From 6 to 10 January 2027 hot-air balloons take off from Dobbiaco every morning, wind permitting. The organisers' price list gives 290 euro per person for a flight of about an hour; on the ground there is the opening party in the centre, tethered rides for children and a nightglow of model balloons.
For five days, from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 January 2027, Dobbiaco is a place to fly in a hot-air balloon. Take-offs are in daytime, at around 10:00, from the field below the middle school or from outside the village, landing around Dobbiaco if the weather allows. The Dolomiti Balloonweek is run by the Dolomiti Balloonfestival association in Dobbiaco.
The flight itself lasts about an hour, but with setting up, packing away, the passengers' balloon baptism and the trip back to the starting point the organisers suggest allowing about five hours. The basket carries two to five people, pilot included, and the pilot decides whether to go, depending on wind and weather. Children under 12 and under 1.30 metres tall are not normally taken up.
There is plenty to watch from the ground too. On Wednesday 6 January, from 10:00 to 12:00, children get tethered balloon rides, and at 17:00 there is the opening party in the centre of Dobbiaco, with small balloons and face painting; at the same time the Drei Zinnen Christmas Market, on its last day, marks the opening with a DJ. From Thursday to Sunday at 10:00 the radio-controlled model balloons fly, and on Friday 8 at 18:00, at the Mini-Puschtra, there is the model balloon nightglow.
Where Dolomiti Balloonweek in Dobbiaco falls in the Dolomites year, and what happens in the other weeks: Best time to visit the Dolomites: a month-by-month guide.
Good to know
- Admission: The organisers publish a year-round price for a balloon flight: 290 euro per person for about an hour; on longer flights, from the second hour, it is 99 euro per hour per person. No separate price list for the Balloonweek days is published (read on 14 November 2026), so ask for the price when you book on the organisers' site. The sources mention no ticket for watching the launches or for the opening party in the centre.
- Flights: take-offs at around 10:00, from 6 to 10 January. The passenger meeting point is just below the launch field, which lies below the Dobbiaco middle school.
- Price and booking: the organisers' year-round price list gives 290 euro per person for about an hour's flight and 99 euro per hour per person from the second hour on longer flights; no Balloonweek price is published. Book at balloonfestival.it.
- Conditions: balloons only fly if wind and weather allow, and the pilot decides. You need sturdy, closed shoes with a flat sole, ideally ankle-high, and sporty clothing; children under 12 and under 1.30 metres are not normally taken up.
- On the ground: on Wednesday 6 tethered rides for children from 10:00 to 12:00 and the opening party at 17:00 in the centre; from Thursday 7 to Sunday 10 model balloons at 10:00; on Friday 8 at 18:00 the nightglow at the Mini-Puschtra. For Sunday 10 the organisers' Italian and English pages list balloon rides for children from 10:00 to 12:00 instead of the model balloons.
Official website (tickets & info) ↗
Dates, times and prices change every year: always check the official pages before you go.