Are you finally ticking that Cappadocia trip off your bucket list? Congratulations! You’ll not regret the long journey out to the Cappadocia region. But what is actually the best way to get to Cappadocia?
In this article, we will break down each and every travel route to Cappadocia from direct flights, to train journeys, overnight bus rides and road trips. This is how to get to Cappadocia as an independent traveller.
Key Takeaways
- Plane: Fastest way to reach Cappadocia with direct flights to Nevşehir or Kayseri airports from Istanbul, taking about 1 hour 15 minutes plus transfer time.
- Train: Scenic but long route via high-speed train to Ankara, then Dogu Express to Kayseri, followed by bus to Göreme.
- Bus: Cheapest option with overnight buses from Istanbul to Göreme taking around 12 hours; convenient for budget travelers.
- Car: Flexible road trip option from Istanbul with about 7 hours driving; allows exploring Cappadocia independently.
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Stay at One of These Cave Hotels in Cappadocia
No trip to Cappadocia is complete without a stay in a cave hotel. From budget stays to luxurious honeymoon getaways, these are the best cave hotels in Cappadocia:
Budget | Elaa Cave House | from $ 57 per night | |
Value | Shoestring Cave House | from $ 146 per night | |
Luxury | Taskonaklar | from $ 495 per night |
How to Get to Cappadocia: 4 Travel Routes Explained
The Cappadocia Region is located in Central Turkey, far away from larger Turkish cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya. Cappadocia’s main tourist hub, Göreme, is located at over 550 kilometres from Istanbul, so you best check beforehand how to get there.
This is how to get to Cappadocia the fastest, the most scenic and the cheapest way:
Getting to Cappadocia by Plane (The Fastest Option)
The fastest option for getting to Cappadocia is the airplane route. Getting to the Cappadocia region by airplane, you will travel to either Nevşehir Airport (NAV) or Kayseri Erkilet Airport (ASR). Both Cappadocian airports are connected to the rest of Turkey and the world via the Istanbul airports.
From Istanbul Airport (IST) and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW) you can book direct flights to Cappadocia starting from as little as $ 34 for 29 € (Istanbul to Kayseri) or $ 39 or 34 € (Istanbul to Nevşehir). The flights to Cappadocia take between 1 hour 15 minutes and 1 hour 25 minutes.
If you land at Kayseri Airport, you can take a taxi to Kayseri’s bus terminal and take a 1.5-hour bus to Göreme from there. If you land at Nevşehir Airport, you can get an airport shuttle to Nevşehir or directly head to your destination, depending on availability.
To save yourself the troubles of figuring out your transfer from the airport to your hotel on the spot, you can also check for a private transfer with your hotel. Most hotels in Cappadocia offer private transfer starting from around $ 10 or 9 €. Overall, this travel route will take you around five hours end to end.
The Fastest Option at a Glance
- There are two airports in Cappadocia: Nevşehir Airport (NAV) and Kayseri Airport (ASR).
- Direct flights from Istanbul to Cappadocia take between 1h 15 and 1h 25.
- From Nevşehir Airport, take a shuttle service to your destination in Cappadocia.
- From Kayseri Airport, get to Kayseri Bus Station first and take a bus to Göreme from there.
Total Price: from $45 (or 39 €) per person (depending on travel time, baggage and destination)
Getting to Cappadocia by Train (The Scenic Route)
The most scenic route for getting to Cappadocia is the train route. To get to Cappadocia by train, you can start at either end of the country, in Istanbul and Kars, if you are coming from Georgia, and head to Kayseri Railway Station.
To get to Kayseri from Istanbul, take a high speed train to Ankara first and transfer on to the Dogu Express headed to Kars from there. Get off the Dogu Express at Kayseri Railway Station, get a taxi to Kayseri Bus Station and take a bus to Göreme from there.
To get to Kayseri from Kars, take the Dogu Express to Ankara and get off at Kayseri Railway Station. From there, head to Kayseri Bus Station and take the Göreme bus from there. For more information about this travel route, check out our trip report about the Dogu Express from Kars to Ankara.
Book your train tickets on the official Turkish Railways website or their app. The trip from Istanbul to Kayseri costs around 1,150 Turkish Lira (TL) per person and takes around 16 hours; the trip from Kars to Kayseri costs 650 TL per person and takes around 24 hours. The taxi from Kayseri Railway Station to Kayseri Bus Station costs another 500 TL and the connecting bus to Göreme around 300 TL per person.
A note on booking the Dogu Express:Booking for Dogu Express tickets opens exactly 30 days before the departure date and tickets sell out fast. Put a reminder on your calendar to book your tickets on time.
The Scenic Route at a Glance
- There are train routes to Kayseri Railway Station (Kayseri Gari) from both ends of the country.
