Meet Ying Ying, our guest travel blogger. Let's immerse ourselves in the magical Turkish sky.
A trip to Türkiye is a rare opportunity in life, and when visiting, one must explore Cappadocia, known for its hot air balloons and cave hotels. It's a place where everyone will definitely take countless photos. If you love photography like I do, you can refer to this blog for tips on how to prepare your clothes, how to capture photos, and the best photo-taking time and location.
Cappadocia, Türkiye - Cave Hotels, and Hot Air Balloon Balcony
Confirm the hot air balloon information in advance; don't waste your time in vain.
Hot air balloons don't fly every day, and the decision will be announced the evening before. Whether they fly or not depends on wind speed and direction. If there's no plan to fly, there's no need to wake up early the next morning and wait.
Choose accommodation with a photogenic balcony.
Not every hotel in Cappadocia can successfully capture photos of hot air balloons, and not all cave hotels have terraces that are Instagram-worthy. Therefore, it's crucial to confirm in advance that your booked cave hotel has a terrace suitable for photography. Finding this information is simple; you can check the hotel's photos on booking websites or search on Instagram to see if others have posted pictures. I usually check Instagram and also take the opportunity to see how others are dressed and what their photos look like around the time you plan to visit.
Pay attention to the time of day when taking hot air balloon photos.
The balloons take off before sunrise, so it's recommended to check your phone for the sunrise time, prepare at least half an hour in advance, and continuously check the sky for any balloons ascending. Here’s the takeoff time of my hot air balloon experience for reference down below ( times vary with the season; I visited in mid-November, so the sunrise time was later, likely around four or five in the morning during the summer. )
Travel Date: November 21
Hot Air Balloon Takeoff Time: 7:04 am
Best Shooting Time: 7:15~7:45 am
Temperature During Shooting: -3°C~0°C
The hot air balloon shooting time is about less than an hour.
It is recommended to head to the balcony as soon as you see the first balloon because there might already be people waiting. Initially, there are only a few balloons in the sky, and it takes about 10 to 15 minutes for the sky to be filled with balloons. The time is very short, so it's crucial to seize the photo-taking opportunity. We arrived at the balcony around 7:10 am, and by the time we finished taking photos, it was around 7:35 am.
Outfit Suggestions:
I suggest wearing a red dress! And in summer, the dress with spaghetti straps is perfect! Or any strapless and backless maxi dress. You can also look for a longer and larger skirt! It looks really stunning and eye-catching for photo-taking.
Hot air balloon Instagram-worthy photos, Instagrammable balcony, cave hotel hot air balloon terrace, hot air balloon balcony.
Because the time for taking photos at this location may be a one-time opportunity, missing it can be truly regrettable! Therefore, it's essential to clarify this information beforehand to avoid missing out and turning it into a major regret in your journey.
For this 10-day in-depth trip to Türkiye, I joined a refined tour group. The itinerary included a hot air balloon experience and two nights in cave hotels. The designated cave hotels, in addition to Lunar Cappadocia Hotel, included Best Western Premier Cave Cappadocia or Cappadocia Estates Hotel (without specifying which one). This was the main reason why I chose this tour. Furthermore, our group consisted of 25 people traveling by bus. Considering the long hours of travel in Türkiye, having a bus with spacious and comfortable seating is genuinely important. I highly recommend this Türkiye tour based on our experience.
The above photos were taken during my stay at Lunar Cappadocia Hotel :)
