Magical Cappadocia: 3 -Day Boutique Getaway (Afternoon Departure)

I went on vacation this past September to Turkey with two other guys (all in our late 20’s and early 30s). We decided to make Istanbul the hub of our limited time in Turkey but we also wanted to see the ancient sites of Ephesus and Cappadocia as well. We decided it would be inefficient to try to see these sites on our own so we elected to go with a guided tour and found Tour of Istanbul Company. At first we were hesitant to use the online form on their website but quickly realized it was just a means to start email coordination with Ms. Banu Kurban. We basically laid out what we wanted: 1 day in Ephesus and 2 days in Cappadocia. Banu quickly replied, was very accommodating, and with a few email exchanges over a couple of days we had a full itinerary including hotel-airport transfer, plane tickets, meals, and sites to be visited. Highlight: the tour guides are phenomenal! If you’re going to Ephesus request Gül Demir as your guide. She is a lovely local girl, with a warm heart, and her love of Turkey shows when she describes the geography and history of Ephesus. She also taught us some Turkish phrases; it was a lot of fun. If you’re going to Cappadocia request Aykut Babadogan. He is very knowledgeable of the region and was funny; it was like hanging out with one of the guys. He was also attentive when one of the members of our group got sick. Overall, they are both wonderful human beings and when people in my country ask what Turkish people are like I will speak of them. Critique: The driver had trouble rounding up all the people that required shuttle service at the airport upon our return to Istanbul. So getting back to the hotel took longer than expected, but that sort of thing should be expected being in a busy airport with no cellphone service in a foreign country. However, the awesomeness of the trip overshadowed this issue. Tour of Istanbul is legit and reasonable priced. I highly recommend them! — Roxanne C., USA

Highlight of our trip to Turkey: Tour of Istanbul company was very detail oriented and organized from the beginning when we started to email them from home inquiring about the Cappadocia tour. Picked us up and dropped us off from hotels to airports on time and everything went smooth. Big thanks to Remzi and the other tour guides who were really knowledgeable and informative about the historic sites. The balloon tour in the morning is a must do as you get pretty close up to the mountains and formations as well as you get a panoramic view from high up. Thanks Tourofistanbul Tours for the great experience! — Arthur M. Canada

Tourofistanbul.com did an excellent job coordinating our 3 day tour in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. Even though it was 4:30 am in Istanbul, the driver showed up on time at our hotel and got us to the airport on time to fly to the Cappadocia region. When we arrived at the Kayseri airport, another person was there to pick us up and take us to the tour guide. After a day of touring the incredible landforms, monastery, and open air museum in a small group, we were dropped off at an exceptional hotel. The next morning, again at 4:30 am, a driver picked us up to go on our Hot Air Balloon adventure-an exceptional experience and we were then taken back to our hotel for breakfast. We were picked up again and toured with the same guide for another great day of more land forms and the underground city. The next morning we were taken to the airport and flew back to Istanbul, picked up by another driver who took us to our hotel. The scheduling was perfect, everything worked out as detailed, and the events and hotel were excellent. I would use this tour group again without hesitation. — JobRockman D. USA

I contacted Tourofistanbul.com halfway during my week of vacation in Istanbul. My contactperson was Volkan Yirtimci and to be honest, from the first contact until the last, everything wenth smoothly. Volkan organised my trip to Cappadocia immediately and sent all necessary documents with the required information Every document was really transparent and according to the made agreements. My Cappadocia was also organised well. Everything was on time and as agreed. Will def work again with them in the future! Thumbs up for Volkan!!! — Ani N. South Africa

From being collected from our hotel in Istanbul at 4am to being dropped back the next day - our tour ran like clockwork. We had our own driver and tour guide who was not only friendly and helpful but also extremely knowledgeable on the region. We visited a number of amazing attractions. The accommodation in the cave was 5 star. We were advised to try Ziggy's restaurant in Urgup and we were not disappointed - their potatoes are a must. Next morning we were up early again for our hot air balloon ride (remember warm clothing), what fun and the views were breathtaking. Thanks Gokhan & Mehmet you made our trip memorable. — Tracey A. New Zealand

From the first email enquiry till the end of of tour,I was very impress with how smoothly things were conducted.Firstly, Mr Volkan Yirtimci replied to all my queries promptly that I did not feel the need to check elsewhere.He genuinely provided his service from the heart .My first time booking a tour for my family and we were not disappointed. Although it was just a 1 night 2 days tour of Cappadocia,we were very happy with all the arrangements.The cave hotel we were booked in was awesome!!The guides were very fluent in English and has deep knowledge of the their land.Thank you for a holiday we will never forget!♥️🥰♥️🥰 .— Halijah A. Singapore

