TravelMario64, Sep 2026
We enjoyed every bit of this tour to Cappadocia
My wife and I totally enjoyed this tour. We might have some money if we had booked the accommodation, airport transfers and local tours directly with each provider. However, we preferred the convenience of all-inclusive package that gave us a kind of peace of mind.On the first day, we were picked up at our hotel in Istanbul at 3:30 as scheduled. We were driven in a nice van to Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW). Although this airport is a bit farther from the city center than the Istanbul International Airport, it took less than 40 minutes. At the airport, we had to check in for the flight ourselves and find our ways to the gate. The 6 am Pegasus Airlines flight to Kayseri arrived on time at 7:15. We met our pick-up as instructed. After a bit of wait, we were driven to our hotel in Ürgüp, which took about 1 hour and 20 minutes. After registration, we were served coffee and muffins until our guide came to pick us up at 10:30.Our guide was Buşra. On the first day, there was no other group, and the three of us had very good time. She started with a brief overview of the history and geography of the region. We visited the pigeon valley, an underground city, and an ancient monastery. During the tour, we had a nice home-style Turkish lunch at a cave restaurant. At the end of the day, we had a brief stop at a leather shop, but they were not very pushy. The tour ended around 3 pm.On the second day, the balloon ride was planned. We were picked up by the balloon company at 5 am and were driven to the launch area. While the balloon was being prepared, we got some snack and juice. We took off a little bit later than other balloons, but still enjoyed the sunrise. The captain, Oğuzhan, was very entertaining and safely guided us through the valley. The basket has 8 compartments that held 4 people each. It was a bit crowded, but we had enough fun. After the ride, we were served sparkling wine to celebrate our first flight. We returned to our hotel around 8 am.At 10:40, Buşra came to pick us up. Although the original plan was to leave our luggage with the hotel and come back to hotel after the tour, Buşra told us to bring the luggage with us so that we could go to the airport directly after the tour. On this day, we were joined by a family of 4. The minibus was spacious enough for all of us. It was a typical ‘Red Tour’, with visits to Goreme open air museum, Uçhisar castle, and the Imagination valley. Before and after lunch, when it was very hot, we had indoor activities, visiting carpet and ceramic workshops. Again, there were no hard pushes to purchase anything.After around 4 pm, the schedules tour was completed. Since there was some time left before our return flight, we had some relaxing time near Ortahisar castle. Then we went to Red valley to enjoy the beautiful valley during the sunset. After this, we were driven to Nevsehir Airport. On our way, we bid goodbyes to Buşra. We arrived at the airport just before 8 am. Since our flight was scheduled for 9:50 pm, we had to wait some time at the airport. Our flight was delayed by ~30 minutes due to aircraft connection. We arrived at SAW after 11:30 pm, where a driver was waiting for us. By the time we returned to our hotel, it was 12:50 am.It was very long and tiring two-day trip, but worth every bit of it. I would like to commend the tour company for the perfect arrangements and our guide Buşra for going well beyond her way to keep us busy(?) and entertained until the last minute. I would definitely recommend this tour to all those who want a well-organized package tour to Cappadocia from Istanbul.
