Embark on a two-day tour of Cappadocia, starting from Istanbul. Experience the region’s surreal landscapes, cave churches, and the underground city, and don’t miss the thrilling balloon ride.
Flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia - Cappadocia Day Tour - Overnight at Cappadocia
Istanbul - Your journey starts with a transfer from your hotel to the airport in Istanbul. The driver will meet you at your hotel reception or Airbnb address, provided it is accessible for parking. You’ll then be taken to the airport for your flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia. This transfer and domestic flight ticket are included in the “Standard Package,” “Premium Package,” and “Ultimate Package” options.
Cappadocia - Upon arrival at Cappadocia airport, your driver will greet you and take you to your hotel in Cappadocia, about an hour away. The driver will be waiting for you at the airport’s arrival terminal exit, holding a sign with your name on it.
Mustafapasa - Most tours only show you panoramic views of some valleys and fairy chimneys in Cappadocia due to entrance fee costs. You won’t fully experience the history and geography of Cappadocia. Our guided tours, especially today’s, present you with ancient and significant places in the Cappadocia district. After receiving hundreds of feedback from our guests, we created this tour for those who are interested in the historical, cultural, and architectural heritage of Cappadocia. Your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel for a special day trip organized exclusively by us.
Keslik Monastery - Keslik Monastery is a vast cave monastery complex with two churches, a large refectory hall, a sacred spring, and numerous cave rooms. Set in an idyllic garden, it is the most expansive monastery in Cappadocia. This site has been used and developed in various ways over 2,000 years. It was a gravesite in pre-Christian Roman times, a large communal monastery during the Byzantine era, and now a tourist site in modern Turkey.
Sobesos Ancient City - Sobesos Ancient City was discovered by accident in 2002. The city, a mirror of Cappadocia’s history, was unearthed after a 3-year archaeological excavation. The excavations revealed many motifs embroidered on colored stones, especially the floor mosaics with interesting geometric patterns.
Uchisar - Uchisar is a town with the best restaurants in Cappadocia. These restaurants are uncrowded and not touristy. You will have lunch at one of the great restaurants here today.
Pigeon Valley - Located in Uchisar town, Pigeon Valley offers one of the best panoramic views of the region. The site also features many pigeon houses built by the ancient inhabitants. If you like, you can visit a popular onyx stone factory in the region.
Kaymakli Underground City - Kaymakli, one of the major underground cities of Cappadocia, consists of 8 floors. However, not all floors are open to tourists. The first floor is designated for animals to go out easily. Corridors connect the churches and other living spaces to the stables. Kaymakli Underground City has astounding sections such as warehouses, kitchens, cemeteries, a mughouse, and a copper processing workshop. It still contains hidden underground tunnels that have not been fully revealed.
Cappadocia - At the end of the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel in Cappadocia.
Hot Air Balloon Ride (Optional) - Cappadocia Day Tour - Flight Back to Istanbul
Cappadocia Balloon Tours - Hot Air Balloon Ride (INCLUDED ONLY IN THE “ULTIMATE PACKAGE”): Get ready for a unique experience in Cappadocia! We will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the balloon site, where you can watch the balloon being prepared for your flight. The flight will be at sunrise, with the pilot climbing to a comfortable altitude of about 700 to 1000 meters above ground level. From this height, you will marvel at the beauty of Cappadocia below. During certain segments, our pilots can fly as low as 1 meter above the rock formations, allowing perfect photo opportunities. The total activity duration is approximately 3 hours, with the flight lasting about 60 minutes. There will be a champagne celebration at the end of the flight. After the balloon ride, you will be transferred back to your hotel in Cappadocia.
Urgup - Your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel between 9:30 am and 10:00 am to begin the Red Tour of Cappadocia. First, you’ll visit the most famous trio of fairy chimneys, known as the Three Beauties. These iconic formations are the official symbol of both Ürgüp and Cappadocia.
TokalI Church - Buckle Church (Tokalı Kilise) in the Göreme Open Air Museum stands out as the most exquisite of the Cappadocian cave churches. Its interior features some of the most exceptional mural paintings, both theologically and artistically. The church is a complex comprising four churches and a hermitage, all from the 900s. Once the most renowned church in ancient times, it remains one of the most remarkable churches today.
Goreme Open-Air Museum - This monastery includes rock-cut churches, kitchens, wineries, storages, and living rooms left from Anatolian Christians. Goreme Open Air Museum is listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Ortahisar - Weaving is a significant aspect of Turkish culture, with roots tracing back to Central Asia. This ancient tradition is still alive in Cappadocia today. During our tour, we’ll visit a cooperative where world-renowned Turkish carpets are crafted, offering you the chance to learn about this age-old art form.
Uchisar Castle - Uchisar rock castle is one of the biggest landmarks of Cappadocia. It is the highest tuff hill in the area with beautiful views of the surrounding valley full of bizarre rock formations. (Visits to the rock castle are not included due to walking difficulties and safety concerns. Instead, you will have a stop for a panoramic view of the rock castle.)
Avanos Oren Yeri - Today’s lunch will be served at a local restaurant in Avanos, where you’ll have the opportunity to try “Testi Kebab,” a traditional kebab unique to the Cappadocia region. (Vegetarian options are also available at the same restaurant.) Avanos is known for its charming old town with cobblestone streets and scenic river views. Formerly known as Venessa, the ancient city of Avanos overlooks the Kızılırmak (Red River), the longest river in Turkey, which separates Avanos from the rest of Cappadocia. A notable historical feature of Avanos, still prominent today, is its earthenware pottery production, which remains a key economic activity in the town. The ceramic industry in this area, with its numerous pottery workshops, dates back to the Hittites, and the clay sourced from the red silt of the Kızılırmak has been used for centuries. You will have a short stop to experience this during your tour.
