One of my favorite and most magical trip for sure!
Must do: fly with a hot-air balloon.
Month: I visited Cappadocia late October, ideal months I would say from late April till September/October with July/August though to be very warm. Important thing, is to find at least 1 day with ideal weather in order to make the hot-air balloon flight and one other morning to see them from a terrace/spot in the ground.
Currency : 1 Turkish Lira = 0.05 Euros =0.05 USD / check the rates when you visit
Plug: European
Duration: 4 days are good. But obviously stay longer if you want to relax!
Hotel I chose: Carus Cappadocia, located in Goreme area. I recommend generally to choose a cave room (literally a cave!!) since it was a really great and different experience of accomodation, the mobile reception may be weak though. Breakfast with big variety, very well organised, nice terrace & location! Angel’s tip: The BEST thing though, was when my hot-air balloon flight was cancelled due to weather and all the slots for the next days were fully booked, the hotel I was staying had just started operating a new hot-air balloon! I was so sad when we didn’t manage to fly but soooo lucky the hotel had its own hot-air balloon and I could fly with them!
I cannot even think the possibility to leave this magical place without flying.
How can you go? Cappadocia has 2 airports, you can choose the one it is more convenient for you depending on the times. I flew from Athens-Greece to Istanbul airport and then another domestic flight to Kayseri’s Erkilet Airport (ASR) with Pegasus Airlines.
- Kayseri airport to Goreme (the area i stayed in Cappadocia) is 1 hour and 15 minutes drive. Several hotels have airport shuttle that can take you to your hotel.
- I returned from the 2nd airport : Nevşehir Airport(NEV) which was closer to Goreme – 40 minutes drive.
Other options are by train or car/bus but too many hours and flights with Pegasus/Turkish airlines from Istanbul are not expensive.
Istanbul – Goreme: 8 hours drive // Izmir – Goreme: 10 hrs drive
MY ADVICE:
- Stay ideally in Goreme. It has a great position for a breathtaking view of the balloons and most of the offices and tour coordinators are based there. In addition, you have more options for dinner/lunch even on foot.
View from my hotel terrace upon sunrise, amazing?
- Pick a hotel with a terrace and walk up a morning upon sunrise to enjoy this BREATHTAKING view. Nearly every single morning(depending on the weather) 100-150 hot air balloons fly before/after sunrise. Scenery is magical. Angel’s tip: In case your hotel has not search for another hotel like Sultan cave suites, Koza cave hotel, Tulip Cave suites, Lunar Cappadocia hotel, Millstone Cave suites and so many more.
- The scenery from a balloon over Cappadocia is breathtaking. Make a reservation well in advance with a reputable company (you can check online easily their ratings, although security measures are strict for everybody), to have the amazing experience of the hot-air balloon flight. We had booked with a company called Butterfly Balloons, had great reviews but didn’t fly with them since flight was cancelled due to low visibility.
- I was 4 days there and I didn’t rent any car. If you want , roads are easy. The most of the companies have free pick up service for the tours, the flight or riding experiences. Our hotel as well sent a van and picked us up from the airport on arrival in Cappadocia! Consequently, i don’t think a car is necessary. And if you need it for some restaurants in other areas you call a taxi!
- Book your flight with the hot-air balloon in the beginning of your trip to have days in case your flight is cancelled.
WHAT ELSE I CAN DO APART FROM HOT-AIR BALLOONS?
Discover the city of Cappadocia!!! If you have rented a car, you can visit all the gorgeous places on your own in 2 days. I didnt retnt a car, but it is a very easy to drive, since there is barely any traffic.
Otherwise there are some organized tours that I recommend. They are so convenient that include most of the sights worth visiting and you can choose to take a different tour every day or just 1 of them once. I would say, if you have plenty of days available, to visit all of them. Main ones are the Red and the Green Tour; Red is the central north side Cappadocia Tour which covers the must-see main spots in Cappadocia (it is the one that I did) and the Green Tour is the longer distance tour of Southern Cappadocia. These 2 tours cover valleys, museums, underground cities, USHISAR castle, monasteries, local lunch and beautiful art workshops .
