How to Get Around Cappadocia in Türkiye

In this guide we’ll detail the best ways to get around Cappadocia (Kapadokya) in Türkiye. Visiting Cappadocia, the land of fairy chimneys, is on many people’s bucket list. From riding a hot air balloon to hiking through this unique landscape, you’re guaranteed an unforgettable experience.

However, many people don’t realise that Cappadocia isn’t just a dot on the map. It’s actually an entire region, covering five provinces in the eastern part of Central Anatolia. The most popular area in the region is Göreme National Park, but there are other places further afield too. Luckily, it’s easy to get around thanks to it being one of the most touristy places in the country.

If you’d like to see what we got up to during our stay, then make sure to watch our Cappadocia video on our YouTube channel. For more Türkiye videos, check out our Türkiye Series.

Where is Cappadocia in Turkey (Türkiye)

Before we dive into the details of how to get around Cappadocia, it’s good to get an idea on where Cappadocia is located within the country. As mentioned at the start, Cappadocia (Kapadokya) is a huge, semi-arid region in the eastern part of Central Anatolia. It covers five provinces: Nevsehir, Kirsehir, Aksaray, Nigde, and Kayseri. However, most people only visit a small portion of the region around Göreme National Park, located within the Nevsehir province.

In this province, visitors mostly base themselves in Göreme. We stayed here as well, however there are other towns nearby where you can also base yourself such as Uchisar, Cavusin, Ürgüp and Ortahisar.

How to Get Around Cappadocia

There are multiple ways to get around Cappadocia, depending on where you’re staying, what you want to do and how long you’re staying for. We used a mix of the transport options mentioned below, went on many hikes, used local buses and joined some tours. Although we didn’t hire a car, it would’ve been quite useful to be able to travel further afield without organised tours. Below we’ve listed all the pros and cons of each mode of transport, to help you decide which is best suited to you during your time in Cappadocia.

Hiking in Cappadocia

If you love the outdoors, then without doubt the best way to get around Cappadocia is by hiking. Although we knew that we wanted to hike quite a lot during our stay, we didn’t think that we’d be exploring as much as we did on foot. There are so many stunning hiking trails crisscrossing the area that you could easily spend a week or so just hiking. We spent 5 full days in Cappadocia, and didn’t have any trouble getting our steps in.

Pros of Hiking in Cappadocia

Hiking allowed us to go at our own pace and see way more than most visitors do if they’re booking on tours. For us, hiking was also a great way to get away from the crowded places as much as possible. Cappadocia is a very busy place, and the popular spots and lookouts can get packed. Therefore, hiking was a great way to balance that out, since there were many instances where we didn’t meet a single soul until we got to a popular spot. We believe that hiking through Cappadocia made our overall experience way better than we’d imagined.

Cons of Hiking in Cappadocia

The downside of hiking is that it can be tiring and time consuming, especially if you’re short on time. You’ll also be limited to how far you can walk, which is why we joined a few tours. We noticed that the trails were sometimes a bit misleading or confusing, so you definitely need to have a decent sense of direction when venturing out. Depending on the time of year you’re visiting, the temperatures can also be quite high. So, if you want to cover a lot of ground on foot, then you could easily end up hiking all day.

Renting a Car in Cappadocia

The easiest way to see a lot of Cappadocia is by renting a car. This way, you don’t have to rely on tours or your feet to take you places. You can also visit destinations located a bit further afield much more easily. You can get to popular places before the tour groups, or visit lesser-known spots. If you’re short on time, you’ll be able to fit in more attractions by driving to them than you would by other means of transport.

Hiring a car will also allow you to get to some amazing sunrise viewpoints, where you can watch hundreds of hot air balloons filling up the sky in the mornings. Not to mention that you can also visit iconic sunset viewpoints, such as the Red Valley Sunset Viewpoint, without worrying about how to get back to your accommodation in the dark.

The downside of hiring a car is that it won’t be the most cost effective way of visiting Cappadocia if you’re a budget traveller. However, you could always split the cost with a few likeminded people. Another thing to consider is having to park your car somewhere, including for your accommodation. For certain hiking trails, you’ll need to drive up some dirt roads. So be careful on those to avoid any damage to your hire car.

