CAPPADOCIA TRAVEL GUIDE: THINGS TO DO AND WHERE TO STAY

This is my second trip to Cappadocia and I still want to go. We started our trip in Antalya for 4 nights, flew to Cappadocia for another 4 nights, and ended our trip in Istanbul for 3 nights. Cappadocia’s landscape was formed over a million years ago leaving unique fairy chimneys and guests now can stay in cave hotels. It’s located in central Türkiye, it consists of many small towns that you can visit. I have visited Goreme, Uchisar, and Avanos. Here’s my Cappadocia Travel Guide on things to do and where to stay.

CAPPADOCIA TRAVEL GUIDE

HOW TO GET TO CAPPADOCIA

Most flights are through Istanbul Airport (IST). We flew from Antalya Airport to Istanbul Airport and Nevsehir Kapadokya Airport. There are 2 airports in Cappadocia. Nevshehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV) and Kayseri Airport (ASR). I recommend Nevshehir Airport, it’s a 40-minute car ride to Goreme and Kayseri is a little over an hour.

If you plan to explore the towns and stay for a few days I recommend renting a car. The roads in Cappadocia are easy to drive. I rented a car during my first trip, but this trip we decided to use a taxi and hired a private transfer roundtrip from the airport to the hotel.

THINGS TO KNOW

The best time to visit is between April and October. My first trip in 2018 was at the end of April and we did have one morning where the balloons did not go up due to weather. Be prepared for this as the hot air balloons fly depending on the weather. We had four perfect days on our recent trip at the end of August. The weather was amazing, between 80-90 degrees. I recommend 3 nights but it’s possible to experience 2 nights if you get perfect weather.

I recommend bringing cash in Euros or Lira. Hotels, restaurants, and some tour companies will take credit cards.

A tip of 10% – 15% is considered appropriate at most places.

Cappadocia does not have major safety concerns and I felt safe during each visit. The destination is also family-friendly, however, make sure tours allow children when booking.

I recommend booking hotels and hot air balloon tours as soon as possible as they can easily sell out.

WHERE TO STAY

Goreme is the main town in Cappadocia and the hotels are all within walking distance to restaurants and shops. We stayed in Goreme for 4 nights and experienced two hotels on this trip. Both hotels were amazing and next to each other. I’ve also stayed in Uchisar during my first trip in 2018, it’s a bit farther but they also have great hotels. April and May are the cheapest when it comes to hotel rooms. There are many amazing cave hotels to visit and I hope to return to experience more. Read my blog post on Best Cappadocia Cave Hotels with a view here.

KOZA CAVE HOTEL

We stayed in Koza Cave Hotel for the first 2 nights. It’s a small boutique family-run hotel with 10 rooms. They have one of the best rooftops and guests can visit any time of the day. It’s also open to the public with a small bar. I wanted to stay at this hotel for its iconic hot tub! Guests can only experience this private rooftop with a hot tub when booking the Queens Room. Rooms can start from 200 euros depending on the season.

AZA CAVE HOTEL

Next, we stayed at Aza Cave Hotel. This is an adult-only hotel with a pool (the water is super cold). Since we did not have a car, I wanted to have a pool at our hotel to relax and enjoy our time. I loved this hotel, it’s more of a luxury boutique hotel, we stayed in the Suite Room and it was very spacious. The hotel has the only Sushi Restaurant in the area, Aiza Sushi Restaurant. I loved that they created a WhatsApp message with me to help me plan my trip and answer questions. This hotel is also a sister hotel to the famous Sultan Cave Hotel, Kelebek Cave Hotel, and Seki Cave Hotel. Seki Cave Hotel also offers a beautiful hot tub sunrise experience with hot air balloons!

I found the rooms to be very affordable here. I originally booked the Junior Suite Room at 220 euros a night and when we checked in they upgraded us to the Suite Room. Rooms can start from 180 euros depending on the season. This hotel has two buildings, the main building and the extension which is where the Junior Suite Rooms are.

THINGS TO DO

With a car, there is so much to do! Read my blog post on Most Instagrammable Spots in Cappadocia for all the best photo locations!

HOT AIR BALLOON

There are many tours in Cappadocia. I went on a hot air balloon in 2018 and did not do it during our recent trip due to my pregnancy. There are many hot air balloon companies, I used Turkiye Balloons in 2018, Turquaz Balloons, which is owned by the same hotel collection as Sultan Cave Hotels. All hotels can help book the tours too.

I also recommend hiring a photographer for a photoshoot. I hired @suleymanikman who I found on Instagram and loved his work. He has different packages, I did 4 locations which included a few hot air balloon locations, running horses, and a cave. The package I selected cost 350 euros and I added a vintage car (150 euros) and the running horses (200 euros) as an additional fee along with renting a dress (50 euros).

OPEN AIR MUSEUM

The Open Air Museum is one of the top attractions of Cappadocia. It’s a 15-minute drive from Goreme. It’s worth a visit to explore the cave churches, make sure to wear comfortable shoes. Tickets are 20 euros.

EXPLORE GOREME

The main town of Goreme has many shops, restaurants, and fairy chimneys to photograph. I found many vintage cars parked around the town.

PASABAG

I visited Pasabag during my first trip and it’s worth a visit. I recommend visiting closer to closing as it can get busy with tour companies.

WALKS/HIKES/VALLEYS

If you have time, there are many beautiful valleys to visit especially for sunset. For the best views, visit Pigeon Valley, Love Valley, or Rose Valley.

EXPLORE UCHISAR/UCHISAR CASTLE

Uchisar is a town less than 10 minutes from Goreme by car. Uchisar Castle is an old citadel perched on a rock with views of Cappadocia.

EXPLORE AVANOS

If you have time, Avanos is another town to explore known for pottery. The town also has a beautiful umbrella alley if you visit make sure to look for this.

RED AND/OR GREEN TOUR

The red and green tour is a full-day tour where guests can visit most of the main attractions in a day. It includes visits to the Open Air Museum, the Underground City, Uchisar Castle, and the Devrent Valley.

I would have loved to visit the Underground City, but we did not do it this time. This is also an option to visit on your own by car.

WHERE TO EAT

Seten Restaurant: This is one of the fine dining restaurant options in Cappadocia and it’s located at Sultan Cave Hotel. Guests can enjoy the rooftop for drinks before dining as they do not take reservations. We loved dining here and went here twice for dinner.

Dibek Restaurant: This is a must when visiting Cappadocia. It’s best for traditional food, it’s inside a 475-year-old building! You dine sitting down and a must is the pottery kebab. Customers will need to order the pottery kebab when making the reservations due to how long it takes to make. It comes with either meat, chicken or vegetable. We tried the meat pottery kebab and loved it.

Happena Restaurant: This is a restaurant at Kelebek Cave Hotel. The views are beautiful, the food was great and we dined here for lunch.

Topdeck Cave Restaurant: We did not try this, but I’ve heard it’s one of the best overall restaurants in Cappadocia. It’s a restaurant inside a cave, reservations are recommended.

Pumpkin Goreme Restaurant: This is also an art gallery! I wanted to try this restaurant but did not get the chance.

Kaira Rooftop & Bar: Another rooftop restaurant worth visiting is Kaira Rooftop & Bar, located at the Artemis Cave & Suites Hotel. They serve traditional Turkish cuisine and great sunset views and music.

We had an amazing trip to Cappadocia and I know I will be back. There is so much to explore. I hope you have a great trip and if you’ve been to Cappadocia please leave a comment with your favorite things to do in Cappadocia.