Cappadocia is most well known for its incredible sunrise hot air balloon rides, but it also offers incredible desert-scapes, underground cities to explore, and incredible buildings built into rocks and caves. We spent the last bit of our honeymoon here, so I’ve wrapped up everything you need to know for how to spend 4 days in Cappadocia, Turkey.
Getting to Cappadocia
When planning your trip to Cappadocia, your odds of flying through Istanbul are incredibly high. We, in fact, started our trip with a few days in Istanbul before heading out to Cappadocia. Depending on where you’re coming from, the city is also well connected by bus and train.
Cappadocia has 2 main airports: Nevsehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV) and Kayseri Erkilet Airport (ASR). NAV is the closer of the 2 to Göreme (~40 min drive), while Kayseri Erkilet Airport (ASR) is closer to ~1-hour drive. We flew into NAV and left out of ASR because there was a pretty big price difference, but either one is a decent option.
Where to stay in Cappadocia
The top 2 towns to stay in the Cappadocia region are Göreme and Uçhisar. Göreme is more expensive (and more popular) as it is home to various shops, restaurants, hotels, and nightlife.
We stayed at the Kelebek Special Cave Hotel, which was about a 5-minute walk into town. I can’t recommend it enough for various reasons.
First, Kelebek is part of a hotel group. You may be familiar with the famous Sultan Cave Suites Hotel rooftop for sunrise photos, which allows you to enjoy the amenities at the other hotels in their restaurant group.
Second, the breakfasts and customer service here were 10/10. There was a major spread every morning, which included fresh omelets and coffee drinks made to order. If you know me, the coffee part alone made all the difference.
Finally, included in your stay is a farm-to-table breakfast experience located on their farm. It was so magical and definitely the highlight of our stay!
As a note: You must be staying with the hotel group to experience it.
Your 4 Day Cappadocia Itinerary
Day 1: Hot Air Balloon Ride + The Red Tour
If you take anything away from this blog post, let it be this: start day 1 with a hot air balloon ride, as rides can get canceled due to poor weather conditions like wind. You’ll want the flexibility to be able to reschedule the ride for another day during your visit.
Most people spend 2-3 days in Cappadocia, and I’ve heard horror stories of people leaving after 3 days, unable to do the hot air balloon ride at all due to weather.
We booked on Airbnb Experiences. Prices range vastly depending on the season, how big your basket is, and more. Overall this experience is on the pricier end, but so worth it.
We felt like we hit the jackpot with this Airbnb Experience find. This deal only cost us 150 euros per person, while others were going for 250+ per person. My advice would be to shop around before committing to find the best deal.
Finally, try to get a spot on the outer edge of the basket. We were near the balloon operator, and while the views were still amazing, we didn’t get the best photos of each other up there, which was a bummer.
The Red Tour
Because they start so early, your hot air balloon ride will likely end around 6:30/7 AM. It was perfect timing to head back to the hotel, grab breakfast, and take a quick nap before heading on our red tour. I would recommend this tour to anyone.
Initially, we had plans to go on the red and green tours. We opted to do the red tour only as we realized the stops are pretty similar.
Red Tour offers stops closer to Göreme, while the Green Tour has fewer stops overall and is significantly farther from Göreme.
Day 2: Farm to Table Breakfast, Spa Day + Open Aire Museum
After a hectic day 1, we planned for a more relaxing 2nd day in Cappadocia.
When we checked in to our hotel, we were surprised to discover a free farm-to-table meal and mini hike included in our stay.
An open-air tractor took us to the hotel family’s farm. We hiked down to the property and enjoyed a freshly made Turkish breakfast in their gardens with the farm animals roaming about. Once we learned of this experience, we knew we had to check it out.
After our meal, we headed back to the hotel for our planned spa day. A Turkish bath is a must-do activity on your trip to Turkey. We loved it so much in Istanbul we booked another one in Cappadocia at our hotel. A Turkish bath consists of various types of massages and the traditional peeling and scrub massage.
We spent the afternoon at the hotel and enjoyed the pool before heading to the Göreme Open Aire Museum. We chose to walk as it was about a 20 min walk from our hotel.
The Göreme Open Aire Museum is one of the first two UNESCO sites in Turkey. The museum features churches, chapels, and monasteries carved out of soft volcanic rock. In the summer, I suggest visiting early in the morning or later in the day to beat the heat and crowds.
Tickets are 40 TL or $8 USD.
Day 3: Watch the Sunrise at the Hotel & Rent a car for a Self-Guided Green Tour
Start your day around 4:30 am. We woke up to catch the sunrise on our hotel’s rooftop and watch all the hot air balloons.
Note: The time can change depending on the season so ask your front desk to confirm.
As mentioned, we originally had booked both the Red AND Green tour since we booked a longer stay in Cappadocia than most tourists. However, after revisiting the stops, we determined that it didn’t make sense to spend an entire day on another tour with many repeated spots.
We brainstormed about hiring a cab for the day or renting a car, and after some research, we determined that the car rental was the best deal. Having our own car allowed us to move around so easily! Note: If you don’t feel confident about renting a car, we did notice while walking around town that there were customized private tours available.
With insurance, we spent ~55 E per day. You can find our car rental spot here.
First, we headed to Ihlara Valley from Göreme with the plan of hiking and having lunch.
- Drive time: 1.5 hours
- Entrance fee: 200 Turkish Liras (allows for multiple entry/exit, and entrance to Selime Monastery)
A note: If you go with an organized tour, you will usually hike a couple of miles in the Ihlara Valley before having lunch on the river in Belisirma and being picked up by your bus driver. While driving on your own, you need to factor in the round trip. Round trip to do the entire hike you’re looking at ~5 hours and ~6 miles.
As we had our own car, we hiked a few miles from the Ihlara Valley trail head before heading back to the car and driving to the restaurant. We enjoyed lunch on the river at Belisırma River Restaurant. Then we ended our “green tour” with a visit to Selime Monastery.
TIP: You can end the day with a sunset at Sunset Hill or Rose Valley before dropping the car off.
Day 4: Exploring Göreme & Sunset Camel Ride
We kept our final day open for exploring the town, shopping, and a sunset camel ride. We knew we wanted to check out some antique shops, ceramics, and a classic carpet shop, so we kept the schedule pretty relaxed!
We visited the carpet shop, Galerie Ikman, a handmade rug store. We got incredible photos here, but beware many carpet store owners charge for content because they know their stores are very aesthetic. Galerie Ikman does charge and prices vary based on if you rent an outfit, want drone footage, have a photographer, etc.
Finally, we ended day 4 in Cappadocia with a sunset camel ride, which was a unique way to enjoy the Rose Valley.