Taxis in Cappadocia

If you don’t want to rent a car, but still want to visit places independently, taxis might be a good option for you. Using taxis would allow you to visit a place at your own convenience, and you might be able to avoid the crowds by beating the tour groups. If you want to do some hiking, you can use taxis to get to the hiking trail, and then hike back to where you’re staying. Alternatively, you could also book a driver for the whole day if you want to visit places further afield.

The downside of using taxis is that they will be more costly compared to other modes of transport. However, you can always try to find other people to split the cost with.

Public Buses in Cappadocia

Luckily, the main towns in Cappadocia are connected by buses or minibuses (dolmus). This is definitely the most affordable way to travel between places. You can always take a public bus to a certain location and then hike back, or vice-versa.

Obviously, the downside of using buses is that you will have to rely on their timetables. For example, we had to wait at the bus stop at Pasabag Valley for a while before the bus showed up to take us back to Göreme. You will also be limited as to where you can go with buses.

Organised Tours in Cappadocia

If you’re short on time, and don’t fancy hiking everywhere or hiring a car, then the best way to get around Cappadocia is by organised tour. By joining a tour, you will be able to see a lot of places without worrying about how to get there on your own. Having a guide is also beneficial to learn more about the history and people of this area. Most tours will include lunch and some entry fees, so they’re likely to work out slightly cheaper than renting a car.

Tours are also a good way to meet with fellow travellers, especially if you’re travelling solo or with your significant other. We noticed that they normally depart around 10AM, so you can still do a hot air balloon ride in the morning and then jump on a tour afterwards.

The main downside for us of joining a tour is that we have to stick to a tight schedule and don’t get to spend as long in places as we’d like to. Since they tend to leave later in the morning, you’ll get to certain spots along with everyone else, which can make these locations quite crowded. It can also take some time to pick everyone up from their hotels. For us personally, the group can make the experience way better or way worse, but there’s not much you can do about that unfortunately.

Best Tours in Cappadocia

Below we’ve listed some of the most popular tours that cover the absolute highlights of Cappadocia.

Hot Air Balloon Ride. Most people come to Cappadocia to take a once-in-a-lifetime hot air balloon ride. Whilst this is the most expensive tour you can go on, it’s 100% worth every penny in our opinion. Plus, it definitely gives you the best view of Cappadocia.

Book your hot air balloon ride here.

The Red Tour. This is possibly the second most popular tour in Cappadocia. It includes all the well-known attractions in the northern area of the region, which is perfect if you’re short on time. The red tour takes you to Love Valley, the Pasabagi Fairy Chimneys, Zelve Open Air Museum, Uchisar Castle, and the Imagination Valley.

Book the Red Tour in Cappadocia here.

The Blue Tour. A similarly popular tour, this one includes a visit to places like the Red and Rose Valley’s, Cavusin Cave Village, Kaymakli Underground City, Pigeon Valley, and Ortahisar Castle.

Book the Blue Tour in Cappadocia here.

The Green Tour. Another well-booked tour in Cappadocia that focuses on the southern areas of the region. We booked this tour mainly to be able to visit Derinkuyu Underground City, which would’ve been more difficult to get to on our own. The tour also includes the Ihlara Valley, Pigeon Valley and a short stop at the Selime Monastry.

Book the Green Tour in Cappadocia here.

Final Thoughts on How to Get Around Cappadocia

You could rent a car or take taxis, but we got around Cappadocia using public buses, tours and, of course, our own two feet. Without doubt, hiking was our favoured method of seeing Cappadocia because it allowed us to escape the crowds and enjoy the landscape for as long as we wanted to. Of course, we were absolutely knackered by the end of the day, but have no regrets at all. We also didn’t mind going on the Green Tour, since we’d decided not to rent a car during our stay. This allowed us to have a chat with fellow travellers, which we always enjoy after spending a lot of time together.

Have you ever been to Cappadocia before? If so, how did you get around? If not, what would be your preferred way to see this stunning part of Türkiye? Let us know in the comments below.