Cappadocia “Land of Beautiful Horses” is a place like no other. Its unique rock formations are what make this place so special. We stayed here in some of the worse weather conditions they have seen in years, temperatures as low as -14 degrees and 2 canceled flights but this did not stop us from seeing the beauty of this place.
Goreme
We stayed in Goreme the heart of Cappadocia, where all the excitement lies. We actually stayed here for 4 nights and got to experience 3 different types of accommodation. Goreme is full of life, being in turkey out of the season most places were quiet but not Goreme, from souvenir shops to travel tours and restaurants, they were all open.
Cappadocia: Sunset ATV Tour
This was one of the only tours that were available on the first couple of days due to the weather and even then we were unable to do it at Sunset because the snowfall was going to be heavy that evening. So we had an early hotel pick at 2 pm and headed to the tour shop to sign our waivers and off we went to explore Goreme, Pigeon Valley, üzengi valley, Ortahisar Tea Way, and Ortahisar Panorama. It was epic!
We did book this as a group tour but due to flight cancelations, we were the only two that showed up. Despite how cold it was we still had a great time riding through the valleys of Goreme. We booked this through Airbnb costing us £23.52 for a 1-hour tour for 2 people. This has to be the cheapest ATV tour ever!
Hot Air Balloon Ride in Cappadocia
So after many days of heavy snow, it finally cleared up, and before we knew it our Hot Air Balloon tour was back up and running. We were picked up at the crack of dawn at 5:50 am and taken to the point of the air balloon. We were served breakfast which quickly turned into ice because it was -11 at this point. But never less before we knew it we were over 2,200 meters high with a 360-degree view of the entire valley of Cappadocia and more. It was like being in a fairytale, the sunrise was so magical.
We had originally booked this tour on Airbnb for £65 per person but this was canceled many times due to bad weather conditions, so we had no hope of being able to do this tour. Eventually, when that changed and the tour companies saw the weather holding up and they locked in their prices at £100-120 per person. We knew we were not going to be back in Turkey for a while so we might as well just do it. Our hotel host was the one that booked it for us, we went with the company Turca and I’ll be honest we didn’t really know what to expect. If I could I would book an air balloon with fewer people as there were 4 people in each section and we could barely turn around or get a decent picture. You are meant to get a flight certificate at the end of the tour but instead, we got a leaflet. My personal opinion is to book with a company that is well known and has a description of what to expect on your trip to make it extra special.
Sunset View Point
This is one of many viewpoints in Cappadocia. This has to be my favorite place to watch the sunset. We would drive our rental car up to the viewpoint and just chill in the car or go for a little walk. It was just so peacefully as there were not too many people around as we were there out of season. There are a few shops up there and a small fee at the bottom 0.15p per person or 0.50p for a car.
Visit a Capet Shop
Cappadocia is also famous for its carpets. Turkish carpets date back to the nomadic roots of the Turks in Central Asia. So if you have some time check one out. We visited Kervan Carpet & Kilim the shop owner gave us a brief rundown on the history of how it all began with a nice hot fruit tea. He did not apply any pressure for us to buy anything from his store but we did leave with a small beautiful handmade rug for £15. He was even nice enough to let us use his photo studio free of charge with traditional outfit changes.
Avanos
Avanos is a town 15 minutes drive from Cappadocia. This was a cute town and we only spent a short time roaming around and found an old school Mcdonald’s, it had the best outdoor seating area I’ve seen at an McD’s. We also stumbled across this sweet man who showed us how to do pottery and got some really nice coffee cups.
Cappadocia – Instagram Or Reality
Some people ask the question is it really like this or does it just look like that on Instagram? I can tell you it really is like that and would recommend seeing it yourself. I was very satisfied that I did get to do the most instagramable thing there is in Cappadocia which was getting on a hot air balloon because it was worth every moment. The feeling was magical. There are so many more this things to do in Cappadocia such as horse riding to exploring the underground cities. Unfortunately, we did not do a few of these as it was too cold and most of the time we wanted to be in our cozy cave room or in one of our favorite and affordable spots to eat Coffeedocia and for the best hot chocolate head to Hopper Coffee House.
Till Next Time Cappadocia …
