Best Experiences

Most tours on this site are built around a guide explaining what you see. The experiences on this page work the other way round: you do something, and the place is the setting. That means a balloon at sunrise, a quad bike in a valley, a flying-dress shoot on a rooftop or an hour in a helicopter seat. They are short, often one to three hours, and they fit into gaps between longer tours.

Cappadocia: balloons and valleys

The largest group of experiences is in Cappadocia, and most of those are about balloons. There are four flight levels. The standard balloon flight starts at $199 per person, the comfortable flight at $275, the premium luxury flight at $399 and a private luxury balloon for your party alone at $2,999. All include hotel transfers, a licensed pilot, flight insurance, a champagne toast and a certificate. The difference is mainly how many people share the basket with you: the cheaper the flight, the fuller the basket.

If a flight is not for you, the balloon watching tour takes you to a viewpoint for $35 per person, and the balloon photo shoot at $399 per person gives you a flying dress, three locations and 250 photos with 15 edited. For the afternoon, the sunset ATV quad safari through Red and Rose Valley starts at $49 per person.

A practical note: balloon flights are cancelled when the wind is too strong, often at short notice and usually on the morning itself. If your only free morning in Cappadocia is the last one, you have no second chance. Book the first morning if you can.

Istanbul: shopping, photos and the air

In Istanbul the experiences are more about access than adrenaline. The private shopping tour of the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market costs $200 per person for four hours with a guide who knows which shops sell what and at what price; see our Grand Bazaar guide before you go. The flying dress rooftop photo shoot is $190 per person, with 250 photos, 13 edited shots and a reel; hair and make-up are not included. The private helicopter tour over the Bosphorus is $797.50 per person for 30 minutes in the air, with a guide and van transfers.

Who these suit and who they don't

• Couples: the balloon flights, the photo shoots and the helicopter suit an anniversary or a proposal.
• Families with teenagers: the ATV, camel and horse rides in Cappadocia suit them; check the minimum age on each tour page.
• Travellers with limited mobility: the balloon basket requires climbing in over the side, and the quad bikes need a steady grip, so these are not suitable for everyone.

Prices on this page are per person, and none of them include meals unless stated. Photos and videos taken by the operators' crews, for example on the balloon flights and ATV rides, are sold separately.

Combining experiences with tours

Most experiences take one to three hours, so they pair with a guided tour on the same day. In Cappadocia, a sunrise flight followed by a guided day in the valleys is the standard plan. In Istanbul, the food and night options in our food tours list suit the evening after a shopping tour. For bigger occasions, see our luxury tours with private yachts and chauffeured cars, and the Cappadocia balloon photo shoot guide for sunrise times by month.