Sky’s The Limit Ballooning

Los Olivos, United States

4.9

Open now

17 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
By Appointment Only

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 760-602-0295
Website:
www.santabarbaraballoonrides.com
Address:
2432 Railway Ave, Los Olivos, CA, 93441
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
By Appointment Only
Yes

Today

Today 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Los Olivos) 2:25 PM Friday, June 27, 2025

Business hours

Monday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Wednesday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Thursday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Friday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sunday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Soar to new heights with our daily morning Santa Barbara balloon rides! With over 100 wineries in the scenic Santa Ynez Valley, the year-​round near perfect climate and light prevailing winds in the Central Coast of California makes this an ideal place for ballooning. Our FAA Commercial Certified Pilots are offering a once in a lifetime experience you will never forget! On an average day you may catch a glimpse of «Neverland Ranch» while floating over the wine vineyards and beautiful ranches. We offer 45 minutes to 1 hour duration flights that capture views over the Beautiful Wine Country surrounded by Transverse Mountain Ranges, the Channel Islands, Lake Cachuma and the historic towns of Solvang, Los Olivos, Buellton, Santa Maria and Paso Robles.

History

Established in 1994.

Family owned and operated since 1994. Sky’s The Limit Ballooning Adventures is proud to be the highest quality Ballooning operation in Southern California. Your experience means everything to us!

Meet the Business Owner

James L.

Business Owner

James Lawson, owner of Sky’s the Limit Ballooning Adventures and also the Southern California sales representative for the second largest balloon manufacturer in the world, UltraMagic Balloons, located in Spain. He was born and raised in Encinitas, California and is proud to say that his company is family owned and operated. He is an experienced pilot that has been flying all types of aircraft since he was 16 years old. He has flown hot air balloons in Mallorca Spain, Hawaii and Albuquerque, New Mexico. He got his inspiration one night to fly hot air balloons when he noticed one fly over him in the city of Encinitas. He then got his pilot certificate and later became an instructor for student pilots that are looking to obtain their pilot’s certification. In addition, he is one of 24 pilots in the nation that is allowed to fly passengers in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Sky’s The Limit Ballooning also recommends

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1

review

Wineries

James L. says,

«Great wine and great fun!»

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17 reviews of Sky’s The Limit Ballooning

