Hot-air ballooning in Cappadocia: how it works on our tours
A sunrise balloon flight over Cappadocia is the thing most people picture when they picture Turkey, and it lives up to the picture. It is an optional extra on our inland tours - here is why, and what to expect.
Why it is optional
Balloons fly only when the civil aviation authority clears the morning, which depends on wind at ground level and aloft. In summer that is most days; in April, May and October a flight can be cancelled the evening before or at the launch field. If the flight were built into the tour price we would be refunding it a few times a season, so we keep it separate: you book it through your guide on arrival in Cappadocia, pay the operator directly, and get your money back if the weather grounds it.
The morning
Pick-up from the hotel about an hour before sunrise, a light breakfast at the operator's base, and a drive to the launch field where the balloons are being inflated - a sight in itself, a hundred envelopes lit from inside like lanterns. You climb into a basket divided into compartments of four or five people, so everyone has a rail to lean on. The pilot takes the balloon up to several hundred metres for the panorama, then down into the valleys to drift between the chimneys at head height, then up again as the sun clears Erciyes. About an hour in the air. Landing is on a trailer if the pilot is showing off, in a field if not; there is a certificate and a glass of fizz, and you are back at the hotel for the second breakfast by 08:00.
Standard or private
The standard flight is 16-20 people in the basket; longer flights and smaller baskets cost more. Prices change every season and with the exchange rate, so we do not print them - ask your tour consultant or your guide for the current figure.
Tips
Wear layers; it is cold before dawn in spring and autumn even when the day will be hot. Flat shoes, no heels. Phone on a strap. If you are nervous of heights: the basket is chest-high, there is no sensation of wind because you move with it, and most people who were worried in the car are grinning by the time they land.
Pamukkale too
Balloons also fly over the travertines of Pamukkale at sunrise, with fewer balloons in the sky and a very different view. On our inland routes that morning comes the day before Cappadocia, so you can do both.
Cappadocia is two nights on Fethiye to Istanbul, All Around Turkey, Antalya to Istanbul, Gulet Cruise & Cappadocia to Istanbul and All Around Turkey with Gulet Cruise.
