A round trip through Turkey? Why not? Our dear friends Chris and Monique from the travel blog “wird Zeit zu reisen” (It’s time to travel) went on a trip around the world last year, visiting Slovakia, Ukraine, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Georgia, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Turkey. In today’s travel report, they talk about the highlights of the beautiful Cappadocia region in Turkey and provide plenty of valuable information and travel tips. After reading this report, we’ve become incredibly keen to travel through Turkey and Cappadocia. Have fun browsing and imitating!

These reports might also interest you:

• Journey through the Atacama Desert
• The most beautiful highlights in Tasmania
• My trip to the Maldives
• Round trip through North Macedonia
• Tonga in the South Pacific

• Cool tour of Cornwall and Devon
• My tour of Myanmar
• On your own through Botswana
• The Indonesian Moluccas
• Top Highlights on Nusa Penida

• These reports might also interest you:
• Off to Cappadocia
• Getting to Cappadocia
• Cave Hotels in Cappadocia
• Our Cappadocia Highlights
• Costs & Prices for Cappadocia
• Best Time and Duration of Trip
• Our Conclusion on Cappadocia

Off to Cappadocia

If we had to describe Cappadocia in just one word, it would probably be “bizarre.” This Turkish region consists of countless surreal rock formations that were formed by erosion from the volcanic tuff rock. At the same time, words like “magical,” “fairytale-like,” and “beautiful” also immediately come to mind. Curious why? Then pay attention!

Getting to Cappadocia

Cappadocia is located in Central Anatolia, Turkey. The nearest larger cities are Kayseri and Nevsehir. We arrived here from the east on an overnight bus from Trabzon. The bus network is very well developed throughout Turkey. This way, you can get from A to B for a reasonable price without having to fly. Those who don’t have much time for the very long distances within Turkey can, of course, also reach their destination by plane.

Direct flights from Germany are rare, however, so you have to change in Istanbul or Ankara to get to Nevşehir or Kayseri. Smaller buses or shared taxis, called dolmuş, then take you from the bus station or airport to the smaller towns. One of the most famous places in Cappadocia is Göreme. From here, all other excursion destinations can be easily planned and reached.

Cave Hotels in Cappadocia

As already mentioned, the landscape is dominated by bizarrely shaped rocks. The highlight, however, is that many of them are riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. Over millennia, the people living here carved caves into the soft tuff rock, where they lived and found shelter. Even today, many of the structures are either fully or partially integrated into the rocks. There are many hotels and hostels here where you actually sleep in a cave!

You can find a large selection of cave hotels and hostels in Cappadocia at booking.com*. We stayed in a hostel in Göreme with a cave dormitory for 16 people. Don’t worry, no one comes here to party, so it was incredibly quiet. So quiet that you could hear small grains of sand falling from the cave ceiling to the floor. Quiet hours are also strictly enforced here, as most visitors get up before sunrise. Why is that? Come on, on to the highlights!

• Nessa Cave Hotel (from €28 including breakfast)*
• Panoramic Cave Hotel (from €32 including breakfast)*
• Caftan Cave Suites (from €55 including breakfast)*
• Tulip Cave Suites (from €67 including breakfast)*
• Zara Cave Hotel (from €75 including breakfast)*

Our Cappadocia Highlights

1. The Underground City of Derinkuyu

Now let’s imagine you’re renovating your house and find a room behind a wall that, according to the plan, doesn’t actually exist. That’s exactly what happened to a man in 1963 who uncovered the entrance to the underground city of Derinkuyu in his house. So, not only is Cappadocia above ground riddled with caves, but also underground. From the Göreme bus station, we drove to Nevsehir, where we changed buses to Derinkuyu.

In Derinkuyu, we walked about 5 minutes from the bus station to the visitor entrance of the underground city. It descends over 60 meters across 8 floors, connected by narrow corridors and staircases. Researchers estimate that up to 20,000 people once lived here. Not for those with claustrophobia! However, anyone who doesn’t mind confined spaces will be able to spend a few exciting hours here.

2. Hiking in a unique landscape

A definite must! This landscape is begging to be explored. Dozens of valleys and gorges can be easily explored on foot. It’s best to simply ask at your accommodation which of the many hiking trails best suits your preferences. We even had free hiking maps for the surrounding areas available at reception. You can also take day trips with a guide. You’ll certainly be given some historical background, but we decided to set off on our own.

Be sure to check out the Pigeon Valley. What water, wind, and weather have carved out of the rock faces here is both strange and breathtakingly beautiful. Mushroom-like overhangs on smoothly polished slopes and pointed tuff cones protruding from the ground dominate the landscape. The valley owes its name to several dovecotes carved into the rocks.

Those who aren’t “prudish” shouldn’t miss the Love Valley. The freestanding stone pillars here are—ahem, let’s say—very masculine in shape. Legend has it that fairies live in them and seduce men. Hence, they are also called fairy chimneys. We think that’s a very cute description for such a phallic symbol.

