That order gives you the most famous landscapes first, then a different side of the region, and leaves the longest day for when you are settled in. Below is why, and how to adapt it for one, two or three days.
Every tour, every day
The shared Red, South and Green tours leave every day of the week. You do not need to plan around a weekly timetable or worry that the tour you want is not running on your only free day. The guide collects you from your hotel in Göreme, Uçhisar, Ürgüp or Avanos between 09:30 and 10:20 (the exact time comes the day before), and the group sets off on the day's route around 09:30.
Each tour includes a licensed English-speaking guide, air-conditioned transport, lunch and the entrance tickets for the sites on its route. Our programmes also include short craft workshop visits; there is no obligation to buy anything.
Booking late is fine. A tour for tomorrow is usually straightforward, and same-day bookings stay open until 07:30 in the morning. If you decide over breakfast, send your hotel name and a WhatsApp number straight away.
Day one: the Red Tour
The Red Tour is the Cappadocia most people picture. It starts at Devrent Valley, where wind and water have shaped the soft volcanic rock into rounded pink and red forms. Paşabağ follows, with its clusters of fairy chimneys, several with more than one cap, and hermit cells cut into the rock.
Zelve is an open-air valley of cave houses, churches and passages that people lived in until the middle of the twentieth century. Paşabağ and Zelve share one ticket, which is included. The day also takes in Avanos, the pottery town on the Kızılırmak river, where clay from the riverbank has been worked for centuries.
Why first? Because it orients you. After the Red Tour you know what a fairy chimney valley looks like, how the soft tuff was carved into homes and chapels, and where the main towns sit in relation to each other. Everything you see on later days makes more sense after it. It is also a gentle day, with short walks at each stop rather than one long hike, which suits an arrival day when you may be tired from travel.
See the Red Tour for the full programme.
Day two: the South Tour
The South Tour goes to places the Red Tour does not touch. It begins in Çavuşin, where an old village climbs a cliff full of rock-cut rooms, and a short walk takes you through the abandoned upper part of the village.
The centre of the day is Özkonak Underground City, a multi-level refuge carved beneath the town, with ventilation shafts, storage rooms and rolling stone doors that could seal the passages. Its entrance ticket is included. The day finishes with the view over Ortahisar and its rock castle, one of the landmark silhouettes of the region.
Why second? It complements the Red Tour instead of repeating it. You swap open valleys for village streets, a descent underground and a castle view, and your two days together cover the main faces of central Cappadocia. For most visitors with two days, Red plus South is the pairing we recommend, and it is where most of our guests book.
See the South Tour for details.
Day three: the Green Tour
The Green Tour heads south-west, further from the main towns, so it is the longest day of the three. It visits Kaymaklı Underground City, walks a stretch of Ihlara Valley along the Melendiz river, with lunch beside the water, and finishes at Selime Monastery, a huge rock-cut complex at the end of the valley. Kaymaklı, Ihlara and Selime entrances are all included; Selime is not an extra.
Why third? The longer drive and the valley walk are easier once you have settled into Cappadocia, and the landscape is different enough from Red and South to feel new. If you have only two days and love walking, you can choose Green instead of South, but you will then visit Kaymaklı rather than Özkonak, and you will spend more of the day on the road.
See the Green Tour for the route.
Plans for one, two or three days
One day: take the Red Tour. It shows the landscapes Cappadocia is known for in a single, gentle day.
Two days: Red on the first day, South on the second. This is the pairing we recommend to most travellers: no repeats, one underground city, two very different sides of the region.
Three days: Red, South, then Green. You finish with the longest drive and the valley walk when you are rested and familiar with the area.
If your dates only allow a different order, that is fine: every tour runs every day, and each works on its own. The one thing we would avoid is putting Green on your arrival day after an early flight.
What to bring each day: comfortable closed shoes with grip, a light layer for the underground cities, which stay cool even in summer, sun protection for the open valleys, and a little cash for drinks and souvenirs. Lunch is included on all three tours, so there is no need to carry food.
Mornings, balloons and arrival day
Balloon flights take off around sunrise, before the 09:30 pickup. We do not sell balloon flights, but guests who book one independently can still join a day tour afterwards. Expect an early start that day and keep the evening quiet.
If you fly in, a tour on your arrival day only works when you reach your hotel before the 09:30 pickup; otherwise start the tours the next morning. Flying into Kayseri or Nevşehir and joining the day tours is covered in our airport guide, and getting from either airport to Göreme in our airport transfer guide.
Private or shared
Every tour also runs as a private version with your own guide and vehicle, following the same route at your own pace. The shared tours are the everyday choice and cost less per person; the private tours suit families, people who walk slowly or groups who want to linger. Compare them on the Cappadocia tours page.
