Cappadocia is my all-time FAVORITE city. There is so much to do and see here – all while enjoying insane Anatolian cuisine. It’s important to have at least 3 days here, so you don’t miss anything. I’ll create a super detailed itinerary next week. So for now, I’ll talk about the highlight of the trip for me in this Cappadocia Travel Diary – the hot air balloons.
There are two ways you can (and should!) experience the hot air balloons here.
Cappadocia Travel Diary
Breakfast at the Sultan Cave Suites at sunrise.
You do have to be a guest of the hotel, so I’d recommend just staying there since it has the best view and is affordable. The balloons start to go up right before sunrise and it really is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. A line starts forming to take pictures, so be patient and ready to pose!
A sunrise balloon ride.
We booked ours through the hotel and did the Turquoise Balloon Rides. I will NEVER forget this experience. It was so worth the early alarm and felt like pure magic the entire time.
We left our hotel room at 4:00 AM and the lobby took us to a cafe where we had breakfast, then hopped into a jeep. We drove to the heart of the fairy chimneys and quickly realized there were hundreds of other people waiting to get into the balloons too!
We found our chariot and were very tightly packed in with 25 other tourists. It was a little uncomfortable but totally worth it. Once we got in the air we managed to see the sunrise twice as we weaved through mountain ranges. It was unlike anything I’ve seen in the states or the rest of Europe.
When we landed there was champagne waiting for us so I can’t recommend this experience enough!
ATV-ing through Mars
We took a very long nap after the hot air balloon ride and woke up after lunch. Still full from breakfast, we made our way to the heart of Cappadocia to an ATV tour company and had a blast on this tour!
We drove by ancient caves, the Rose Canyons and watched the sunset while zooming around a landscape that resembled Mars.
Dinner at Topdeck Cave Restaurant
Even though the name might not suggest it, it’s a local favorite and our hotel staff was raving about it. It’s a traditional Ottoman style restaurant with floor seating, endless tea and killer Anatolian cuisine.
We went back here for our final night to order our favorites again – Chicken Burak and the Meze Platter.
Would you go? Let me know in the comments!
XO
