Cappadocia questions

[SMNYCruise]

We want to see Cappadocia before our Oceania Black Sea cruise. Does anyone have any recommendations for a tour company? Also looking for hotel suggestions and info on flights. Thanks!

[cruisecountess]

We have booked a two night, three day visit to Capadoccia through Rock Valley. They have been easy to work with via emails; they are prompt in responding and accommodating in meeting my requests. They will provide you with a list of hotels in varying price categories. Cross reference with Trip Advisor before making your selection. They also arranged flights from / to Istanbul for us. We arrive there July 20; when is your cruise? I can provide much more information once we return in mid-August.

Harriet

[SMNYCruise]

Harriet...our trip is not till 2014 so we have plenty of time to plan. Would love to hear about your trip when you return form Cappadocia. I will look into Rock Valley.

[iancal]

We used Rock Valley and were very pleased. Rock City picked us up at our hotel in Keyseri, arranged for a cave hotel, and provided three great tours.

 

We arranged our own domestic flights, three of them, within Turkey. We used a Turkish website (in English). The identical flights that we booked for $220. total were quoted at $800. on Kayak and Vayama. They were quoted within 15 minutes of each other.

 

Turkey is one of our favorite countries to visit. Capadocci is unique and fascinating. Don't miss it.

Edited June 3, 2013 by iancal

[amyr]

We used Turkish Heritage Travel for all of our stuff, but I hear good things about Rock Valley too. Turkish Heritage arranged all our transport, hotel in Istanbul, intra-Turkey flights, cave hotel in Goreme, tours, etc., for a really, really good price.

 

The best thing we did in Cappadocia was a bit pricey though. We took and all-day (12 hour) photography tour with Jules (booked through Heritage) and she drove us around to little villages where tours busses never go, hiked in out of the way places where we never saw any other tourists, etc. It was one of the best days touring I've ever had.

[didicruiser]

I just returned from 12 days in Turkey. I used Euphrates Tours; they are based in Capadoccia. They did a great job and I would definitely recommend. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Rondelle girl]

We have booked with Rock Valley for October. They have arranged our flight to Cappadocia, hotels and tours. They only asked us to pay for the airline tickets in advance.

 

I will be interested in hearing about your experience when you return, Harriet.

 

Karen

[SMNYCruise]

Hoping to hear from Harriet or anyone who has recently returned from Cappadocia. We are looking for a tour company to set up a pre-cruise trip.

[Sailmore]

We recently did a land tour of Turkey after previously visiting Ephesus on a cruise. We loved Turkey in general, but especially Cappadocia. We stayed at the Kelebek hotel in Goreme which is affiliated with Heritage Travel. We also did a day tour with them and hot air balloon and one bus trip. They included the airport transfer for us since we did the other things. They were extremely accommodating with late check out and driving us to bus depot and the hotel itself was very unique. Our room had a wonderful balcony looking over the valley and we watched the balloons in the mornings when we weren't up in one.

 

I set up our flights in Turkey with Turkish airlines directly online, which was quite simple. If a tour company helps you, they will usually charge a small fee, but we found the airlines to be quite good and if booked ahead, can be very cost effective.

 

Good luck

[Dushi]

We will be in Goreme next month and booked a few day tours with Rock Valley. Our friends suggested a hot air balloon ride. I have a bit of a problem with heights (not a crippling fear, but I get nervous) - should I just enjoy the views from the ground and avoid the balloon ride?

[cruisemom42]

We will be in Goreme next month and booked a few day tours with Rock Valley. Our friends suggested a hot air balloon ride. I have a bit of a problem with heights (not a crippling fear, but I get nervous) - should I just enjoy the views from the ground and avoid the balloon ride?

 

I also have a little bit of a fear of heights. I did a hot air balloon ride in Luxor (my first one) and found that somehow it bothered me much less being up in the balloon than being in, for example, a cable car that goes up to the top of a mountain. It wasn't bad at all. When I did my second one at Cappadokia, I really wasn't even worried about it, and it was also fine. The ride is very smooth.

