Best Base in Cappadocia: Göreme, Uçhisar or Ürgüp?

On a first trip, with the balloons as your main reason for coming, base yourself in Göreme. Pick Uçhisar if you want calm and big views, Ürgüp if food and wine matter, and Ortahisar or Çavuşin if you prefer village life. Only 5 to 10 km separate the villages, which means each of our Cappadocia tours can collect you wherever you stay.

Room prices move every day depending on season, room category and weekday. Open any hotel on our site to see the rate for tonight and its full availability calendar.

The villages side by side

Göreme: right in the middle

This small village sits at the heart of the valleys, beside the road to the Open Air Museum, and it holds the largest share of our Cappadocia hotels. When balloons are flying, they lift off just above the roofs. The main street is the starting point for valley trails, tour offices and places to eat, so a car is rarely needed.

The catch is how busy it gets. Tour groups fill Göreme during the day, and the best-known rooftop terraces are packed at dawn. For low budgets, look at Heybe Hotel & Spa and Eka Cave Maison. In the middle range there are Kismet Cave House and Artemis Cave Suites. The top tier is Sultan Cave Suites and Kelebek. Every room type is listed on our page of cave hotels in Cappadocia.

Uçhisar: up high, calmer and pricier

Built around the rock citadel known as Uçhisar Castle, roughly 5 km from Göreme, this village overlooks Pigeon Valley. Balloons appear further off here, frequently with the entire valley behind them. Nights are peaceful, and there are fewer places to eat than in Göreme.

We list four hotels in Uçhisar across all price levels. The cheapest is Kale Konak, with 17 rooms next to the castle. Dream of Cappadocia falls in the middle. At the luxury end you have Museum Hotel and Argos in Cappadocia, the latter set in restored stone mansions with its own wine cellar.

Ürgüp: dining and local wine

Around 10 km from Göreme, Ürgüp is a real small town with a wider choice of shops, restaurants and nearby wineries. Above its centre, on the hill, are the old cave houses of the Esbelli district. Couples spending three nights or more like it, as does anyone who wants a choice of dinner spots within walking range.

The simpler option is Ürgüp Evi Cave Hotel in Esbelli, which makes its own wine. The more upscale one is Kayakapı Premium Caves, a restored cave quarter where some suites have pools. If you enjoy wine, add our 2 to 3-hour wine tasting tour in Cappadocia.

Ortahisar and Çavuşin: the quieter villages

Ortahisar, on the way from Göreme to Ürgüp, grew up around a rock castle of its own and has more of a farming character than a holiday one. Hezen Cave Hotel offers a terrace that looks straight at the castle.

Çavuşin lies on the road from Göreme to Avanos, under a cliff dotted with abandoned rock dwellings. At Seki Cave Hotel the rooms are carved into the stone, and a rooftop pool faces west toward the sunset.

Avanos: potters by the river

Roughly 8 km from Göreme, Avanos is a town on the Kızılırmak, or Red River, famous for its pottery workshops. People rarely use it as a cave-hotel base, and right now we have no hotel listed there. Avanos is a stop on our Red Tour with lunch, together with Zelve and Paşabağ.

Arriving and getting around

From Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport it is about 40 km to Göreme, 48 km to Ürgüp and 35 km to Avanos. Kayseri Airport offers more flights but lies further out, around 1 hour 15 minutes by road from Göreme. Hotel pickup in all of these villages is included on every Cappadocia tour we run. That covers the balloon flight at sunrise, from $199 per person (season and flight type change the rate, so check with us for the current one), and the Green Tour of the south. If you have neither a car nor a tour booked, Göreme is the simplest place to stay.

Travelling in from Istanbul? Our article on how to get from Istanbul to Cappadocia weighs up flying, the bus and driving. The 4-day Cappadocia package begins at $270 per person and includes airport transfers plus two guided tours. Season, hotel and inclusions affect the price, and you select your hotel on the package page. Every hotel we offer appears on our list of Cappadocia hotels.

Frequently Asked Questions