The main reason I came to turkey was to ride in a hot air balloon in Cappadocia, and finally the day was upon me. I had seen all the beautiful photographs going viral every month with the harsh rock landscapes below and countless balloons emerging from the valleys below but now it was my turn to see it from a different perspective…
I chose to fly with Royal Balloon in Cappadocia, they’re about 20 euro pricier than some of the other companies but their safety record is perfect (that and they give you a champagne breakfast upon landing!).
It’s an early start for the hot air ballooning, you get picked up around 5am and driven close to the take off site. From there you have a delicious buffet breakfast and (nervously) check the weather forecast. Luckily we had a clear day, although people had been waiting 3 or 4 days for the weather to improve so if the experience is on your bucket list be prepared to hang around for a few days just incase.
After getting the all clear, we headed over to the take off site. As we’re getting driven towards our balloon you can see some of the other balloons taking off. It’s still quite dark though as we’re waiting for the sun to rise properly.
Finally they start to inflate our balloon and it’s time to properly check out the bucket list item. Off we went. The sun was rising, and beginning to peak through the fog in the distance. More and more balloons were joining the party.
After 5 minutes or so we were up, and finally I was in the shot that I had been seeing for years. Balloons and amazing landscape in every direction, the sun bursting past the horizon and I was loving it. The next 60 minutes disappeared in a heartbeat.
Suat, our superstar pilot, landed us safely and the ground team were there waiting for us. Within 5 minutes we were being handed Champagne flutes and cheersing the morning of a lifetime. It might have taken years to get here, but it was worth the wait.
As you know, blogging changed my life. I left Ireland broke, with no plan, with just a one-way ticket to Thailand and no money. Since then, I started a blog, then a digital media company, I’ve made more than $1,500,000 USD, bought 4 properties and visited (almost) every country in the world. And I did it all from my laptop as I travel the world and live my dream.
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Looks good! After paragliding, I think my choice would be doing this. Love the photos!
is it super hot in the balloon from the fire>?
It’s always a great feeling to check something off a bucket list. I’ve always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon but never specified where. I might be in this area next year and will definitely considering doing this. Waking up at 5 am I would imagine would be well worth the view that you get at the time.
That was so worth the wait! This is one thing on our bucket list that we do not want to miss!!
well done for ticking it off your bucket list. I got to Cappadocia but didn’t have the budget to do hot air ballooning. I wish I had off, its really one of those things you should do whilst your there. . However I would love to go horse riding in Capadocia!