Angel’s tip: if you want to devote only one day and you want to do more things than the ones mentioned in 1 tour, prefer something that combines it all! I chose the “Highlights of Cappadocia Tour with lunch” through “VENERE TRAVEL AGENCY” in Goreme and I totally recommend it!! -> 60 EUROS PP=1095 TL
Highlights of Cappadocia Tour with lunch INCLUDE below activities:
- Goreme Open air museum, which contains some of the most impressive cave churches in Cappadocia and you will hear about the influence of Christianity there // entrance fee 40TL
- Avanos kick-wheel pottery demostration, Avanos is the pottery centre of Cappadocia and their art abilities are amazing. Angel’s tip: Items are so beautiful & painted in hand but some are expensive. For sure bargain though!!!
- Fairy Chimneys, rock formations by volcanic eruptions created a surreal moonscape.
Fairy Chimneys
- Love Valley, one of the most fantastic valleys of Cappadocia. It is great as well to see there the hot air balloons early in the morning.
Love Valley panorama
- Pigeon Valley
- Kaymakli underground city, maybe the best and more interesting underground city where you will have the chance to descend 4 floors from the 8 (if you have issues with your back, feet or narrow spaces avoid it)
FAMOUS RIDING TOURS:
- Camel
- Quad bikes
- Horse: I picked this one, through same agency with the tour, since Cappadocia is known as the “land of beautiful horses” and indeed it was great!! 2 hours and with experienced people around you (note it was my first time I ride a horse). Horseback riding through the beautiful valleys with the fairy chimneys, on powerful beautiful horses, wonderful landscapes with impressive rock formations and quiet roads and trails far from the crowds (and a bit scary sometimes!). Price when I visited on 2019: 400 TL / pp. Angel’s tip: Choose a timing close to sunset for better pics.
BEST pictures for Instagram:
- In rooftop terraces of hotels , during sunrise, with the hot air balloons up in the sky.
- In your hot air balloon during your flight.
- Museum hotel in Ushisar.
- Love valley panorama with the heart.
- Fairy Chimneys, rock formations by volcanic eruptions created a surreal moonscape.
- Sunset in Red Valley.
- A carpet shop. Angel’s tip: visited an amazing carpet shop in the center of Goreme called “Gallerie Ikman”. Amazing colourful carpets & absolutely impressive scenery. Owner is a bit sensitive though with the tourists that just want to enter his shop for photos and not to buy so respect them above all. You can pay something if you want to take photos on your own or pay the owner to take photographs / video with his drone. Absolutely incredible result as you can see. Wish i knew it before and had a nice dress with me in this trip! haha
FOOD:
The food in general during the whole trip was very satisfying. Main courses are usually grilled meat or fish, skewered meat, kebabs, meatballs & stews. Try Manti, Testi Kebab, Pide and Firin Sutlac as a dessert.
My favorite ones:
- Turkish Ravioli
- Pottery Kebab : You can find this dish almost everywhere in Turkey but the best is made in Cappadocia!! It is made with lamb or beef. Don’t miss it!
Pottery kebab
My favorite restaurants:
- Lil’a Restaurant by Museum Hotel in Uçhisar
- Turkish Ravioli in Goreme
EXTRA: Cappadocia has amazing carpets and most of them are handmade. Bought one of extremely great quality and price from Galeri Ottoman, Carpet & Kilim at Museum street in Goreme. (The initian price was 3 times more than the one i actually bought!)
DID you know?
- The reason why hot-air balloons take off at sunrise is because the air temperature and the wind conditions are usually more stable.
- Turkish Civil Aviation Authority has an office in Cappadocia that gives permission or not to balloon flights, if the weather conditions are within limits every morning, a bit before sunrise. This applies to all hot air balloon companies in Cappadocia. The company picked us up, we went there and waited till the green light was given. First time was cancelled and we returned back to the hotel. The second time we were lucky!
- You can choose between 1 or 1,5 hr flight usually and pay extra if you want less people in your basket. We were 4 in every basket (total 4 baskets and it was good). Angel’s tip: try to choose the people you get on the basket with or with your friends, since you will need to switch sides for photos during the trip. Pay a bit more for a basket less crowded (2 to 4 people max).
- Cappadocia is one of the few places in the world with almost 150-200 underground cities. Only 36 of them though have been discovered. Their role was to protect the ancient inhabitants and permitted many people to live their lives in secrecy.
*For more pictures check my highlights in Instagram*