When I picked traveling back up post-COVID, one of the places that landed in the top spots on my treasure list (what others call a bucket list) was a hot air balloon experience in Cappadocia. I had never been in a hot air balloon and it always seemed like a dream. When I was little, I wasn’t very much of an artist but one thing I remembered drawing often was the sky with lots of balloons in them during a sunrise. Perhaps it was a premonition of good things to come.

When the opportunity to travel to Morocco came up, I started searching flights – one with a layover in Istanbul.  Türkiye was always one of those countries that fascinated me, and so when I realized I would already be there for a layover, I seized the opportunity to extend my vacation to explore more of Türkiye and make my Cappadocia dream come true.

I decided to  fly into Nevsehir Airport which is one of 2 airports in the Cappadocia region. It was a quick flight from Istanbul – just over an hour in the air and just 30 minutes drive or so from the town I decided to stay in – Goreme. I do recommend staying in Goreme as it has more of a downtown feel with plenty of restaurants and shops.  The nearby town of Uchisar and Avanos are also popular but not very central to most of the tours offered. You’ll find plenty of cave hotels in the region – by the dozens in Goreme alone.

There are so many different types of tours offered from ATV tours to horseback riding tours. You can visit the landscapes via vintage cars. You can tour the different valleys and underground cities. There are even opportunities to visit pottery making shops and carpet weaving shops but the biggest offering is, of course, the sunrise hot air balloon experience. Because of the changing weather conditions, this experience is only offered at sunrise and only when weather conditions are ideal and approved by a regulatory agency. There are dozens of companies offering this experience, but I chose to fly with Butterfly Balloons based on their safety record and reviews by post travelers.  Butterfly Balloons is also the only company that flies with a maximum of 16 people per basket which allowed for more comfort and better views. 

The experience began with a very early hotel pickup. They brought us  to their office/lounge for a big breakfast spread and an overview briefing. Each person received a boarding pass with their pilot’s name and after breakfast, we all loaded up into our respective vans with our pilot’s name which then took us to the launching site.  The launching site differs each day based on wind direction to maximize the flight experience. After quickly climbing into our hot air balloon baskets, we received a safety briefing and then we were off soaring over the most majestic landscapes created by 3 volcanoes that erupted hundreds of years ago and shaped by the wind and water over that period of time.

After the flight, we celebrated our experience with champagne (or sparkling juice which I preferred – try the sour cherry!) and were awarded certificates for flying with Butterfly Balloons. Our flight’s advertiser was Mastercard so our group also received an additional gift – a boxed souvenir Cappadocia mug from Mastercard.  Afterwards, everyone was taken back to their respective hotels. 

By no means was this a cheap experience and when traveling with a family, the expenses can become quite costly but I have to say the memories made here were priceless. It was worth every single penny.