From Cappadocia: Full-Day Green Tour with Derinkuyu Underground City & Ihlara Valley Trek

Full-day tour with lunch and tickets included. Our guide Ibrahim was fantastic—extremely knowledgeable and always ready to answer questions. An added bonus was that the guide was in touch with the underground city staff, so instead of going before lunch as scheduled, we went in the late afternoon when the site was much less crowded.

It was a varied tour. We visited the largest underground city, and our tour guide clearly explained what we were seeing and what it was used for. The hike through the Ihlara Valley was then a complete contrast.

Wonderful experience. I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in learning about the areas amazing history and who wish to enter a real cave city.

We did the Green Tour with Paphlagonia Travel and booked it through Headout. The tour is really beautiful. The hike in the Ihlara Valley along the Melendiz River, the impressive Kaymakli Underground City, and the Selime Monastery were absolutely fantastic. Everything was explained accurately and in detail by our super friendly guide. However, I'm deducting a few stars for the visits at the beginning and the end of the tour. I find that an absolute no-go. At the beginning, we visited a gemstone factory where we were, of course, offered the best and highest-quality stones like onyx and turquoise. We were promised a special "deal" where we would get a 50% discount. What's funny is that the prices were specially displayed in US dollars, with the justification that it would be easier for us to convert. Of course, the prices for them were ten times higher! At the end of the tour, there was the "cherry on top": a leather factory that staged a more than embarrassing fashion show for us. This was followed by a detailed explanation about the "best" lamb leather they use. The leather might not have been bad, but the design was mostly terrible and really old-fashioned. And what a coincidence: they were just celebrating their anniversary, and we were supposed to get 50% off here too – of course, also with tenfold increased prices in US dollars! Overall, the Green Tour was nice, but such tourist traps should not be offered by reputable agencies!

I find it disrespectful that they used my time to learn about Turkey for visits to jewelry and sweet shops. Half of the tour time was spent on shopping. If I want to go shopping, I wouldn't choose that day for a guided tour.