A 4 Day / 3 Night Itinerary in Cappadocia

If you ever stepped foot on Instagram and perused travel interests, there’s a good chance you saw hot air balloons floating over Cappdocia, Turkey. The morning ritual of balloons taking off at sunrise has made this tourist destination famous.

However, there’s so much more to Cappadocia than having a photoshoot at sunrise to capture some gorgeous shots with hot air balloons.

Explore underground cities, faery chimneys, towns carved into the side of rocks, scenic hikes from another world, and so much more. Cappadocia has a little something for everyone, and we’ve tried to capture some of the highlights in our itinerary below.

While some people go to Cappadocia just for a weekend, most people spend about 3-4 days. We went for a 3 day holiday, but you could easily fill a week with everything Cappadocia has to offer.

Itinerary

Day 1

Arrive in Cappadocia. We arrived around about 12:00 PM, got settled, and relaxed in our room for a bit. 

If you’re arriving in the afternoon, it’ll be too late for a full day tour, but it’s the perfect time to schedule a sunset excursion. You can find plenty of sunset tour options, from horseback tours and camel safaris to an ATV or jeep adventure, or a private sunset and dinner tour.  

We booked a 2 hour sunset horseback tour with Moonlight Ranch for 800 TL/person. The landscape was pretty, but if I could do it over, I’d probably recommend a sunset hike or ATV tour instead.

Generally, I love horseback tours and we’ve had quite a bit of riding experience, but my horse wasn’t very responsive when I pulled its reins or gave him a kick, and Tony’s kept bucking its head. Mine also tripped a couple times, which made me nervous. Definitely don’t want to fall with a 1,000 lb horse landing on top of me. So, it made it a little difficult to pay attention to the landscape. Our guide also didn’t speak English, so he couldn’t really provide us with any information on the landscape or history. 

Day 2

Hot Air Balloons

Do a hot air balloon ride ($135+/person) or watch the sunrise and the balloons take off from a rooftop terrace. 

Afterwards, enjoy a well-deserved breakfast with either your hot air balloon tour operator or back at your hotel, preferably enjoying a glorious morning view.

Tour Time

When your belly is full, embark on a guided tour of the rock churches and valleys. We did a Green Tour (there are also Red, Green, and Blue tours, but we recommend Green to cover the most ground). Our tour included: Uchisar Castle, Derinkuyu Underground City, Ihlara Valley, Ala Church, a crater lake, and Pigeon Valley.   

My favorite two things were Uchisar Castle and the Derinkuyu Underground City. Uchisar Castle is a must. We loved exploring all the various nooks and crannies and it has a great view of Uchisar. My other favorite stop was the Derinkuyu Underground City, which is the largest underground city in the region. It has 8 levels, 4 of which you can explore, extends 85 meters underground, and could house up to 20,000 people. Definitely not a good idea if you’re claustrophobic, as you’ll be deep in a cave city with some tight quarters!

Ihlara Valley is the only valley with a river running through it in Cappadocia and therefore the only one with greenery. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very green when we went. I forgot to take season into account. It’s lined with touristy picture spots, rock churches, pigeon houses, and restaurants.   

We were originally supposed to go to Selime Monastery instead of Ala Church and the crater lake, but our tour guide said Selime Monastery is similar to the Goreme Open-Air Museum (which we did on Day 3), but without frescos. So he suggested the others instead. After seeing the church and crater lake, I’d probably recommend sticking with the monastery, even if you’re going to Gorem Open-Air Museum. 

We were also originally scheduled to visit an onyx workshop, but we weren’t interested in that so we skipped it. We finished out the day at a viewpoint of Pigeon Valley viewpoint instead. Pigeon Valley lined with little pigeon houses carved into the rock. These houses used to be homes for carrier pigeons used by the churches and monasteries. The viewpoint was nice, but I think it would be cooler to hike down in it if you’ve got extra time.   

At the end of our tour, we asked them to drop us off at Uchisar Castle so we could climb up and tour the inside, which was 100% worth it. It was one of the best things we did this day. Plus, we timed it so we got to be there at sunset. 

Day 3

If you didn’t manage to enjoy the hot air balloons yesterday, try again today! Hopefully the weather cooperates and you can either get up earlier to enjoy those gorgeous views filled with balloons–or ride one yourself for an unforgettable experience.

Visit the Goreme Open-Air Museum

We hired a taxi to take us to the Open-Air Museum. He waited for us while we toured the museum (which was about an hour) and then drove us to Red Valley. The cost for the cab really wasn’t bad (365 TL or $20 USD for 1.5-2 hours). Then we hiked through Red Valley, Rose Valley, and Love Valley, and back to our hotel in Goreme.    

The Goreme Open-Air Museum was one of my favorite sites we saw in Cappadocia. It’s a former Christian monastery composed of several chapels dating back to the 10th, 11th, and 12th centuries, complete with religious frescoes. The museum costs 150 TL to enter, and we hired a guide for an additional $25 USD. He mostly explained the religious frescoes in the churches. So if you’re into that, then it’s worth it. If that’s not your thing, then you can explore on your own. I would also recommend paying the extra 50 TL to visit the Dark Church, because it has the most complete frescoes of all the churches inside the complex.   

