Is Paragliding Safe? What to Expect Your First Time Paragliding (2024)
Thinking of going tandem paragliding and wondering, “Is paragliding safe?” Paragliding is one of the most thrilling activities that often appears on any adventure seeker’s bucket list. 🙋🏽♀️ But understandably, it can be nerve-wracking to go paragliding for the first time, especially if you’ve never done something like it before. To help you decide whether paragliding is right for you, I’ll be sharing my experiences with tandem paragliding and answering safety questions you might have, what to expect, and how to be prepared.
🪂 Disclaimer: I’m not a paragliding instructor. If you’re interested in single paragliding by yourself, I would follow the information taught during the certification process. Also, throughout the post, I’ll say “paragliding,” please assume I’m talking about tandem paragliding unless otherwise stated.
Is Paragliding Safe?
As you can likely tell from the title of the post, “Is paragliding safe?” is a pretty common question. It’s understandable considering it’s not exactly instinct to try to fly without the assistance of a plane. 😅 But, to cut to the chase, paragliding is pretty safe when unnecessary risks are avoided. I know this answer sucks, but it’ll make sense once you have a bit more context.
Statistically speaking, a 2015 research paper reported that 64 out of 242,355 paragliding flights involved an accident. This is about a 0.02% accident rate, which is equivalent to a 1 in 5,000 chance. At first glance, this look may look bad, but there are some important factors to consider.
First, this statistic includes both single paragliding and tandem paragliding accidents. Since you’re likely considering tandem paragliding, it’s important to separate the data. The data indicates that the number of tandem paragliding accidents compared to individual flights is statistically significantly lower. This is most likely (since it cannot be factually proven) because pilots take fewer risks when they are flying with others.
Secondly, 90% of injuries happen during the first ten flights a pilot makes. If you’re going tandem paragliding, you’re going with someone who has gone through extensive training and logged hundreds (if not thousands) of flight hours — unless you’re insane enough to fly with a friend who is getting certified or something.
Furthermore, tandem pilots have to be certified by their country’s FAA. Thus, they’re more experienced than your average paraglider who paraglides for pure leisure. With all this in mind, I would say tandem paragliding is safe as long as you go with an experienced and certified pilot.
Is Paragliding Dangerous?
Arguably the second most common question that goes hand in hand with the paragliding safe question is “Is paragliding dangerous?” The answer is yes, which some of you may think is confusing considering what I just wrote above. But, the truth is that paragliding is dangerous and inherently risky as there’s no 100% guarantee.
Some of the things that make paragliding dangerous are using old or broken equipment, flying in unsafe weather conditions, or errors while launching, mid-air, or landing. All of this probably sounds scary, but it doesn’t mean measures can’t be taken to help mitigate risk.
For example, when sign up to go tandem paragliding, your instructor will always let you know whether they need to change the date due to weather conditions. Heck, my paragliding pilots are always checking weather conditions, thermals, and wind direction up until about 5 seconds before we take off. So, if your paragliding date needs to be rescheduled or completely canceled due to weather conditions, keep in mind that this is for your safety as well as your pilot’s. No one wants to be flying around in a storm or with crap visibility.
Another thing that can make paragliding dangerous is flying with someone newer to tandem paragliding. As I mentioned above, you want to go with someone who is experienced and has logged tons of flights. When in doubt, simply ask your pilot or even other pilots who work for the company about their paragliding histories. There’s no shame in wanting to ensure your safety because, at the end of the day, you should feel comfortable and trust them!
Paragliding Benefits
If you haven’t been scared off, yay! It’s time to talk about the happier side of things — paragliding benefits. From my research as well as what I’ve experienced and gathered while talking to my pilot for about 2 hours (both before the flight and during it), there are so many benefits to paragliding. Below I’ve listed just a few, but know there are probably 20 more!
- Paragliding is a form of exercise, both mentally and physically. As a result, it releases hormones in our body that make us happy, and naturally, we tend to gravitate towards things that make us feel good!
- You get a good adrenaline rush. This is what any thrill seeker is always chasing after, and if flying within the clouds, next to towering mountains, or over lush valleys doesn’t get your adrenaline pumping, I don’t know what will.
- It allows you to see the world from a new perspective. I don’t think many people can say they’ve seen the world from an unfiltered or unobstructed bird’s eye view! And knowing that as you soar above is one of the most exhilarating feelings.
- Learn to give up control. This probably doesn’t apply to everyone, but for me, I’m someone who is used to being in control and always planning everything out. But with paragliding, you have to relinquish some of that control by trusting your pilot and the equipment. Plus, it’s simply impossible to control mother nature.
- Paragliding is liberating. Similar to what I just said, paragliding can make you feel so free. When I went first paragliding, I was not in the greatest spot mentally. But, during my flight, you feel so free just going where the wind and thermals take you.
Wondering Where to Go Paragliding?
Here is a short list of some of the most beautiful places in the world to go tandem paragliding.
