Cappadocia Red Tour vs Green Tour 2027: Stops, Prices, Which to Book

The Red Tour and the Green Tour are the two standard guided day tours of Cappadocia, and almost every hotel desk in Göreme sells both. The Red Tour stays in the north, around Göreme, Avanos and the fairy chimneys of Paşabağ. The Green Tour heads south and west to an underground city, the Ihlara Valley and the rock-cut Selime Monastery. Ours cost $60 and $70 with lunch and entrance fees, and the question we get every week is which one to book if you only have time for one.

The answer depends on how fit you are, what you have already seen and how many days you have. Below we compare the two stop by stop, with the ticket prices that are bundled into each, the walking involved and the 2027 price rises at the sites. In short: on a one-day stay, take the Red Tour. On two days or more, do both, Red first.

What the Red Tour covers

The Red Tour takes its name from the pink and red volcanic rock of the valleys around Göreme. Our version starts with a stop at the Göreme Panorama viewpoint, then heads to Devrent Valley, where erosion has carved shapes people like to name (the camel is the famous one). Next comes Paşabağ, or Monks Valley, with the multi-headed fairy chimneys that appear on half the postcards in Cappadocia.

Lunch is in Avanos, the pottery town on the Kızılırmak river, usually with a stop at a workshop where potters still use kick wheels. The afternoon brings Zelve, an abandoned valley village that was inhabited until the 1950s, and finally Love Valley, with its tall, smooth pillars.

The ticket for Zelve-Paşabağları is €12 this season and rises to €13 from 1 April 2027 under the ministry's new tariff. On our tour it is included in the price. Walking is short and mostly on flat ground; Zelve has some slopes and steps, but you can skip the steeper sections. Our tour runs about six hours with hotel pick-up.

What the Green Tour covers

The Green Tour is named after the greenery of the Ihlara Valley, a 14 km canyon with a river at the bottom and painted churches cut into its walls. It is the longer day. After the Göreme Panorama, the bus heads south to Derinkuyu underground city, the deepest of the region's underground settlements open to visitors. The ministry leaflet gives about 85 metres including the well at the bottom; you walk down narrow stairs and crouch through low tunnels.

From there it is more than an hour's drive to Ihlara Valley in Aksaray province, where the group walks a section of the riverside path, typically a few kilometres on an easy trail, before lunch by the water at Belisırma. In the afternoon comes Selime Monastery, a cathedral-sized complex cut into a cliff, then Pigeon Valley on the way back to Göreme. Our Green Tour runs about seven hours.

Derinkuyu costs €13 now and €15 from April 2027. Ihlara is listed at €15. Both are included in our tour price, which is why the Green Tour costs $10 more than the Red.

Red vs Green: side by side

Which one to book

One day in Cappadocia: book the Red Tour. It shows you the landscape people come for, with little time in the bus, and it leaves your evening free after a dawn balloon flight.

Two days: do both, Red first. The Red Tour gives you the overview; the Green Tour shows the parts most visitors miss. If you are travelling in winter, keep the Green Tour for a dry day, because the Ihlara path can be muddy after rain or snow.

Older travellers or anyone with bad knees: the Red Tour is much easier. In Derinkuyu the stairs are steep and some passages are low enough that tall adults bend almost double. Some Ihlara entrances involve a long stairway down to the river; ask your guide which access point the group will use on the day.

Families with teenagers: the Green Tour, without a doubt. The underground city is the part children remember.

Some travellers ask whether they should add the Göreme Open Air Museum. It is not on our Red Tour itinerary, because Zelve covers the same kind of rock-cut chapels with fewer people. If you want the famous frescoes of the Dark Church, visit Göreme at 08:00 on your own or with a private guide; the ticket is €20 now and €22 from April 2027.

What this means for your trip

Plan two full days on the ground in Cappadocia and you can fit a balloon flight on one morning and both tours. Our Cappadocia 2-day trip from Istanbul with flights, Red and Green tours from $800 and the 3-day flight package with both tours from $1,050 are built exactly that way.

In winter the main sites keep the 08:00 to 17:00 timetable until 1 April, with ticket offices closing at 16:15, and the sun sets before 17:00 in December. Tours start a little earlier and lunch is shorter. Our report on Cappadocia museum ticket prices for 2027 has the full tariff, and Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı compares the two underground cities. Each tour also has its own page: the Red Tour and the Green Tour.

Questions travellers are asking

Plan it with us

We run the Red and Green tours every day of the year and can combine them with a balloon flight, a night show or a full package from Istanbul. Message us on WhatsApp: +90 545 307 67 88.

• Cappadocia Red Tour: Paşabağ, Zelve and Avanos with lunch, from $60
• Cappadocia Green Tour: Derinkuyu, Ihlara and Selime with lunch, from $70
• Standard sunrise hot air balloon flight, from $199
• Sunset ATV quad safari in the Red and Rose valleys, from $49
• Cappadocia 2 days from Istanbul with both tours and flights, from $800

Sources: Ministry of Culture and Tourism site pages on turkishmuseums.com (2026 prices and winter hours), checked 17 October 2026; Ministry of Culture and Tourism 2027 tariff as reported by BHA, 11 September 2026; getistanbultours.com tour itineraries and prices, 23 October 2026.