CAPPADOCIA THREE DAYS FROM ANTALYA

• Traveling to Cappadocia is a unique opportunity to discover the beauty and mysteries of one of the most enigmatic regions of Turkey. You will see incredible lunar landscapes, formed by volcanic tuff and basalt, as well as visit underground cities and monasteries where Christians hid from persecution. At the Goreme Museum, you will learn about the rich history of Cappadocia and its cultural heritage. And a hot air balloon ride over the amazing landscapes is sure to be one of the highlights of your trip. Embark on an exciting journey and discover the world of Cappadocia!
• Check the current price and detailed program on our website. Book the trip today and pay on the bus. We made sure our trips are not only interesting but also comfortable. The price includes transfers from hotels in Kundu, Lara, Kaleici, Antalya, Konyaalti. Enjoy your vacation with us.

Tour program

Day 1:

• Tourists pick-up from hotels at 04:15 - 05:15 (After booking confirmation, the exact pick-up time will be added to your e-ticket.)
• Breakfast stop
• Visit "Mevlana Museum" in Konya
• Lunch in Konya
• Visit Saratli underground city
• Arrival in Cappadocia
• Check-in at the hotel
• Dinner
• Optional visit to the "Sema" dervish ceremony (ritual dance of dervishes) or city panorama at sunset.

Day 2:

• Hot air balloon ride or balloon parade (optional)
• Breakfast at the hotel
• Visit Fantasy Valley and Monk Valley
• Visit Cavusin rock city and St. John's Church
• Visit a pottery workshop in Avanos
• Stop for lunch break
• Visit Love Valley
• Visit Goreme Open Air Museum
• Visit Uchisar
• Visit a leather store
• Dinner at the hotel
• Optional: Attend Turkish Night Show in Cappadocia

Day 3:

• Hot air balloon ride or balloon parade (optional)
• Breakfast at the hotel
• Stops at Three Beauties Fortress (Ucguzel) and Ortahisar
• Visit Anatolian stone center
• Pigeon Valley - panoramic stop
• Leave Cappadocia region
• Stop at Caravanserai
• Traditional lunch in Konya city
• Return to hotels between 18:30 - 19:30.

More about the tour

• Our tour program starts between 4:15 and 5:15 am. We will pick you up at the security gate of your hotel and head towards Cappadocia. The average distance from Antalya coast resorts, like Antalya, Alanya, Belek, Kemer, and Side, to Cappadocia is 500 km. The journey will be enjoyable with the guide's interesting stories, beautiful landscapes, and colorful places you'll pass by.
• Day 1:
• The first day of our 3-day Cappadocia tour starts with a breakfast stop at a cafe. After breakfast, the bus will take you to Konya city. Here, you'll visit the "Mevlana Museum". The guide's stories about the Persian poet's life, the exhibits, and the museum complex's building, located in former dervish homes, are interesting. These buildings were built in the 14-15th centuries and have been preserved to this day.
• In Konya, you'll have a lunch break at a restaurant included in the tour price. After a filling lunch, your tour continues. You'll visit the unique underground city of Saratli. You can explore three of its seven levels. The guide will tell you about the history and life in these shelters and show you interesting spots.
• Next, you'll arrive in Cappadocia, check into the hotel, and have dinner. If you have the energy, you can attend a dervish "Sema" ceremony and watch their ritual dance or go to a viewpoint to enjoy the city panorama at sunset.
• Day 2:
  The second day of the 3-day Cappadocia tour starts with the most exciting part – a hot air balloon flight. Early in the morning, a transfer will pick you up from the hotel and take you to the launch site. The flight lasts 1 hour, and you'll enjoy Cappadocia's beautiful landscapes while welcoming the sunrise.
• After the flight, you'll return to the hotel for breakfast (included) and continue your tour. This day, you'll visit amazing valleys: Imagination and Monks, the rock city of Cavusin, and St. John's Church.
• The beautiful valleys are near the pottery city of Avanos. We'll visit a pottery workshop, where you can see the production process and buy lovely souvenirs if you wish.
• In Avanos, you'll have a lunch break, after which you'll visit Love Valley and the Uchisar fortress near Goreme, Turkey's largest open-air historical and archaeological museum complex. The guide will share interesting facts about the place and give you free time to explore and take beautiful photos.
• On the way back to the hotel, you'll stop at a leather shop where you can buy quality and beautiful items. At the hotel, a delicious dinner awaits you. Afterward, you can rest or, if you have energy left, attend a Turkish Night show in Cappadocia.
• Day 3:
  If you wish, your third day can start with a delightful sight – a hot air balloon parade at sunrise. You can take amazing photos with this view. After that, you'll return to the hotel for breakfast. Then the tour continues and you'll visit some more fortresses in Göreme: the Three Beauties (Uçhisar) and Ortahisar Fortresses. You'll also visit the Anatolian Stone Center and stop at Pigeon Valley for photos and to enjoy the panoramic view. Then, you'll leave Cappadocia.
• Another place you'll visit is the Caravanserai, a former resting place for traders and travelers, now for tourists who want a break before going to their hotels. You can have lunch here. A transfer will take you to the hotel around 18:30-19:30.

