Hagia Sophia and Cappadocia’s fairy chimneys

Hagia Sophia, Topkapı and the twenty-minute ferry between Europe and Asia in Istanbul; then the Cappadocian plateau, with a dawn balloon over Göreme, Byzantine churches carved into the tuff and the underground city of Derinkuyu.

Day by day Open the itinerary in the app

Istanbul → Cappadocia · 6–8 days

The route on the map, in the itinerary’s order.

TurkeyIstanbul
Days
3–4
When
Apr–May · Sep–Oct
Per person/day
Average 40–70 EURMid-range · per person/day
Cost scope
Per person per day: accommodation, meals, urban transport, visits and a small allowance for extras. Flights excluded; larger purchases vary. Editorial estimate, not a quote.
TürkiyeCappadocia
Days
3–4
When
Apr–Jun · Sep–Oct
Per person/day
Average 6,070 TRYMid-range · per person/day
Cost scope
Per person per day: accommodation, meals, urban transport, visits and a small allowance for extras. Flights excluded; larger purchases vary. Editorial estimate, not a quote.

Who it is for

For a first trip to Turkey in about a week, with the city of three empires and a landscape unlike any other.

Not for anyone who won’t get up early, since balloons take off at dawn and the companies collect you from the hotel about 90 minutes before sunrise.

The strategy

Istanbul comes first; buy your Hagia Sophia ticket the day before. For Cappadocia, fly to Kapadokya airport (NAV), about 40 minutes by road from Göreme, or to Kayseri (ASR), about 1h15 away; check which Istanbul airport your flight leaves from, because IST and SAW are on opposite sides of the Bosphorus. Stay in Göreme and book the transfer through your hotel. Book the balloon for the first morning: if the wind cancels it, the following mornings are still available. Derinkuyu is about 40 km by road south of Göreme, and the Ihlara valley lies to the south-west, in Aksaray province, about 80 km and an hour and a half by road: both need a car or a tour, and together they take the whole day. To get home, the international flight usually means going back through Istanbul. April, May, September and October suit both stops.

What you will see

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul. Basilica completed in 537, a mosque from 1453, a museum from 1935 to 2020, and a mosque again since July 2020.
Göreme Açık Hava Müzesi, Cappadocia. The Göreme Open-Air Museum brings together a rock-cut monastic complex, used from the 4th to the 13th century, with the Maidens' Monastery, the churches of St.

Day by day

Istanbul

1
Day 1: Historic peninsula, from the walls to the bazaar
2
Day 2: Galata, İstiklal and the Bosphorus shore
1. Galata TowerOne to two hoursYou can skip it
2. Dolmabahçe PalaceOne to two hoursWorth a visit
3
Day 3: Golden Horn and the Asian side
1. Chora (Kariye)Half a day or moreWorth a visit
Day 4: Princes' Islands (Büyükada) (day trip) · if you have more time

Cappadocia

5
Day 5: Balloon at dawn, the Open-Air Museum and Zelve valley
1. PaşabağUp to half an hourWorth a visit
6
Day 6: Uçhisar, Pigeon Valley and Avanos
1. AvanosUp to half an hourWorth a visit
Day 7: To the south: Derinkuyu and the Ihlara canyon
Day 8: Kayseri and Erciyes (day trip) · if you have more time

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