Balloons of Vermont

What an awesome experience with Balloons of Vermont. My now fiancé surprised me with a balloon ride the morning of October 26^th. We were staying at a bed and breakfast in Quechee. They showed up and setup right there, behind the B&B.
Darrek was a great guide, down to earth and easy to talk to. He made the experience fun and it was like we had known him all along. His chaser Marty was a hoot as well. After a long amazing ride over Vermont, we got to drink champagne afterwards, and they even treated us to brunch! And finished off by giving us a makeshift souvenir balloon made by the champagne cork. I highly recommend them!

All I can say is WOW! I found Darrek through a referral, and I wanted to thank him by giving him some well-​deserved props on Unilocal:
I called Darrek and told him I was planning to propose to my girlfriend on his hot air balloon. He was great from the start – he gave me really good advice about waiting until the end of the flight (she was of course a bit distracted from the view once I asked her!). We spent over an hour in the air and went up to 3000 ft. Darrek had great control over the balloon – he touched down briefly on some water and steered us like a pro (I believe he has 15+ years experience).
One thing I would note is that I did research some balloon companies that were slightly cheaper. A lot of the cost of the ride goes to covering fuel etc, so there isn’t all that much variation in price. After riding with Darrek, I decided that it was 100% worth it to pay a little bit more in exchange for having an experienced pilot. Darrek stressed that hot air ballooning is quite safe, but I still felt better having him in control.
When we arrived on the ground, he surprised even me by breaking out some celebratory champagne. The whole experience was almost surreal. My fiancé couldn’t have been happier!

One of the most amazing experiences you will have! We were privileged to book a ride for just two, and loved every minute.
*If you want to really enjoy your trip try to book the whole flight for just your group. Since Balloons of Vermont’s balloon rig is built for speed, it accommodates fewer passengers than large sightseeing balloons which are slow and less agile. This allowed us to book a private trip for 2 at a good price (for a private trip, the extra large balloon rigs charge for 4 – 6 people even if only 2 are going).*
Derrick, the owner, is an avid balloonist. You can tell he really enjoys taking passengers with him on trips around the Quechee Gorge and the surrounding mountains. He even keeps packages of Southwest Airlines roasted peanuts to hand out during the flight as sort of a joke. Oh, and if you’re comfortable with the ups and downs, make sure you ask him to venture down for a closer look at the fish in the small lake nearby. .. it will be the highlight of the trip!