Combining Istanbul & Cappadocia

Many visitors to Turkey want to combine one of the greatest cities in the world with one of the most unusual landscapes in the world – by visiting Istanbul and Cappadocia together. Whilst you can fly between the two destinations, it’s far more interesting to go overland and stop in places like Ankara and Izmir on your way.

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Combining Istanbul & Cappadocia

Turkey’s standout attractions are a short flight apart, but there’s real adventure to be had on overland trips between them by overnight train.

I’ll never forget my first evening in Istanbul. I watched from a rooftop as the sun set over one of the largest cities I’d ever seen. I positioned my camera lens so that the minarets of one of the massive mosques appeared to pierce the enormous sun, and the call to prayer rang out in stereo.

If Istanbul is all about sunset, Cappadocia is all about sunrise: the hours before dawn, to be exact. Travelers get up especially early to watch the glow of dozens of balloons, as they inflate and rise like gentle planets on the ground, pre-empting the sunrise. Hot air balloon flights are one of the best ways to see the area’s extraordinary landscape.

As wonderful as these destinations are as respective bookends of a day, you’ll want a longer trip to see both. Find out how to combine the two on our Istanbul and Cappadocia vacations.

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Cappadocia doesn’t look like anywhere in the world, and you can combine this with one of the greatest cities in Europe.

One is one of the largest – and most visited – cities in the world, with more than 18 million visitors a year to a city of 16 million people. The other isn’t a city at all, but a region of small villages – yet it still gets nearly five million visitors a year.

“Cappadocia doesn’t look like anywhere in the world,” says Caglar Gokgun, managing director of our partner SGA Travel, an Istanbul-based Turkey specialist. “You combine this with one of the greatest cities in Europe.”

Cappadocia and Istanbul probably couldn’t be more different – yet these two standout attractions are often visited together.

“These are the two places in Turkey that people always want to go to, whether they have five days or three weeks,” says Elina Limanska from our partner Baboo Travel.

The problem is, they’re quite far apart. The distance between Istanbul and Cappadocia is around 560km as the crow flies, or 760km by road; too far to do comfortably in a day. You can fly to two airports near Cappadocia via internal flight from Istanbul, and this is the option most travelers take.

There’s another way to see Istanbul and Cappadocia together, and it’s one that takes a little more time. In doing an overland tour that includes both, you can discover the surprising attractions between them – and draw a line from the threshold of Europe into Asia.

Getting to Cappadocia from Istanbul

You can fly direct from Istanbul to Kayseri Erkilet Airport in the city of Kayseri, an hour’s drive east from the Cappadocia region. There is also Nevsehir Kapadokya Airport, which is closer still. Flights from Istanbul take around an hour and a half.

Alternatively, you can get a combination of overnight trains and driving, or go overland with a couple of stops.

Istanbul to Cappadocia via Ankara or Izmir

You can take an overnight train from Istanbul to Ankara and then wend your way by car to Cappadocia on a four-hour drive.

“In Turkey, unfortunately, the railway system is not perfect and we still have a lot of gaps between the cities,” says Caglar. Luckily, they have some solutions. “We use sleeper trains and fast trains,” he says. For example – Caglar recommends the Istanbul to Ankara fast train. It departs from the Asian side of Istanbul, giving guests a chance to see this side of the city first. “We leave bags at the station, and we take guests to Kadikoy in the center of the Asian side of Istanbul.” Here you can explore the market and get a taste of the Turkey to come on your journey east.

“Everyone thinks Ankara is the boring capital of Turkey but the richest museum in Turkey is based in Ankara.” says Caglar. He’s talking about the world-class Anatolian Civilisations Museum, which contains ancient artefacts from around Turkey. These include mother goddess statues thought to date from 7,500BC, from one of the world’s first ‘cities’, Catalhoyuk, and what’s thought to be the world’s first ever ‘town map’.

Alternatively, you could drive to Ankara, stop for a day, and then drive on to Cappadocia on our Turkey history and culture vacation.

You can also get to Cappadocia via the city of Izmir, the third biggest city in Turkey. From here it’s an overnight sleeper to the city of Konya. Then it’s just 2.5 hours of driving on to Cappadocia.

“Overnight sleepers are very comfortable and clean,” says Caglar. “You get clean sheets, pillows and blankets, and there’s a dining car. You end up in Konya the next day, where you can do a quick tour and then continue to Cappadocia from there.”

Overland tours to Cappadocia from Istanbul

You can also go overland by minibus on some of our tours. Our Istanbul to Cappadocia vacation in Turkey goes from Istanbul to explore the Turkey’s most important ancient settlements on the Aegean. Over four days you’ll take in Troy, Bergama, Ephesus, Aphrodisias and Pamukkale. From Pamukkale it’s a day’s drive to Cappadocia.

