Hey, you there! Go to skyscanner.net. Look up flights to Cappadocia, Turkey. Book flight. Get on airplane. Have no regrets!
Cappadocia, Turkey is by far the most beautiful and amazing place I’ve ever been. And you’re going to go, too, because you’re a smart human who wants to see the most beautiful and amazing place in the world. It is still largely untouched and hasn’t been completely overrun by tourists yet. So you want to go there now!
Here’s what you need to know…
How to Get There
Cappadocia, located in central Turkey, is easy to get to from Istanbul. The flight is a little over an hour. You fly into Kayseri airport and it’s about an hour drive from there to Cappadocia.
I visited Cappadocia with my friend Chelsea on the trail end of our stay in Turkey. We booked roundtrip flights on Turkish Airlines from Istanbul for $85. Turkish Airlines is very high class and has great customer service! Even in peasant class coach. I highly recommend flying it.
Where to Stay
Despite being only $8 a night, our hostel Ali’s Guest House was amazing! Like most hotels and homes in Cappadocia, it’s built into the side of a cliff so we were literally sleeping in a cave. This is how most of the hotels and homes are in Cappadocia. This kept it very cool which was a nice change from the disgustingly hot heat I experienced in Istanbul. The staff at Ali’s was incredibly friendly and when I sent one of my friends to stay there a month later, they remembered me!
What to Do
Hiking
We spent our first day hiking the Rose Valley. The hiking was fairly easy but the rocks are slippery. I hiked in Toms and slipped a couple of times. Cappadocia has a semi arid climate so it’s pretty dry and hot. Bring water!
For dinner, try the Turkish pottery kebab. It is amazing meat covered in spices that comes in a clay pot.
After dinner, we hiked back into the Rose Valley with a bottle of wine to watch the sunset. There was almost no one else up there which made for an even better sunset experience than Santorini.
Hot Air Balloon Ride
On most mornings, up to 150 hot air balloons fill the sky over Cappadocia. We booked our hot air balloon ride through Air Kapadokya and were very pleased with the trip. It was a once in a lifetime experience.
The day began at 4 a.m. The tour company picked us up from our hostel and took us to sign paperwork over hot coffee. The hot air balloon ride was about an hour, maybe a little more. They took us up into the sky overlooking the land and down into the valleys between the mountains.
We ended the tour with a glass of champagne to celebrate a safe landing, even though it was only 6:15 a.m.!
Note: don’t be a dimwit like me and forget to charge your camera! I was stuck using my iPhone 5 instead of my Sony Nex-5T. I had packed my bag the night before so I could just grab it and go at 4 a.m. As I laid in bed I thought, “Hmm…my camera could have turned on in my bag because it’s so packed. Maybe I should take it out so the battery doesn’t die.” Of course we got to the balloon, I took four photos and it died!
If you can get to Turkey, you cannot leave without visiting Cappadocia. Even though we only had two days in this beautiful part of the country, I honestly felt it was enough. There isn’t too much in the town and the hot air balloon ride is really the best way to see the area. Stay in a cave hotel, eat pottery kebab, take a hike and end with a hot air balloon ride and you will fully enjoy your stay in Cappadocia, Turkey!
Beautiful image..
Sounds like an amazing place to visit, even more so with all the hot air balloons. I think your photos are still pretty good too, even tough they were taken with an iphone
Thank you so much! I’m not the best photographer to begin with so I was devastated that I didn’t have my camera to rely on to capture it. But I tried my best!
That right there! Is my dream!
You have to go Michael! It’s even better in person. Photos just do not do it justice.
That’s what they all say! Makes me wanna go even more..