 

Only you can judge how big or small your fear is. But I'm glad I did it. :)

Edited September 7, 2013 by cruisemom42

[bocatraveler09]

Hoping to hear from Harriet or anyone who has recently returned from Cappadocia. We are looking for a tour company to set up a pre-cruise trip.

 

We used Byzas Tours to arrange our time in Istanbul and Cappadocia. They provided all airport transfers, one day of touring in Istanbul (we spent the other days there on our own), flight to Cappadocia, two days of tours there and our choice of hotels in both locations. Everything was seamless and our guides were excellent. Definitely choose a cave hotel in Cappadocia!

[Dushi]

Thanks cruisemom. Still hesitant about the balloon ride. Will likely skip it since I can't see spending $150 euros and being nervous the entire time.

[Rondelle girl]

Dushi,

 

We will be there in October as well and are touring with Rock Valley. Maybe we'll be sharing a tour!

 

I am hesitant about the balloon ride, too. It will be a spur of the moment decision.

 

I would still like to hear from someone who has recently toured with Rock Valley.

[Dushi]

Rondelle-

 

We'll be on Rock Valley's Blue Tour on Oct 5; the Green Tour on Oct 6. Do those dates & tours match the ones you booked?

[iancal]

Our plan was to do the balloon trip on our last day. Unfortunately it was windy and the operator decided to cancel (some other balloons did go up). We were disappointed but were ok with our operator erring on the side of safety.

 

If you do choose to go on a balloon tour...don't leave it until the last day! We plan to go back next year.

[Rondelle girl]

NH,

 

We won't be,there until Oct. 17.

 

Have a great trip!

 

KP

[Dushi]

Wish we could have met up Rondelle. Make sure you check the weather before you go. Cappadoccia seems to be the coldest town we'll be visiting as the nighttime temps are forecasted to be in the mid 30F. Have a great time.

[Rondelle girl]

Thanks for the tip about the weather. I was thinking high desert and warm weather, but I forgot about cold nights in that climate.

 

Have a great trip!

 

KP

[Rondelle girl]

We just returned from Turkey. We had Rock Valley arrange domestic flights, transfers, hotels and tours while in Cappadocia and Istanbul before a cruise. Everything went smoothly. The guides on our 3 full-day tours were great and we enjoyed the hotels. We only paid for airline tickets ahead. This was an enjoyable, stress-free way to see a lot in a few short days. I can recommend Rock Valley. They were very professional and accommodating.

[Travel Girl TX]

We just returned from Turkey. We had Rock Valley arrange domestic flights, transfers, hotels and tours while in Cappadocia and Istanbul before a cruise. Everything went smoothly. The guides on our 3 full-day tours were great and we enjoyed the hotels. We only paid for airline tickets ahead. This was an enjoyable, stress-free way to see a lot in a few short days. I can recommend Rock Valley. They were very professional and accommodating.

 

Thanks for reporting back. We're using them for our 2 days in Cappadocia over Thanksgiving weekend. I booked our air and have everything else from airport pick up to airport drop off with them. Did you do the hot air balloon ride?

[Rondelle girl]

We didn't do the balloon. Actually, there were no balloon rides either day we were there because of the weather.

 

Have fun! Cappadocia is one of the most unique and interesting places we have ever seen. Be prepared to do lots of walking.

[Palmetto Lady]

We used Euphrates Tours. I found them on the internet. My travel agent also checked around for me. Their price which included airline tickets, cave hotel for two nights and guide was less than anything that she found. We were very pleased with the guide, hotel and service.

[SnowBitte]

We just returned from Turkey. We had Rock Valley arrange domestic flights, transfers, hotels and tours while in Cappadocia and Istanbul before a cruise. Everything went smoothly. The guides on our 3 full-day tours were great and we enjoyed the hotels. We only paid for airline tickets ahead. This was an enjoyable, stress-free way to see a lot in a few short days. I can recommend Rock Valley. They were very professional and accommodating.

 

Hello Rondelle girl - could you tell us which hotel you stayed at and how did you like it? We are planning to go in September 2014. Almost all the top rated hotels in Tripadvisor have some comments sprinkled through saying hotel staff only made the beds, not necessary cleaning the room. What was your experience? Thanks in advance for sharing your experience!