Hot Air Balloon · Tour
Cappadocia 2-Day Tour from Istanbul with Underground City
Ratings collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
IstanbulCross-country tours of Turkey routinely give Cappadocia a single day, and the case this package makes is that one day is too thin. Two days is what it proposes instead, and the balloon flight is not part of the fare unless you pick a booking option that carries it, so check that before you pay. It also has 242 ratings at 4.3, several times the review count behind the other two-day packages listed here. Day one takes the northern circuit, guided, in a group capped at 10. The Three Beauties open it, then Goreme National Park, the open air museum UNESCO listed since 1985, and Tokali Church, part of a complex of four churches and a hermitage dating to the 9th century. Ortahisar and Uchisar are viewed from outside, since neither castle is entered. Lunch is testi kebab at Avanos, above the Kizilirmak. Devrent Valley closes the day, its red rock weathered into animal shapes. The optional balloon takes the second dawn, because Turkish civil aviation permits Cappadocia launches at sunrise only. After that the route turns south, away from the Goreme circuit. Keslik Monastery has two churches and a refectory hall cut into rock that served as a Roman gravesite and later a Byzantine monastery. Sobesos was found by accident in 2002 and kept its floor mosaics. Kaymakli runs eight levels underground. The flight home leaves between 8:00pm and 9:30pm.
What's included
- Fully air-conditioned, non-smoking vehicles
- Round-Trip Domestic Flights Between Istanbul and Cappadocia
- Lunch
- Hot Air Balloon Ride (Optional – Included Only with Selected Booking Options)
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- Breakfast
- Entrance fee - All entrance fees for museums and ruins listed in itinerary
- Hotel / Airport pick-up and drop-off services
- One night accommodation at cave boutique hotel including breakfast
- Semi-private guided tour (Maximum 10 guests per group)
Itinerary
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Ürgüp
Ürgüp, Nevşehir, Türkiye
Uçhisar, Nevşehir Merkez
Uçhisar, Nevşehir Merkez/Nevşehir, Türkiye
Göreme, Aydınlı - Orta, Göreme/Nevşehir Merkez
Göreme, Aydınlı - Orta, 50180 Göreme/Nevşehir Merkez/Nevşehir, Türkiye
Istanbul
Istanbul, İstanbul, Türkiye
Istanbul
The first leg is a road transfer to the airport. Your driver collects you at the hotel reception in Istanbul, or at an Airbnb address if there is parking, and drops you off for the flight to Cappadocia.
Cappadocia
At the arrival terminal in Cappadocia a driver holds a sign with your name and takes you to your hotel, where there is time to freshen up before the day's guided tour. Tours run semi-private, with no more than 10 guests in the group, so the guide has time for each of them and the pace stays unhurried.
The Three Beauties (Uc Guzeller)
Your local guide collects you from the hotel reception and the first day begins. The order of the stops has been worked out over years of running the route and taking guest feedback on it, and it covers the region's history, culture and geology in one pass. It starts at the Three Beauties, the three fairy chimneys that stand together, known for the rock itself and for the legends attached to them.
Goreme National Park
Past the Three Beauties the route reaches Göreme National Park, the concentration of valleys, fairy chimneys and volcanic rock the region is known for worldwide. It is UNESCO listed, and the stops inside it are the Göreme Open-Air Museum and Tokalı Church, both held up for their rock-cut architecture and their Byzantine frescoes.
Goreme Open Air Museum
Among the earliest monasteries in Christian history, the Göreme Open Air Museum was hewn out of the rock and used to educate and spread Christianity. It has held UNESCO World Heritage status since 1985. The churches inside are covered in frescoes, and the living spaces were carved from the same rock.
TokalI Church
Inside the Göreme Open Air Museum, Tokalı Church, the Buckle Church, counts as one of the most beautiful of the Cappadocian cave churches. The frescoes are the reason, significant in theology and in art. Four churches and a hermitage make up the complex around it, all dating back to the 9th century. Once the most famous church in the region, it is still one of the most impressive.