- From Istanbul, take a high speed train to Ankara, then take the Dogu Express to Kayseri (16 hours).
- From Kars, take the Dogu Express to Kayseri directly (24 hours).
- In Kayseri, take a taxi to Kayseri Bus Station (Kayseri Otogari), then take a bus to Göreme.
Total Price: from $ 41 (or 36 €) per person (starting from Istanbul); from $ 31 (or 27 €) per person (starting from Kars)
Getting to Cappadocia by Bus (The Cheapest Option)
If you are looking for the cheapest route for getting to Cappadocia, the bus route will be your most reliable pick. Assuming you start your trip in Istanbul, as with the other travel routes, you can catch an overnight bus from either Alibeyköy Bus Station or Esenler Bus Station on the European side of Istanbul.
An overnight bus from Istanbul to Göreme costs around 1,700 TL per person and takes around 12 hours. Some of the bus providers operating on the route are Metro and Kamil Koc. You can either book bus tickets directly on the bus operator’s website or through the ticketing service Obilet.
The great thing about this option is that you will not only reliably get the same ticket prices year-round and save on extra baggage fees, but also save yourself one night in a hotel, if you opt for the night bus option. Just make sure to bring also some snacks and a sweater, as it gets quite cold on the bus.
Once you arrive to Göreme Bus Station, you can either walk to your hotel, if you are staying in Göreme or continue to your destination. Find a mini bus (dolmuş) at the bus station with the name of the town you are headed to. Depending on your destination, the ride will cost between 50 TL and 100 TL per person.
The Cheapest Option at a Glance
- There are plenty of direct buses from Istanbul to Göreme, Cappadocia.
- A direct bus to Cappadocia takes around 12 hours.
- Book your bus tickets directly with the bus company or through the Obilet website.
- From Göreme Bus Station, take a mini bus to the town you will be staying at.
Total Price: from $ 36 (or 31 €) per person (baggage already included)
Getting to Cappadocia by Car (The Road Trip Option)
Are you travelling as a couple, a family or a group? Do you still have a big empty spot on your Turkey itinerary? Or are you simply looking for an adventure off the beaten path in Turkey? How about a road trip to Cappadocia, then?
In Turkey, renting a car is fairly affordable. Assuming you will start your road trip to Cappadocia in Istanbul, you can get your hands on a rental car for as little as $ 30 per day. From there, you will have around 700 kilometres to cover in about 7 hours of driving.
Start early in the morning to complete your Istanbul-Göreme road trip in just one day or break it up into two legs and spend a day in Ankara along the way. Considering the current gasoline prices in Turkey hovering around $ 1.47 per litre (or $5.56 per gallon), you’d be looking at spending roughly $ 75 (or 65 €) on road trip fuel.
Another advantage of the road trip option is the added flexibility in the Cappadocia region. Many attractions within the region are not directly accessible from its towns, forcing you to book tours. With your own car, however, you can easily drive out to sites like the Derinkuyu Underground City and explore them at your own pace.
Total Price: starting from $ 30 (or 26 €) per day in Istanbul; gasoline around $ 1.47 (or 1.28 €) per litre
The Road Trip Option at a Glance
- Rent a car in Istanbul starting from $ 30 per day for a standard sedan.
- From Istanbul, the driving distance to Cappadocia is about 700 kilometres, or 7 hours.
- Drive to Cappadocia in a day or two, by breaking up the trip in Ankara.
- Take advantage of your car in Cappadocia, by exploring local sites on your own.
What’s the Best Way to Get to Cappadocia?
Honestly, it really depends on your travel style. For a fast transfer to Cappadocia, take a flight from Istanbul. For a cheap transfer, take a night bus. For the scenic route, travel on the Dogu Express train. And to explore independently, rent a car in Istanbul.
We opted for the scenic route and took the Dogu Express train from Kars to Kayseri. From there, we took a bus to Göreme where we stayed during our time in Cappadocia – and honestly, we couldn’t have wished for a better experience. The train is just slightly more expensive than the bus, but infinitely more picturesque.
Curious about the scenic route? Check out our trip report about our journey on the Dogu Express from Kars to Kayseri.
Where to Stay in the Cappadocia Region (& Where We Stayed)
When travelling to the Cappadocia region, we highly recommend staying in its main town Göreme. This way, you can simply take a bus to Göreme without having to hop on yet another mini bus there.
In Göreme, you can find great hotels for every budget, from budget hostels to cave hotels and luxury retreat. This is where to stay in Cappadocia (and where we stayed):
Ilaa Cave House
If you’d like to have a cave hotel experience in Cappadocia without breaking your budget, you might want to give Elaa Cave House a shot. Starting from just $ 57 per night, this boutique-style cave hotel in the little town of Ortahisar, strikes the perfect balance between budget and comfort.