We recently visited turkey early November . We Booked the 3days cappadocia tour under tourofistanbul.com and were very pleased with the service. Banu , especially, was very very accommodating . We were having doubts on going at all due to the recent bombings , and Ercin was ever so ready and prompt in replying our every question. VERY impressed . Kudos ! The cappadocia tour itself was well organised . We had our transportation settled for us , right till our accommodation back in Istanbul. the hot air balloon is a must. Everything ran smoothly. the only thing was that we visited one of the places twice due to a change in our tour group But it wasn't too much of an issue. The second tour guide was informative and friendly . We stayed in Gamirasu cave hotel , which was upgraded due to the off peak season . The hotel was fantastic. Great staff , great service and breakfast spread was definitely a good plus point . .— Victoria C. Canada

Easy and Clear: I spent a lot of time trying to decide how to use my 5 day stay in Istanbul. I checked out at least five travel agencys for trips to Cappadocia and Ephesus. Some agencies were charging twice the price for these tours and I could not compare the differences. Volkan at Tour of Istanbul gave me several suggestions as to how to spend my 5 days and explained to me very clearly what his 2-Day Cappadocia Tour included. It was not the least expensive, nor the most expensive compared to other agencies and I could choose between two hotels. I chose the 5 Star cave hotel option which was a wonderful experience in itself! There were seven of us on our two day tour in a comfortable minivan with a driver and a guide, both were excellent. Our hot air balloon ride was cancelled because it was too windy. This was a disappointment, but that lets us know that safety is first! We received a full refund for the cancelled balloon ride. In summary, Volkan at tourofistanbul.com was wonderful and gave a very clear answer to every question I had. The trip was so easy and flawless! I will use them again for any trip to Turkey. .— Fran G USA

We took the help of Tour of Istanbul company to plan our trip to Ephesus and Cappadocia for 6 days and then drop off in Istanbul, where we planned to explore on our own. But after experiencing their professionalism and hospitality, we took their help to see around Istanbul. Both Hotel rooms in Kusadasi and at Gamirasu Cave Hotel at Cappadocia were excellent both in terms of cleanliness and great breakfast. Hot air balloon trip organised by them was also very good. All of us enjoyed very much with out any hassles and its worth money we paid. Every thing went as per itinerary given by the company. The lunch arranged during tours were in very good restaurants where we enjoyed traditional Turkish dishes. Tour guides were well versed with history and good english speaking certified guides. I strongly recommend tour of Istanbul if any one of you planning to visit Turkey. All the best. 🙏🏼🙌🏼🌄 .— Surya S. South Africa

What an amazing experience. We wanted to celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary in style and Volkan Yirtimci from Tour of Istanbul team made sure that's exactly what we did. He organised our tour of Cappadocia from our arrival in Istanbul right through to our flight to our flights to Dalaman where we finished our holiday. Everything he promised we got. Transport from our friends in Istanbul to the airport. All flights. Amazing Hotel, fabulous day trips exploring the wonders of Cappadocia with very knowledgable tour guides. Not to mention the highlight of our tour the balloon flight over Cappadocia. Could not fault this tour in any way. A very big Thank you to Volkan for your patience. You understood exactly what we needed and your patience was incredible. You answered all our queries in the months proceeding the holiday swiftly and was helpful & professional throughout. We will remember this holiday for a very long time. — Carol B. UK

Planned our trip to Cappadocia just a week in advance and luckily They helped us with all our bookings promptly and helped us in our journey without any hiccups. We received all that was promised, timely service, comfortable transport and top of it excellent recommendations and help in all things we had not pre-planned or wanted to do on the spot. Our tour guide 'Melike' was great and so patient and made us experience some breath taking sites...'Volkan' helped with all the booking and coordination is was always available for all my queries providing excellent customer service. Thank you tourofistanbul.com for this memorable trip! — P. Aanchal, Philiphines

We booked our hot air balloon tour for 7 people when we visit Cappadocia in August! Mehmet was helpful , kind and he responded to all of our questions! Our mini van driver was Kind and experienced, he was very patient and careful with us! Our pilot explained the details we needed to know, was very well organised and seemed to have a lot of experience with hot air balloon! The 7 of us highly recommend this experience with the guidance of Mehmet through tourofistanbul.com ! Don’t forget to tip all the staff cause they truly deserve it!! — Efi K, Colombia

A friend recommended talking to Mr Volkan from Tour of Istanbul Company for a tour in Cappadocia, including the balloon flight. The complete tour experience from the moment they pick up for the hotel until we returned the next day was spectacular: punctuality, selection of places we visited, the guide who accompanied us was super prepared and spoke in our language, the hotel was incredible! And of course Cappadocia is a spectacular, unique in the world and unforgettable! If you are traveling to this beautiful region of Turkey, I recommend doing the tour with them because the service was outstanding and is a place you must visit at least once in life. — Gabi S - Argentina

