Cappadocia 2-Day Adventure from Istanbul

Cappadocia was on my bucket list. But it looked challenging to do on our own as we usually do. So we looked for a quality service provider to help us see it thoroughly and efficiently. We hired Tour Altinkum who did a fantastic job. We opted to pay a little more for the private tour as we wanted to go at our own pace. They booked everything including our flights (excluding site tickets). We were picked up at our Istanbul hotel at 4:00 am in a large, comfortable Mercedes Benz van - just for the two of us. Once we reached the Kayseri airport the driver was outside with a sign with our name on it. Another large, luxurious van just for us for our 2 day tour. We met Ümit, our incredible guide, once we got to Cappadocia. He proudly showing us his hometown. He was very knowledgeable and patient with us and truly tailored the trip to meet our needs. For instance after a delicious lunch the first day we were supposed to see the open air museum. But our early morning caught up with us so he pivoted to do more vistas in the afternoon and we did the open air museum the next morning once we were fresh. It was my favorite site so I’m glad we were able to rearrange the schedule. Do see the Dark Church there. The extra 6e is worth it to see this amazing space. Ümit knew lots of short cuts to lessen our walking and shared fun stories of growing up in such an interesting place. His English was perfect and he was such a delight to spend 2 days with. It was bittersweet saying goodbye. We did add the balloon ride which was booked with Kaya Balloons. This was an extra $250 ea. It was nice especially seeing the other 150 or so balloons up at the same time. But I found getting in and out of the basket to be extremely awkward and a real headache. At 5’3” tall it wasn’t easy. They gave no instructions. They did have a small ladder to help get in. The smart people used the ladder to sit on the edge of the basket and swing their legs over. I saw that after I was already in. Disembarking you used small holes in the basket to climb out. My sneakers seemed too wide for the holes. Ugh. Again not easy. Note it does get cold up there so we were glad that we brought coats and hats. The tour does include a drop off at an Istanbul hotel but we opted to go on our own. All in all it was a fantastic 48 hours seeing such an other worldly area. Thank you Ümit and the rest of the Tour Altinkum for making it so special and enjoyable.

Cappadocia was on my bucket list. But it looked challenging to do on our own as we usually do. So we looked for a quality service provider to help us see it thoroughly and efficiently. We hired Tour Altinkum who did a fantastic job. We opted to pay a little more for the private tour as we wanted to go at our own pace. They booked everything including our flights (excluding site tickets). We were picked up at our Istanbul hotel at 4:00 am in a large, comfortable Mercedes Benz van - just for the two of us. Once we reached the Kayseri airport the driver was outside with a sign with our name on it. Another large, luxurious van just for us for our 2 day tour. We met Ümit, our incredible guide, once we got to Cappadocia. He proudly showing us his hometown. He was very knowledgeable and patient with us and truly tailored the trip to meet our needs. For instance after a delicious lunch the first day we were supposed to see the open air museum. But our early morning caught up with us so he pivoted to do more vistas in the afternoon and we did the open air museum the next morning once we were fresh. It was my favorite site so I’m glad we were able to rearrange the schedule. Do see the Dark Church there. The extra 6e is worth it to see this amazing space. Ümit knew lots of short cuts to lessen our walking and shared fun stories of growing up in such an interesting place. His English was perfect and he was such a delight to spend 2 days with. It was bittersweet saying goodbye. We did add the balloon ride which was booked with Kaya Balloons. This was an extra $250 ea. It was nice especially seeing the other 150 or so balloons up at the same time. But I found getting in and out of the basket to be extremely awkward and a real headache. At 5’3” tall it wasn’t easy. They gave no instructions. They did have a small ladder to help get in. The smart people used the ladder to sit on the edge of the basket and swing their legs over. I saw that after I was already in. Disembarking you used small holes in the basket to climb out. My sneakers seemed too wide for the holes. Ugh. Again not easy. Note it does get cold up there so we were glad that we brought coats and hats. The tour does include a drop off at an Istanbul hotel but we opted to go on our own. All in all it was a fantastic 48 hours seeing such an other worldly area. Thank you Ümit and the rest of the Tour Altinkum for making it so special and enjoyable.

Our tour guide Ilayda was absolutely amazing from the time she picked us up to the end of the tour. She shared her reasons for becoming a tour guide and her passion for the job. Ilayda's passion for the job was clearly to be seen throughout the day as she imparted her incredible knowledge, history and culture of Cappadocia & Turkeye. Ilayda's enthusiasm for the job made the tour memorable & special. She has a kind, warm, friendly & bubbly personality which made the tour experience unforgettable. I have been on many tours over the years and can safely say Ilayda is the best tour guide I have come across. She took her time and never rushed anything and put you at ease and made you feel comfortable due to her lovely nature which made the experience truly remarkable. I highly recommend ilayda to anyone visiting Cappadocia as a guide as she goes above and beyond what you expect and cannot praise her enough. Thank you ilayda you are the perfect guide.

The two-day experience in Cappadocia was breathtaking. The city is beautiful, full of masterpieces. Making the experience even more interesting was the guide, Erdi, a brilliant, knowledgeable guy with excellent coordination skills.

Great tour, our guide was so friendly and informative! Highly recommend