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Travel guide
Cappadocia
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to June, and September to October
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Welcome
Cappadocia, in a few days
A volcanic plateau in central Anatolia where erosion has carved fairy chimneys up to 40 metres high, and where people dug painted churches, whole villages and underground cities eight levels deep. On calm mornings up to 150 hot-air balloons lift off before dawn over Göreme, and you sleep in cave rooms at Uçhisar or Ürgüp.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Hot-air balloon flight over Göreme · half a dayThe world's busiest ballooning site, with up to 150 balloons allowed each morning, taking off before sunrise from the plateaus around Göreme and Çavuşin.
- Afternoon · Göreme Open-Air Museum · 2 to 3 hA monastic valley, UNESCO-listed since 1985, with rock-cut churches from the 10th to 12th centuries whose frescoes tell the life of Christ.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Kelebek Special Cave Hotel€100 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Rose and Red Valleys free · 2 to 3 hTwin valleys between Göreme and Çavuşin, with 6 to 8 km of trails through rock tunnels, orchards and hidden churches, and the region's best sunset.
- Afternoon · Paşabağ fairy chimneys · 2 to 3 hThe most photographed fairy chimneys in Cappadocia, some with two or three basalt caps, one holding a hermit's chapel dedicated to St Simeon.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Sultan Cave Suites€120 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Avanos and its potters free · 2 to 3 hA town on the Kızılırmak, whose red clay has fed potters since Hittite times; around thirty workshops still use kick wheels and let you try.
- Afternoon · Uçhisar Castle · about 1 h 30A 60-metre tuff pinnacle riddled with rooms and tunnels, lived in until the 1960s, with an outside staircase up to a summit terrace.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Divan Cave House€80 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Derinkuyu underground city · about 1 h 30The deepest of Cappadocia's underground cities, 30 km south of Göreme, with eight levels open down to about 60 metres, stables, chapel and ventilation shafts.
- Afternoon · Ihlara Valley · 2 to 3 hA 14 km canyon, 100 metres deep, with some fifteen of its hundred rock-cut churches open along the riverside path, including the Snake Church.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Koza Cave Hotel€90 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Kebab and doner, in more forms than the two words suggest.
- Meze: a spread of small plates, ordered for the whole table.
- Pide and lahmacun: flatbreads, and the closest thing to a Turkish pizza.
- Baklava and lokum, layered pastry and rose-scented cubes of sugar.
- Cay and Turkish coffee, drunk all day and never in a hurry.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Agree the price first, and be wary of strangers who are too helpful.
- Haggle at the bazaar, and do it with a smile.
- Cover shoulders and knees in mosques, and bring a scarf for the head.
- Tea offered in a shop is a courtesy, not an obligation to buy.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Turkish
| English | Turkish |
|---|---|
| Hello | Merhaba |
| Thank you | Teşekkürler |
| Please | Lütfen |
| Yes | Evet |
| No | Hayır |
| Excuse me | Affedersiniz |
| Goodbye | Hoşça kalın |
| Do you speak English? | İngilizce biliyor musunuz? |
| I don't understand | Anlamıyorum |
| How much is it? | Ne kadar? |
| Where are the toilets? | Tuvalet nerede? |
| The bill, please | Hesap, lütfen |
| Help! | İmdat! |
| Cheers! | Şerefe! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyTurkish lira (TRY, ₺)
BudgetAbout €100 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to June, and September to October
PlugC/F · 230V
Tap waterBottled only
TippingExpected, around 5 to 10%
Emergency112
EntryVisa-free for 90 days in any 180 with a passport, for EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well outside the tourist trail.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/cappadocia
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.