We had the most magnificent holiday that created such great memories. Chuck, made every effort to make sure the arrangements were met. The Yunak Evleri Hotel was an amazing cave hotel. The staff were unbelievaable, did everything to accommodate your every need, meals and prices were great. Universal Balloons, transfer, tour guide English Speaking and airline tickets all arranged by Tour of Istanbul company was outstanding. They even phoned us through the driver to make sure our needs were being met and everything was fine. The company is outstanding. We made all these arrangements over the internet with Chuck, were not quite sure what kind of company we were dealing with but believe me it is an outstanding company to trust you arrangements with. Thank you. — M. Teabuds, US

They did an excellent job coordinating our 3 day tour in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. Even though it was 4:30 am in Istanbul, the driver showed up on time at our hotel and got us to the airport on time to fly to the Cappadocia region. When we arrived at the Kayseri airport, another person was there to pick us up and take us to the tour guide. After a day of touring the incredible landforms, monastery, and open air museum in a small group, we were dropped off at an exceptional hotel. The next morning, again at 4:30 am, a driver picked us up to go on our Hot Air Balloon adventure-an exceptional experience and we were then taken back to our hotel for breakfast. We were picked up again and toured with the same guide for another great day of more land forms and the underground city. The next morning we were taken to the airport and flew back to Istanbul, picked up by another driver who took us to our hotel. The scheduling was perfect, everything worked out as detailed, and the events and hotel were excellent. — G.Rockman, USA

Could not have been more pleased with our full day private tour of Istanbul. And Cappodocia, from the Yunak Cave Hotel to the enchanting balloon ride at dawn, to two outstanding days of sightseeing with a terrific guide, They did a first class job. Thank you for a very special time. Ginny Husen Going Places Travel... Indio, California — G. Husen, USA

We took a 2-night tour of Cappadocia, including a hot air balloon ride, flight from/to Istanbul, and stay in a cave hotel. Everything went smoothly and easily. The two days with the guide were filled with information about the region. The ballon ride was wonderful! All was perfect and the rates were very reasonable. We recommend Tour of Istanbul Tours and Banu without any hesitations. — K. Sugrad, Argentina

I contacted Tour of Istanbul halfway during my week of vacation in Istanbul. My contact person was Mrs Banu and to be honest, from the first contact until the last, everything wenth smoothly. Banu organised my trip to Cappadocia immediately and sent all necessary documents with the required information. Every document was really transparent and according to the made agreements. My Cappadocia was also organised well. Everything was on time and as agreed. Will def work again with them in the future! Thumbs up for Banu!!! 🙏🏼🙌🏼🌄 Ani N. Bosnia and Herzegovina

From being collected from our hotel in Istanbul at 4am to being dropped back the next day - our tour ran like clockwork. We had our own driver and tour guide who was not only friendly and helpful but also extremely knowledgeable on the region. We visited a number of amazing attractions. The accommodation in the cave was 5 star. We were advised to try Ziggy's restaurant in Urgup and we were not disappointed - their potatoes are a must. Next morning we were up early again for our hot air balloon ride (remember warm clothing), what fun and the views were breathtaking. Thanks Gokhan & Mehmet you made our trip memorable.

From the first email enquiry till the end of of tour,I was very impress with how smoothly things were conducted.Firstly, Mr Mehmet replied to all my queries promptly that I did not feel the need to check elsewhere.He genuinely provided his service from the heart.My first time booking a tour for my family and we were not disappointed.Although it was just a 1 night 2 days tour of Cappadocia,we were very happy with all the arrangements.The cave hotel we were booked in was awesome!!The guides were very fluent in English and has deep knowledge of the their land.Thank you for a holiday we will never forget! 🙏🏼.—J. Rosedale, Canada

We recently visited turkey early November . We Booked the 3days cappadocia tour and were very pleased with the service. Mr Volkan , especially, was very very accommodating . We were having doubts on going at all due to the recent bombings , and Volkan was ever so ready and prompt in replying our every question. VERY impressed . Kudos ! The cappadocia tour itself was well organised . We had our transportation settled for us , right till our accommodation back in Istanbul. the hot air balloon is a must. Everything ran smoothly. the only thing was that we visited one of the places twice due to a change in our tour group But it wasn't too much of an issue. The second tour guide was informative and friendly . We stayed in gamirasu cave hotel , which was upgraded due to the off peak season . The hotel was fantastic. Great staff , great service and breakfast spread was definitely a good plus point. Victoria M. USA

We had a great trip in Turkey a. The tour, hotel and food was great. Mr Volkan planned everything for us. Most of the hotels are in a very good location, easy to move around ourselves. Highly recommended to contact Mr Volkan if you plan to go to turkey and have no idea about where to go and what to do. 2 of their guides Mr Hafiz in Cappadocia and Ms Nafia was a great guide. In overall, we enjoyed our trip so much. Tx Volkan and Tour of Istanbul team. 🙏🏼 .— H.G. Singapure

