The Best Things to Do in Cappadocia, Turkey (According to Us) 

Start Your Cappadocia Trip Right, Stay at a Cave Hotel 

No Cappadocia trip is complete without a stay at one of its iconic cave hotels. Inspired by Cappadocia’s millenia-old cave dwellings, these unique hotels features stone rooms carved right into the side of the mountain, something you will be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in the world. 

These are the best cave hotels in Cappadocia, from the most affordable to the most luxurious: 

Usually, we are not ones to call a hotel stay an activity, but we decided to make an exception for Cappadocia. After all, staying in a cave hotel is much more than just a regular hotel stay. Let us tell you why. 

For one, Cappadocia’s famous cave hotels have a deep cultural and historical foundation. They are inspired by the region’s ancient cave dwellings that were once carved into the soft tuff rock, that made it much easier to built into it rather than out of it. 

While modern cave hotels copy the cozy aesthetic of the ancient cave dwellings, they are much more comfortable, often times decked out with Turkish carpets and equipped with hot tubs and even private hammams. You can believe us when we say that you will not want to leave your cave room in the evening. 

What to Know Before Booking

• Each town in Cappadocia offers cave hotels. The most cave hotels are found in Göreme, some of the cheapest ones are located in Ortahisar. 
• You can book an overnight stay in a cave room starting from around $ 50 per night. 
• We recommend getting the full experience: a cave suite w/ hot tub or hammam and a traditional Turkish breakfast severed on many little plates the next morning. 

Join an Early-Morning Hot Air Balloon Ride 

Whenever you look up Cappadocia on Instagram you are almost guaranteed to be shown photos of hot air balloons rides at sunrise. After all, hot air balloon rides are THE thing to do in Cappadocia. And you know what? The hype is well deserved. 

A hot air balloon flight gives you a beautiful bird’s eye view of the towering fairy chimneys, narrow valleys and historical village edged in-between – the perfect introduction to your time in Cappadocia. In summer, the hot air balloons lift off more than 100 times per day, since conditions are perfect. 

Outside of summer, we recommend keeping your itinerary flexible, as flights are prone to be postponed due to bad weather conditions. Book your flight for your first morning in Cappadocia and hold off fixing any plans for the next morning just in case. 

What to Know Before Booking 

• Easily accessible from your cave hotel in Göreme, the hot air balloon rides take off on open fields just outside of town. 
• Balloon rides start from as little as $ 100 per person; more comfortable rides with smaller groups cost closer to $ 350 per person. The flight lasts around one hour. 
• Book with certified tour providers and make sure that your flight is refundable in case of bad weather. 

Explore Kaymakli Underground City 

From the skies of Cappadocia you may see a lot: unique rock formations, narrow valleys with intricate horse-trodden paths and historic villages forged right into the mountains. However, one of Cappadocia’s greatest mysteries remains hidden from the naked eye: its underground cities. 

There are more than 200 underground cities dotted all over – or under – Cappadocia. And we are not talking mere caves, but full-blown cities housing up to 20,000 residents at times. Today, only a handful of them are open to visitors, among them Derinkuyu Underground City and Kaymakli Underground City. 

Built almost 3,000 years ago, Kaymakli may have served as a shelter from war, religious persecution or the harsh winters of the region. It features dedicated spaces for humans and livestock, storage rooms, wells and even ventilation shafts, allowing locals to live underground for several months at a time. 

What to Know Before Booking

• Kaymakli Undergorund City is located 30 minutes south of Göreme in the modern-day village of Kaymakli. 
• Either join a day tour including the underground city, arrange for a taxi ride or come yourself by rental car. 
• The entrance fee to the underground city is $ 15 (or 13 €) per person. Buy tickets online in advance or simply buy them at the ticket booth upon arrival. 

Touch Grass in Ihlara Valley 

After seeing all these rock formations, rock caves and rock churches, we were craving some greenery so we headed over to Ihlara Valley. Just a few minutes down the road from Selim Monastery, Ihlara Valley offers a refreshing contrast to the rocky landscape with its dense forest and leafy paths. 

While, technically, you can hike the full length of the 14-kilometre valley from Selim Monastery, we opted for the more popular 3-kilometre route covering the main section of the valley. This leisurely hike, or rather long walk, starts with a 360-step staircase leading down to the river. 

Follow the river until you reach another staircase leading to the Church of Saint George. Contrary to earlier examples of Christian life in Cappadocia, this church reflects later Christian and Muslim co-existence under Seljuk rule, depicting the Muslim ruler Sultan Mesud II. alongside St. George. 

What to Know Before Booking 

• Located almost 1.5 hours away from Göreme, this activity is best connected with the nearby Selim Monastery. 
• While the hike is fairly beginner-friendly, we recommend bringing sturdy walking shoes for the soft terrain. 
• The entrance fee to Ihlara Valley is $ 17 (or 15 €) per person. Buy tickets online in advance or simply buy them at the ticket booth upon arrival. The ticket can be combined with Selim Monastery. 

Enjoy the Sunset Views of Pigeon Valley

With all its underground cities, cave churches and valley hikes, your Cappadocia itinerary is shaping up to be quite the active one, so it’s only right to throw in another relaxed activity to end our round-up of the best things to do in Cappadocia. 

Out of all the valleys in the Cappadocia Region, the so-called Pigeon Valley offers some of the better sunset views. Borrowing its name from its rock-carved pigeon houses, this unique valley looks more like a fairytale than any of the other ones.