- Zermatt, Switzerland — Where you’ll see the iconic Matterhorn
- Interlaken, Switzerland — The adventure capital of Switzerland & one of the places I’ve gone paragliding and it was amazing!!
- Davos, Switzerland — The highest town in Europe, perfect for paragliding
- Chamonix, France — A popular destination for seeing the French Alps
- Maui, Hawaii — Say hello to beach resorts!
- Fethiye, Turkey — Another crowd-favorite destination for paragliding
✅ 🪂 Search rates & availability for other destinations and companies to go paragliding with here!
How Do I Prepare Myself for Paragliding?
For those who decide to go paragliding — heck yah! Here’s some advice on how to prepare yourself for an amazing adventure. First, I recommend watching some YouTube Videos. This will not only help with showing you what to expect but also get you pumped up about what’s to come.
Literally, the night before, my friend and I were buzzing with excitement. We had just booked our tandem paragliding flight, completely on a whim because we didn’t want to pass up such an incredible opportunity. As soon as our paragliding flights over the Swiss Alps were confirmed, we spent hours watching videos.
My second piece of advice is to make sure you plan out where you need to go. Unless you’re able to arrange transportation directly from your housing accommodations, you’ll likely need to go to some meeting point. Make sure to look this up before you go!
My friend and I had to commute over an hour to the meeting point and make two transfers between trains and a bus. We had only 30 seconds between one of the transfers and were running like mad people trying to make it! Save yourself some stress by ensuring you know where you need to go, how to get there, and how long it will take you to get there. Then make sure to add an extra 15-30 minutes for mistakes! 😅
What to Do Before You Go Paragliding?
When it’s the actual day of your flight, here are some things to do before you go paragliding. First, take motion sickness medicine, such as Dramamine. Even if you have a super strong stomach and don’t usually get sick on rollercoasters, I recommend taking Dramamine. Flying through the sky is a bit different from a rollercoaster, and you never know how your body will react if it’s your first time paragliding.
For example, I don’t normally get sick riding a rollercoaster, but I get car sick super easily. With this information in mind, my pilot told me to take Dramamine about 20 minutes before my flight. Without the medicine, I’m positive I would’ve thrown up. But with the medicine, it was like I had the urge to throw up (sometimes) but physically couldn’t, which I can thank the medicine for!
That said, taking anti-motion sickness medicine doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be perfectly fine either. My friend took the medicine and still threw up twice within 10 minutes of the flight. So, it is just something that can help but is not a cure-all.
The second thing you’ll want to do before you go paragliding is wear proper clothes. I recommend wearing a light jacket, pants, and closed-toe shoes. Temperatures are much cooler at higher altitudes, and the wind chill factor often makes it even colder
Lastly, for anyone with long hair, make sure to tie your hair into a low ponytail or braids! Your pilots need to see to safely navigate, and this is much easier when your hair isn’t flapping around!
What to Expect Your First Time Paragliding
Alright, now I’ll discuss what to expect your first time paragliding. Please keep in mind that these are just my experiences, so take everything with a big handful of salt! The day my friend and I went paragliding, we had been staying in Zurich and met our pilot, Yoshi, at the base of a mountain called Rotenfluebahn. Like I said earlier, the transportation bit got a little dicey, but we made it, albeit barely 😅.
Once we saw Yoshi, we rode to the top of the mountain in a cable car. The ride took about 5 minutes or so if I remember correctly. During that time, we asked our pilot a bunch of questions about where he’d been paragliding, how he got into the sport, how many flights he had done, and what to expect.
At the top of the mountain, our barrage of questions continued and we both thought he was probably one of the coolest people we’d ever met. I mean the dude had been everywhere and was the living embodiment of the saying, “Live life to the fullest.”
When we arrived at the launch site, Yoshi set up the paraglider wing before helping me get into my harness. He then explained how take-off would work, gave a short safety briefing, set up the GoPro equipment, and strapped me in. After that was done, we just had to wait until the weather was right. Something pretty ingenious was that he used bubbles to tell the direction of the wind and how strong it was. Once the conditions were right, he instructed me to “Run straight and don’t stop!” It was time for lift-off.
Is Paragliding Scary?
Per usual, this is subjective, but at no point during takeoff, the flight, or the landing process did I think “Ah! Paragliding is scary.” If anything, any fear I had was me freaking myself out beforehand. In fact, when we took off, I don’t think I processed that I was no longer on the ground. I was probably a little bit in shock because I just kept saying, “Omg. Omg. Omg. This is insane.” 😂
Once I processed that I was finally crossing this dream of mine off my bucket list, I couldn’t stop beaming. The views of the Swiss lakes, verdant mountains, and valleys were unbelievable, and I genuinely had no fears or worries about anything. It was just being present and chatting with my pilot about almost every topic under the sun.
Is Paragliding Fun?