Included in the price

• We pick you up from your hotel.
• We will drop you back to your hotel.
• Insurance
• Guide services
• Dinner on the first and second days at the hotel
• Breakfast on the second and third days at the hotel
• Overnight stay on the first and second days at the hotel in Cappadocia (Signatura Garden Avanos Hotel 4*)

Not included in the price

• Personal expenses (photos, souvenirs, etc.)
• Any drinks during the tour
• Museum entry tickets
• Cappadocian Night Show (optional, $30)
• Visit the whirling dervishes' "Sema" ritual dance ceremony
• Visit the viewing platform during the hot air balloon parade at sunrise
• Lunches (about $10)
• Hot air balloon ride (optional)
• Extra charge for a single room (about 25€ per night)

Important information about hot air balloon flights:

• The estimated price for a hot air balloon flight varies from $150 to $200. The exact price will be given by the guide on the first day of the tour.
• This price is based on current year prices. Note that hot air balloon prices may be higher than stated. Our agency is not responsible for this. Before the COVID-19 virus, hot air balloon prices reached $250.
• During the 2-day Cappadocia tour, we are fully responsible for the safety and well-being of tourists.
• We and other Cappadocia tour organizers do not accept tourists who book a hot air balloon flight somewhere other than with our guide.
• If such a situation occurs during the 2-day Cappadocia tour, your tour will be canceled without refund, and the agency will not provide a return transfer.

Please bring

• Camera, water
• Comfortable shoes, sunglasses
• Warm clothes
• Money for personal expenses
• Passport

Distance

• Distance from Konyaalti to Cappadocia: 580 km - 7 hours 5 minutes
• Distance from Antalya city center to Cappadocia: 578 km - 7 hours 5 minutes
• Distance from Kaleici to Cappadocia: 578 km - 7 hours 5 minutes
• Distance from Lara to Cappadocia: 570 km - 7 hours
• Distance from Kundu to Cappadocia: 570 km - 7 hours

Watch tour video

Important Information

Early booking discounts

• Book early!
• Book this tour at least 7 days before the trip starts and get a 4% discount.
• Book this tour at least 30 days before the trip starts and get a 5% discount.

Extra Information

• The guide has the right to change the tour order without changing the overall program.
• Children who join the tour for free do not get separate seats on the bus. They share seats with adults (sit on their laps).
• If you want your child to have a separate seat on the bus, book them as a paid child during the reservation.
• According to the rules set by the Turkey Ministry of Tourism, kids under 8 years old get discounts when visiting museums and must have a passport for registration.
• To calculate the discount, they use the birth year, not the birth date (for example, 2022-8=2014). The parent or guardian is responsible for giving the correct age of the child when booking a tour.

Things to do

CAPPADOCIA

• Cappadocia is a valley with beautiful horses, stone mushrooms, and fairies. This amazing region is in the center of Turkey and attracts tourists with its unique moon-like landscapes, interesting history, and unsolved mysteries.
• Cappadocia is one of Turkey's main attractions and formed over 60 million years ago. Tectonic plate collisions and volcanic eruptions resulted in a thick layer of volcanic rock called "tuff" covering the ground. Over time, wind and rain have shaped the soft rock into strange stone pillars, mountains, valleys, and canyons. These unusual rock formations are often called "mushroom rocks," and locals call them "fairy chimneys." The "stem" of the mushroom is made of tuff, and the "cap" is basalt, which is denser and erodes slower, so Cappadocia's landscape keeps changing. Nature is the best artist, creating a masterpiece using the destructive forces of natural disasters.
• Sometimes, Cappadocia is called the birthplace of Christianity. This is because, in the 1st century AD, the rock walls gave shelter and protection to the first Christians who were hiding from their persecutors.
• During a tour, you can visit multi-level underground cities, rock fortresses, monk houses, and churches. You can walk through valleys with otherworldly landscapes like the Rose, Red, Love, and Pigeon Valleys. At dawn, you can enjoy a fantastic view as hundreds of hot air balloons take flight, or even take a balloon ride yourself.
  