3. Hot air balloons over Cappadocia

Many tourists come to Cappadocia for one reason only. As already mentioned, they get up at the crack of dawn. For some of them, it’s high up, others enjoy the spectacle from below. We were among the latter. On 300 days a year, countless hot air balloons rise into the morning sky. We have rarely seen anything so beautiful. There’s definitely something magical about it.

The glow in our eyes was at least as bright as that of the balloons, which conjured up an endless, gently twinkling string of lights in the dawn. There are many viewpoints, although the most famous ones are very crowded. Our hostel recommended Rose Valley. Not only do numerous hot-air balloons launch here, but you’ll also find several crowd-free viewing points on the surrounding hills.

If you want to fly, or as the technical jargon correctly puts it, “ride along,” you should book a ticket as early as possible. Reservations should be made at least 7 days before takeoff. This is best done online with one of the many providers, such as GetYourGuide*. After a one-hour balloon ride, there’s a traditional champagne toast. Well then, cheers!

4. Other Cappadocia Highlights

Since we were only in Göreme for three nights, we naturally only managed a fraction of the activities Cappadocia has to offer. The region, for example, is steeped in history. There are dozens of churches hewn into the rock to discover. In the picturesque Ihlara Valley alone, there are 50 where you can admire centuries-old paintings and frescoes.

The small town of Avanos is a pottery center and has been for 3,000 years. The 60-meter-high Uçhisar fortress is visible from afar. In Roman times, an entire mountain was hollowed out and transformed into a defensive structure. The view from up there must be spectacular.

There’s also plenty to experience for athletes and adrenaline junkies. Cappadocia is a paradise for cyclists. Whether leisurely on well-maintained cycle paths or speeding down on mountain bike trails, every two-wheeled enthusiast will find something to their liking here. The area is also wonderfully explored on horseback or by quad bike. For climbers, Cappadocia is one big adventure playground.

Even winter in Cappadocia has a lot to offer. The dormant Erciyes Dağı volcano near Kayseri is a popular ski resort. In addition, hot air balloons also fly in the cold months – ideally over a snow-covered winter wonderland.

Popular tours & excursions on GetYourGuide:

• Göreme: Horseback Riding in Cappadocia*
• Cappadocia: 4×4 Sunset Tour*
• Private Half-Day Vineyards & Wine Tasting*
• Salt Lake and Underground Cities with Lunch*
• South Cappadocia: Green Tour with Hike*

Costs & Prices for Cappadocia

Sure, Cappadocia in Turkey is a tourist magnet. Prices are always slightly higher than normal in Turkey. Göreme, as a central destination, is of course no exception. As is almost always the case, there is no upper limit to the costs. You can, of course, check into a luxury hotel with a private rooftop terrace. Exclusive views of the balloons, practically from your bed, are included. Or, like us, you can stay in a hostel with shared rooms and perhaps make slight compromises regarding the sanitary facilities. On the other hand, the breakfast here was the best we had in all of Turkey!

The same applies to the hot air balloons. For a seat in a 20-person basket, you pay between 120 and 200 euros. If the weather conditions did not permit a takeoff the previous day, the price for an hour of flight can easily be around 300 euros or more. In such situations, demand determines the price. Rides with smaller groups start at 250 euros per person.

As a spectator from below, you pay nothing, of course. Dinner with a drink in an average restaurant will cost you around 15 to 20 euros. Of course, it’s much cheaper to go to snack bars, where you can get freshly prepared meals like sandwiches, kebabs, or pide starting at €2.50.

Best Time to Travel and Length of Trip

We spent 3 nights in Göreme, although we had originally planned to stay only two. Although the hot air balloons fly 300 days a year, we were unlucky that no balloons took off for two consecutive days due to strong winds. During this time, we went on two hikes and a trip to the underground city of Derinkuyu. Since we couldn’t get enough of the unique landscape, we would have loved to explore more gorges and valleys, so another day wouldn’t have hurt.

We think that even a whole week wouldn’t have been boring. The high season in Cappadocia runs from April to October. The climate is steppe-like. This means that it gets blazing hot during the day, but then cools down considerably at night. Especially in the spring and early autumn months, the difference between day and night is—well, just like day and night. We were in Cappadocia in October and had temperatures around 25°C during the day and below 10°C at night. The winters are bitter, with temperatures as low as -20°C.

Our conclusion about Cappadocia

In the eight months of our world trip, we’ve traveled quite a bit, visited ten countries, and had plenty of unforgettable experiences. When asked, it’s always hard to say what we liked best. And yet, Cappadocia is always one of the first places we mention. This beautiful region has burned itself deep into our hearts. Despite its popularity and the sheer number of tourists, this region has retained its magical and enchanting flair.