Goreme or Uçhisar – where should you stay?

Before we visited Cappadocia I found it almost impossible to settle the Goreme versus Uçhisar debate. Would Goreme be too busy and lack charm, and would Uçhisar be too far away from the action? In the end we divided our time between the two, and it worked perfectly. If, however, you have less time and prefer to not be constantly on the move, then hopefully the following will help you make up your mind whether to stay in Goreme or Uçhisar.

Updated Spring 2024

TRAVELLING TO CAPPADOCIA

Arriving by Air

There are two airports serving Cappadocia – Kayseri and Nevşehir. You’ll probably hear Kayseri mentioned more, but I really don’t know why. Nevşehir is the better option all round. It’s actually closer (it takes 40 minutes from Nevşehir and 1 hour from Kayseri to both Goreme and Uçhisar), and the airport is much newer and better organised. There are often queues out of the main door but don’t worry, this isn’t for check in, it’s for the first set of security scanners which are located just inside the building. Turkish airports generally have two sets of scanners for extra security. Annoying but reassuring. Everything is pretty relaxed, and you really don’t need to be there more than an hour before your flight. In fact passengers were still turning up as we were boarding and it wasn’t an issue. Turkish Airlines have regular scheduled planes to Nevşehir, and are a much better (and not really any more expensive) alternative to the budget airline Pegasus.

Transfers to Goreme and Uçhisar

It takes around 40 minutes get to Goreme and Uçhisar from Nevşehir Airport. You can pick up a taxi on arrival, but it can sometimes be hard to find one as this is a popular tourist destination and all the other newly arrived travellers will be wanting to make the same journey.

Therefore, it’s much easier (and often cheaper) to book your transfer from Nevşehir Airport in advance. It costs around E75 for a private transfer to Goreme or Uçhisar and E13 per person for a shared shuttle bus transfer. Private transfers might sound more expensive but if you’re travelling with family or friends, this could actually work out very cost effective.

You can also take the public bus from Nevşehir Airport, with prices being around E10 per person. However, during peak season it is worth taking a private transfer, especially if your plane lands late at night, because the bus will stop at several hotels and prolong your journey (unless you’re first on the list!).

Your final option is to ask your hotel to arrange a transfer for you. Interestingly the Kelebek Cave Hotel where we stayed in Goreme charged more for private transfers from Nevşehir in comparison to the Taskonaklar Rocky Palace where we stayed in Uçhisar.

So lets weigh up the options, and work out whether Goreme or Uçhisar is best…

Accessibility

Where is Goreme?

Goreme is superbly located slap bang in the middle of Cappadocia, within easy distance of everything you’ll want to be seeing. I hesitate to use the word ‘hub’ since that conjures up images of big dusty bus stations and lots of traffic, which certainly isn’t the case, but you’d not go far wrong by basing yourself here, especially if you’re relying on public transport. Buses, taxis and tours are all within easy walking distance. Indeed, its easy accessibility coupled with bags of charm means that many visitors feel Goreme is the best town to stay in Cappadocia.

Where is Uçhisar?

The village is only 5 minutes from Goreme by taxi from but its lofty heights and wide landscape vistas make it seem a world away. It’s just as easy to get an airport transfer to here as Goreme, but if you want to be a bit independent (i.e. not book a tour every day that picks you up from your hotel), it’ll mean a taxi ride (or a long walk) if you want to access the services offered by the larger town. If you’re travelling by public bus you’ll have to catch it from the station in Goreme.

Verdict: Goreme WINS for access: Goreme 1 – 0 Uçhisar

Views

Views in Goreme

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to find that despite being the main town, Goreme still felt immersed in, and sensitive to, the landscape. There are fairy chimneys popping up all over the town, some used for dwellings and hotels, others just worked into the low-key infrastructure. It’s rather novel, and if you pick your hotel right, you’ll see this from your windows.

If you stay in one of the hotels at the highest point of the town, then you have great views of Goreme and the surrounding rock formations, which is especially lovely at night. The night panorama out towards Uçhisar is spectacular from Goreme, making the village look like it is floating on the horizon!

