‘Cappadocia‘; the land of historical landmarks with rugged landscapes and Fairy Chimneys is a World Heritage Site in the central Anatolia region in Turkey. This is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Turkey with many touring options. There are so many things to explore in Cappadocia that anyone can plan to stay a week in Cappadocia. However, usually, tourists plan for 3 to 4 days tour in Cappadocia. The two most popular tours are known as Red Tour and Green Tour. We have availed these tours and we recommend tourists to plan 3 Days in Cappadocia, Turkey and avail Red and Green Tour.
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How to Get There
By Plane: the Cappadocia region covers the five provinces (Nevşehir, Aksaray, Kayseri, Kırsehir, & Niğde) in the central region of Turkey. The main tourist area is 15-20 km away from the city of Nevşehir known as Goreme. For traveling to Cappadocia from Istanbul, you have to fly to Kayseri Erkilet Airport located in Kayseri, which is nearly one hour away from the center of Cappadocia. However, if you book your hotel ahead, they have shuttle services from Airports to hotels.
By Bus: We have traveled to Cappadocia by Bus from Denizli. As we were having a long tour starting from Istanbul, passing through Bursa, Izmir, and Kusadasi, we have availed this Bus journey. There are extraordinary buses and moreover, they are cheap. They do also help you save a lot of cash. However, if you have time constraints, and flexibility in the budget, you should get flights from Istanbul.
Where to Stay
As Cappadocia is a very popular tourist destination, there are hundreds of hotels ranging from budget hotels to luxury hotels. We stayed at Anatolia Cave Pension at Goreme. This hotel is very nice and the staffs are very cordial and friendly. This hotel is worth staying in. They have a very good view of the terrace and provides a good breakfast. You can plan and book your hot air balloon trip and red/green tour from there. They will give you one of the best rates of all. You may book your hotel from booking, Agoda, hotels, hostelworld, or any other
Tour Plan/ Itinerary
From our point of view you may plan your 3 days in Cappadocia as follows:
Day 1: Arrival at Goreme and City Tour. If you arrive very early morning and can afford to go for a Day-Long tour, we recommend availing one. In this case, you should book your tour well ahead of reaching Goreme.
Day 2: Hot Air Balloon tour and plan for another left over tour.
Day 3: Reserve for Hot Air Balloon tour in case if you miss your previous day tour because of inclement/unfavorable weather. Return to Istanbul or travel to the next destination.
Night Activities: Goreme is a small town but it is full of life. Right after the evening, tourists come to the streets of Goreme and enjoy local foods and other activities. We recommend you to try different restaurants and foods. We had one of our best experiences of food in Goreme.
Red Tour and Green Tour At a Glance
Here a comparison between Red and Green tour is presented. Prices for the tour may vary depending on the time of travel/ booking and agent.
| Details | Red Tour | Green Tour |
| Price | 35 Euro, 270 Turkish Lira | 50 Euro, 390 Turkish Lira |
| Duration | 6.5 Hours | 8.5 Hours |
| Difficulty | Easy | Moderate |
| Attractions | Uçhisar Castle Göreme Open Air Museum Love Valley Pottery Demonstration Paşabağı valley Devrent Valley | Göreme Panorama Onyx Factory Derinkuyu Underground City Ihlara Valley Selime Monastery Pigeon Valley |
We usually are not a big fan of guided tours as we love to explore by ourselves. However, as traveling in Cappadocia involves long drives, therefore we recommend to avail these guided tours. This will save both time, money, and energy for a trip of 3 days in Cappadocia
Red Tour Attractions
Green Tour Attractions
Important Issues of Above Packages to Remember
– List of attractions often vary depending on time of travel and agent.
– During the travel/ tour agents usually do not sponsor/ provide any drinks or snacks.
– Usually lunch is included in the tour package.
– Almost all the entrance fees are included in the package. However, if you want to get any audio guide (which is usually not required), you have to get that by your own expenses.
– Usually, drivers and guides are very efficient and cordial. If you want to give them some tips, that’s on you.
Hot Air Balloon Tour
Hot Air Balloon ride is undoubtedly the best attraction of Cappadocia. Anyone traveling to Cappadocia looks forward to enjoying this ride. However, this tour is expensive and very uncertain. Depending on the season/ time of travel price for one person varies from 150 to 200 euros. We said ‘uncertain’ as there are lots of related issues with balloon ride such as air temperature, wind speed, weather forecast, etc. So, always plan a reserve day for the balloon ride in case if you miss your first-day ride. This is another reason, we recommend a trip of 3 days in Cappadocia. However, if you cannot ride because of the bad weather, your agent will give you a full refund.
Hot air balloon ride from almost every agent includes light breakfast, pick up from the hotel and drop off and a minimum of one hour in the air.
Important Issue to Remember for Hot Air Balloon Ride
– Usually, children below 5 years of age are not allowed for the ride. So, if you are parents of a child below 5 years and traveling together, either you plan separately (mom and dad in different days) or with another family/ friends so that you or your friends can do the babysitting.
– Sleep the early night before the ride as you have to wake up by 3.30 AM to 4 AM in the morning. Hotel/ your agent will have to collect many other tourists like you. So, don’t keep others wait or miss the ride.
– If you can avail ride as per your plan, don’t miss to watch the balloons flying in the sky from your hotel terrace. That’s a great opportunity for anyone to have an iconic photograph.
Tips for Traveling
– Both Red and Green tours require quite a good amount of walking and climbing. So, if you have any issues with your knee, leg, waist, etc it’s better to avoid places like the Underground city, Ihlara Valley, Uçhisar Castle, etc.
– Wear cap and sunglass. Apply sunscreen.
– Carry a water bottle. At times, in dire need of water, you may not find any drinking water around.
– If you are traveling to spots with your toddler, must carry a carrier. You will not be able to walk with them in the Ihlara valley or even Open Air Museum. The stroller will be of no assistance.
– If you have breathing problems, do not enter the Underground City. Do not take your child as well. They may get scared and may feel suffocated.
– Maintain time very strictly. Your few minutes’ delays may upset the whole plan of your team.
– Carry 1/2 extra t-shirts. If you sweat, you will be able to change. Or else your journey will not be comfortable.
– Remember, you have to walk. So, wear shoes that would be comfortable for walking.
Tips for Photography
– Save your equipment from dust by using scarfs, or any other cloths. I never used to carry them in the bag. If you are comfortable, should carry a bag.
– Be as light as possible. If you used to carry more than one camera body, reconsider before getting inside in the Underground City. Because of the very tight space, it’s difficult for an individual to move around. More camera bodies and lens would cause too many difficulties for you. For the underground city just carry one body with your wide-angle lens.
– Same is the case with Ihlara Valley. Try to be light. At least if you have family with Kids.
– Drone pilots should carry more (& more) batteries or a car charger. Convince your guide and driver so that you can charge your batteries if the vehicle.
– If your purpose is photography, do not get any tour package. Rent your car/ scooter/ motorcycle and go to places, remain there as long as you can, go at whatever time you want to. Because of the tour packages, you will find yourself in all those amazing places at very odd time for photography.
– Sunset is very beautiful. Do not miss photographing sunset views.
– Streets at night are colorful and eventful, and very good for street photography.
– Drone pilots should not miss photographing Goreme City view at night.
– Do not miss photographing balloon ride from your hotel terrace.
3 days in Cappadocia, Turkey is never enough if you want to explore every bits of it. However, in the most cases majority of us may not be able to afford more than 3/4 days for covering one area. If you plan your trip wisely, at the end of 3 days in Cappadocia, Turkey you will not be disheartened.