While this cave hotel does not feature the classic view of Cappadocia’s rock formations, it does have a romantic view of Ortasihar’s historic houses and Ortasihar castle. Apart from cozy rooms, the nightly rate also includes a complimentary breakfast, making it an even better deal.
Shoestring Cave House (We Stayed Here)
As you can take from the name, Shoestring Cave House is one of Cappadocia’s famed cave hotels – and it does not promise too much. We spent two nights at the Shoestring Cave House and found it to be much more than just a place to rest after our tours.
This cave hotel features spacious, carefully decorated rooms, with our room not only featuring a hot tub, but also its own hammam-style bathroom. Additionally, it features a complementary breakfast with lots of Turkish breakfast staples and a rooftop terrace with an impeccable view of Cappadocia’s fairy chimneys.
For our daily activities, we pretty much organised every experience through the Reliance Tour Agency, with our personal highlight being the Green Tour, but more on that in the last section. With nightly rates starting from around $ 145, we believe that it’s worth every penny.
Taskonaklar
In Cappadocia, there is no lack of luxury hotel options, but none are quite as enchanting as Taskonaklar. More than just a simple hotel, Taskonaklar is more like a full-blown village for you to stay in, featuring large, beautifully-decorated rooms, serene installations, on-site restaurants and even shops.
Within just a few sentences, it’s impossible to do this gem justice. Where do we even start? At the wood-fired chimney in your room? The luxurious amenities inside and outside of your room? The decadent breakfast? The quiet location away from the hustle and bustle of Göreme?
What to Do in Cappadocia, Turkey
In Cappadocia, there are plenty of attractions that could easily make it onto anyone’s bucket list: the hot air balloon rides at sunrise, the mysterious underground cities and the horseback rides at sunset.
If you are only staying in Cappadocia for 2 days, however, you need to prioritise your activities the right way to have a successful trip. This is what we mean by that:
Join a Hot Air Balloon Ride
Always, and we mean always, book your hot air balloon ride for the first morning of your stay in Cappadocia. The flights over Cappadocia’s rocky landscapes are an absolute must, but heavily dependant on weather conditions. Leave some space for rescheduling, in case the weather fails you.
Go on the Red Tour
The most popular tour pick in Cappadocia, the Red Tour introduces you to some of Cappadocia’s most famous sites such as the Göreme Open Air Museum, the Monks Valley and Uçhisar Castle. This tour is short enough to do after a sunrise balloon ride, but long enough to keep you occupied until sunset.
Go on the Green Tour
Not as popular, but our personal favourite, the Green Tour takes you deeper into the Cappadocia region, with beautiful ‘greener’ natural sites such as Ihlara Valley with its hiking trails, Selime Monastery and the early-Christian underground city of Derinkuyu. Just for the underground city, this tour is 100% worth it.
Looking into booking private tours in Cappadocia? On GetYourGuide you can find plenty of local tour companies offering the iconic Red and Green Tours.
The Bottom Line
Far removed from major cities, the Cappadocia region provides a stark contrast from the multi-million metropolis of Istanbul – and one of the most unique natural landscapes of the world. Get to Cappadocia by taking a direct flight from Istanbul, hopping on an overnight bus in Istanbul or taking the scenic route. Either way, you are in for an adventure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest way to get to Cappadocia?
The easiest way to get to Cappadocia from Istanbul is either taking a direct flight to Nevşehir Airport (NAV) or Kayseri Airport (ASR) or taking a direct overnight bus. The direct flight to Cappadocia is much faster, taking around 5 hours including transfer and airport procedures.
Which airport do you fly to for Cappadocia?
For a direct flight to Cappadocia, you need to fly from either of Istanbul’s airports: Istanbul Airport (IST) and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW). Also, note that there are two airports in the Cappadocia region you can fly to: Nevşehir Airport (NAV) and Kayseri Airport (ASR).
What is the best way to travel in Cappadocia?
If you want to get to Cappadocia fast, take a direct flight from Istanbul. If you want to get to Cappadocia for cheap, take an overnight bus. And if you want to take the scenic route, consider taking the train or renting a car.
Is 2 days enough for Cappadocia?
Yes, 2 days in Cappadocia are enough. While we do recommend staying ion Cappadocia for 3 or 4 days, if possible, 2 days are enough to join a hot air balloon ride and to see the main sites of the region. We recommend joining the Red Tour and Green Tour to make the most of your time.
Hey! We are glad you are curious about travelling the Middle East.
We are Nancy & Elias.
Over four years of backpacking and digital nomading made us fall in love with the Middle East. We have lived on the Red Sea coast in Egypt, lived in a Bedouin Camp in Jordan and travelled 6+ Middle Eastern countries overland.
As we continue to travel, we share our battle-tested travel advice on this blog, from travel reports and transfer guides to accommodation recs and saving hacks.