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Oxnard, CA
Thanks to James and his crew for making our 10 year anniversary that much special! My husband surprised me with a getaway n some US time by planning a day starting with hot air balloon ride followed by a VIP wine tasting tour. #SkyIsTheLimit was an amazing experience. After safe landing James (the owner) celebrated with us serving some delicious Mimosas! Yummm then took us on a wine tasting tour to the best vineyards Los olivos can offer. Everything with great detail and better than expected. Again thank u for making our special day even better! My husband definitely made the best choice to go with sky is the limit for our little getaway adventure!
Place rating: 5
Franklin, TN
Wonderful experience! We were so happy we decided on a hot air balloon flight while in Santa Ynez! The views were incredible as we rose into the cool morning air above the valley. James (the pilot) was very professional and put our nerves at ease. We would highly recommend this experience with anyone passing through the valley.
Place rating: 5
Redondo Beach, CA
I wanted to surprise my girlfriend of two years to a romantic Valentine’s Day weekend and our time spent with James, Nick and all the crew at sky’s the limit did not disappoint! Not only did we have the most incredible hot air balloon experience in the morning overlooking the Santa Ynez valley, but as soon as we landed James had prepared a champagne breakfast for the whole party, fresh with fruit picked from the valley, muffins and plenty of champagne.
After the hot air balloon ride James took us on a personal wine tour with another couple to some of his favorite, most recommended spots around the valley. As first time wine tasters, we were both a little nervous that we would end up lost in the tour without any education on what we were drinking and why. But boy were we mistaken! We started at Andrew Murray winery which was gorgeous before we even entered the winery. After our tasting was over James took us down into the barrel room and educated us on the science behind wine making. On the way to our second wine room we stopped off at a local farm to meet some of the friendliest donkeys I’ve ever been around. Our second tasting room was by far the best. If you are ever in Los Olivos you need to check out Carhart. It is the smallest wine tasting room in the country but don’t let its size fool you. It is packed with so much comfort and beauty and the wine is out of this world. We even signed up to become Carhart wine members. Our third stop was at Vincent’s, a more upscale winery with mediocre wine in my opinion. But the views were stellar. James joined us on our last tasting and we all sat and enjoyed wine out by the vineyard in the back.
To say it was a picture perfect weekend would be an understatement. Thanks again to James, Nick and everyone at Sky’s the Limit for making our day so magical.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
Wow I can’t even begin to describe how amazing our day was! The ballooning was incredible. we’ve never been in a hot air balloon and this was unreal. So magical. James is extremely knowledgable and made the ride enjoyable and kept us all laughing. The views were incredible, the lighting was incredible, the ride was incredible. I’d give 100 stars if I could. After the ride we had champagne, muffins, and fresh berries from the valley. A few of us went wine tasting with James after the balloon ride. It was awesome because it was a personalized tour to the best local spots. James taught us all about different types of wine and techniques. It was not your typical tour where you pack into a van and get dropped off with no information. I felt like we were hanging out with our friend. We even went to Nick’s (the manager of Sky’s the limit– another awesome guy!)family’s farm to visit the animals. So much fun! James hung out with us all day and made our trip one of a kind. He even called my boyfriend the next day to recommend a few other places to check out. We became wine club members at Carhartt and will be back here again for more balloon rides and more wine tasting. Over all, the best Valentine’s Day weekend I’ve ever had!!! Thank you James, Nick, and all of the sky’s the limit staff for an awesome time!!!
Place rating: 5
Van Nuys, CA
As far as hot air ballooning goes, my experience is limited. But I do know this: James and his crew are some of the friendliest, most professional people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
I worked with Renee and her team to reserve my private flight so I could propose to my girlfriend and hopefully have our parents be on the ground as we landed. They nearly bent over backwards trying to accommodate this request. Unfortunately, since we landed on private property we couldn’t get them there in time — that didn’t change or affect the overall result. James really showed us a great time, allowed us to fly the hot air balloon, and made the engagement/​proposal all that more exciting.
We’re already talking about going again in the near future, I would encourage everyone to give hot air ballooning a shot at Sky’s the Limit.
Place rating: 5
Santa Ana, CA
Thank you so much to the whole team at Sky’s The Limit Ballooning for making our Engagement Day the most incredible day of our lives! Even though the weather didn’t cooperate, we were amazed at the alternative you put together for us and so thankful that you called in such an amazing favor. You took what could have been a very stressful situation for my fiancé, and made it all seamlessly work out! We also very much appreciated all of the time you spent with us and for staying the entire time to capture photos and videos of the proposal before and after! Your entire staff was over the top nice, welcoming, and fun and our day wouldn’t have been possible without you! I highly recommend Sky’s The Limit to anyone looking for an unforgettable experience paired with exceptional service and friendly staff. We can’t wait to come visit again and take the balloon up for a ride! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!
Place rating: 5
Santa Barbara, CA
I’d highly recommend James and his crew to anyone looking to go on a hot air balloon ride. James is very knowledgeable, and the team works hard to ensure a safe flight!
