Antalya to Cappadocia: flight, drive and bus

Antalya to Cappadocia is about 540 km by road, about 7 hours of driving via Konya. There is no reliable direct flight. [to verify: whether any seasonal Antalya to Kayseri service runs this season] The usual air route connects through Istanbul and takes most of a day. For a Gulf family we book a driver and make a day of the road.

Is there a flight from Antalya to Cappadocia?

Not one you can plan around. Antalya's airport is built for holiday flights to Europe and the Gulf, and the domestic routes point to Istanbul and Ankara. Direct flights to Kayseri have appeared in some summers and vanished the next, so check the airline sites for your dates before you rely on one. [to verify: current Antalya to Kayseri and Nevşehir services and days]

The connecting route is Antalya to Istanbul, about 1 hour 15 minutes, then Istanbul to Kayseri or Nevşehir, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Add the connection time and the transfers at both ends and the door-to-door time is 7 to 9 hours, the same as the road. Read Istanbul to Cappadocia for the domestic flight table.

Driving from Antalya to Cappadocia

The road climbs from the coast over the Taurus mountains, crosses the plateau past Konya and reaches the valleys from the west. It is a good road, mostly dual carriageway, and the scenery changes from sea to pine forest to open steppe within two hours.

With a driver, the day is comfortable. Leave Antalya at 08:00, stop in Konya for lunch and the Mevlana Museum, and arrive in Göreme by 17:00 for sunset from the terrace. With a hire car it is the same road with a tired driver at the end. Returning the car to Antalya later makes the trip longer than it needs to be.

In winter the pass over the Taurus and the plateau around Konya can see snow and ice. From December to February we only run this transfer in daylight and watch the forecast the day before.

The bus from Antalya to Cappadocia

Long-distance coaches run from Antalya's bus station to Nevşehir and Göreme, most of them overnight. [to verify: duration, typically quoted as 9 to 10 hours, and operators] The coaches are comfortable by regional standards, with a steward and stops every few hours. The fare is low.

For a couple on a budget, it works. For a family of five with luggage and small children, an overnight arrival at a bus station followed by a taxi hunt is not the way to start Cappadocia. We do not book it for families.

How to combine Antalya and Cappadocia

The pattern Gulf families like is a beach week and a valley stay in one trip. Two ways to arrange it.

Antalya first. Fly from the Gulf to Antalya direct, five or six nights at a resort, then the road to Cappadocia with a driver on day 7. Three nights in the valleys, then fly home from Kayseri via Istanbul. This puts the early balloon mornings at the end, after everyone has rested.

Cappadocia first. Fly into Kayseri via Istanbul, three nights, then the road to Antalya. This puts the beach at the end and means the flight home leaves from Antalya, which has more direct Gulf services. It also means the balloon flight is done before the trip settles into resort mode.

Either way, land the day before the balloon and give the flight two mornings. The airports page compares Kayseri and Nevşehir for the Cappadocia end.

Stops on the road worth making

• Konya. The Mevlana Museum, the tomb of Rumi, is the main reason to stop, and the town is used to Gulf visitors. Lunch here is the natural break.
• Sultanhanı caravanserai. A 13th-century roadside inn between Konya and Aksaray. Half an hour, and children like the scale of it.
• Ihlara Valley. A green gorge south-west of Cappadocia with a river and rock churches. Adds two hours and is better as a separate day trip from Göreme.

What the desk arranges

We run private cars and minivans between Antalya hotels and Cappadocia hotels with a stop in Konya. Prices are per vehicle for up to seven passengers and quoted in dirhams before payment. They are indicative as of the date at the top of this page; the live price is on the booking page.