Useful Information
| Language | No problem at all comunicating in English |
| Cost | Renting a car in Nevsehir was cheap (20€ per day including full insurance) Hot Air Balloons flight cost 70€ per person (low season) Entrances were quite cheap Food prices were on the low end (20€ for a meal for 2 people) Accommodation was on the low end due to being low season |
| Currency | Withdrew Turkish Lira from ATMs using my Revolut card just to have some cash for haggling with shops Card payments are accepted almost everywhere |
| Moving around | Driving a rental car in the Cappadocia felt easy and convenient Flight from Istanbul to Nevsehir was cheap and easy to book as there are many flights per day |
| Safety | Felt totally safe exploring Cappadocia |
| Time of Visit | January 2022 was my time of visit I benefited from good deals because of low-season Risked the weather a bit for hot air balloon flights but was 100% worth it |
Day 1 – Goreme
In order to arrive in Cappadocia you can either fly to Kayseri airport or Nevsehir airport. I chose to fly to Nevsehir airport because the flights schedule was more convenient for me. After your arrival you should pick up a rental car. Driving is highly recommended as you can travel on your own pace. I rented mine from Oguz Rent a Car and was very happy with everything. After a 30 minutes drive you should be arriving in Goreme. This is my reccomendation concerning the accommodation place as I believe it offers a sweet spot with it’s close proximity to most of the landmarks and the many options to stay or dine.
I highly recommend to book a cave room if your budget allows since it is a unique experience. I chose to stay in Aza Cave Suites. You can spend the rest of this long travelling day exploring the hotel, admiring the views and walking around Goreme.
Day 2 – Hot Air Balloon flight, Derinkuyu underground city, Uchisar Castle, Pigeon Valley and Love Valley
The #1 activity to do here is flying with Hot Air Balloons. As this activity depends on the weather conditions, my advice is to book it for the first day you will be in Cappadocia. If weather does not permit you to fly, your flight will be transferred for the next day. If your day starts with a hot air balloon flight, you will be waking up very early as the tour operator of your choice will pick you from your place of stay in a minivan at around 05:30. After a short drive you should have arrived in an open area where the balloons are getting inflated for the flights. The sun will be just appearing as you will be embarkin on the basket for your flight. The tour operator of my choice, Discovery Balloons, is highly recommended, as everything went great, the pilot was very professional and we felt safe during both of our flights.
After landing, you should return to your hotel to have breakfast and then you can continue your day by driving to Derinkuyu underground city which is a mere 40 minutes drive from Goreme. This underground city spans an imppressive 8 floors and some of the alleys are too tight to pass through. You can easily spend about 1 hour inside the dungeons and then you should drive to your next destination, Uchisar Castle (next to Goreme). After exploring this construction for about 1 hour you should continue to the Pigeon Valley. Stop here for the views and a few photos and continue towards the Love Valley. This is another place where you can take photos and admire the views over the valley of Cappadocia and it’s unique phallic-shape rock towers.
Day 3 – Hot Air Balloon flight, Goreme Open Air Museum, Pasabag Valley, Fairy Chimneys
We had originally planned to wake up later this day, but due to the previous day being cloudy, Discovery Balloons decided to offer us a complimentary second flight the following day because the forecast was for clear skies. We compromised our good sleep with another early wake up to enjoy a second hot air balloon flight over the valleys of Cappadocia. Fortunately the weather forecast was accurate and this flight was trully magical.
In case you don’t have a second hot air balloon flight scheduled for this day you can explore Goreme and drive around the valley to enjoy the views. You shouldn’t miss Goreme Open Air Museum which is a very short drive from Goreme. You can spend 2 hours there walking around the paths and visiting old monuments consisting mainly of rock-carved churches and monasteries.
Your next destination should be Pasabag Valley where you can walk around volcanic rock formations. There you are able to see the mushroom shaped rock chimneys from below, you can walk around them and even climb to high vantage point to enjoy views over the valley.
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