Things to do

Cappadocia is famous for its history and unique landscape. Most international visitors to this UNESCO World Heritage Site choose to combine some exploring and hiking in the area with an extended Cappadocia Tour to visit the more remote "Underground Cities" and the "Ihlara valley". More and more people also want to see this lunar landscape from a hot air balloon, so you’ll see many colourful balloons rising into the sky on almost any dawn.

Our long local tourism experience means that we are well-qualified to advise you on planning a Cappadocia trip to meet your personal wishes and needs. We work together with several specialist agencies (for ballooning or day tours, for example) to make sure you get the best professional support. You can also rent bicycles, scooters, ATM Quads or cars to explore Cappadocia on your own. Another beautiful outdoor adventure here is horseback riding through the remote and surreal valleys. The ancient Persians called Cappadocia "Katpatuka", meaning "the land of beautiful horses".

HIKING TOURS
One of the best ways to explore Cappadocia is on foot. The moon-like valley landscapes, with their mysterious fairy chimneys, are perfect for extended hiking on the various paths through vineyards and fields. Its part of the challenge to get confused while finding your way, but you can hardly get totally lost. There are only a few markings to help you find your way, but walking in this area is one of the most fascinating ways to experience it. Most of the tracks you can explore without a guide. Maps of the area are rather bad, but we can give you additional helpful advice and tips on where and how to go. We can also find you a walking guide to accompany you and give you more background information on the area.

HORSE BACK RIDING
Beautiful rides through the valleys of Cappadocia in a small group with a leader. A range of horses are available to suit riders with various levels of skills and experience. Approx. 50 TL (25 Euros) for a 1½ hour ride.

DAY TOURS (Underground City, Ihlara Valley etc.)
Organised day tours in a minibus with a group of other visitors (8-14) are the most practical way to explore large areas of Cappadocia if you are only staying in the area for a few days. There are a large number of agencies who tend to copy each other’s standard tours. Many of these agencies work on an extended commission practice, which cuts off the official sightseeing tour, almost pushing foreign visitors into jewellery, rug or other souvenir shops. Prices for tours in Göreme are all similar, at approx. TL 70 (35 Euros) per person. This includes transport, all entry fees and lunch on the river in the Ihlara valley. We’ll be happy to advise you on and arrange one of these day tours for you if you’re interested.

SPECIAL TOURS AND EXCURSIONS
Long years of experience as well as a trusted network of partners mean that we can help you to organise special tours and excursions off the beaten track of regional mass tourism. We can show you the hidden beauty of Cappadocia or take you up to an old Hittite temple site on top of an extinct volcano, driving in low gear in our old but reliable Range Rover (day tour/car with driver/guide 222 Euros, including gas). We can also help you to arrange tours specially designed to fit in with your personal interests and schedule. This could include day trips to the "Nemrut Dagi" with its famous stone heads in South-East Turkey, or trips to the ancient Hittite capital of "Hatusha", the old Ottoman houses of Amasya or a trip to the Black Sea, to name just a few.

HOT AIR BALLOONING
Definitely one of the most spectacular things you can do in Cappadocia is to go on a hot air balloon flight. You‘ll get a perfect view of the Cappadocian landscape. This moon-like area is one of the best places to go ballooning. Depending on flights and pilots, the hot air balloons will combine high-altitude flying with low valley rides, sometimes even touching the tips of the trees. This is not really a cheap adventure, but it’s well worthwhile and you’re guaranteed an experience that you’ll remember all your life.... We can help you to arrange a flight with one of our trusted partners, owners and pilots we know personally. Professional flights cost from 150/165 to 230 Euros, payable in cash and depending on the service, flight time and space available in the balloon basket.

TURKISH NIGHT AND WHIRLING DERVISH "SEMA" CEREMONY
You might also like to spend an evening at a Turkish Night or watch the Whirling Dervishes in the old Seljuk caravanserai close to the neigboring town Avanos. While the Turkish Night is a bit of a "happy hour", with free drinks and dinner, different folklore dances and a belly-dancing show, the Sufi Dervish Ceremony is more serious, presenting the several stages of Dervish dedication. The ceremony is held for visitors every evening in the Sarihan caravanserai and is celebrated by Mevla Rumi mystics using traditional Sufi instruments. Both of these events cost around 50 - 60 TL (25-30 Euros) p.p. and we’ll be happy to arrange a visit for you.

FULL MOON PARTY & NIGHT WALKS
Every month on the night of the full moon, people in Göreme informally organise an open-air party in some of the nearby valleys where tufa rock cones could be seen as a bit Freudian. Sometimes professional musicians from the "Turkish Night" spectacle and other local musicians with their "Saz" and frame-drums join in at around midnight to play great sessions. Alternatively we can guide you quietly through the surreal "Rose" & "Red" and other local valleys.

PICK UP SERVICE FROM THE AIRPORT
Most airlines work together with tour agencies who run an official shuttle service for 20 TL (approx 10 Euros) from Kayseri or Nevsehir airports. Other minibus agencies in Göreme also provide a good service for most flights. Please let us know if you are interested in this pickup and send us your flight number and arrival time. If you wish we can also arrange a personal pick up service for 150 TL (75 Euros) from the airports in Kayseri or Nevsehir, which brings you directly to our Inn. Finally, you can also take a taxi or the public bus from the main Kayseri bus terminal, where buses leave for Göreme almost every hour and cost approx. 10 TL (5 Euros).

RENT OUR CAR
If you would like to be more flexible during your stay in Cappadocia, we can offer you either our small and reliable 'Renault 12 Toros' (runs on regular gas or LPG; no air conditioning) or a more spacious and comfortable 2010 Model Ford Connect Diesel with full insurance for between 66 and 99 TL (30-50 Euros). This is the most individual way to discover the region. If you plan to rent a car and want to drop it off in Antalya for example, we can also help you to arrange a fair deal.

RENT OF OTHER VEHICLES
Prices for vehicles of all kinds will vary depending on the time of renting as well as on quality and the different rental places in Göreme. Always check the vehicle’s basic functions before you set out on a tour. We’ll be happy to help arrange this for you so that the rental agency will bring your vehicle up to the Inn.

OVERLAND BUS TICKETS
There are various bus companies serving the Göreme bus terminal. From here you can get buses to/from Ankara, Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, Pamukkale, Kayseri and many other destinations. Prices are quite cheap and the buses are modern and comfortable and make some stopovers at cafeterias on the way. Most long-distance buses travel overnight. We’ll be glad to help you arrange bus reservations for you directly from our place.