Place rating: 5
Ventura, CA
My husband surprised me with a hot air balloon ride for our 20th anniversary (seems to be a common theme among these reviews), and I’m so glad he did! My fear of heights made me a bit anxious the first few minutes off the ground, but after seeing how professional and competent James was, I relaxed. The mimosas and fruit at the end were a nice touch while the guys were packing the balloon back up :)
Place rating: 5
Santa Maria, CA
James is a true professional… we’re glad we choose his company for our anniversary celebration. He’s a very conscientious pilot who operates by the book. We felt confident putting our lives in his hands and just enjoying the view. We saw wild boar on the ground and all the way to the Channel Islands from the air. … What a great thing to check off the bucket list!
Place rating: 5
Goleta, CA
My boyfriend treated me to a hot air balloon ride for my birthday and let me tell you… what an awesome experience. The scenery was to die for! Downside is u have to be there super early to meet up but it’s well worth it when u get up to the sky and watch the awesome scenery. Champagne after the ride was nice. I just wish they would’ve offered to take more pictures of us in the hot air balloon from a distance. I would’ve liked a pic with us and a good portion of the balloon. If I’d go again Id defiantly take a camera pole. I recommend that to people who plan on going so you get some real good pics. Besides that I highly recommend this place.
Place rating: 5
Anaheim, CA
I was literally on cloud 9 when I was proposed to by my fiancé on a hot air balloon this past weekend – it was an incredibly special experience! The weather was perfectly clear that day and one can see for hundreds of miles in all directions. I would highly recommend this company given their professionalism, knowledge, decades of experience, attention to detail, and charitable acts giving back to the community. Thank you so much for making our engagement day so special!
Place rating: 5
Santa Barbara, CA
My girlfriend surprised me with a hot air balloon ride in Santa Ynez on my Birthday. I absolutely loved it and enjoyed every second of the experience. Being 5,000 feet above sea level was breathtaking to say the least. I brought my GoPro with me and got a lot of great video and pictures.
You have to try this. You will love it.
Place rating: 5
Camarillo, CA
Amazing experience… must do activity. James was very professional and we felt very safe the entire time. He made sure that everyone in the basket had a positive experience. We had two people celebrating birthdays and the crew made sure that pics were taken before we took off. We had a very smooth take off and landing. James was a wealth of knowledge and told us stories about the area and pointed out areas of interest. I didn’t know that there was ballooning up in the SB area and was so excited when I found his company (it is a family company too… his wife answers the phones and his son was one of the land crew workers). I highly recommend.
Place rating: 5
Downey, CA
Amazing experience james was really nice and helpful, has a lot of experience and knows what he is doing, he will let you know of any good eating places and winerys spots near by, you get to see how they set up the balloon before take off which is pretty cool to see, smooth ride great view of Santa ynez and the mountains ! Will definitely return for future rides :)
Place rating: 5
Buellton, CA
My wife and I booked a ride for our 37th anniversary. We’re locals but had no idea that we could hot air balloon in the Santa Ynez valley. We happened upon their balloon and pamphlets at the Santa Ynez airport appreciation days. Wow, am I glad we did! We have flown thousands of miles and cruised all over the world but have never experienced anything as exciting as this! James, the pilot, and Eric, ground crew, were absolutely great — very professional and knowledgeable about the valley and its residents. It was great fun helping to first fill the balloon with air then watch the basket and balloon go vertical with the introduction of hot air. We all climbed in and off we went! What a ride! The experience is difficult to describe in words — for the longest time all anyone could say is WOW! We were floating for quite some time, but all good things must end, and we descended and had a wonderful champagne toast to celebrate. I’m telling you, you have got to experience ballooning with these guys! This was the best! Whether you are locals or visitors to the Santa Ynez valley, know that there is more to do than shop and visit wineries. Go hot air ballooning — you’ll be hooked! We’re going again soon!
Place rating: 4
Carpinteria, CA
It was foggy and I wanted to reschedule. But, James was optimistic that it would clear up for us. And he was right, it did! So grateful for this truly amazing experience from the moment we walked up! Mimosas, fruit, danishes were set out for us to enjoy before we set off. Watching them set up the balloon was incredible and being in the air above Santa Ynez Valley… no better spot for it! The staff was very well versed in the areas history and of course in air ballooning history as well. We had a hell of a time and I would recommend this to anyone. Make a day of it and go wine tasting afterwards! Sky’s The Limit! Check it out!
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
Amazing people and fantastic experience. I booked a ride for me and my girlfriend as a surprise birthday gift for her as we share the same birthday. I received a confirmation call the day before stating there was a 50⁄50 chance of being able to fly given the weather conditions. They knew I was also looking to propose on that day and had a lot riding on it. The day we met, the pilot, James was very accommodating with mimosas and pastries. He was very patient with us in waiting for the weather to clear knowing what I was planning to do. He truly cares about the business and the people he interfaces with. I highly recommend booking with them. Thank you to Sky’s The Limit for making my proposal come to life and making a memorable experience for me and my now fiancé!!! I couldn’t be happier with the experience.