“Yes, it’s a one-hour flight, it is faster, but you don’t get to see the landscapes and the other highlights,” says Elina. “Otherwise, you are in Istanbul, this vibrant city full of energy… and then you land on the moon in Cappadocia – you don’t see what’s in between. You don’t see how it changes from one to the other.”

Changing cultures

Caglar describes how his country changes between cities and trains. The differences are pronounced taking the overnight train from Izmir, in Izmir province on the Aegean coast to Konya in central Turkey. “Izmir is the most secular city in Turkey, and then Konya is the most conservative city,” Caglar says. Falling asleep leaving one and waking up entering another is a culture shift: “It’s like jumping on a train from a southern Spanish city and ending up in Cairo, or Fez in Morocco.”

The food changes too. “Izmir is the center of Mediterranean cuisine in Turkey, everything is cooked in olive oil, there’s seafood and huge salads,” says Caglar. Head towards Cappadocia and Konya and, “Everything is meat. They have this special pottery kebab because, before the invention of refrigeration, people used the caves.”

Elina, who is based in Mexico City, is happy to see more people taking the opportunity to explore Turkey’s culture, a change she’s noticed over the last few years, “I remember back when I lived in Europe everyone was talking about going to Antalya” – Turkey’s tourism capital on the Mediterranean coast, on what’s known as the ‘Turkish Riviera’. By some metrics, Antalya is the fourth most visited city in the world.

“I’m glad to see people moving away from that and looking to explore deeper,” says Elina. “Turkey is more than just a resort destination. It’s safe, it’s clean, people are kind, and you get to really experience a vacation and learn.” As an example, she talks about bartering. “It’s not a very European thing to do, but to experience that Middle Eastern way of dealing, of bargaining – people enjoy it because it’s new to them. It’s part of the charm.”

Cappadocia and Istanbul map

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How many days should you spend in Istanbul & Cappadocia?

“We suggest spending at least three days in Cappadocia because there is a lot to see,” says Caglar.

Cappadocia isn’t just a large area, but a multi-layered one – on a surface level there are walks and guided tours of the various valleys, including the popular Red Valley, Love Valley and Pigeon Valley.

“We ask people to at least walk or hike one of the valleys to see the fairy chimneys from up-close – they love the nature,” says Caglar. Then there’s what’s below the surface – the rock-cut cave churches, the underground cities where early Christians sheltered. Lastly, there’s Cappadocia’s must-do – ascending above by balloon.

Istanbul is another matter. Trains deeper into Turkey might go from the Asian side of the Bosphorus, but you’ll need to cross to the European side to see the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern and Grand Bazaar. Some of our tours include a free day in Istanbul and then a day of organised sightseeing, including a river cruise – perhaps the best way to get your head around the city. Others head straight out to other parts of the country, though you may wish to add a day or two at the start of your trip to see it.

Responsible tourism in Istanbul & Cappadocia

“We use local guides only,” says Elina. Tours might have a constant tour leader but use different guides depending on the area. “Each activity has its own guide. We believe they know their tours and activities the best and give the most insight into the destination. A person from Istanbul won’t know Cappadocia,” says Elina. Using local guides can stop you falling foul of being just another tourist in an over-touristed area.

Overtourism is a problem in Turkey, and whilst Istanbul is a massive city that can absorb millions of tourists, Cappadocia is not. “The main problem is the demand for cave hotels,” says Caglar, “Everything gets converted in caves – people move out of their cave homes and convert their places from a home to a cave hotel.” This means, much in the manner of more conventional vacation rentals in touristy cites like Barcelona and Venice, local people move out of their area as tourists move in.

Instead of cave hotels, you could consider other locally owned properties. And whilst most tourists head to Goreme, there are many lovely villages in the area. “We try and take people out of Goreme because it’s already overcrowded,” says Caglar.

Instead, consider choosing more local, unique activities. Caglar describes the independent businesses they support in both Istanbul and Cappadocia. These include, in Cappadocia, a woman’s cooperative set up by several woman from the region who run cooking classes for their guests. They have similar local-led initiatives in Istanbul.

Even Istanbul isn’t without its tourism issues, and certain areas of the old city are becoming touristy. Caglar suggests looking further out, reassuring travelers that Istanbul’s public transport is better than other parts of Turkey. “We tell people to stay in Kadikoy and people get to change the continent every day. It only takes 25 minutes.”

Taking the ferry across the Bosphorus to switch continents was one of my favorite parts of visiting – feeling the wind whip up, seeing the city rise before you: you feel like you are on the threshold of a massive adventure. For travelers about to go overland to Cappadocia, you really are.

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Written by Eloise Barker

Combining Istanbul & Cappadocia

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