The 6 Best Hot Air Balloon Rides in Istanbul

1.Cappadocia Dream: 2-Days Tour from Istanbul & Balloon Ride Option

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 236 reviews · 2 days (approx.) · from $590Our pick

Istanbul to Cappadocia in 2 days with cave hotels, UNESCO sites, and an optional sunrise hot-air balloon ride.

“Viator Online Chat was extremely helpful and timely in planning and booking this trip. Unfortunately, the Itinerary is not accurate. A lot of time was spent at an expensive Ceramics shop, Jewelry shop, and Leather shop but was NOT disclosed in the itinerary. Had I known that shopping was involved in this trip, I would have opted for a different trip option for my limited time in Cappadocia. Also, it is very suspicious that another reviewer noted that their lunch was delayed for hours so the time at the expensive Ceramics shop was extended --- this is what also what "coincidentally" happened to my group. Very sketchy especially since our…”

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2.2 Day Cappadocia Tour From Istanbul With Optional BALLOON Flight

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 67 reviews · 2 days (approx.) · from $565Best value

Fly from Istanbul to Cappadocia for 2 guided days, cave-stone hotel stays, underground cities, valleys, and an optional balloon upgrade.

“This is the "no brainer" excursion. For me to give 5 stars, they had to work for it. There are a lot of pieces to this excursion. I feel the price I paid is a good one. We had a different guide each day. Our guides are experienced in the tour and knew the history and geology of the area and the why things were done the way they are. What was provided was transport, air, hotel, 2 lunches and professional guide. We had an airline delay (no fault of tour operator) we didn't get into Istanbul until 1:30 am and the coordinator stayed available via whatsapp the whole time…”

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3.2-Day Cappadocia Tour from Istanbul – Optional Balloon Ride

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 61 reviews · 2 days (approx.)

Two days in Cappadocia from Istanbul with Kaymaklı and Göreme, plus optional hot air balloon flight from Kayseri.

“Honestly, this tour is REALLY overpriced. I was nervous, because some of the reviews seemed happy and others, not so happy. Here's the thing: all of the good experiences I had...I had to pay for outside of this tour company, like a hamam or the air balloon ride. Our tour guide barely actually informed us of anything and abandoned us any chance possible, including at places she claimed guides couldn't go...except there were guides for others. The hotel chosen was nice...with the poorest wifi and thin walls. Superior it was not. The days ended absurdly early too. The first day ended at THREE PM. We didn't start our actual tour…”

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4.3-Days, 2-nights in Cappadocia & Hot Air Balloon

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 57 reviews · 3 days · from $945

Fly from Istanbul to Kayseri, tour Cappadocia with a live guide, ride an ATV at sunset, and add a hot air balloon flight if weather allows.

“Highlight of our trip!! This was the best experience for us in a new country, everything was so well organised and we were so well looked after. Stoneland travel agency looked after us from the start ( Mehmet) communicated with us throughout the booking process and even helped us to extend our stay and ensured we got our hot air balloon ride! The Atv tour was once in a lifetime. And the red and green tours with Salim made our whole experience! Salim is so knowledgeable and speaks very good English and has become a friend! We met the most amazing people on this trip and had the most amazing…”

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5.10-Day Turkey Tour & optional Hot Air Balloon

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 15 reviews · 10 days · from $709

A 10-day Turkey loop from Istanbul to Cappadocia, Ephesus, Pamukkale, and Gallipoli, with an optional hot air balloon add-on.

“The tour itself was quite amazing. Our guide was open to questions and was conversant with each of us. It was a small group which always makes things so much more pleasant. I would definitely recommend this tour to others. I do prefer smaller hotels with character. Therefore, I can say the only disappointment I experienced was the tourist based accommodations. The hotels were nice, but rarely provided the flavor or a character of the towns and cities in which we stayed. Our guide, Erdim, made the tour.”

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6.3-Day Cappadocia Tour with Balloon Ride

★★★★★★★★★★3.9 · 12 reviews · 3 days · from $670

3 days from Istanbul to Cappadocia with a sunrise hot air balloon, sunset ATV, Göreme caves, Devrent Valley, and Avanos pottery.

“The whole tour was poorly organised from the get go. The communication was very poor to non existent, I was constantly messaging to get answers with minimal response. I had no idea what our accomodation was like and on arriving at accomodation they were full and we were not booked in. Thankfully they have other accomodation available. We completed ATV ride on our first night and balloon ride early next morning, both were enjoyable but nothing else to do for reminder of both those days. We wandered the village as had no transport. 3rd day we were to cover remaining activities, we had message be ready at 10am for driver.…”

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