If you couldn’t tell from everything I’ve said above, I wholeheartedly believe paragliding is ridiculously fun! It’s like the ride at an amusement park that has a bunch of seats that rise above the ground and spin you around, except you can go almost wherever you want. Yoshi flew us through clouds, above jagged mountain tops, and over the flourishing valleys and small farms. We even flew over a small restaurant that’s at the very top of a mountain and waved to the people below.
Truly, I had the time of my life and it was everything I had dreamed of and more. I know how dramatic that sounds, but the experience just feels so liberating. Even my friend who threw up twice said she was still glad she went and had fun lol.
✅ 🪂 View companies to go paragliding with here! Just make sure to check the reviews
Does Your Stomach Drop When Paragliding?
Although I can’t speak for everyone. My personal experience is that my stomach didn’t drop when we were gaining height or descending for elevation. The only time my stomach dropped when paragliding was while we were doing paragliding aerobatics. Essentially, this is when you see people paragliding spinning fast in the air, doing flips, and making tons of sharp turns.
Yoshi asked me mid-way through the flight (when we were at our highest altitude) if I wanted to do paragliding aerobatics. Since I had no idea what to expect, I said sure. 🤠 For about 1 minute, my entire world turned upside down… repeatedly LOL. It was equally thrilling and disorienting. You could easily feel the changes in pressure and force as I’m positive you pull multiple G’s while doing paragliding aerobatics.
Also, you’ll recall that I mentioned earlier having the feeling of wanting to throw up and physically not being able to. This was that moment. For about 3 minutes after, I felt not so great. But then I recovered after we resumed our normal paragliding.
Oh, this probably goes without saying, but not every paragliding company gives you the option of doing this. And if they do give you the option of doing some aero-acrobatics, you most definitely don’t have to do it!
What Not to Do in Paragliding
Before I sign off, here are some final words of advice on what not to do in paragliding and how to stay safe! Well, at least as a passenger who is tandem paragliding lol. 😅
First, don’t be afraid to tell your pilot you’re scared or don’t want to do something. They are there to ensure your safety and will understand if you have any concerns. My friend opted to not do the aero-acrobatics because she wasn’t feeling well and ultimately chose to end her flight early.
Second, do not ignore your pilot’s instructions. For instance, my friend had a kinda shaky takeoff because she didn’t run straight. If your pilot tells you to run straight and don’t stop, do exactly as they say. Or, if during mid-flight, your pilot says, “We are getting ready to land, bring your feet up,” be sure to listen.
Finally, don’t forget to enjoy yourself! Chat with your pilot and get to know them! You’re literally strapped to them for the whole flight so you might as well have a good time and get to know each other. Plus, you may walk away from the experience as friends! Either way, Paragliding is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and you should soak up every moment of it!
First Time Paragliding: FAQ
This depends on the severity of your fear of heights. But, as someone who is very afraid of heights, I’d say you most definitely can still do paragliding even if you’re afraid of heights. For me, the key was living in the moment and focusing on the exhilarating experience at hand. And honestly, it wasn’t that hard to do because the views from above were so beautiful that I couldn’t stop thinking about how it must be a dream. There was no time to think about my fear of heights or falling.
For tandem paragliding, no higher fitness level is needed to go paragliding. You just need to be fit enough to get to the launch site, which is usually reached via hiking, car, or a gondola/chair lift. The one thing I have noticed is that paragliding companies ask you to let them know if you weigh more than 220 lbs or 100 kg. Depending on which pilots are available, they may or may not be able to accommodate you for safety purposes.
I don’t recommend eating before paragliding if it’s your first time going. You don’t know how you’ll react, and you don’t want to give your body something extra to throw up. 🙃 That said, you should still eat, just make sure to stop 2 hours before so you have time to digest.
As the passenger, you won’t need to check anything. Your instructor will do all the necessary checks before paragliding to make sure everything is safe. Just get pumped and be sure to bring a GoPro so you can share the amazing experience!
Wrap-Up: Is Paragliding Safe? (2024)
At the end of the day, tandem paragliding is pretty safe considering you’ll be flying with a highly experienced pilot who has gone through extra certification. That said, it’s also important to remember Mother Nature can’t always be controlled. Thus, there’s always going to be some level of calculated risk involved. So, you have to do what feels comfortable for you.
Regardless of your choice, I hope this post has been insightful and answered any questions you might have had about safety, what to expect your first time paragliding, and how to be prepared! As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me and I’d be happy to chat!
✅ 🪂 Search rates & availability for global paragliding destinations here!
Explore Adventure Travel
- 🇨🇭Grindelwald: Visiting Switzerland, be sure to stop by one of the most picturesque villages in Switzerland. There are tons of adventurous activities and endless gorgeous views!
- 🏄♀️ Surfing: Are you a surfing enthusiast or someone who enjoys watching big wave surfing, learn about the world-famous surf break, Teahupoo. The 2024 Summer Olympics was recently held at this break!
- 🏝️Tahiti: Staying in Tahiti and ready to chase waterfalls? Don’t miss out on seeing Fautaua Waterfall, the tallest waterfall on the island!
