Cappadocia from Ankara: Road Route, Bus Times and Tours by Days

Göreme, in the heart of Cappadocia, is about 300 km by road from central Ankara. That is around three to three and a half hours of driving, or about four hours on an intercity bus. There is no useful flight or train, so the road is the only practical way. You can do it as a long day trip, but two or three days is far better. Our Cappadocia day trip from Ankara by bus starts from $112 per person, and the 2-day Cappadocia tour from Ankara, with a cave or stone hotel night, starts from $243 per person.

This page covers the route, the bus option, how much time to give it, what you see on arrival, and how to fit Ankara itself into the same trip.

Ankara to Cappadocia at a glance

The tours above are group tours. The bus leaves from AŞTİ, Ankara's main intercity bus terminal, and a local guide and vehicle meet you at the bus station in Cappadocia.

The drive: route, distance and stops

The fastest route leaves Ankara on the ring road and heads south on the Ankara–Niğde motorway (O-21). You leave the motorway near Aksaray and continue east on the D300 to Nevşehir, then take the local road through Uçhisar down into Göreme. The total is about 298 km from Kızılay in central Ankara to Göreme.

What the drive is like:

• Flat and open. Most of the road crosses the Central Anatolian plateau, with long straight stretches and few towns. It is an easy drive in good weather.
• Motorway tolls. The O-21 is a toll motorway. Rental cars in Turkey usually carry an electronic toll tag, so ask the rental company how tolls are charged.
• Tuz Gölü. Turkey's great salt lake lies to the west of this route. If you want to see it properly, our private Salt Lake tour from Cappadocia starts from $107 per person and goes there as a day trip.
• Arrival. The last section, from Nevşehir to Uçhisar and Göreme, is where the scenery changes. Fairy chimneys appear on both sides of the road, and the view from the Uçhisar ridge is the first good photo stop.

Should you drive? If you are confident on Turkish roads and want to explore at your own pace, it works. The catch is that a driver cannot also be a guide. Most of the sights are small sites close together, and parking at the busy viewpoints is tight in high season. Many visitors drive to Cappadocia, then join a guided tour for the main day, which is what our multi-day bus packages do in a simpler way.

By intercity bus from AŞTİ

Intercity buses run from AŞTİ to Nevşehir and on to the Cappadocia villages. The journey takes about four hours. Buses are modern coaches with assigned seats, and many have seat-back screens and a drinks service on board.

On our bus-based tours, you make your own way to AŞTİ and meet the bus there. For the day trip and the 2-day tour, the bus leaves early, with a meeting time of 05:00. On the 3-day tour, the outbound bus can be morning, afternoon or evening. In Cappadocia, our local team meets you at the bus station and takes you to the hotel or straight onto the tour.

Tips for the bus:

• Be early. AŞTİ is large, and finding the right platform takes time. Arrive at least 30 minutes before departure.
• Bring a layer. Coaches can be cold with the air conditioning on in summer and are heated in winter. Early departures leave in the dark.
• Keep your bag small. You can store bags in the hold, but a small day bag makes the tour day easier.

Why flying or taking the train does not help

Both Ankara and Cappadocia have airports, but there are no flights between them. Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport has scheduled flights only from Istanbul, and Kayseri's domestic flights go to Istanbul, Antalya and Izmir, not Ankara. Flying from Ankara would mean going through Istanbul, which takes far longer than the bus.

There is no railway into Cappadocia either. The high-speed line from Ankara runs west to Istanbul and Konya and east to Sivas, not south-east to Nevşehir. Trains from Ankara do reach Kayseri on the conventional line, but Kayseri is still more than an hour's drive from Göreme, and the road from Ankara is quicker overall.

If your trip continues from Ankara to Istanbul, the fast train takes about 4.5 hours between the two city centres. That makes a loop possible: Istanbul to Ankara by train, Ankara to Cappadocia by road, and Cappadocia back to Istanbul by plane in about 1 hour 20 minutes.