Hotels with some of the best views in Goreme include:

• Sultan Cave Suites – great for watching sunrise over the fairy chimneys with great views of the morning balloons.
• Mithra Cave Hotel – similar views to the Sultan Cave Suites (which is next door) but for cheaper prices.
• Stone House Cave Hotel – beautiful views from the panoramic terrace and located in the heart of town.

You don’t, however, get a sense of the lay of the land, or really see any of the valleys from here. All the more reason to get out and explore further afield!

Views in Uçhisar

The fact that the village is perched on the hillside underneath the ‘castle’ rock kinda gives it away really…the views from here are SPECTACULAR! You’ve just got to choose your hotel right if you want to see it from there. You’re high enough up to see all of the valleys sprawling away below, especially if you walk up to the top of Uçhisar Castle, which is a rocky fortress with secret tunnels inside to explore.

Pigeon Valley winds its way past the village and many of the higher-end boutique hotels a view overlooking the rock formations that pepper this landscape. On a clear day (and let’s be honest, there are lots of those) the distant 3916m Erciyes Volcano seems closer than 30km away. It’s just magical to watch the dawn launch of the balloons as they take to the skies over Cappadocia, sometimes floating really close in Pigeon Valley, and with the sunrise peeping out from behind the volcano. Hands down, Uçhisar must win for views!

Hotels with some of the best views in Uçhisar:

• Taskonaklar Rocky Palace – sunrise balloons, views of the volcano and private hot tub terraces make this a winner when it comes to the best panoramas.
• Museum Hotel – you can see vast stretches of the wider landscape from the beautiful terraces at this luxury retreat.

Verdict: Uçhisar WINS for views: Goreme 1 – 1 Uçhisar

Hotels

Hotels in Goreme

Goreme makes a fantastic base for exploring the wider area, and has a huge array of hotels and guest houses to choose from. Most people opt for staying in a Goreme cave hotel on their first visit, because the place is so well known, and because there are plenty of affordable options here. The terraces are famous for their photogenic backdrops, and if you’ve see a picture like the one following, the chances are that it was taken in Goreme!

These are some of the top hotel in Goreme:

Kelebek Cave Hotel & Spa – this is where we stayed and it ticked all the boxes for a proper cave hotel experience. All the rooms are unique, and carved into the rock so you’ll feel like a real life troglodyte! The views out across town and the otherworldly landscape beyond are superb, and it’s a great place to watch the balloons rising over the fairy chimneys in the mornings. There’s a pool too!

Hera Cave Suites – this place is an instagrammer’s dream, with panoramic terraces, cavernous bedrooms, and a sky full of balloons drifting overhead in the mornings. The buffet breakfast is hearty, and it’s central location makes a great base for exploring.

Mithra Cave Hotel -if you’re looking for something authentic, this hotel is just the ticket. The beautiful terrace has views of the surrounding villages, and the cave rooms are decorated with traditional furnishings in Greek and Ottoman style. You can enjoy breakfast on the terrace while watching the sun rise over the valley, and tours can be booked at reception.

Hotels in Uçhisar

Generally speaking, Uçhisar is where you’ll find more luxury cave hotel offerings, and the accommodation here often comes with sweeping views out over Pigeon Valley and the surrounding countryside.

Taskonaklar Cave Hotel – we spent a few dreamy nights here, with evenings in our private hot tub overlooking Pigeon Valley and the distant volcanoes. If you’re looking for a romantic cave hotel in Uçhisar, this is it! All the rooms are different so you can pick which most appeals, but all have the quintessential cave hotel vibe. Definitely one of the best places we’ve stayed on our travels!

Argos in Cappadocia – if you want to splurge and revel in utter luxury, the Argos is a dream come true. Rooms here have stunning views, private terraces or gardens, and some are even accessed by an underground tunnel. The top suites come with their very own private pool, inside the cave!

