First Time in Türkiye

Morning flight to Nevşehir or Kayseri, around an hour and a half in the air. Both airports sit roughly forty five minutes from Göreme, the village most travellers stay in. Pre book a transfer, taxis at these airports are not always metered.

Sleep in a cave hotel. This is the whole point of being here, and the difference between a regular hotel and a proper kaya otel is the experience itself. Look for one with a south-facing terrace where you take breakfast with a valley view, and read reviews carefully before booking.

If you want more freedom during your days in Cappadocia, renting a car is a good option. The distances between sights are short but spread out, and having your own wheels means you set the pace.

Afternoon, walk the Goreme Open Air Museum. These are tenth century Byzantine churches carved straight into the volcanic rock, with frescoes still on the walls. The volcanic stone here is called tuff, soft enough to dig with hand tools, hard enough to last a millennium. About two hours of walking.

Sunset at Sunset Point just above town, one of the best viewpoints in Cappadocia for watching the light change over the fairy chimneys. Reserve a balloon flight for tomorrow before you sleep. Operators sell out and the pickup is well before dawn.

Early morning, before sunrise. The balloon company will arrange your pickup time based on the season, expect to wake well before dawn. You will be in the air at sunrise, watching the valleys change colour as the light hits them, the basket drifting wherever the wind decides. This is the photograph everyone has of Cappadocia and the photograph earns its reputation. About an hour in the air, then a champagne landing at the edge of a field.

Back to the hotel by nine for breakfast. Sleep an hour if you need to.

Late morning, hike one of the valleys on foot. Rose Valley and Red Valley are the most photogenic, named for the colour the rock turns at sunset. Love Valley has the famous fairy chimneys. A two hour walk through any of them is enough to feel the geology, ten million years of volcanic erosion that produced something genuinely unique on earth.

Afternoon back at the hotel. Cave rooms are made for napping. Evening, drive or arrange a ride to Avanos for dinner. The town is known for its pottery tradition and has a handful of good restaurants along the river. Or stay in quietly and eat on your hotel terrace. Tomorrow is a moving day.

Check your flight time first. If you have an evening departure, start the morning with an underground city. Derinkuyu goes deeper, Kaymakli is wider but easier to walk, both were dug as refuges by early Christian communities and could shelter thousands of people for months at a time. Ventilation shafts, storage rooms, churches, all underground. About ninety minutes inside. If your flight is early, skip this and head straight to the airport.

Flights: Check both Nevsehir and Kayseri airports for Antalya flights. Direct flights do not operate daily, so plan around what is available. If neither airport has a direct flight on your day, you can connect via Istanbul or take an overnight bus to Antalya.

Fly to Antalya, around an hour. From the airport, the Havas shuttle or the tram runs into the city centre. Stay in Kaleici, the old town inside the Roman walls. The change in landscape after Cappadocia is the point of the route, you go from volcanic stone to palm trees and Mediterranean light in less than half a day.

Walk the Kaleici marina at sunset. For a good vantage point, head to Karaalioglu Park above the cliffs, the views over the harbour and out to sea are worth the short walk. Dinner along the harbour, fish or meze, ideally both.

Day trip to Aspendos, a Roman theatre from the second century AD that still stands almost completely intact. The acoustics are good enough that operas are performed there in summer without amplification. About forty five minutes from Antalya by car or organised tour.

If you have time and energy, continue along the coast to Side, an ancient port city with ruins that sit literally on the beach. If you visit Side or Aspendos, stay east for the beach day (Side or Lara). Otherwise turn back to Antalya and spend the afternoon at Konyaaltı beach. The water is genuinely warm from May to October, and pebble beaches on the western edge of the city give you cleaner water than the sand stretches.

Evening back in Kaleici for one more harbour dinner. Walk up to Karaalioglu Park for sunset if you missed it yesterday.

The trip ends with the slowest day on purpose. If your flight is late, walk Kaleici one more time, get coffee at a small place in the back streets where the morning light is good, look at the sea. Antalya airport is twenty minutes from the old town. You can fly direct back to Istanbul if you started your trip with a return ticket from there, or fly home directly from Antalya, which has direct flights to most European capitals.

If you want one more thing, the Antalya Archaeological Museum on the western edge of the city is one of the best regional museums in Türkiye, full of Roman statues recovered from the sites you saw yesterday. About an hour. Visit in the morning before heading to the airport.