The Itinerary 
Turkey honeymoon in 7 days: a cave suite, the balloon and the Lycian coast
Seven days that pair the two things Turkey does best for a honeymoon: a cave suite in Cappadocia with a balloon at dawn, and three nights on the Lycian coast at Kaş. One night in Istanbul at the front, and the sightseeing deliberately thin after day three.
- Middle East
- 7 days
- ≈ AED 6,900 / person
- The balloon morning and then four days of doing nothing on a turquoise coast
Before you go
The seven-day Turkey route splits Istanbul and Cappadocia, which is the right shape for a first visit. A honeymoon wants a beach at the end of it.
This one keeps Cappadocia and the balloon, cuts Istanbul to a single night, and spends the back half on the Lycian coast at Kaş — which is the good version of the Turkish coast, not the all-inclusive version.
A cave suite, a dawn flight over the valleys, and then three days of swimming off a boat. Figure EUR 1,690 (≈ AED 6,920) per person. May, June, September and early October.
Before you go: the admin
Entry
- Many nationalities enter visa-free, including the GCC states and most of the EU, typically for 90 days.
- Others use the official e-Visa, applied for online in minutes. Indian passport holders are eligible, and holders of a valid Schengen, UK, US or Irish visa or residence permit have a simpler route.
- Apply on the official e-Visa site only. Lookalike sites charge several times the fee.
- Last checked: 30 October 2026.
The balloon, and the cave suite
- Book two nights in Cappadocia so you get two balloon mornings. Flights are cancelled for wind and low cloud, and a single morning is a coin toss.
- Book the flight for the first morning, leaving the second as the retry.
- Confirm the operator’s cancellation policy in writing, and do not pay cash to a tout.
- A genuine cave room is cut into the rock; many “cave hotels” have a mix. Ask for a room with a valley-facing terrace — you want to watch the balloons go up from your own roof, which is the image people actually remember.
- Göreme has the best balloon views; Uçhisar and Ortahisar are quieter.
Where on the coast
- Kaş — a small harbour town on the Lycian coast, with clear water, Greek islands offshore and almost no package hotels. The best choice on this itinerary.
- Kalkan — next door, steeper, more villa-rental in character, with a lot of rooftop restaurants.
- Antalya — the big city and the airport, with the old town of Kaleiçi worth a night if you want it.
- Avoid the large all-inclusive strips at Belek and Side unless that is specifically what you want; it is a different holiday.
Getting around
- Fly Istanbul–Kayseri or Nevşehir for Cappadocia, about 90 minutes, then an hour’s transfer.
- Fly Kayseri–Antalya, usually via Istanbul, then drive to Kaş — about three and a half hours along the coast. The drive is beautiful and is part of the trip.
- A hire car on the coast is worth it. The Lycian coast is made of small bays and you want to reach them.
Money
- Turkish lira, though this is costed in euros because lira inflation makes a local-currency budget stale within months.
- Cards work nearly everywhere. Cash for village tea houses and small boats.
Day by day
Day 1 — Istanbul, one night
- Arrive and go to Sultanahmet. One night is deliberate — the city deserves more and this trip is not that trip.
- 15:00 — Hagia Sophia. Buy the gallery ticket, not just the floor.
- 16:30 — The Basilica Cistern, ten minutes away and underground.
- 18:00 — A Bosphorus ferry at sunset, which is the cheapest good hour in the city.
- 20:00 — Dinner in Karaköy.
Day 2 — To Cappadocia, and the valleys
- 09:00 — Fly to Kayseri or Nevşehir, then transfer.
- 12:00 — Check into the cave suite. Terrace, and lunch.
- 15:00 — The Göreme Open-Air Museum — rock-cut churches with Byzantine frescoes, UNESCO listed. The Dark Church costs extra and has the best-preserved painting.
- 17:30 — Sunset from Red Valley or Love Valley. The rock turns orange and pink in the last hour and this is the walk everyone does for a reason.
- 20:00 — A testi kebab, cooked and cracked open in a clay pot at the table.
- Early night. The pickup is before dawn.
Day 3 — The balloon, then underground
- 05:00 — Pickup. You will know the night before or at dawn whether it flies.
- 06:30 — Up over Göreme as the sun comes. A hundred envelopes rising together over the chimneys — it is as good as the photographs and it is over in an hour.
- 09:00 — Back for breakfast on the terrace.
- 11:00 — Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu underground city — eight levels cut into soft rock, built as refuge, and a constant temperature year round.
- 14:00 — Avanos for pottery on the Red River, or Uçhisar Castle for the highest view in the region.
- 17:00 — A hammam, and the terrace again.
- If the balloon was cancelled, tomorrow morning is the retry.
Day 4 — Across to the coast
- A long travel day, and worth it.
- Morning — the retry balloon if you need it, otherwise a slow start.
- 11:00 — Fly to Antalya, usually via Istanbul.
- 15:00 — Collect a car and drive west to Kaş, about three and a half hours along one of the best coast roads in the Mediterranean. Stop at a bay on the way.
- 19:00 — Arrive. Kaş is small, walkable and built around a harbour, with a Lycian rock tomb standing in the middle of a residential street.
Day 5 — The boat day
- 09:00 — A gulet out of Kaş. This is the day the coast is for.
- The standard run goes to Kekova — the sunken city, a Lycian settlement partly submerged by earthquake, visible through the water along the shoreline. You cannot swim over the ruins themselves, which are protected, but the bay is spectacular.
- Simena — a village under a crusader castle, reachable only by boat, with tombs standing in the water.