When looking over the valley at sunset, you’ll feel like you can almost see the fairies and gnomes peek their heads out of their little stone huts. It’s truly an amazing view and a great way to cap off an active day of exploring in Cappadocia. 

What to Know Before Booking

• The Pigeon Valley with its pigeon houses is located right between Göreme and Uçhisar, accessible both by car and by foot. 
• You can either check out the valley from a viewpoint or go for a leisurely sunset hike. The hike is about 4 km long and takes no more than 2 hours. 
• There is no entrance fee to Pigeon Valley and you can absolutely visit it without a guide after completing your daily activities. 

Still organising your Cappadocia itinerary? Sort all of these activities into a 2-day Cappadocia itinerary that actually makes sense. We’ll help you in our separate guide on how to spend 2 days in Cappadocia. 

The Best Way to Do These Activities in Cappadocia 

One thing is for sure. Cappadocia does not lack things to do, but what usually gets in the way of doing them, are the long distances between each one of them. They are spread out all-throughout the region and often located in remote locations such as mountainsides and valleys. 

Choose one of these three modes of exploring to make the most of your time in Cappadocia: 

• Rent a Car: Renting a car in Cappadocia allows you to move freely between villages and attractions and explore at your own pace. This gives you an edge over the large group tours that usually swarm out after 9 am. At Nevşehir Airport (NAV), you can find rental cars from just $ 17 (or 15 €) per day. 
• Red Tour: The Red Tour is a full-day tour of Cappadocia’s most famous attractions that takes around 8 hours. It includes hotel pick-up and drop-off and some of the following stops: Göreme Open Air Museum, Uçhisar Castle, Love Valley, Monks Valley and Devrent Valley.
• Green Tour: The Green Tour is yet another full-day tour including some of the region’s lesser known attractions such as Kaymakli Underground City, Selime Monastery, Ihlara Valley and Pigeon Valley. The Green Tour also takes around 8 hours including a lunch stop. 

The Best Towns to Stay in the Cappadocia Region

Cappadocia is not one specific town in Turkey, but rather a wider region with several towns and villages.

For your stay in Cappadocia, you’ll need to decide first which town to stay in: 

• Göreme: Most tourists opt for a stay in Göreme. Göreme is one of the larger towns in the region and a hotspot for cave hotels and tourist attractions. Most hot air balloon rides take off just outside of Göreme and the Göreme Open Air Museum is only a stone’s throw away. This is where we stayed. 
• Uçhisar: For a quieter, yet well-connected, stay, head to Uçhisar instead of Göreme. Göreme’s neighbouring village is removed from most of the region’s traffic, all while keeping you within reach of most attractions. Plus, the cave hotels here offer beautiful views of Uçhisar Castle. 
• Ortahisar: For a similarly quiet and more affordable stay, head to Ortahisar instead of Göreme. While Ortahisar is a little more removed from Göreme than Uçhisar, it does feature some of the most affordable cave hotels. For backpackers and budget travellers, Ortahisar is a great shout. 
• Avanos: Avanos is a small town north of Göreme that is best-known for its millenia-old pottery tradition. There, you can even join pottery workshop to have a go at the ancient craft. This is a great destination for culture travellers that are less interested in conventional tourist attractions. 
• Nevşehir: Nevşehir is the Cappadocia’s administrative capital and by far the biggest city in the region. While Nevşehir might not be as charming to stay in, it serves as a strategic base in-between Nevşehir Airport and the region’s major attractions. 

Wondering how to get there? Check out how to get to Cappadocia in our detailed transportation guide.

Where to Stay in Cappadocia (Where We Stayed) 

With plenty of inspiration for things to do in Cappadocia, all that’s left for you to do, is to find the right hotel for your stay. From budget to luxury, we found the best hotels for you, including the one we stayed at: 

Elaa Cave Hotel

As one of the most affordable cave hotels in Cappadocia, Elaa Cave Hotel is not located in the heart of Göreme, but still fairly central in the calmer town of Ortahisar. Elaa Cave Hotel might be affordable, but it’s far from cheap. It offers cozy private rooms, spacious common areas and beautiful village views. 

Shoestring Cave House (We Stayed Here) 

For our stay in Cappadocia, we aimed right in the middle of the spectrum an landed on the Shoestring Cave House in Göreme. This cave hotel features several iconic cave rooms ranging from cozy retreats to elaborate suites. 

At Shoestring Cave House, we not only found ourselves in an enchanting cave suite equipped with a jacuzzi and its very own hammam, but also enjoyed a delicious Turkish breakfast at the restaurant on-site and some of the best views of Göreme and its fairy chimneys. 

Within walking distance of the hotels, we found plenty of lunch and dinner options, spas and tour operators for Cappadocia tours. For our tours, we settled on Reliance Tours, who have an office right on the premises of the hotel, and we couldn’t have wished for a better experience. 

Taskonaklar 

For honeymooners and luxury travellers, Taskonaklar offers another step up from the classic cave room experience in Cappadocia. This luxury hotel features high-end Ottoman-style rooms and suites, a bar, a Michelin-starred restaurant and some of the best views of the Pigeon Valley at sunset you can find. 

The Bottom Line 

From unique cave hotels and balloon rides at sunrise to underground cities and cave churches, these are six activities in Cappadocia, Turkey, we have not stopped raving about. We hope we could inspire you to add at least one of the activities to your Cappadocia itinerary and wish you a beautiful time travelling Turkey.