Cappadocia Hot Air Balloons in Photos
Cappadocia is known for hot air balloon rides, so we knew this was a top priority activity for our time there. Like most of our trip, we decided to wait until we got there to book, and since our hotel guy was so friendly and helpful, we went to him again for this. The company we had heard so much about was booked up, but our guy assured us that they’re all virtually the same. If any one company starts doing something different in an effort to attract more customers, the others follow suit pretty quickly. He made some calls and booked our balloon ride for the morning we were to check out. It was a gamble because the weather could take a turn for the worse and cause the balloons to cancel, but it worked out perfectly.
Like our tour the day before, the company we ended up with was not the company we were told we were booked with. We were a little annoyed, but at that point there really wasn’t anything we could do, and it’s not like we knew anything about either company anyway. And our hotel guy seemed to have secured us a discount because the price was lower than what we saw on their website during our quick research. We barely had time to fill our plates with their complimentary breakfast when they were ushering us out the door again, telling us it was time to go out to the balloons.
Andy was a little worried the experience might be too close to flying in an airplane, but luckily it barely even feels like floating. The baskets are a little cramped, but it also meant he could stand behind me. Win for him because he didn’t have to look right over the edge, win for me because I’m really short and I would’ve cried if someone was blocking my view. There really aren’t too many words to describe that view and just how amazing the balloons were, so please enjoy the photos!
Our wonderful Cappadocia hot air balloon experience came to an end with a champagne toast. A little cheesy, but it was a nice touch. The balloon ride was definitely worth the money, and I’d highly recommend splurging on this if you in the Cappadocia area of Turkey.
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July 16, 2012 @ 3:17 PM
Gorgeous! I HAVE to do this the next time I go to Turkey!!
July 16, 2012 @ 6:05 PM
Thanks Heather! Yep, totally worth it!
July 16, 2012 @ 3:54 PM
Great photos! Tim and I were married in a hot air balloon but the winds were too strong so we never actually got our flight. 10 years later we’re still waiting to take that very special first balloon ride together.
July 16, 2012 @ 6:06 PM
Thanks Jennifer! That’s awesome, and kinda sad at the same time! It really was a great experience, and Turkey is awesome, you should really go and get that balloon ride.
July 16, 2012 @ 5:56 PM
Beautiful photos Ali and what a way to see Cappadocia!
July 16, 2012 @ 6:07 PM
Thanks Laurel! It was really amazing from up there!
July 16, 2012 @ 10:54 PM
Such a dream destination and activity!
July 17, 2012 @ 1:37 PM
Definitely! I hope you get to go someday!
July 17, 2012 @ 5:19 AM
What a great view of Cappadocia! A balloon ride sounds fun. I know we have those near by in Napa. This seems like a fun thing to do for a honeymoon! 🙂
July 17, 2012 @ 1:38 PM
The view was amazing! The balloons are a little cramped, so not terribly romantic from that perspective, but it was totally worth the money. Napa sounds like a good place for it too!
July 17, 2012 @ 1:44 PM
Indeed, totally worth the cost. It was even worth waking up for, which says a lot. As mentioned, I was a big frightened going in, but did fine once they took off.
Beautiful pictures, my love.
July 17, 2012 @ 2:57 PM
Thanks Andy! I’m glad you enjoyed it and didn’t feel like you were in an airplane.
July 17, 2012 @ 2:10 PM
Ahhh I am so jealous… I so wanted to do this while I was in Cappadocia, but couldn’t because it was snowing. I did manage to do in Luxor, Egypt & it was so amazing, but for some reason I really wanna do it here…lol. Oh well one day… for now though I must say your pictures capture it all so well. Love them.
July 17, 2012 @ 2:58 PM
Thanks Jaime! That sucks that you couldn’t go while you were there! You’ll just have to go back to Turkey another time and try again!
July 17, 2012 @ 5:49 PM
Wow! Those balloons look so beautiful it almost seems like they’re fake!
July 18, 2012 @ 10:22 AM
It was so gorgeous! And luckily not fake 🙂
July 17, 2012 @ 5:59 PM
These photos are amazing! I absolutely love Cappadocia – such a beautiful part of the world with a landscape that looks like it’s straight from another planet. I didn’t do a hot air balloon tour while I was there (instead I got lost in the canyons and had a horse poo inches away from my face on the ride back to Goreme) so I shall just daydream whilst looking at your photos instead.
July 18, 2012 @ 10:26 AM
Thanks Tom! I agree, felt like another planet. The balloon ride was awesome! We did some other tour the day before, but no horse poo though!
July 17, 2012 @ 9:03 PM
Amazing photos and beautiful landscape.
July 18, 2012 @ 10:42 AM
Thanks Christine!
July 19, 2012 @ 7:17 PM
This has become one of my must see trips. I really love all of your photos. Especially the one looking down!
July 20, 2012 @ 4:36 PM
Thanks Christy!
July 21, 2012 @ 4:16 PM
Wow – you guys are brave doing this after your plane experience! Those views are totally worth it though – amazing!
July 21, 2012 @ 9:59 PM
It was so amazing, so glad we did it! It didn’t seem similar to flying in a plane to me, so the bad flight didn’t have any effect on my willingness to get in the balloon. Andy was a little worried, but as soon as we started floating off the ground he was ok.
July 23, 2012 @ 12:49 PM
It took me a while to get round to reading this post but I’m glad I did. These pics are absolutely amazing and if I ever get to go to Turkey I’m going to see Cappadocia by hot air balloon. What amazes me just as much as the view from the hot air balloons is that countless people since time immemorial have trudged their way through Cappadocia en route to the middle east and back and forth on foot. How they ever managed to get through all those hills without Google Maps and a GPS, I will never know. Thank you again for an astounding post:)
July 23, 2012 @ 2:43 PM
Thanks Matthew! It is amazing to think about how many people walked as far as they did without the tools we have today. Although maybe we would be better off if we didn’t have to rely on things like GPS to get around! I hope you do make it to Turkey someday, it’s such an amazing country!
August 4, 2012 @ 7:05 AM
What an experience. I’ve always wanted to do this. The photos are amazing. What beautiful scenery to float over.
August 4, 2012 @ 11:45 AM
Thanks Matt! It was such a great day, so glad the weather worked out and we were able to go up in the balloon.
September 4, 2012 @ 4:42 AM
Amazing photos! I hope one day we get a chance to go in a hot air balloon.
September 4, 2012 @ 12:18 PM
Thanks Mary! I hope so too, the hot air balloon was a great experience.