Sunrise Balloon Flight over the Algarve Barrocal, from Lagos

The Algarve flies small. The land between the Monchique range and the sea leaves little room for the twenty-seat baskets used in Cappadocia or Luxor, so the balloons here carry six to ten passengers. The result is closer to a private flight than the price suggests: the pilot can talk to everyone, and nobody spends the hour behind someone else's shoulder. Where you go depends on the wind that morning. Two routes are possible: the barrocal valleys of the western Algarve, the limestone belt of almond groves and dry stone walls that sits behind the coast, or the warmer air over the rolling hills of the Baixo Alentejo to the north. Neither is fixed in advance. The balloon travels at the speed of the wind, which is why there is no wind in the basket and no engine noise either. You cross inland hills, lakes and villages, climb high enough to see the whole width of the Algarve, and come down near the coast and its fishing villages. The flight itself is about an hour. The whole morning takes three to five, counting the drive to the launch site, the inflation and the packing away afterwards. Balloons fly here year round, and sunrise is when the air is most stable, which is why every departure is at dawn. Weather decides whether a flight goes ahead at all. There is a weight limit of 100 kg per passenger; above it a surcharge applies.