completely experienced the wonders of the region without the ride. Plus, I got to sleep in on that morning. So, just follow your gut.

We don’t fear heights but decided to skip the balloon ride because our travel insurance would not cover us if there was an accident causing injury.

I have a lot of fear of height situations... walking across bridges, walking anywhere near a seaside cliff (I need to be about 50 feet back, and even then I'm skittish.)

The Cappadocia balloon ride didn't bother me one bit. And I stood at the edge of the basket and looked out. I might not have looked straight down. We had a bit of a rough landing, but it felt more adventurous than scary.

Every insurance policy is different. I contacted my insurance carrier specifically about this: they didn't cover high altitude extreme sports, but they did cover passenger balloon rides.

Take a ride here in the US with a reputable company. If you don't like it you will have ruined a day rather than the feeling you ruined the whole trip.

BTW, I was in a serious balloon accident 20 years ago and will not be flying in one again.