Romantic Things to do in Cappadocia
From visiting The Uçhisar castle to the Göreme Open Air museum, there is A LOT to do in Cappadocia but in the spirit of having a different perspective, and since we went to Cappadocia for our anniversary, I thought to highlight the romantic things to do if you are ever in the area.
As I was writing this post, I actually had a little laugh because when you travel everywhere with your partner, the most basic things like going to the gym or having a meal become cute and romantic. Why though? I guess holidays are different. They do something to the brain and heart and make them all mushy that the most basic things seem cuter than normal.
Mr E is the practical one and I am the romantic daydreamer so we balance each other out. Sometimes, I suggest something and he just looks at me like “ you must be having a laugh if you think I’m doing that with you” but you know marriage and partnership, you have to learn to compromise which means only one thing. I get my way every time hahahaha
Hashtag Happy Wife, Happy Life.
Anyway let’s get into it.
1. Sunset at Red Rose Valley
By now, you may (should) have figured out what makes Cappadocia so different and special. The rock formations which are all around the city are not only pretty special during the day but watch out for them when the sun is setting and I promise, you will be blown away. For a lovely romantic date, head to the valley about an hour before sunset with your picnic blanket, find a spot, relax and watch the sunset. It is the most beautiful sight.
2. Turkish tea date
As a tea lover, this was in the itinerary everyday. Every café we went by offered Turkish tea. We were inclined to stop at the very popular spot, Coffeedocia but I felt like it was not Turkish enough so we went to Anatolian Kitchen which was right in the Goreme center and had the best service ever.
Tbh it does not matter where you have your Turkish tea, they all taste the same!
3. Stay in a cave or stone room
This is a no brainer. You cannot go to Cappadocia and stay elsewhere. The cave and stone rooms are very cosy and extremely romantic because of how they are built. The lights are low and the stone has that cooling effect that makes one want to snuggle in bed each time. We spent a lot of lazy mornings in bed catching up on our beloved Love Island and even eating our breakfast in bed.
4. Watch the hot air balloon rides during sunrise
What is more romantic than waking up at 5am and climbing to the rooftop with your partner, watching the sunrise with the hot air balloons as backdrop? Nothing. This is probably the most popular picture when you google images of Cappadocia. Hotels now stage fruit and/or breakfast stations to make the pictures look colourful as if you would be having such a heavy breakfast with wine at 5am lol
Just make sure that when you are booking your hotel, it has a rooftop, which has the views of the hot air balloons!
5. Date night in a traditional Turkish restaurant
Of course you have to have date night! The amazing thing about Cappadocia is that when it comes to food, you are spoilt for choice. There are kebabs and then there is Testi aka pottery kebab! The meat is slowly cooked in pottery and retains its flavours until you are served. On our anniversary night, we were lucky to get a last minute reservation at Dibek Café and Restaurant, which is a popular, fancy traditional home cook Turkish spot in the Goreme center. We sat on the carpets and pillows on the floor and got served our meals on a low table. It was so old school and so perfect! Make sure you order a Turkish wine too! and Turkish tea. Don’t forget the tea.
Is smoking shisha romantic? Well, if you are in Cappadocia and get the opportunity to have a little shisha date night in One Way Café, Goreme with the traditional band playing in the background, I bet you will feel the vibe and think, aha Romantic.
6. Find cute spots and take pictures
From stoney backdrops to picturesque tea cafés, my fave was Galerie Ikman. This carpet shop has become so insta-famous because of its colourful interiors of endless carpets and lanterns. It will cost you 50TL to go in and take pictures so for a couple, 100TL which is really not that much for your Disney-esque (think Aladdin and Princess Jasmine) pictures. However if you are purchasing an item from the store, pictures are free!
7. Visit the Love Valley
It is called Love Valley so obvs you have to go there to get the full dose of romance. Love Valley is in Goreme and its formations are like phallic looking structures. I assumed someone was having a laugh and built these all around as a funny gesture but nope! This one was Mother Nature and not man-made at all. Shocker! Anyway it’s a cute area and there are lots of sections (like the Red Rose Valley) where you can have your private time and reminisce on the love you are building while looking at penises haha
There are also a number of picture props for the perfect romantic picture.
8. Turkish ice-cream afternoon stroll
So you had a sit down Turkish tea date yesterday and today, you don’t want the same experience. Turkish ice-cream to the rescue. The ice-cream vendors are dotted all around the city offering the best of Turkish flavours. For about 20TL, you can have up to 3 scoops of different flavours and continue along your afternoon stroll.