  

Mevlana Museum

• Jalaluddin Rumi was a spiritual leader of the dervishes and a Persian Sufi poet. He lived in the 11th century in Konya, a city in Asia Minor that was the capital of the Seljuk Sultanate. Rumi's followers called him Mevlana, which means "our lord" in Arabic. Rumi's poetry is still very popular today. After Mevlana's death, his son Sultan Walad founded the Sufi order of Mevlevi.
• The Mevlana museum is located in the dervish lodge. Many buildings were built in the 14th and 15th centuries, and they still look the same today. The city of Konya is famous for the cone-shaped dome of the mausoleum, which is covered in emerald tiles. Inside the mausoleum, the walls are beautifully decorated with ornaments and inscriptions. In the center, above the dome, are the tombs of Mevlana and his eldest son. The graves are covered with expensive fabric and embroidered with gold Quran quotes. The dervish turbans are placed at the head. The father, wife, and children of Mevlana, as well as important members of the order and sheikhs, are buried here.
• Other rooms display the life and customs of the dervishes, and the cells of the order members. In the courtyard, there are fountains from the 15th and 16th centuries and the graves of dervishes.

Town of Avanos

• Avanos is a town of potters. It is located on the bank of the longest river in Turkey, the K?z?l?rmak or Red River. The river got its name because of the large amount of clay found on its banks. The people of Avanos have been making pottery and carpets for a long time.
• The main attractions of the town are pottery and carpet workshops, where visitors can take part in classes; a ceramics museum; and a monument to the crafts of Avanos. Near the town is the Pashabag Valley, famous for the rock church of St. Simeon, and the Devrent (Imagination) Valley.

Underground Cities

• The biggest mystery of Cappadocia is its underground cities. There are over 200 hidden shelters, with 30 studied so far. Nobody knows who made them or when. Some say ancient Hittites built them, others think it's from early Christianity, and some believe they're from unknown advanced civilizations. These cities were made for protection. Each city could house 50 families and has many levels underground. Everything was well-planned: ventilation, wells, toilets, restrooms, wine cellars, storage rooms, barns, stables, animal shelters, schools, and churches. People could stay underground for 3 months without needing to go outside.
• The largest and most famous settlements are Derinkuyu, Kaymakli, Ozkonak, and Saratli. You'll visit Saratli, which was found by accident by archaeologists in 1991. For 30 years, they have been working here. So far, 7 floors have been cleared, and the first 3 levels are open to tourists.

Goreme Museum

• The Goreme Museum is a national park and open-air museum complex protected by UNESCO. It covers 9,600 hectares and has about 10 rock-cut monasteries from 900-1200 BC, open for visitors. It is believed that there were around 400 churches in ancient times. Their walls have old paintings and frescoes showing saints and important Christian events.
• You'll visit Apple, Snake, Dark Churches, St. Barbara's and St. Catherine's Churches, St. Basil's Chapel, Buckle Church (the largest), and Sandals Church. The guide will tell you interesting facts about the lives of great Cappadocians like Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory Nazianzen. These saints lived in Cappadocia in the 4th century and encouraged building monasteries and temples here.

• The Prayer
• Journey to Bethlehem
• Birth
• Adoration of the Magi
• Escape to Egypt
• Baptism
• Resurrection of Lazarus
• Transfiguration
• Entry into Jerusalem
• Last Supper
• Betrayal and Crucifixion.

Hot Air Balloons in Cappadocia

• Hot air balloons are a true symbol of Cappadocia. As the sun rises, up to 200 colorful balloons lift into the sky, carrying 2 to 35 passengers each. For about an hour, you'll float in the air, going up and down to see all the sights and enjoy the stunning beauty.
• Balloon flights happen all year round, as long as the weather is good without strong winds or rain. Turkey's Civil Aviation Authority gives permission, and pilots must have training and a certificate.
• The best time to visit is from April to October. Another amazing sight is the balloon parade, which you can watch from any viewpoint and take great photos.

Whirling Dervishes' Sema Dance

• Dervishes connect with God through their spinning dance called "sema." The dance happens in a special room called "semahane" and has three parts. The first part symbolizes seeing God, the second part knowing God, and the third part uniting with God. Dervishes feel like they are between heaven and earth, neither alive nor dead.
• The dance starts with dervishes crossing their arms over their chest, like a dead person. Then they open up, raising their right hand and lowering their left hand, showing that they take divine grace from heaven and pass it through themselves. Every part of their clothing has a meaning. The white color represents death, and the cloth is like a dead person's clothes. The black cover they remove after three spins symbolizes burial. The soul rises and frees itself from its grave. The felt cap represents a tombstone.

Konya

• Konya has over 2 million people and is the largest Turkish city by area. It was founded in Byzantine times and called "Iconium," meaning "city of icons." In the 13th century, it became the capital of the Seljuk Empire. The Seljuks called it Konya. Now, it is a big industrial center.

Average daytime temperature in Cappadocia

• Weather in Cappadocia in January: +4
• Weather in Cappadocia in February: +5
• Weather in Cappadocia in March: +10
• Weather in Cappadocia in April: +15
• Weather in Cappadocia in May: +20
• Weather in Cappadocia in June: +24
• Weather in Cappadocia in July: +28
• Weather in Cappadocia in August: +28
• Weather in Cappadocia in September: +24
• Weather in Cappadocia in October: +18
• Weather in Cappadocia in November: +11
• Weather in Cappadocia in December: +6