Ortahisar Castle
Ortahisar Castle, in Ortahisar town in Nevşehir, is described as the most spectacular fairy chimney in Cappadocia. Steep valleys on three sides made it a place of protection and shelter in ancient times, and it is said to be one of the first multi-storey settlements in the world. The rock castle is not entered, because of walking difficulties and safety concerns, so this is a panoramic stop. Afterwards there is a brief visit to a cooperative that makes Turkish carpets. Weaving reached Turkey from Central Asia and is still practised in Cappadocia, and the visit covers how the work is done.
Avanos Oren Yeri
Lunch comes at a local restaurant in Avanos, where testi kebab is on the menu, a kebab unique to the Cappadocia region. Vegetarian dishes are available at the same restaurant. The old town is cobbled and looks over the water. Avanos, Venessa in antiquity, sits above the Kızılırmak, the Red River and the longest in Turkey, which divides it from the rest of Cappadocia. Earthenware pottery has been produced here since the Hittites, from clay in the river's red silt, and it is still a key economic activity. A short stop takes it in.
Uchisar Castle
One of the biggest landmarks in Cappadocia, Uchisar rock castle is the highest tuff hill around, with views across a valley of oddly formed rock. Walking difficulties and safety concerns keep the castle itself off the itinerary, so the stop is for the panoramic view of it.
Devrent Valley
Imagination Valley is the other name for Devrent, earned by rock formations that take the shape of animals, mostly in shades of red. The camel is the one people find first.
Fairy Chimneys
The fairy chimneys are the clearest example of the landforms Cappadocia is famous for, and of how people have lived alongside them. You will pass many of them on foot and by car while covering the area.
Cappadocia
At the end of the tour a transfer returns you to your hotel in Cappadocia.
Hot Air Balloon Ride (Optional – Included Only with…
Hot air balloon ride (optional, included only with selected booking options, fixed price guarantee, no last-minute price increases). Only some booking options carry the flight, so check yours. Where it applies, a vehicle collects you at the hotel and runs you to the balloon site, with time to watch the balloon being prepared. Sunrise is the take-off slot, the only one Turkish civil aviation allows in Cappadocia. The pilot takes the basket to about 700 to 1,000 metres above ground level, then on some stretches of the flight down to within a metre of the rock formations for photographs. Around three hours for the whole activity, about 60 minutes of it airborne, with champagne at the end.
Keslik Monastery
Your local guide meets you at the hotel reception for a day in the less travelled parts of the region. Keslik Monastery is a sprawling cave monastery: two churches, a large refectory hall, a sacred spring and cave rooms without apparent end, all in a garden setting. No monastery in Cappadocia covers more ground. Two thousand years of use lie behind it, as a gravesite in pre-Christian Roman times, as a large communal monastery under the Byzantines, and as a site visitors come to now.
Sobesos Ancient City
Sobesos Ancient City was found by accident in 2002, then excavated over three years. The dig turned up motifs worked into coloured stone, and the floor mosaics with their geometric patterns are what people stop for.
Today
Lunch is at a cave restaurant in Ayvalı Village, the room cut into the rock. The menu is a set of local dishes chosen to cover Turkish cooking.
Pigeon Valley
In the town of Uchisar, this is one of the best panoramic viewpoints in the region, and the rock is pocked with pigeon houses cut by the people who lived here in antiquity. A visit to a well known onyx stone factory nearby is available if you want it.
Kaymakli Underground City
Kaymakli ranks among the largest underground cities in Cappadocia, cut through 8 levels, though not all of them are open to visitors. Animals were kept on the first level, with space to move about freely. Corridors run between the churches and the living areas, which are separated from the stables. Storage rooms, kitchens, cemeteries, a communal area and a copper workshop are all down there. Tunnels are believed to remain in the city that nobody has fully explored.
At the end of the tour
A transfer to Cappadocia airport closes the tour, for the flight back to Istanbul.
Upon your arrival at the airport in Istanbul
At the airport in Istanbul your driver is waiting to take you to your hotel. The return flight departs between 8:00pm and 9:30pm and touches down in Istanbul at roughly 9:30pm to 10:45pm, late enough that the second day in Cappadocia stays free for the guided tour.
