Hot Air Balloon Ride in Cappadocia

This post covers all you need to know about the Hot Air Balloon Ride in Cappadocia including reaching there, the region, views, logistics, best booking options and options to stay.

The almost magical views of multicolored Cappadocia hot air balloon floating above the volcanic and arid landscape feature prominently in all the postcard pictures of Turkey especially of Cappadocia (pronounced as Kapadokya). Its a must see and must do when in Turkey. Follow this blog to get a 10 day Turkey itinerary.

Reaching Cappadocia and Airports

Cappadocia is connected with flights from all the key cities in Turkey like Izmir and Istanbul, through its 2 airports – Nevsehir and Kayseri.
While Nevsehir is closer to the key places of interest and stay options in Cappadocia, the driving time varies just by 15-20minutes. Kayseri is the bigger of the two airports and has more flight options and time options as compared to Nevsehir. Turkish Airlines low cost carrier Anadolu Jet operates 8-11 flights from Kayseri every day, while Turkish Airlines operates about 1-3 flights only from Nevsehir on a daily basis. Pegasus also operates more flights from Kayseri than Nevsehir. Refer to this post for more information about the traveling within Turkey in the domestic flights.

Best time for hot air balloons in Cappadocia
Best time to visit Turkey is all year round almost, as even in August (which is summers in most of the places), the weather is quite bearable. Best time for hot air balloons is anytime when there are no rains and monsoons. If cappadocia hot air balloon is high on your travel itineary make sure you check the best time for hot air balloons in cappadocia, when making the travel plans.

Pricing and Booking Options

There are a truckload of operators and intermediaries who you will find on Tripadvisor and viator for Cappadocia hot air balloon experience. Just pick the one where you get the best deal as these are all just the intermediaries. There are in essence just a handful of entities who actually conduct the balloon rides. If you are not going in a peak season, you can even try booking one when you reach there. We booked it through Cappadocia Balloon Tours and had a fantastic experience both the days (we had to split as our baby was not allowed in the balloon ride).

Charges: In the range of 120Euros for adults and 110 euros for children above 5yrs. Below 5yrs are not allowed in the balloon ride.

Also, there is no place to sit and they have to be able to stand for the entire duration of 45mins – 1hr. Since the balloon ride is weather dependent, if the one that you have booked gets cancelled without any other option available, you will be refunded the full amount. Typically no matter which entity you book it through, they will refund the whole amount without any discussions.

• Pick up from the hotels is usually at 4:30/5am. Once your minibus reaches the boarding spot, you will be served tea/coffee with cookies and some bread for a light breakfast
• You will be able to see the blowing of your hot air balloon and it’s a sight to behold with many more balloons being blown in the same valley and many more across many more valleys around you
• After the basic safety instructions, you will board the balloon and all set for the flight
• It is not chilly at all even at the highest point (1.5km) so don’t bother carrying a jacket
• Since you will have to stand for the entire 60mins balloon ride, if you have young kids you can wait in your minibus before boarding the balloon instead of standing out. The whole process of getting the balloons, baskets and blowing of balloons will take around 40mins
• After the balloon ride, some cherry juice and fruity non alcoholic champagne is served along with a marble cake to celebrate the safe and delightful flight
  Trivia:The first hot air balloon ride, rather flight, occurred on Oct. 19, 1783 in France. Back then the French countryside was inhabited by landowners and peasants while the educated people lived in the city. People in the rural areas often had little contact and connection to what was going on in the city.
  To avoid being attacked by the people they surprised, hot air balloon pilots carried Champagne or wine with them as a way to let onlookers know they were human and to thank them for the safe landing in their field. This started the tradition of drinking champagne after a successful hot air balloon ride./
• You will be dropped back to the hotel anywhere between 7:30 and 8am
• Some more things to know about the balloon ride:
  • It depends on the wind direction so one experience could be very different from other; sometimes if it’s very windy the pilot will find it difficult to stay in a vantage point for you to soak in the scenery and will keep moving swiftly; different company balloons will take you to different altitude depending on your pilot’s comfort, wind speed and direction etc;
  • The guys you book the balloon ride with online are usually brokers who further book it with one of the providers (like ballon turca, atmosfer balloons, butterfly balloons and the like). The whole experience is fairly standardized across all service providers so just go for the one charging the least. There are some differences like some of them give you a photo of you in the balloon at an additional price of 10TL or a video of the entire ride at USD10.
  • Kids below 5yrs are not allowed so if you are traveling with an infant or toddler (like we were) be prepared to take turns

Blowing up the balloon

Waiting while balloon being blown

Celebrating after the ride

What will you get to see?

Who says only lush greenery and flowers can be scenic. The volcanic landscape and views of the pigeon valley and fairy chimneys you get to see on this balloon ride are just as mesmerizing if not more. The view of hundreds or colorful hot air balloons floating above this landscape is just out of this world. Its an absolute must have experience.

Balloons in the air

Where to stay

I recommend Goreme as it has scores of boutique cave hotels which have converted actual caves into hotel suites. Of course there is also a lot of new construction and you can make sure they make you stay in an actual cave converted into a room when you check in. Even when you are not in a balloon ride yourself, hotels in this region give an amazing view of colorful hot air balloons, early in the morning from any of the terraces within the hotel.

What to carry

Absolutely nothing except your phone/ camera if you want to take pictures (which I’m sure you would want to). Having a little bit something before going is a good idea as its an almost 2.5hrs – 3hrs experience.