With limited days outside of Istanbul, I randomly selected a tour company from "google". Mrs Banu from Tour of Istanbul responded almost immediately. I outlined what I was looking for and he gave me various options. I detailed our specific requirements and Mrs Banu immediately responded with the perfect package to offer us the best of Turkey in a limited time frame at an exceptionally good price. Their service was absolutely faultless, with drivers arriving promptly to collect us, and deliver us back to our hotel, even for very early pick up times for flights. The tours themselves were well organised, informative and well thought out. The meals that were included each day were typical Turkish fare and very enjoyable. We had four different guides on each of the four days of our tour but the two guides that really stood out for us as being extremely warm, friendly and very informative about were Nafia for our Ephesus tour day and Mostapha for our final day in Cappadochia including the underground city etc. We would love to return to Turkey one day and I would have absolutely no hesitation in contacting Tour of Istanbul team for all of our travel/tour requirements. Their all round service was absolutely outstanding. Exceptional Service! Highly recommended. —Lynne V. South Africa

We arranged a 5 day side trip for us from Istanbul and back. Everything went perfectly: the hotels were fantastic, guides and drivers were knowledgeable and professional and caring (special shout out to guide Nafia and driver Moustafa). I especially enjoyed woking with Volkan who co ordinated our trip and was always available to answer our questions, both from the US by emil and when we were actually in Turkey! We recommend this organization highly! — Claire W. USA

The tour was extremely well organized ,i enjoyed every single moment i spent in cappadocia .The tour guide was very helpful whenever we needed some clarifications with regards to everything. I do recommend this tour to everyone who wants to discover the history of the incredible cappadocia in two full days tour. Belgacem S. UAE

We wanted to celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary in style and Mr Volkan from Tour of Istanbul team made sure that's exactly what we did. He organized our tour of Cappadocia from our arrival in Istanbul right through to our flight to our flights to Dalaman where we finished our holiday. Everything he promised we got. Transport from our friends in Istanbul to the airport. All flights. Amazing Hotel, fabulous day trips exploring the wonders of Cappadocia with very knowledgable tour guides. Not to mention the highlight of our tour the balloon flight over Cappadocia. Could not fault this tour in any way. A very big Thank you to Volkan for your patience. You understood exactly what we needed and your patience was incredible. You answered all our queries in the months proceeding the holiday swiftly and was helpful & professional throughout. We will remember this holiday for a very long time. — J. HazelBird UK

It was great, Nice hotels, Excellent hassle free balloon ride, Extremely punctual and clean pick up and drop Good travel guides ,Descent foods, Enjoyed the Turkish night too was an experience in itself, Best part wife was happy 😊 So worth the money we spent may could have opted for something cheap but would not recommend that as I have gathered great memories which are priceless. — Rahul G. UAE

The package was really well organized and had a lot of amazing activities. The hot air balloon flight was spectacular, totally recommended. We also did two tours, the red and green one, each lasted till around 6pm and were full of interesting discoveries about Cappadocia history and patrimony. We were always in contact with Mehmet, who coordinated all of our transfers and activities, he was available everyday our trip lasted and answered quickly to all of our doubts. Thanks a lot to him for making our Cappadocia visit easy and more enjoyable. Guillermo G. UAE

Thank you to Mehmet (Mr) for all your assistance organising my tour to Cappadocia that included the hot air balloon. Everything that I needed was provided to me in a very professional and friendly manner from Mechmet. I very much appreciated. It was an excellent unforgettable tour and all flights accomodation tours and tour guides were the best. I had the best time ever. Thank you once again for everything.

We booked our hot air balloon tour package for 7 people when we visit Cappadocia in August! Mehmet was helpful , kind and he responded to all of our questions! Our mini van driver was Kind and experienced, he was very patient and careful with us! Our pilot explained the details we needed to know, was very well organised and seemed to have a lot of experience with hot air balloon! The 7 of us highly recommend this experience with the guidance of Mehmet through tourofistanbul.com ! Don’t forget to tip all the staff cause they truly deserve it!!

A must do. Unforgettable: Amazing and unforgettable experience. The landscape is on of a kind. The staff is really kind, professional pilots and also funny. Absolutely secure and perfect assistance from Mehmet. Absolutely a must do here with this kindly team 🙏🏼🙌🏼🌄

Amazing Sites, Slightly Rushed: The itinerary was jam-packed, which meant we got to see all the major sites, but it did feel a little rushed at times. That said, the tour delivered an incredible experience with wonderful guides, and the hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia was the trip’s highlight!