Devrent Valley - Also known as Imagination Valley, this area contains many animal-shaped rocks, mostly in red. Some of the most frequent shapes resemble camels.
Fairy Chimneys - Cappadocia is famous for its unique landforms. The Fairy Chimneys are the most obvious places to visit to see these landforms and the interaction between humankind and nature. On this tour, you will see many examples of the Fairy Chimneys of Cappadocia.
Cappadocia - At the end of the tour, you will be transferred to Cappadocia airport for your flight back to Istanbul. (Return flight tickets to Istanbul are included for guests who booked the “Standard Package,” “Premium Package,” or “Ultimate Package” options.)
Istanbul - Upon arrival in Istanbul, the driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel. * The departure time for your return flight is between 8:00 pm and 9:30 pm, meaning your flight will land in Istanbul between 9:30 pm and 10:45 pm. This timing is ideal, allowing you to comfortably catch your return flight to Istanbul after your full-day guided tour of Cappadocia.
- Hotel pick-up & drop-off services in Cappadocia (Included on All Options)
- 1 night accommodation at boutique / special class hotel including breakfast
- Lunch
- Hotel pick-up & drop-off services in Istanbul (Excluded on option of Flexible Package)
- Breakfast
- Entrance fees of museums, national parks, ruins mentioned in the itinerary
- Roundtrip flight tickets from Istanbul (Excluded on option of Flexible Package)
- Hot air balloon ride (Included on option of Ultimate Package)
- Professional tour guide who licenced by Ministry of Culture and Tourism
- Semi-Private day trips - Max 10 guests guarantee for each guided day trips
- Guided tour(s) : Northern Cappadocia Tour, Southern Cappadocia Tour
- Dinner & Drinks
Although many cross-country tours in Turkey only allocate a day to Cappadocia’s preternatural landscape and innovative architecture, most travelers find that a two-day tour strikes the right balance between seeing the region’s highlights and sacrificing time elsewhere in the country. See all of the highlights of Cappadocia comfortably during this two-day tour departing from Istanbul. Don’t risk running out of time to see all of the region’s unique natural heritage; instead, make sure you get to experience all of Cappadocia’s surreal landscapes, its cave churches, and the underground city.
- The prices of package are valid for accommodation at the double or triple room. If you would like add accommodation on single room(s) to your booking, there could be supplement cost. There are not going to be any extra cost for bookings of single / solo travelers. They will already accommodate at single room.
- The pre-planned hotels are “Zeydem Suites Cave Hotel” and “1811 Cave Boutique Hotel” for your accommodation on this travel. You can choose one of them while booking. If these hotels (which you preferred) are not available for standard/superior rooms on your travel dates, the service provider (tour operator) can replace it with an equivalent hotel. IMPORTANT NOTE (SUGGESTION) 1811 Cave Hotel is a historical heritage building and it doesn’t have AC in rooms because of that. If you travel in July-August, we highly suggest you upgrade your booking to option of “Premium Package” or “Ultimate Package”.
- The service provider (tour operator) will send e-tickets of your domestic flights at three days before your departure date. You will not need the print out copies of the tickets for domestic flights. Your passport and reservation number on the tickets will be enough for check-in to plane.
- The service provider (tour operator) can request your some passport details for the bookings of your flight tickets. If you do not share the details, your domestic flight tickets can not bookable.
- You will have 15kg luggage + 8kg hand bag quota per person for each domestic flight. If you will need more luggage capacity, please inform that to the service provider (tour operator). There could be some extra fee for luggage quotas more than 15kg.
- The check-in time of the hotels is 02.00pm. If hotel rooms will be available for early check-in on first day of your trip, hotel managment and the service provider (tour operator) will provide early check-in to room for you.
- If your return hotel is different than pick-up hotel, please inform that detail immediately. If you inform that detail after organised your flight tickets, the service provider (tour operator) can request extra cost because of the distances between the airports and some hotels. If you inform this type changes on service day (last day of your trip), the service provider (tour operator) do not accept this last minute amending and drop you to your pick-up hotel.
- If your pick-up / drop-off hotels are inside of airports (IST and SAW airports) the service provider (tour operator) do not provide any hotel pick-up / drop-off service in Istanbul.
- Hot air ballooning is a fully weather-dependent activity and the Civil Aviation Authority determines whether the flight will be held. If your flight is cancelled due to inclement weather conditions, you are entitled to a partial refund. In such a case, your refund will be processed by the day after of that trip. Your refund rate will be the difference between options of “Ultimate Package” and “Premium Package” for the cancellations of the hot air balloon ride.
- The Standard Balloon Ride has an One-hour approximately flight duration with 20 to 28 people capacity basket. The flight duration could be 50-55 minutes or 65-70 minutes. This situation depend the weather conditions before landing, and pilots are decide to that within the safety rules of Civil Aviation Authority. Total activity duration is approximately 3 hours.
- If you did not book the option of “Ultimate Package”, you can not get any service for hot air balloon ride which advertised/offered at the paragpraph of the descriptions about the Hot Air Balloon Ride.
- If you do not use any service or give up join to activities / tours / airport transfers, that’s meaning is going to be last minute cancellation. Because of that, there is not going to be any refund for that.
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required.
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking.
- Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults. If you will be 1 adult + 1 child, the service provider (tour operator) can request & charge the amount of 2 adults.
- The children who 5 years old and under are not allowed to balloon tours (option of Ultimate Package).
If you cancel at least 3 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.