Museum Hotel – this Relais & Chateaux hotel has been created in a beautifully restored ruin complex, and feels like living in a real life museum! Rooms are decorated with priceless antiques, and the terrace and heated outdoor pool are popular hangouts for guests. Free wine and tapas are all part of the experience, and there are plenty of romantic dining spots around the hotel.

It’s a draw when it comes to hotels! Choose Goreme for affordability and views, and Uçhisar for luxury!

Verdict: Goreme 2 – 2 Uçhisar

Activities

Activities in Goreme

The best way to see as much of the strange and wonderful landscapes surrounding Goreme as possible in just a short space of time is to book a private day tour of Cappadocia. Itineraries can be tailored to your interests, and you’ll get to see all the top sights. It’s a good idea to book ahead, especially if you’re visiting in summer or want to go on a hot air balloon tour as places can fill up fast.

If you’d prefer to wing it, it’s also possible to book on tours, hire bikes, or rent quad bikes directly in Goreme. There are numerous companies all offering pretty much the same trips, for similar prices. It is a lot easier to arrange tours through your Goreme hotel, mainly because it takes away the hassle of doing it yourself, but also you know your hotel won’t use anyone they would not be happy for their customers to use. We booked on a tour of Undiscovered Cappadocia with Turkish Heritage Travel, who are located just down the hill from Kelebek (where we stayed), and are partnered with Butterfly Balloons. They were both two of the best tours we’ve ever done!

Goreme also has a couple of landscape gems right on the doorstep, both of which can be visited in a morning on a walk from your hotel. The Goreme Open Air Museum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and former Byzantine monastic settlement, hewn out of the rocks. You can explore rock chapels and monasteries while admiring the mind-boggling formations strewn across the complex.

Just down the road from the museum is the aptly named “Love Valley”. Famed for it’s phallic-shaped fairy chimneys, this strange yet beautiful valley is a must-see if you’re staying in Goreme.

Activities in Uçhisar

Uçhisar is more of a place for relaxing and enjoying a bit of luxury. Tours will pick you up from your hotel here, no problem, and there are a couple of companies advertising if you just want to walk up, but all the action, choice and bargaining power is undoubtedly back down in Goreme.

There is of course Uchisar Castle and Pigeon Valley to explore right on the doorstep, both of which offer some of the finest views in the area. You can hike down Pigeon Valley from the door of your hotel, and there are plenty of old rock pigeon lofts to check out (you can go inside some of them!). The rock formations here really are otherworldly, and it feels a bit like walking on the moon!

Verdict: Goreme WINS for activities: Goreme 3 – 2 Uçhisar

Eating

Eating out in Goreme

You could have gozleme every night of the week each time at different restaurants, there are so many! Choice is the key word here, and sometimes you’ll be spoilt for it. There are lots of little cafes too, and you’ll often stumble across cute rooftop terraces that have views that are as good as the food.

We can recommend Cafe Safak for the coffee and delicious spinach and cheese gozleme (pancakes), and Nazar Borek (just next door) for the kebab as well as gozleme. Both these are small family-run establishments with a genial and laid back atmosphere, and service with a smile. They also have pretty little tables on the sidewalk where you can watch the world (namely donkeys, tractors and tourists) go by.

We also tried Coffeedocia, and whilst it was pleasant to lounge around in the comfy chairs on the outside patio, inside it was incredibly hot and stuffy. Service wasn’t particularly friendly and almost a little surly, but the food was decent, and served in cute little cardboard trays. Sometimes burger and chips is very appealing after one too many plates of gozleme.

Eating out in Uçhisar

Being a much smaller place there are of course fewer eateries to choose from, and visiting in February we found most of them shut up for the winter. Outside of peak season we suggest eating at your hotel will be the best option if you don’t want to trek back into Goreme, although we found at our hotel (Taskonaklar Rocky Palace) they weren’t serving evening meals since there were so few guests. This may well be the case at other hotels too, so it’s best to check beforehand. There were a handful of restaurants which will be open in the summer, some more towards the posher end of the scale, catering for clientele with slightly deeper pockets than down in Goreme.

