A balloon flight here does not start over the skyline. Launch sites lie inside the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, about an hour by road from the hotels, and pickup falls between 4:30 and 5:00, the envelope filled in the dark. Lift-off comes before sunrise, time in the air runs 45 to 60 minutes, ceiling around 1,200 metres. This is protected ground: herds of oryx and gazelle graze under the basket, easy to pick out on the pale sand.

Touchdown is near seven, followed by breakfast at a desert camp; some programmes add falconry and a short camel ride, and you are back in the city by nine or ten. Standard baskets carry 20 to 24 passengers in compartments, while private baskets for two and VIP baskets for eight leave far more room along the rail. A few operators attach extras — a hop in a vintage aircraft after landing, or a skydiver released alongside the balloon.

The season is narrow, October to April; nothing flies in summer, when heat and thermals start working the air soon after sunrise. Cancellation for wind or visibility is ordinary, and the call is made that morning at the field, not the night before; the operator moves the date or refunds. Children are usually taken from five to seven years and 1.1 metres up, pregnancy and recent surgery rule the flight out, and weights are asked for at booking. Dress in layers, since dawn can be +12 and breakfast +25, and wear closed shoes: landings are sometimes firm and the basket settles on its side.