Red Tour or Green Tour: The Short Answer
Choose the Red Tour (€35, 09:30–17:00) if you have one day, want the classic fairy chimney landscapes and prefer easy walking. Choose a Green Tour (Eco €40 or Deluxe €55, from 09:00) if you want an underground city and Ihlara Valley. If you have two days, do both. Stops vary by company, so compare the stop list rather than the colour. Everything below describes our own tours.
Red vs Green at a Glance
Red Tour: €35 all inclusive, 09:30–17:00, up to 18 people. Uçhisar Castle, Paşabağ, Avanos, Zelve Open Air Museum, and photo stops at Devrent and Love Valleys.
Eco Green Tour: €40 all inclusive, 09:00–18:00, up to 20 people. Göreme Panorama, an underground city, Ihlara Valley, Nar Crater Lake and craft workshops.
Deluxe Green Tour: €55 all inclusive, 09:00–17:30, up to 15 people. Göreme Panorama, Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı Underground City, a 3.5 km Ihlara Valley walk, a riverside lunch and Selime Monastery.
What You See on the Red Tour
The Red Tour stays in the area around Göreme and Avanos. You get panoramic views from Uçhisar Castle, walk among the mushroom-shaped chimneys of Paşabağ, watch a pottery demonstration in Avanos, explore the rock-cut churches of Zelve Open Air Museum and stop for photos at Devrent and Love Valleys. Lunch, museum tickets, hotel transfers and a licensed guide are included. Our current programme goes to Zelve rather than the Göreme Open-Air Museum, so if Göreme's frescoes are a priority, plan a separate visit. After the collapse near the museum entrance on 29 October 2026, check current access before you go; our guide to why fairy chimneys collapse explains what is known. The ministry's list notes that the Balıklı and Üzümlü churches, on the Zelve-Paşabağ ticket, are closed.
Eco or Deluxe? The Two Green Tours
Both go south to an underground city and Ihlara Valley.
Group size: up to 15 on Deluxe, up to 20 on Eco.
Main extra stop: Deluxe visits Selime Monastery. Eco visits Nar Crater Lake, subject to weather and road conditions.
Ihlara Valley: Deluxe includes a 3.5 km walk along the Melendiz River. Eco has scenic views and a gentler hike.
Lunch: a riverside restaurant on Deluxe, a traditional lunch in a local village on Eco.
Workshops: onyx on Deluxe; onyx, leather and pottery on Eco. Eco's itinerary has a separate workshop stop at 16:00.
Choose Deluxe if you want the 3.5 km canyon walk, Selime Monastery and a smaller group, and accept paying €15 more. Choose Eco for the lower price, Nar Crater Lake and a gentler walk, if a bigger group, more workshops and an 18:00 return suit you.
How Much Walking? Who Should Choose What
Red Tour: listed as suitable for all ages and fitness levels. Comfortable shoes are enough.
Green Tours: expect more effort. Deluxe includes a 3.5 km canyon walk, and Eco includes moderate walking.
Claustrophobia: underground cities have narrow passages, and we don't recommend them for people with severe claustrophobia. If that applies to you, the Red Tour is the better choice.
First-time visitors: we suggest starting with the Red Tour, which covers the landscapes most people picture when they think of Cappadocia.
Budget or All Inclusive? The Real Cost
Each of these tours also has a Budget Friendly package at about half the price, without lunch or entry tickets, which you pay for yourself. Adding the ministry's listed fees for foreign visitors shows when it actually saves money:
Red Tour: Budget Friendly €18 + Zelve-Paşabağ ticket €12 = €30 before lunch, against €35 all inclusive.
Eco Green Tour: Budget Friendly €20 + underground city €13 + Ihlara Valley €15 = €48 before lunch, against €40 all inclusive.
Deluxe Green Tour: Budget Friendly €28 + underground city €13 + Ihlara Valley €15 = €56 before lunch, against €55 all inclusive.
So for foreign visitors, all inclusive is cheaper on both Green Tours. On the Red Tour, Budget Friendly is cheaper only if your lunch costs less than €5. Even on all inclusive, drinks at lunch, tips and personal expenses are extra. If you hold a Turkish ID and a Müzekart, the list shows entry with the card at these sites, so you would pay no entry fee on Budget Friendly.
These are our own sums using the list as of November 2026. Fees can change. Uçhisar Castle, Selime Monastery and Nar Crater Lake don't appear by name on the list, so we haven't added a fee for them.
One Day or Two?
With one day, choose the Red Tour unless the underground city and Ihlara Valley are what you came for. With two days, take the Red Tour one day and a Green Tour the next, as in our 2-day itinerary. You can add a balloon flight on your first morning: the schedule on the tour page returns you to your hotel around 08:00, before the 09:00–09:30 tour pick-ups. In winter that timing is unlikely to work, as our Cappadocia in winter guide explains, and flights can be cancelled, so read what happens if your balloon flight is cancelled first.
How to Book
Open the tour page for the Red Tour, Eco Green Tour or Deluxe Green Tour, pick a date and package, and send your booking request. We will contact you with further details, and you aren't charged until your booking is confirmed. For an overview of market prices, see our Cappadocia tour prices guide.
