Gettin’ High in Cappadocia: Hot Air Ballooning in Turkey

All I could hear was the gentle breeze softly whispering past the hot air balloon and the occasional whoosh of the flame filling the balloon, as we soared on smooth streams of air. The warm sun breached the nearby plateau casting a warm, encompassing glow over the insanely picturesque valley below. Holy cow!

The day started before the crack of dawn. In fact it was only 4:30am. That is way too early for me, but we persevered and got the kids ready and out the door on time.

As we excited our room the Muslim call to prayer echoed through the valley. It was a eerie sound in the darkening hills that we recorded and placed on Instagram.

Along with a handful of other guests from the Kayakapi Premium Caves, we jumped on board the mini bus and drove down the winding hillside into Goreme and to the Royal Balloon headquarters for an early breakfast and rendezvous with other ballooners.  We were still all waking up and Caius was mid-way through a case of a nasty stomach virus which required frequent and urgent toilet breaks. I had crossed my fingers and toes that there would be no needed toilet breaks 300 metres above the ground in a small basket – and fortunately, we were safe in that department.

Flyers were grouped together based on the chosen ballooning package and assigned a minibus to take us to our balloon. We had ridden in a hot air balloon several years ago in Australia, without kids, so we assumed the process to be fairly similar. But this time was quite different. The balloon was already prepped and ready to go with several staff members filling the balloon with hot air and securing it ready for launch. We had just enough time to snap some beautiful photos of the surrounding area, spotted with brightly coloured balloons taking off, before we were ushered on board.

Once on board we met our friendly pilot, a Brit named Nigel. He had many years experience flying all over the world and was very informative about the region, flying procedures and also shared some fascinating stories.

There are around 200 registered balloons in the area, with up to 140 taking off each morning during the peak season. Our morning was relatively quieter with only around 70 balloons sharing the clear, azure sky with us. It was still a truly spectacular panorama combining the rugged landscape, crystal skies and bright balloons silently gliding, interrupted with occasional bursts of whooshing flame to control their ascent.

The photos we took were nothing short of breathtaking. Here’s a few:

Caius was strapped into our Manduca baby carrier most of the flight, and later progressed to sitting on the floor safely peeking out of the foot-hole in the side of the basket. He enjoyed the ride overall but wasn’t too keen on the loud sound made by the burner from time to time. Mia was enthralled with the natural beauty surrounding her, taking in all the sights, just managing to peek over the edge of the basket.

It’s worth noting that children under 7 are generally discouraged from participating due to safety risks and the fact that the basket is quite high not giving prime viewing, but both Mia and Caius loved the experience. It would be a perfect romantic excursion for parents if you were to find a local babysitter for the morning.

The countryside around Cappadocia has been carved out of the volcanic rock over the centuries by wind and melting snow to reveal amazing colours, textures and shapes unique to the region. The well-known “Love Valley” features vertical rock protrusions, which could be likened to particular part of the male anatomy. Erin had fun coming up with humorous names for this area. We also had a chuckle when an older lady on the balloon asked “why is this region called Love Valley?”. How exactly could we explain that gently?

  

As Nigel was looking for a spot to land the balloon, he announced that we would be landing on the back of a pick-up truck. We thought he was joking at first, but realized he was serious. How would this work? We recalled back to our Australian balloon ride, which ended with us roughly landing the basket with a thud and tipping over while gripping onto the internal handles with white knuckles. This time, there was a rope lowered down to a staff member waiting below and guided gently onto the back of a pick-up truck (Aussies would call them “utes”) with amazing grace and finesse. We were impressed!

We shouldn’t have been surprised since during our research of the balloon companies in the area, Royal Balloons consistently came out on top in both the blogging world and other resources.

After the riders disembarked, Mia helped the staff to flatten out the balloon by jumping on it – her favourite part of the whole ride. They also prepared a champagne and orange juice toast as part of a tradition associated with hot air ballooning. We were each endowed with a gold medal to commemorate our adventure. After a few more photos we farewelled the team and made our way back to Kayakapi Pemium Caves via shuttle, to rest for an hour before our next adventure began – a day tour around Cappadocia.

 

The "Queen" package with Royal Balloons is €175pp and tickets can be booked via their website.

This balloon ride would definitely be in our top 5 experiences since we started this journey in May 2012. It’s not the cheapest attraction when travelling on a tight budget, but it is money well spent. Nothing else quite compares. We can see why some folks travel to Turkey just for this experience. Flying high in Cappadocia is an experience of a lifetime.

Turkey’s Cover Up: Where Is This One Town Only Locals Know About?

Nestled close to the Aegean cost in western Turkey is the small town of Alacati. Just 20 minutes east of Cesme and about an hour west of Izmir, it is perfectly positioned for beach and sunshine, as well as boundless in rich culture, endless shopping options and exquisite cuisine.

There’s only one problem. Most people outside Turkey don’t know about it.

We enjoy unearthing holiday gems in each country we visit. There are always hidden places that locals know about, that the rest of the world just doesn’t seem to have caught on. And Alacati is one of those places. Even though it’s a tourist town, it caters mostly to visitors from Istanbul. So outsiders may have never heard about it. In fact, we never heard about it before we got here, so it’s been just as much a surprise to us as well.

