We have 2 full days in Cappadocia at our disposal, staying in Goreme. I'm looking into a company which offers 2 one day tours. The focus of Tour 1 is sightseeing and Tour 2 is hiking the Ihlara Valley.Tour 1 will give us a good overview of the area attractions. We're wondering if we should skip Tour2 and do sightseeing on our own on the second day. Below are the highlights of the 2 tours. If we're going to do our own sightseeing on the second day, what are the must-sees which is not included in Tour 1?
Are there any other one day tour which will take us to all/most of the must-sees ? What do you think about the itinerary of these 2 tours?
Tour 1:
Goreme Panoramic View Point (Vista Point)
Kaymakli Underground City
Wine tasting in a local winery
Lunch in a cave restaurant
Pottery demonstration
Pasabag (Monks Valley)
Devrent (Imaginery Valley)
Family fairy chimneys
Hike in Rose Valley, 3 km
Tour 2:
Goreme Panoramic View Point (Vista Point)
Nar Lake
Hike in Ihlara Valley, 7 km
Lunch in a river-by restaurant
Selime Monastery
Guzelyurt Underground City
St. Gregory Church
Pigeons Valley
Honestly, day 2 sounds more interesting than day 1. Day 1 seems to be all of the tourist traps - I know nothing about your interests or where you will be staying, but you could easily spend a day on your own without a tour. Ihlara is very nice, definitely, but you should also not miss the Goreme open air museum, the Zelve open air museum, an underground city, hiking in a valley (Pigeon Valley is easily doable on your own, and much nicer than with a group), and there you have it. Do a balloon trip if you can afford it, and go with the best one you can afford. Don't worry about booking tours in advance, every decent pension offers the chance to book tours as well.
As cochradi says, you can book these tours in Goreme, probably cheaper than booking before you go.
However, I'd contact your pansyon for the price and make the booking beforehand with them, as two days isn't a lot of time to see all this area has to offer.
And yes, day 2 does sound a much better option. And a balloon ride is amazing; expensive - but worth every cent. Again, if you want to do this, book a day or two ahead.
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