Flying over Fairy Cappadocia by Hot Air Balloon is on many people’s bucket lists. It’s no wonder why. Witnessing the fairy chimneys and distinctive rock formation of Cappadocia from up above is absolutely surreal. To read more about our travel experience and watch the music video, please click below.
This guide will give you all the relevant information you need to know about planning your Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride, with updated information. To execute our dream tour to Cappadocia, I am grateful to The Rock City’s CEO and Founder who has guided me from A-Z for my Summer Holiday in Turkey 2022. An interesting note, I connected with this gentleman through his Instagram Account during pandemic 2020. After 2 years of communication, I kept my promise to him and likewise. I would recommend my readers, travelers, F&F to avail their service without any hesitation. They have a professional team to support and guide. Also, I’d like to give due credit to a digital nomad who enriched by blog unknowingly. Thank you all.
1. FLYING MECHANISM OF HOT AIR BALLOONS I FAIRY CAPPADOCIA
A balloon is totally dependent on the wind condition and flies where the wind takes it.
In a hot air balloon, there is no engine. It is a part of the airstream in which it travels. As the air inside the balloon is heated, it rises. As the air inside the balloon cools, it descends. The flight is operated by expert pilots who are certified by the Turkish Civil Aviation Authority Cappadocia. How cool are that mechanism and fact?
2. HOW SAFE IS THE CAPPADOCIA HOT AIR BALLOON
Before riding to the Hot Air Balloon, we were asking whisper, how safe was this ride?
Let me share a few important facts and data. In the last 30 years, there have been around 50 Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon crashes. If you factor in that 200 hot air balloons fly each morning in the last 30 years (or 200 balloons x 250/285 average flying days per year x 30 years), then around 16,50,000 balloons have flown.
Less than 0.003% resulted in an accident in the last 30 years“
Sajjad Travelogue
Of course, no accident is good but the chances are incredibly low. These approximate data have been extracted from my google research. Since 2015, criteria for flying are now stricter along with the necessary qualifications for Hot Air Balloon pilots. These are all taken into consideration for the safety measures of the travelers.
3. BEST TIME TO VISIT CAPPADOCIA I FAIRY CAPPADOCIA
We managed to visit Cappadocia in the summer time. We don’t recommend visiting this time of the year as crowds are crazily high. Temperature this year in entire Europe was so above 32 degrees celsius or more, which in a hot air balloon means that it would feel much hotter. Having said that, leaving at 4 o’clock early in the morning for the balloon ride, it was slightly chilly morning like 13 degree celcius due to characteristic of desert region. It is hot in daytime and it is cooler in night time. So if you want less crowds and cooler weather, we recommend that you visit Cappadocia in Spring such as late May.
4. CAPPADOCIA HOT AIR BALLOON PRICE
The price of a Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon depends greatly on the season. Summer is the most expensive time to visit then Fall and Spring. Finally, winter is when the prices all drop and the cost of a Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon is at its cheapest. In our experience, when we went in the summer of 2022, we paid 160 US Dollar for the Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon per person. I checked back with an expert about the price. We were lucky enough to get this deal. Sometimes it soars up to 300 US Dollar. If you are lucky enough, you may get a very good deal that can go below 100 US Dollar even.
5. HOW TO TRAVEL TO CAPPADOCIA I FAIRY CAPPADOCIA
The easiest and best way to get to Cappadocia is by air from any of the bigger and major cities in Turkey like Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, etc. Generally, there are two main airlines that operate flights to Cappadocia: Pegasus and Anadolu Jet, a trademark of Turkish Airlines. The cost of the flight is from 40 to 45 US Dollar. Sometimes it goes up more depending on the season. I recommend to book your ticket well in advance when you travel in peak season. Incidentally, I met a fellow Bangladeshi flying to the same route. He purchased his return ticket from Cappadocia to Istanbul at 85 US Dollar.