The old city of Alacati features narrow, winding cobblestone roads, rustic stone buildings and a relaxed, fun vibe. The place really comes to life at night, when the temperature cools down and visitors of all ages come out to make the most of a gorgeous region. The centre of town runs along two perpendicular streets forming a “T” shape, lined with cute cafes, intriguing antique stores, chic clothing boutiques, tempting waffle shops and mouth-watering restaurants serving the finest local cuisine. Keep an eye out for shiny Italian Vespas zipping down the narrow laneways – road rules seem to be somewhat optional.

Conveniently located at the southern end of the old city is the Kurabiye Otel (yes, that isn’t a typo). We spent 3 nights here which was an ideal base for exploring the region. They typically don’t take guests under 10 years old, but graciously allowed us to stay. It’s a small boutique hotel run by a husband-and-wife team who take great care in looking after each guest. 

Our room was beautifully decorated and upheld the laid back, friendly atmosphere of the town. The striking exposed beam roof was a little hazardous for my head (being 205cm tall). The kids slept on the fold-out sofa, and were worn out each night when we got back so they didn’t put up a fuss going to sleep. Mia’s favourite part of the hotel was “cookie time” each evening at 6pm. The hotel provided complimentary cookies and Turkish tea to guests, which matched the hotel name perfectly – Kurabiye means “cookie” in Turkish.

 

Breakfast included toast, jams, salad, cold meats, olives, tea and juice. All of the produce was sourced from local farmers so it’s super fresh and tasty. In fact, the jam in Turkey has been the best I’ve ever had anywhere we’ve visited so far. That’s a big call.

The owners were helpful in recommending local restaurants to try and beaches to visit in the area, and also helped us organise a car for 3 days through a local rental company. Car hire isn’t particularly cheap in Turkey but it is necessary to explore an area like Alacati/Cesme. Since we were running low on clean clothes we had to do laundry which the hotel organised for 65TL ($32) – definitely the most expensive laundry we had ever done. We reminisced fondly about the $4 laundry service in Ubud, Bali. In fact they say in Istanbul it's cheaper to buy new clothes then pay for laundry. 

Restaurants

Alacati has a surprisingly large variety of restaurants. Asma Yapragi came highly recommended but typically has to be reserved 10 days in advance to guarantee a table. Fortunately, since our kids eat relatively early they could fit us at short notice. We were able to meet the owner of the restaurant who explained more about the background of the food, with unique family recipes and traditional cuisine found in this part of Turkey. One of the interesting features of the restaurant is the way we chose our food. We were invited into the kitchen, and all the entrees were laid out on a large table, and each dish was explained. There were 2 choices for the main course. The outdoor garden dining area was really beautiful and the food was fresh and delicious.

The next night we tried Pla’Ce since it was rated #1 on TripAdvisor. It definitely lived up to its reputation and delivered some exquisite food. We also met the owner, a young lady who had left a career in engineering to start up this restaurant with her husband. Considering their background and the relatively short time the restaurant had been opened, we were impressed with the what they had created. The garden setting was also simply stunning. I’ll let the photos do the talking.

On our last night we tried a Mexican restaurant. We hadn’t enjoyed any really good Mexican food for almost 6 months and while the food quality didn’t quite live up to the sky-high standards we experienced in Mexico, it was still surprisingly good considering we were in the middle of Turkey.

We also had to try the waffle shop that taunted us as we walked past each day with its oversized Nutella jar. And the nearby dessert bakery served up snazzy little white chocolate mousse. Yum! There were so many food choices in Alacati, and so little time.

Pool time

The owner of Kurabiye Otel introduced us to a friend of hers who manages 2 hotels in Alacati. She was an avid windsurfer and competed in the Sydney Olympic games in 2000. We checked out Zeytin Konak Hotel and spent a morning there enjoying a tasty breakfast and giving the kids some much-needed time to play in the swimming pool. Mia met 2 girls who were staying in the hotel and they played for several hours before a tearful farewell. Zeytin Konak Hotel is family friendly and a good choice if you have young children, where as Kuraibye is a great spot for the romantic couple wanting to get away.

Beaches

Located north and south of Cesme are beautiful beaches. There are 2 options: private beach clubs or public beaches. The private clubs usually provide lounge chairs and umbrellas – sometimes at an extra charge. In some cases, food can be purchased from a nearby restaurant in return for free beach access.

 

We found a nice small beach north of Cesme which cost 20TL ($11) for 2 lounge chairs and an umbrella. The kids splashed in the water, built sandcastles and soaked up the sunshine.

The next day we explored the area south of Alacati which is famous for it’s windsurfing.

 

After driving around for an hour or so, we set our sights south of Cesme and found a rather popular beach. Parking was 5TL ($2.50), entry to the beach was 10TL per person ($5.50) which included lounge and umbrella. The beach was packed and it took a while before we could find an available spot. In the meantime, we grabbed some lunch at the café. The Gozleme is a Turkish dish made of a super-thin pancake and filled with cheese, meat or other fresh veggies. As usual, our kids found other kids to play with and almost entirely forgot about their parents!

Next Leg 

The car rental company also organised a transfer for us to our next location at Oludeniz, located just over 5 hours southeast of Alacati. The price turned out about the same to have a driver or driving ourselves and paying the 1-way fee. So we just sat back and relaxed on the trip and also caught up on emails.

As it happens so often on short trips for us, we wish we had more time in Alacati. It really has a beautiful vibe and there was still so much to do. You could comfortably spend a week or two here and have a perfectly relaxing break. Turkey has some hidden gems that are worth exploring, and Alacati is a great place to start.