It was actually almost impossible to find anywhere that was open in Uçhisar in February, but eventually we found the Balkon Restaurant, perched on the side of Pigeon Valley with superb views, 5 minutes walk up the road towards the trailhead.

We’d been for a stroll and opted for a late lunch since hubbie was starving as usual. The presence of incredibly tacky life-sized fibreglass figurines of horses and deer with parrots on their shoulders (can you spot it above?) lulled us into hoping they wouldn’t mind us in our sweaty walking gear and hiking boots. Upon entering however we realised our folly, but despite the soft music, the white linen tablecloths and wine glasses holding real napkins, we were welcomed and shown to the best table in the house. Probably something to do with the fact it was 3pm (what normal person eats lunch at 3pm anyway?) and the place was empty. We nervously glanced at the menu and tried to reconcile it with the small clutch of Lira in hubbie’s pocket. The maths didn’t quite add up, but we just about managed by not ordering drinks. (It wasn’t majorly expensive, though more so than places in Goreme, we just hadn’t brought much money with us since we were just planning on a ‘light bite’).

The service was attentive, if a little contrived, but the food was decent and watching the vast flock of pigeons flying over their valley was entertaining. It will probably be lovely in summer when you can sit out on the terrace. If you can get past the tour groups. It had the feel of a place used to indifferently catering for the masses.

For supper we decided to raid one of the local ‘supermarkets’ and have a room picnic, but we only found two such establishments in Uçhisar. One sold nothing but wine, and the other nothing but chocolate and politically incorrect biscuits. RESULT! Less than healthy but more than suitable to go with our evening in the hot tub, so dinner was purchased.

Verdict: Goreme WINS for eating out: Goreme 4 – 2 Uçhisar

Atmosphere

The vibe in Goreme

As this is the main town of the region, I was a little concerned it would be too urban, overwhelmed by tourists and out of touch with the landscape. However I needn’t have worried. Even though tourism is clearly the main economy here the town hasn’t actually been spoilt by it. There is a relaxed pace of life, where donkeys and old fashioned tractors sit contentedly side by side with tourist minibuses and quad bikes. The locals are friendly and there is a distinct absence of hassling the tourists. There is just enough bustle to keep it interesting yet not overwhelming.

At night the place livens up a little, but the best part is seeing all the different coloured lights setting the rock formations ablaze. It’s night time when you finally realise just how much there is going on in Goreme, in terms of landscape and architecture.

The vibe in Uçhisar

The village is a lot quieter than Goreme, with less traffic and fewer tourists. It’s the sort of place where you’ll see the menfolk sitting on walls smoking their pipes and watching the world (and the balloons) go by. You just have to wander off the main road (such as it is!) to get a true sense of ‘real life’ along the cobbled back alleys and picturesque crumbling buildings that balance effortlessly but often precariously on the hillside.

Walking down the street, especially in winter, you’ll perhaps have a stray dog and a couple of cats for company, and that’s about it. A great place to come and relax for a couple of days. Plus, when night falls, it’s pretty magical when the hillside is illuminated with the town lights.

Verdict: Uçhisar WINS for atmosphere: Goreme 4 – 3 Uçhisar

OVERALL VERDICT: GOREME WINS

I so wanted Uçhisar to come out on top in the battle of Goreme verusus Uçhisar. I loved staying there since I do prefer smaller, quieter places, and a good view will do it for me every time. Yet if we were visiting Cappadocia again for the first time (yeah I know that’s impossible), and only had time to stay in one place, it would have to be Goreme. It just makes sense! My advice would be to stay an extra day or two and do them both!

Aside: Urgup is another option and known for it’s upmarket boutique accommodation. We drove through the village on a tour and I must admit I wasn’t overly impressed. It just seemed like another dusty place without as much character as either Goreme or Uçhisar, and the surrounding landscape wasn’t anywhere near as impressive.

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