- Lunch is cooked on board and the better boats take it seriously.
- A private or small-group charter is the meaningful honeymoon upgrade here; the big boats run 60 people.
- 17:30 — Back into the harbour.
- 20:00 — Dinner on the waterfront.
Day 6 — Lycia, or nothing at all
- The flexible day.
- Patara — 18km of empty sand, one of the longest beaches in the Mediterranean, with a Roman city and a loggerhead turtle nesting site behind it. Development is restricted because of the turtles, which is why it is still empty.
- Or Kaputaş, a small turquoise cove below the road between Kaş and Kalkan, reached by a long staircase.
- Or Saklıkent gorge, inland, where you wade up a canyon in cold water — a good hot-day option.
- Or the Lycian Way — a section of the long-distance path above the sea, which does not need a commitment to walk a piece of.
- Or diving. Kaş is the best diving town on the Turkish coast and the water is clear.
- Sunset — the harbour, and a last long dinner.
Day 7 — Out
- Antalya airport is about three and a half hours from Kaş, so a late-morning departure from the town at the latest.
- If the flight is late, Kaleiçi, Antalya’s walled old town, is worth two hours — Hadrian’s Gate and the harbour.
- Allow three hours at Antalya in summer. It is a busy airport.
Costs and practicalities
Best time to visit
May, June, September and early October.
- May and June — warm, in flower, the sea swimmable from June, and Cappadocia at its best before the heat. The best window.
- July and August — very hot on the coast and in Cappadocia, busiest and most expensive. Balloons fly reliably; everything else is uncomfortable in the middle of the day.
- September — the sea at its warmest, the crowds thinning, and Cappadocia comfortable again. The other best month.
- Early October — quiet and lovely, though coastal places begin to close from mid-month.
- November to April — the coast largely shuts, and Cappadocia under snow is a different and very good trip — the winter route covers that one.
Travel tips
- Two nights in Cappadocia minimum, so the balloon has a retry morning.
- Ask for a valley-facing terrace. Watching the launch from your own roof is half the experience.
- Hire a car on the coast. The bays are the point and the bus will not take you to them.
- Book a small-group or private gulet, not a 60-person boat.
- Check what is closed. The Grand Bazaar shuts on Sundays and some museums on Mondays.
- Boots with grip for the Cappadocia valleys — the paths are loose volcanic rock.
- Patara is restricted at dusk in turtle season. Respect the signs; the nesting beach is why it is still empty.
- The Antalya to Kaş drive is three and a half hours. Do not plan it as a quick transfer.
What this trip actually costs
Two people, 6 nights, cave suite and a coast hotel, international flights excluded:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Cappadocia cave suite, 2 nights | EUR 620 (≈ AED 2,539) |
| Kaş hotel, 3 nights | EUR 900 (≈ AED 3,685) |
| Istanbul hotel, 1 night | EUR 220 (≈ AED 901) |
| Balloon flight, two people | EUR 420 (≈ AED 1,720) |
| Domestic flights, two people | EUR 320 (≈ AED 1,310) |
| Car hire, gulet day, transfers and dining | EUR 900 (≈ AED 3,685) |
| Total for two | EUR 3,380 (≈ AED 13,840) |
- Roughly EUR 1,690 (≈ AED 6,920) per person, against about 1,015 for the standard seven days — the balloon, the coast leg and better rooms.
- The balloon is a quarter of the accommodation budget and is the line nobody drops.
- A shared gulet instead of a small-group charter saves meaningfully and changes the day considerably.
- September rather than August moves the hotel line and makes the middle of the day usable.
- Hotel picks here are chosen on location, not on commission — always check prices and recent reviews before booking.
What to pack
- A warm layer for the balloon. Dawn at altitude in May is cold even when the day will hit 30°C.
- Boots or trainers with grip for the Cappadocia valleys.
- Reef shoes — many Lycian coves are pebble and rock.
- Reef-safe sunscreen and a hat.
- Modest cover for mosque visits in Istanbul; a scarf for women.
- A Type C/F adapter, 230V.
Part of a bigger trip?
- Turkey in 7 days is Istanbul and Cappadocia with more time in the city.
- Turkey in 11 days adds Ephesus and more of the coast.
- Turkey in winter is Cappadocia under snow.
- Istanbul in 3 days if you want to give the city its due before the coast.
- Turkey and Greece in 14 days crosses to the islands.
FAQ
How many nights do we need in Cappadocia for the balloon? Two, so that a cancelled first morning has a retry. Flights are grounded for wind and low cloud often enough that a single morning is a genuine gamble, and the balloon is usually the reason people come.
Is one night in Istanbul enough? No, and that is a deliberate compromise. Istanbul deserves three days of its own. This itinerary treats it as an arrival point so the back half can be a beach — if the city matters more than the coast, take the standard route instead.
Kaş, Kalkan or Antalya? Kaş for a honeymoon: small, walkable, built round a harbour, clear water and very few package hotels. Kalkan is steeper and more villa-oriented. Antalya is a city with an airport and a good old town, but it is not where you want three nights.
Is the gulet day worth it? It is the best day on the coast. Book a small-group or private boat rather than a sixty-person one — the route to Kekova and Simena is the same, and the day is completely different.
When is the sea warm enough? June through October, with September the warmest. May is swimmable for the hardy and the land weather is perfect. By late October the coastal towns start shutting for the winter.
Prices and entry rules change, and what you need depends on your passport; last checked 30 October 2026, so confirm with the embassy or your airline before booking.