9. Sunset strolls in secluded alleys
This was probably my favourite thing to do. We went to the more obvious and popular spots to watch the sunset but I loved walking without anywhere to go in mind and getting lost in Cappadocia’s little streets only to find that the sun is setting right behind you. Magical.
10. Rooftop/Terrace night-caps
By now, your epic, romantic time away is over. How exactly do you end your romantic holiday? I’d say, you crack open a bottle of wine (or this limited edition Baileys in our case) and discuss your peak and pit of the entire trip! I learnt this from the Kardashians (yes, I’m one of those). At the end of every trip, I found it cute that they sit together and discuss the highs and lows of their trip.
For Mr E and I, we try not to be cliché so nothing like “I enjoyed spending time with you” duhhhhh that’s a given. Well, if you like the person you are married to, you should enjoy spending time with them lol. We focus more on specific experiences for our peak and pit.
PS – Don’t forget to kiss every time, every date, everywhere -‘Bugo Echem
Now, let me tell you a little story (you know I will always give you ALL the tea)
I would have added the Hot Air Balloon ride as no 1 but I’ll be very honest. Getting a hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia is not even as easy as it looks. First, it costs A LOT! We paid 370 euros (185 euros per person) and this was after my hotel concierge spent a day trying to track down available spaces for Mr E and I. Then, we headed out at 4am (yes FOUR AM) to the balloon field. After over an hour of waiting, it was cancelled due to weather not being conducive. I decided to get a refund but concierge at our hotel encouraged us to try the next day.
So next day, 4am, we headed out again. Guess what? Yup, cancelled again. So, we lost sleep both days, did not end up doing the ride and were just irritated. So, nope, it will not make my romantic list.
The hot air balloon is never a given. It will only go up if there is clearance from the weather watchers. It does not matter if it is raining, snowing or the sun is burning at 30 degrees. If the wind is blowing a certain way which is deemed hazardous to the experience, the trip is cancelled. The good thing is that you get a refund 🙂
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Anyway, I loved Cappadocia SO much and I definitely will consider going back, maybe in the winter. I’m curious to see how the snow covers all those beautiful formations. Also, in Cappadocia, we received the best hospitality ever. The locals were so lovely and kind to us. I don’t think I have met a happier, friendlier, kinder group of people in all my travels. Mindblowing tbh
Until next time…
…..Bisous, ‘Bugo x
8 Comments
Zeee
Such a great post and beautiful pictures. I was in Cappadocia in April and I got a chance to go up in the hot air ballon. It was such an amazing experience, I truly enjoyed it. I wouldn’t call it romantic per se but it was a great experience.
Waking up early sucked, especially because i had to wake up wake the day before to make my flight to Cappadocia and again on the 3rd day to head back to Istanbul.
How were you able to get pictures with balloons in the background if yours was cancelled? Where departure times staggered?
Bugo
Thank you Zee.
Oh how lucky were you! Yes, I’ve heard it’s not romantic because you are bundled with a few other people but I think the experience for me would have been all I wanted.
So for the hot air balloons, the first morning we spent in Cappadocia, the balloons went up. We tend to take it easy on our first day away and just not do anything and I wanted pictures on our hotel rooftop with the balloons so that’s why we have any pictures at all with the balloons as backdrop. By our Day 2, we were now ready for the hot air balloon ride, it was cancelled. Days 3 and 4 of us being there, no hot air balloon went up. I keep thinking we should have done it the first day but then again, I quite enjoyed the rooftop views as well.
Oh well, gives us all the fire to go back. This time, hopefully when the chimneys are covered in snow x
Mielle
Gorgeous gorgeous pictures! If anything, Turkey is a great place for stunning pictures. Bummer about the balloons.
Bugo
The one time I decided to face my fears lol.
Anyway, maybe one day, somewhere else.
Thank you sis! Kisssssses!
Melissa
The pictures are amazzzzzing! Reading your posts are so dangerous for me…I end up adding it to my travel list and my hubby rolls his eyes lol! I love this post cause it’s a location I wouldn’t of thought to travel to, but it looks beautiful and plenty of things to do. Plus it’s giving me chilled peaceful vibes and perfect for a romantic trip!
Bugo
hahahaha Mel, your comments crack me up. He is going to block this website very soon!
I’m glad it’s making you have a rethink, you would actually love it there tbh. it’s your kind of vibe!
I have so many more trips planned this year so your list is going to get even longer x
Tife
Stunning pictures!
Bugo
Thank you Tife 🙂