Moira Travel Agency · Göreme
A full day around Göreme by minibus: the Open Air Museum, Özkonak underground city, Paşabağ, Avanos and the Pigeon Valley viewpoint. It does not stop at Uchisar Castle; book it for the cheapest guided day in the area and add the castle yourself.
Moira Travel Agency runs this as a classic red tour with an underground city bolted on. The minibus collects you from your hotel, starts at the Göreme panorama, then spends two hours at the Göreme Open Air Museum and an hour inside Özkonak underground city, a smaller and quieter site north of Avanos than Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu. After that come Paşabağ and its fairy chimneys, an hour in Avanos and a last stop at the Pigeon Valley viewpoint.
Be clear about one thing before you book: this tour does not stop at Uchisar Castle. The Pigeon Valley viewpoint looks across at the rock, and that is as close as you get. If the castle is the reason you're in Cappadocia, pick a red tour that stops there, such as the classic route with 45 minutes at the castle or the tour with a 55-minute stop.
The $18 is the per-person rate for the largest group, and a couple sees a higher price once they enter two travellers. Entrance fees are on top: the Göreme museum is €20, Paşabağ sits on the €12 Zelve-Paşabağ ticket and Özkonak costs a few euros, so plan on about €35 each if you go in everywhere. One guest wrote that the $18 tour "quickly got up to +$60" with fees. Lunch is extra too (a guest paid €15 for the buffet), and recent reviews mention three shopping stops: pottery, jewellery, leather or sweets. You pay for each ticket at the gate, by card or in lira, and can skip any you don't want.
The minibus collects you in the Göreme area, then 30 minutes at the panorama viewpoint above the town.
Rock-cut churches and chapels with frescoes. Ticket €20 at the gate (the Dark Church costs a few euros more).
Narrow tunnels and rooms carved several levels down. Small ticket at the gate; low ceilings in places.
Lunch at a buffet restaurant (paid by you), plus a pottery workshop and other craft or jewellery stops along the route.
The mushroom-capped chimneys of Monks Valley, on the Zelve-Paşabağ ticket.
An hour in the pottery town on the Kızılırmak river, then 30 minutes above Pigeon Valley looking towards Uchisar before the drive back.
★★★★★A very good day with reasonable level of walking and steps etc. The tour leader Gizem was very informative and knowledgeable and gave us a lot of information throughout the day at the scheduled stops. [...] Lunch was excellent and very good value - €15 all you can eat buffet (drink not included).
★★★★★Great way to spend a day in and around Göreme and surrounds to see and do all of the sights in one comfortable day, with everything organised for you. [...] You will have to pay for lunch (which was really affordable and delicious by the way) and ticketed entry to the sights, which works well especially if with a group and some do not want to visit a particular place.
★★★★★Zehre, our guide, is the most knowledgeable person we ever met during such trips across the world. She not just takes you to each and every point on the itinerary but also explains every point. [...] our guide made it even better by altering order of viewing to avoid crowds.
★★★★★Before each stop he gave us information about the place we were about to see, then we had opportunity to explore the sites ourselves. My favourite stops were Goreme open air museum and Pasabag.
Read next:
No. The itinerary ends at the Pigeon Valley viewpoint, which looks across to the Uchisar rock, but there's no castle stop and no climb. Visit it on your own: it's 4 km from Göreme by bus or on foot through Pigeon Valley, or pick a red tour that stops there, such as the one with 55 minutes at the castle.
The $18 is the per-person rate for the largest group; two travellers pay more each, and Viator shows the real figure once you enter your group size. Add the Göreme Open Air Museum (€20), Zelve-Paşabağ (€12) and Özkonak (a few euros), and lunch (about €15). Expect around $60 to $80 per person all in.
Özkonak, north of Avanos. It is smaller and quieter than Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu, and its ticket is the cheapest of the three. Expect tight passages and stairs; mind your head.
Yes. Recent guests counted three: a pottery workshop in Avanos plus jewellery, leather or sweet shops. Most said there was no pressure to buy, but one called the pottery prices predatory, so compare with shops in Göreme first.
Ready to book
The cheapest full day around Göreme with an underground city, if you can live without the castle stop.
Cappadocia Red Tour: Classic RouteThe lowest price with a real castle stop: 45 minutes at Uchisar, then Zelve, Paşabağ, Avanos and Devrent. Max 15.★ 5.0 · 6 to 7 hours · from $27
Red (North) Tour, Small Group with LunchThe most-booked red tour with an Uchisar stop: museum tickets and lunch included, 15 people at most, a short castle stop.★ 5.0 · 6 to 7 hours · from $33
Private Tour with Your Own Guide and CarYour own licensed guide and car for up to nine people, $189 per group. Change the route; tickets are paid at each gate.★ 4.9 · 6 to 8 hours · from $189