Day trip, two days or three

The day trip fits a business visit to Ankara or a short stay with one free day. It is long: the meeting time is 05:00 and you get back to Ankara at around 23:00. In between, you have one guided route with lunch. You will not see a sunrise, a balloon or the underground cities, and you spend about eight hours on the bus.

Two days is the minimum we recommend. You arrive mid-morning, do the north route, sleep in a cave or stone hotel, and do the south route the next day before the evening bus back. That one night gives you a sunrise, either from a viewpoint or, weather permitting, from a balloon basket.

Three days is the comfortable option. You travel on day one at the time that suits you, spend a free evening in the village, and have two full guided days. With two mornings in Cappadocia, you also have two chances at a balloon flight, which matters because flights need weather permission every morning.

If you have more time, our guide to Cappadocia daily tours from Göreme shows the other routes you can add, and where to stay in Cappadocia helps you choose a village.

What you see when you arrive

The guided days follow the two classic routes.

North route (Red Tour). This covers Devrent Valley, with its animal-shaped rocks, the multi-capped chimneys of Paşabağ (Monks Valley), a pottery workshop in Avanos, the Göreme panorama, the abandoned cave village of Zelve and the outside of Uçhisar Castle. Our Cappadocia Red Tour guide describes each stop.

South route. This takes in the Red and Rose valleys, Çavuşin village, Pigeon Valley and an underground city such as Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu. The longer Green Tour also adds the walk in Ihlara Valley and Selime Monastery; see our Cappadocia Green Tour guide.

Tickets. Entry fees on the itinerary are included in our tours. If you go on your own, current foreign-visitor prices at the ministry sites include €12 for Zelve and Paşabağ together, and €13 for Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu. Göreme Open-Air Museum, which is not on the Ankara bus itineraries, costs €20.

Ankara before or after Cappadocia

If you are visiting Ankara as a traveller rather than for work, give the city a day of its own. Two sites stand out:

• Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Atatürk, founder of the Republic, set on a hill in the Çankaya district. You walk in along the Lion Road, lined with 24 stone lions, to the Hall of Honour. A museum of Atatürk and the War of Independence lies beneath it. Entry is free, and security checks at the gate take time. On national days and on 10 November, the anniversary of Atatürk's death, official ceremonies are held and access can be restricted.
• The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, in a restored Ottoman market building below Ankara Castle. Its Hittite and Phrygian collections make a good introduction before you travel into central Anatolia.

The Hittite capital of Hattusa is also within reach. Our private Hattusa and Yazılıkaya tour from Cappadocia starts from $278 per person as an 11-hour day. Our Ankara destination guide has more ideas for the city.

Winter, balloons and other practical points

Winter roads. The plateau gets snow and ice between December and March. Allow extra time, and check the road conditions before driving yourself. Nights in Nevşehir average below freezing from December to February.

Balloon flights. A balloon is not included in the bus tours, but it can be added on the 2-day and 3-day tours. Flights take off at dawn and need permission from the civil aviation authority every morning, so they cannot be guaranteed. Shared flights start from $199 per person with us. Read our balloon price update before you decide.

Guide languages. The bus tours run in English, Spanish or Italian, and the price can vary by language. Other languages are arranged on request, subject to availability.

What to pack. Comfortable shoes with grip, a warm layer for the early start and the evening, sunglasses and a hat in summer, and some cash in Turkish lira for drinks and small purchases.

Tours that cover this

• Cappadocia Day Trip from Ankara by Bus: Fairy Chimneys and Zelve: from $112 per person. One long day with the north route and lunch.
• Cappadocia Tour from Ankara: 2 Days by Bus, North and South Routes: from $243 per person. One hotel night and both routes.
• Cappadocia Tour from Ankara by Bus: 3 Days, 2 Guided Routes: from $324 per person. Two hotel nights and two mornings for a balloon.
• Private Salt Lake Tour from Cappadocia: from $107 per person. A day trip to Tuz Gölü once you are based in Cappadocia.

All our options are on the Cappadocia tours and Ankara tours pages, and the Cappadocia destination guide covers the region as a whole.

Frequently Asked Questions