What to Wear and Bring for a Marrakech Balloon Flight

Closed-toe shoes are the one thing that can get you turned away

Two of the four operators publish a footwear ban, and they mean it. Marrakech By Air won't accept high-heeled shoes or slippers. BallOOning Marrakech bans high heels, sandals and flip flops, and separately lists "closed-toe shoes" under what to bring, which is about as clear as a rule gets. Everything else on these lists is comfort. Shoes are the bit with a consequence attached.

The reason is the landing, not the flight. You come down in open countryside outside the city, on farm tracks and scrub, and depending on the wind that can be a polite stand-up or a bounce and a short drag with the basket tipping. Then you climb out over a wicker wall onto ground you can't see properly. Trainers are perfect. Hiking shoes, which Marrakech Dream Ballooning asks for by name, are perfect. Anything with a strap and a bare toe is a gamble you'd be making for no reason.

What each Marrakech balloon operator tells you to bring and ban

These are the four operators' own lists, side by side, so you can see where they agree and where they don't.

Operator	Bring	Not allowed
Marrakech By Air	Comfortable shoes, hat, weather-appropriate clothing	High-heeled shoes, slippers, alcohol and drugs
BallOOning Marrakech	Comfortable shoes, hat, jacket, closed-toe shoes	High heels, sandals or flip flops, pets, smoking, alcohol and drugs
The best quad ever	Hat, camera, sunscreen, comfortable clothes	Pets, smoking
Marrakech Dream Ballooning	Passport or ID card, comfortable shoes, hiking shoes, sunglasses, sun hat, jacket, long-sleeved shirt, camera	Red wine, vaping, alcohol and drugs, alcoholic drinks in the vehicle, making fire

Pack for the strictest column and you're fine on all four: closed-toe shoes, a hat, a jacket. That's the whole answer, and it costs you nothing to follow even if you've booked the operator with the shortest list.

The sandals contradiction, and who wins

Marrakech Dream Ballooning includes sandals among things to bring. BallOOning Marrakech bans them outright. Same city, same fields, opposite advice, which tells you how much of this is house rule rather than physics. Wear the closed shoes and put the sandals in your bag if you want them for later. Nobody has ever been refused boarding for owning a pair of trainers.

Dressing for 5am cold and 9am sun in one outfit

The uncomfortable part of this morning isn't the flight, it's the standing around before it. You're picked up in the dark, driven out of the city, and then you wait in an open field while the crew inflates a very large balloon. It's colder out there than it was in your riad courtyard, and colder again in the basket. By the time breakfast is served under the tent the sun is up and you'll want that jacket off.

So: layers you can shed, not one heroic warm thing. A long-sleeved shirt under a jacket, which is exactly what Dream Ballooning spells out. Trousers, because you have to climb up and into the basket and there's no elegant way to do it. Sunscreen and sunglasses for the second half of the morning, when you're sitting outside with tea and nothing between you and the sky. The burner overhead throws real heat downward, so your head warms up faster than your feet, which is another argument for the hat.

Documents: passport, ID card and a charged phone

Marrakech Dream Ballooning asks you to bring a passport or ID card, and its tickets need a charged smartphone to display. Marrakech By Air puts it more bluntly in its conditions: a valid ID may be requested, and without one, participation may be refused. That's a bad way to lose a booking you paid for, so take something official even if the operator you chose doesn't demand it.

Marrakech By Air also states it isn't responsible for personal belongings during the excursion, loss and damage included. Read that as: whatever you bring, you're minding it yourself, in a basket, in the dark, at altitude.

The night-before routine that gets you out of the door

Pick-up is early enough that you won't be making decisions well, so do the deciding the evening before, in this order.

1. Check the WhatsApp message. Marrakech By Air sends the exact pick-up time and location around 6pm the day before, and it depends on the weather forecast, so nothing is fixed until it arrives. More on that on how the morning runs.
2. Put the clothes out: closed shoes, trousers, long-sleeved top, jacket, hat.
3. Put the documents and phone by the shoes, and plug the phone in.
4. Charge the camera too, if you're bringing one. Two operators list it as a thing to bring.
5. Set an alarm early enough to be at reception ten minutes before pick-up. BallOOning Marrakech's driver waits five minutes and a miss counts as a no-show, with no refund and no reschedule.

What to leave at the hotel

Alcohol is banned by three of the four, and Dream Ballooning bans alcoholic drinks in the vehicle specifically, plus red wine as its own line item, which suggests a story. Vaping is out with Dream Ballooning; smoking is out with both BallOOning Marrakech and The best quad ever. Pets are refused by two operators. Making fire is on Dream Ballooning's banned list, in case that was the plan.

Also worth leaving behind: a big camera bag. BallOOning Marrakech includes a photographer and a drone in the price, so your shots are being taken for you anyway, which is covered on photos and drone footage. Loose hats, scarves and phone cases in an open basket in moving air have a way of becoming somebody else's field.

So what do you actually wear?

Trainers or hiking shoes, trousers, a long-sleeved top, a jacket you can take off, a hat, and sunglasses and sunscreen in your pocket for after you land. Bring ID and a charged phone, leave the heels, sandals, wine and pets in the room, and every operator from the $146 6am seat to the $1,284 private basket will let you on.

FAQ

Can I wear sandals on a Marrakech hot air balloon flight?

Not with BallOOning Marrakech, which bans sandals and flip flops outright and asks for closed-toe shoes. Marrakech Dream Ballooning does list sandals among things to bring, but since you land in open countryside, closed shoes are the safer choice with any operator.

Do I need a passport for a Marrakech balloon ride?

Marrakech Dream Ballooning asks for a passport or ID card. Marrakech By Air says a valid ID may be requested and that participation may be refused without one, so carry something official either way.

Is it cold on a Marrakech balloon flight?

Cold enough that BallOOning Marrakech and Marrakech Dream Ballooning both put a jacket on their bring lists, and Dream Ballooning adds a long-sleeved shirt. You're outdoors in a field before dawn, then in the sun by breakfast, so layers you can remove beat one thick coat. The 5am and 6am slots page covers which departure puts you in the dark for longer.

Can I bring my own camera in the balloon?

Yes. Marrakech Dream Ballooning and The best quad ever both list a camera under what to bring. Keep in mind that BallOOning Marrakech already includes a photographer and drone footage in its price.

Are there weight or age limits I should know about before booking?

Marrakech By Air sets a maximum of 110 kg per person and asks you to contact them in advance if you exceed it, with a minimum age of 3 years and a minimum height of 3 ft (90 cm). BallOOning Marrakech doesn't take children under 4 or pregnant women. The safety and restrictions page has the full set.

Can I smoke or drink before the flight?

No. Alcohol and drugs are banned by Marrakech By Air, BallOOning Marrakech and Marrakech Dream Ballooning, smoking by BallOOning Marrakech and The best quad ever, and vaping by Dream Ballooning, which also rules out alcoholic drinks in the transfer vehicle.