Furthermore, there are two main airports that you can fly into: Nevsehir Airport (around 40 minutes away from Goreme) and Kayseri Airport (around 1 hour away from Goreme). In our tour package, we made sure about Hotel and Airport transfer by private van. In all cases, driver was holding my name plate outside the airport. It shows absolute professionalism of the service provider. Most importantly, it gives a secured feeling about my family. That’s very important for me when kids, wife are accompanying.
6. OUR ACCOMMODATION I FAIRY CAPPADOCIA
Our hotel is located just 3 kilometers to Nevsehir City Center and 5 kilometers to the World’s Largest Underground City: Kayasehir (Rock City). Our strategic location by the main road to Nevsehir Cappadocia Airport and historical UNESCO landmarks such as Goreme Open Air Museum makes Monark Hotel Cappadocia a perfect base for exploring Cappadocia. If anyone is interested to visit underground city, I highly recommend this hotel.
I paid 120 US Dollar per night including and breakfast and dinner. I would say that it was a very good deal. There are luxury hotels in Cappadocia as well. In my google search, most popular accommodation in Cappadocia is Cave type hotel. You’ll find many Cave hotels that may have only 8 rooms or 6 rooms even. They make this hotel in an art form of accommodating guests. It’s unique. I wanted to stay initially in this cave hotel but my tour operator didn’t find any rooms during this peak summer season.
7. HOW LUCKY YOU ARE I FAIRY CAPPADOCIA
We were so lucky that we could fly on our particular day. Before our flight day, no balloons could fly for last 2 days due to weather condition. The right weather condition for flying is controlled by Turkish Civil Aviation Authority. All the service provider in Cappadocia uses a special app for the exact signal whether they could fly or not. Our service provider Discovery Balloon’s staff shown me green signal in the app when we were moving towards the flying zone. My smile was wide spread. On that particular day, approximately 2800 visitors flown over Cappadocia. It’s magical.
8. THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CAPPADOCIA HOT AIR BALLOONS
– Out of 365 days in the year, only 250 to 280 days on average are approved flying days. Meaning, there is always a chance that your hot air balloon ride will be cancelled, especially during early Spring, late Fall, or Winter.
– Reasons for the cancellation of a Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride can be due to different weather conditions such as wind, rain, clouds, fog, snow, and mist.
– Hence to ensure that you still get the chance to experience the ride, we highly suggest that you book your Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride on the first day that you are in Goreme or Uchisar. If it gets cancelled, you are immediately put on the list of passengers for the next day.
– In case it gets cancelled, you don’t have to worry about getting your money back. You will immediately be issued a refund. That’s the professionalism they develop over the decades.
– Sometimes the weather forecast can be wrong. It’s best to wait till the official announcement from the Turkish Civil Aviation Authority because anything is possible. – There are various flight options. The standard flight is usually 60 minutes with around 25-30 people onboard the Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon. However, there are also more premium options with longer flight time (1 hour and 30 minutes) and with lesser people (private tour or a comfort ride).
9. WHAT TO WEAR I FAIRY CAPPADOCIA
It’s important to wear the appropriate clothing for your Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride. Depending on the season you go, it can get very hot or cold up there. Though we visited in summer time, it was slightly chilly in the early morning like 13 degree Celsius. Thus, we recommend wearing light dresses but a layer piece on you would be blessing. In the Spring and Fall, having a windbreaker would be a good idea as it can get quite chilly. While in the Winter, it’s recommended to have many thermal layers as it is freezing.
10. MOMENT OF CELEBRATION
So, there we had our moment! I hope my travel guide answers everything you need to know about the Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride. Both myself and my wife guarantee you this experience is one of the magical and the most cherished moments in our life. All travelers were amazed by the fairy landscape flying experience. We have seen the unreal formation of Cappadocia land. We have seen the sun rise which was surreal. No matter the season, you won’t regret it.
WHAT’S YOUR FEELING NOW?
Have you ever been to Cappadocia for Hot Air Balloon Ride? How was your experience like? Let me know your flying experience and comment below!
lots of great Information will be travelling to Cappadocia in January 2023
thank you for sharing your experience in so much detail