Cappadocia, Turkey: a magical otherworldly landscape with hot air balloons dotting the sky.  You’ve probably seen pictures of it on a bucket list somewhere on Pinterest or Instagram.  Nowhere else in the world will you find such incredible rock formations amidst an exotic culture, with a new surprise around every corner.

The experience of staying in a cave hotel is a must on a trip to Cappadocia.  These cave hotels range from budget to luxury, and offer an experience that’s completely unique to this region.

We were there in late September, and the weather was pretty chilly most of the time.  We assumed that the caves would provide natural insulation, and so heat would not be an issue.  Not the case.  We piled on every piece of clothing we had and we still FROZE all night.

Hiring scooters was a great choice, as the sights are spread over a large area, making them impossible to reach by foot.  Cappadocia is a region, and only seeing one of its cities just does not do it justice. It’s a real adventure scooting through the unique landscape with the wind in your hair.

We took off from Göreme on a scooter to the Derinkuyu underground city.  The half-hour drive consisted of running over my mother’s glasses, driving the wrong way down a one-way street with our blinker on, and FREEZING the whole way.  I don’t believe they see American women scooting around these cities very often because we were quite the spectacle, and gave a lot of people a a laugh.  In addition to our apparent comedy routine, some VERY steep cobblestone hills with hairpin turns required me to get off the scooter and walk, while my mom rode the brakes, nearly in tears with stress, the whole way down.  So, know your limits!

Cappadocia is an outdoor-lover’s paradise.  There are trails galore, leading past some of the most incredible landscapes on the planet.  Take time to get out and explore the area on foot. Some of our favorites were the Rose Valley trail, Göreme Open Air Museum, and the Fairy Chimneys at Monks Valley.

Thinking we knew just where we were going, we set out on a short hike from Göreme sans map.  After about a couple hours of wandering a trail that seemed to be leading us in circles, we eventually scaled a cliff and popped up, covered in dirt, behind a small roadside food stall (frightening and confusing the workers a bit in the process).

Whether you want to experience a ride in the air for yourself or just take in the majestic views of the sky dotted with hot air balloons as the sun begins to peek up over the horizon, the balloons are quintessential Cappadocia.

After a bit of a cold restless night, all I wanted to do was sleep in.  Hitting the snooze button a few too many times led to missing the sunrise.  I was still able to catch some of the balloons in the sky, but it’s just one morning of your life.  Get your butt out of bed!