Hike through the Red Valley, Rose Valley, and Love Valley. 

For our hike, the taxi driver dropped us off at the Goreme Historical National Park entrance in Red Valley, where we purchased some dried fruit and started our journey. It took about 2 hours for us to hike through Red and Rose Valley, 1 hour to hike from Rose Valley to Love Valley, and 1 hour to hike back to our hotel. 

Red Valley gets its name from the reddish color of its rock formations and was my favorite of the three valleys we explored on this hike. It’s similar to Rose Valley, but the rock formations here are bigger and more awe-inspiring. 

Rose Valley is known for its striated red, pink, and yellow rock formations and rock churches. The coolest rock church we explored was Direkli Kilise (Kolonlu). From the outside, it doesn’t look like it would be that interesting, but after going in you enter a cavernous chapel with stone columns. It feels like you’re in some long lost temple from an ancient civilization or searching for priceless treasure like Indiana Jones.    

Love Valley is famous for its phallic shaped rock formations (hence the name). The giant phalluses were formed from eroded volcanic ash and rise up to 100 feet. Group tours go to a viewpoint that looks down on the valley, but we find it better being down in it.  

The hikes aren’t too challenging for people with a moderate fitness level and there are cafes along the way where you can take a break and rehydrate. There’s a cute little cafe shortly after starting the hike in Red Valley called Kızılvadi Restaurant, Star Box Cafe in Rose Valley where you can get fresh pomegranate and orange juice, and a cafe in Love Valley that serves juice, tea, and coffee. The last one also has a very friendly cat we fell in love with, which is fitting due to the name.  

After a long hike, you’ll be ready to relax, check out a hammam, or grab a drink at one of the local bars. We relaxed in the jacuzzi in our room.    

If hiking isn’t your thing, you can also rent scooters and ATV’s for a pretty reasonable price. I read a recent post that said you can rent scooters for 80-100 TL/day and ATV’s for about €35 for 2 hours.  

Day 4

Head off for your next destination!  Or if you’ve got more time in the area, we have some more suggestions.

Other Optional Activities 

If you have more time or want to swap some activities out from our suggested itinerary, here are some ideas.

Photoshoots 

There are two popular photoshoot options in Cappadocia. One is taking photos at a Turkish rug shop and the other is renting a dress to wear while taking photos at sunrise with the balloons in the distance. 

One of the most popular rug shops to take pictures in is Galerie Ikman, which has become popular among Instagrammers. They’re not rated very high on Google reviews, but that seems to be primarily from people who are frustrated with being charged for pictures. But honestly, I don’t blame them. If they didn’t charge, it would probably be packed. And they probably don’t want the store crowded with people who are just there for pictures and have no intention of purchasing a rug. They charge 150 TL to take your own pictures and a more significant fee (maybe around $75 USD when we were there) to take pictures with the owner’s drone. You have to make reservations in advance for a photoshoot.

Another popular spot for a Turkish rug and lantern photoshoot is Sultan Carpets. 

Or you can rent a flowy dress to take romantic sunrise photos with the balloons floating in the distance. Or head out to Rose Valley and take photos against the pinkish-red rocky landscape. One of the most popular dress rental and photography companies for this is Yemelin Art. 

Another Tour

On this itinerary, we did the Green Tour on one day. Red and Green are the two most popular tours. In addition, we’ve covered most of the spots you’d see on the Red Tour as well, barring a few things we thought might be too much of an overlap.

That being said, the Green and Blue Tours both go to different sites that we largely didn’t cover here. If you’ve got more time in the Cappadocia region, you might add one of these tours to your itinerary.

More ideas

The more we researched about Cappadocia, the more we wanted to add to our itinerary. There are so many open-air museums and amazing hikes. Everywhere you go, you have a chance to explore amazing cave churches, gorgeous natural vistas, hidden trails, and more awesome activities that will make you want to extend your itinerary in Cappadocia. You can check some of our other activity suggestions here.

Restaurants

Inci Cave Restaurant

We picked Inci Cave Restaurant because I really wanted to eat in a restaurant with a cave feel and this fit the bill, along with positive reviews and tasty pictures. Tony had the Inci Special with beef (beef tenderloin, green pepper, garlic, and mushrooms sauteed in a cream sauce), and I had the Volcano (eggplant on crusty bread, served with meatballs, and tenderloin filets with a demi glace sauce). The portions were huge! But absolutely delicious! We left stuffed and satisfied. The pottery kebabs also looked very good, and we saw several other tables that ordered them. They also have a really cute outdoor dining space with wicker and gourd hanging lights. But it was a bit chilly for that when we were there. 

