Travel from Ankara to Cappadocia, Turkey

From Ankara to Cappadocia

Esbelli Evi Cave Inn
Ürgüp, Cappadocia

There are no non-stop flights to make the 285-km (177-mile) trip between Ankara and Cappadocia (map), the trains (see below) are slow and run mostly at inconvenient times, so the best way to go is by road: bus or car.

By Bus
Nevtur buses depart Ankara's AŞTİ main bus terminal about every two hours for Nevşehir (and vice-versa). The journey takes 4 hours, including a 25-minute stop about 1-1/4 hours into the journey to stretch your legs, use the toilet, have a glass of tea, a meal or a smoke (no smoking on the bus). The fare is TL20.

Buy your ticket at Nevtur, AŞTİ ticket counter no. 50. (Here's how to buy bus tickets in Turkey.)

Nevşehir Seyahat also runs at least six buses daily. Here's the schedule.

When you arrive at Nevşehir's bus terminal, you'll be transferred to a shuttle minibus (servis) for the final part of your journey to one of Cappadocia's towns such as Göreme, Uçhisar or Ürgüp. The cost of the minibus trip is usually included in your bus ticket fare.

By Car
Fight your way through Ankara traffic to the E-90 highway south, following signs for Aksaray, 219 km (136 miles, 3 hours). At Aksaray, turn left (east) following signs for Nevşehir, 73 km (45 miles, 1 hour).

Just at the junction of E-90 and the Nevşehir highway in Aksaray is the Orhan Ağaçlı Tesisleri, an elaborate commercial highway rest stop with a motel, restaurant, cafeteria, snack stands, toilets, souvenir shops, fuel and service stations, even a small mosque.

By Train
The main railway line runs from Ankara to Kayseri, then splits, one line running east to Sivas, the other south to Niğde, Karaman and Adana, skirting Cappadocia to the east and south.

Express trains take about seven hours to cover the distance between Ankara and Kayseri. (Compare this to the bus's four hours from Ankara to Nevşehir.)

Erzurum Ekspresi leaves Ankara in early afternoon and arrives at Kayseri in the evening. Güney Ekspresi departs Ankara early in the morning, and arrives at Kayseri in mid-afteroon. Çukurova Mavi Tren and Doğu Ekspresi depart Ankara in the evening and arrive at Kayseri in the middle of the night.

A taxi between Ankara Gar (railway station) and AŞTİ (main bus terminal) takes about 10 minutes in light traffic, and costs about TL10.

Getting to Cappadocia

Towns of Cappadocia

Cappadocia Hotels

Cappadocia Restaurants

Cappadocia Region

Cappadocia Region Map

Central Anatolia

Where to Go

Cappadocian cave houses.

Above, view from a cave room in Ürgüp.

Below, ASTI Bus Terminal, Ankara.