Ürgüp
Ürgüp, Nevşehir, Türkiye
Uçhisar, Nevşehir Merkez
Uçhisar, Nevşehir Merkez/Nevşehir, Türkiye
Göreme, Aydınlı - Orta, Göreme/Nevşehir Merkez
Göreme, Aydınlı - Orta, 50180 Göreme/Nevşehir Merkez/Nevşehir, Türkiye
Istanbul
Istanbul, İstanbul, Türkiye
Not included
- Dinner
- Drinks
Good to know
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
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- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- To book your domestic flights, the supplier may kindly ask you to provide your passport details. Sharing this information will help ensure that your flight reservations can be arranged without any issues.
- Your domestic flight e-tickets will be emailed to you by the supplier three days before your departure. There is no need to print your tickets, as both the airline and the supplier accept digital copies.
- Each traveler is entitled to 15 kg of checked baggage and 8 kg of carry-on baggage on all domestic flights. If you expect to exceed the checked baggage allowance, please inform the supplier before your trip. Additional fees may apply for excess baggage.
- If you request any changes to your domestic flight(s) after the tickets have been issued, the supplier may ask you to cover the cost of the new flight ticket(s). Please note that once issued, domestic flight tickets are non-refundable and cannot be modified.
- MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE FOR HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE: All hot air balloon flights are subject to weather conditions and Civil Aviation Authority safety regulations. In the event that your balloon flight is canceled because of unfavorable weather, the supplier will provide a full refund for the balloon ride. Refunds are usually processed within the next day, ensuring a simple, transparent, and worry-free experience.
- FIXED PRICE GUARANTEE FOR HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE: Hot air balloon prices are dynamic and may change daily based on demand and weather-related cancellations. During periods of high demand, especially after weather cancellations, prices can increase by 30–40% and, in some cases, by as much as 70–80%. By booking today, you lock in your current price. Once your reservation is confirmed, your balloon ride price is guaranteed and will not increase, even if rates go up later. BOOK NOW WITH OUR FIXED PRICE GUARANTEE AND SAVE MONEY!
- SEMI-PRIVATE GUIDED TOURS: The guided day tour(s) included in this package are operated with a maximum of 10 guests, offering a more exclusive alternative to standard group tours. With smaller groups, you'll enjoy a more personalized experience, greater comfort, and better opportunities to explore Cappadocia’s stunning landscapes and fascinating historical and cultural heritage.
- Accommodation is based on double or triple room occupancy. Room arrangements depend on the number of travelers: 2 guests will be accommodated in a double room, while 3 guests will stay in a triple room. For groups of 4 or more, accommodations will be arranged in a suitable combination of double and/or triple rooms. Solo travelers will be provided with a single room at no additional cost. A single room supplement may apply if travelers in a group of two or more request separate single rooms.
- Your hotel accommodation (Misty Cave Hotel, Zeydem Suites, or Yunak Evleri) is based on the package option selected during booking. Please select your preferred option carefully. If your chosen hotel is unavailable on your travel dates, the supplier reserves the right to substitute it with another hotel of comparable quality and standard.
- The Hot Air Balloon Ride will be operated in the Standard Category. This category offers an approximate flight duration of one hour, using baskets with a capacity of 20 to 28 passengers. The actual flight time may vary between 50–55 minutes or 65–70 minutes, depending on weather conditions prior to landing. Flight duration decisions are made by the pilot in accordance with the safety regulations of the Civil Aviation Authority. The total duration of the activity is approximately 3 hours.
- If you choose not to use any included service or decide not to participate in scheduled activities, guided tours, hot air balloon rides, airport transfers, or other included services, it will be regarded as a last-minute cancellation. Unfortunately, no refund can be issued for any unused services.
- The children aged 6 and under are not allowed to participate in the hot air balloon ride due to Civil Aviation regulations.
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking.
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required.
- Up to 10 travelers per booking.
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Guiding available in: pt, ja, en, es.
Reviews
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Ratings collected by Viator and Tripadvisor