Pumpkin Göreme Restaurant & Art Gallery

Pumpkin Göreme Restaurant & Art Gallery was one of our favorite dining experiences in Cappadocia. The atmosphere isn’t super fancy, but it’s decorated with cute little gourd lights (hence the name), which adds a bit of charm and whimsy, and the service was quite good. They provided bread with olive oil and spices and sarma (grape leaves stuffed with rice) as a complimentary appetizer. You can order a main dish by itself or as a set, which includes soup, salad, and a dessert. We ordered one main by itself and one as a set. Everything we had there was really good. The pumpkin lentil soup was warm and comforting after hiking through the cold.

For mains, we had their beef and lamb pottery kebab, which is slow cooked in a clay pot and brought to the table still flaming, and a steak and pepper dish that I can’t remember the name of, but it was delicious! Each dish also came with rice, potato wedges, carrots, tomatoes, and a mustard sauce. And for dessert, I had their goat milk ice cream, which was very creamy and delicious, probably one of the best plain vanilla ice creams I’ve had. And Tony had their homemade baklava. It’s also home to a friendly little dog named Panda, who won’t beg for food, but appreciates head scratches and back rubs.   

Namaste India

After three weeks in Turkey, we were ready for a bit of a change in cuisine. So, when we arrived in Cappadocia our first night, we ate at Namaste India. The ambiance isn’t anything special, but it was nice and warm and the food was good. And based on reviews, it looks like it’s probably the best option for Indian food in the area. It’s also a great option for vegetarians. We had their chicken tikka masala, vegetable jalfrezi, jeera rice, naan, and lassis, which you can order sweet or salty. We ordered sweet, of course, and consumed everything!    

Mozaik Restaurant 

The outside of Mozaik is definitely what pulled us in. The sidewalk is lined with pretty little flower beds. Lanterns hang from the trees. Icicle lights line the top of the restaurant. And soft, warm light pours out from the inside. We didn’t eat here, but we did stop by for drinks before dinner. I loved the warm lighting and it’s a nice spot to stop and relax for a bit. Since it was a chilly night, I ordered their hot wine, basically like a mulled wine you’d find at a German Christmas market, which was perfect for warming me up on a cold evening, and Tony ordered a Turkish red wine.  

Accommodations

Overall, we’d recommend finding lodging in Goreme. Goreme is the center of most activities and tours. Many of the things you’ll want to do can be accessed by walking from Goreme or taking a short taxi ride. There are plenty of good dining options as well in Goreme, more so than some of the other nearby towns with alternative lodging.

Uchisar isn’t a bad option either for more upscale lodging, if that’s what you desire. It’s not terribly far from the tourist attractions, though you’ll find you have to take a cab more to get to most of the activities or attractions. The town is also quieter (not that Goreme is really loud).

There are other smaller towns nearby which offer good lodging an competitive prices. However, be prepared to walk or take a taxi more. Perhaps you’ve rented a car, in which case it isn’t too big of a deal, but you might have more trouble finding a variety of good dining options in these other towns.

For our stay in Cappadocia, we stayed at the Cappadocia Cave Lodge , which has a near perfect rating on Google and Tripadvisor. And from our experience, I can honestly say we would happily stay there again and recommend it to family and friends. Aside from affordability and reviews, we were looking for 3 main things: 1) We wanted a cave room. Cappadocia’s whole shtick are the cave churches and houses. So we knew we had to pick a place that had cave rooms. 2) Since it was our anniversary, we wanted a jacuzzi tub, which we used all three nights of our stay. But I would note that the water wasn’t that hot. 3) We wanted a place that would have a good view of the balloons in the morning, and Cappadocia Cave Lodge was perfect for this. It sits higher up than most of the other hotels and restaurants in the town, so you have a good view of the whole area, the town, the hot air balloons, and the surrounding rock formations.

Since it was our anniversary, they also decorated our room with balloons and provided a chocolate cake, which was pretty tasty! They also have a really good complimentary breakfast that they vary daily and includes a variety of: cheese, fruit, vegetables, different spreads/salads (muhammara, roasted eggplant, carrot salad), olives, menemen, sausages, cheese rolls, different kinds of breads/pastries, and lots of jams. I recommend getting up early one morning to watch the balloons from their terrace that’s covered with Turkish rugs. Then dine outside for breakfast while you continue enjoying the view. Be sure not to leave your food unattended outside though. The cats will eat it! 

Final Tips

• Make sure to check the temperature before you go. It’s a dessert, so it can be hot during the day and cold in the evening. When we went during November, it ranged from about 0°-15° C. During the day it was sometimes warm enough in a t-shirt, but early in the morning and in the evenings I wore a fleece and down jacket with a scarf and hat.  
• Full day tours often take you to viewpoints, but don’t always take you into attractions like the open-air museums or valleys. So if you’d like to explore these in more detail, then you may need to go on your own or hire a private guide that allows you to tailor your tour.  
• If you’re interested in a hot air balloon flight, we recommend booking it your first morning. Balloon flights may be canceled due to weather conditions. They only flew one out of the three mornings during our stay. So if you schedule it earlier in your trip and it gets canceled, then there’s a chance it could be rescheduled later during your stay. But if you don’t schedule it until the end of your stay, then you may not have another opportunity if it is canceled.   

* Keep in mind prices may change over time.