Cappadocia Voyager Balloons

A Cappadocia balloon company flying its own balloons

Cappadocia Voyager Balloons runs its own hot air balloon flights over Cappadocia, Turkey. It is a flight operator, not a booking agent: the team page names its pilots, its operations staff and its co-founders, and the homepage describes its own restaurant, fleet and take-off area. The office is at Cumhuriyet Mah, Kapadokya Cad, No:84, 50400 Avanos. The site says "our flights are centered around the scenic Goreme region, with take-offs happening near Goreme Town," and that the pickup covers "your hotel in Cappadocia." It does not sell flights anywhere else.

The company was founded by two Cappadocians. On the team page, co-founder Mehmet Halis Aydogan writes that he started showing the region to tourists in 1996 as a licensed tour guide, set up his first ballooning company in 1998, and founded Voyager with Teyfik Olmez in 2008. The team page describes Aydogan as "one of the most experienced hot-air ballooning pilot in Cappadocia" and Olmez as "a local japanese and English speaking tour guide since 1995." The same page says "our ten pilots and 47 land crew are happy to serve you."

Three kinds of flight

The site sells three flight types, and the booking panel prints prices for two of them in euros.

• Standard Flights use 20-passenger balloons with 4 compartments of 5 people, and a 60-minute flight. The price is €260 per person from 1 April to 1 November, and €160 per person in the winter season until 1 April.
• Comfort Flights use 16-passenger balloons with 4 compartments of 4 people, and a 75-minute flight. The price is €330 per person in the April to November season and €180 in winter.
• Exclusive Flights are "totally private for couples and families," with a 90-minute flight and "different size baskets." No price is printed for this one.

Each price card also lists "250.000 SDR per passenger," a figure the site does not explain further, and "Cash discount available." The site's list of what makes it different says it carries "the fewest passengers per balloon" and that its flight time is "longer than any other operators in the area." Those are the company's claims about itself.

What the price covers is spelled out: transfers from your hotel in Cappadocia, breakfast at the company's restaurant, the flight, a celebration with champagne, and flight certificates. The site says every booking is on "the first flight of the day, which takes off before sunrise."

The morning, step by step

The homepage walks through the day. The company tells you the pickup time, "typically about 90 minutes before sunrise, depending on your hotel's location." Luxury minibuses take you to its indoor restaurant, which the site says gets you there one hour before sunrise and keeps you "free of winds, dust and cold." The flight program says the restaurant serves filtered coffee, tea and croissants before the drive to the take-off area, while the top 10 list calls it "an open buffet, fully catered breakfast." Either way, it is indoors.

The take-off site changes daily: "we choose the most suitable take-off site for the day's flight, depending on the direction and the strength of winds." Inflation takes about 20 minutes, then comes the pilot briefing. The team page says the balloons float "up to heights of up to 2000 feet." After landing there is champagne and a personalized flight certificate. The whole excursion "lasts approximately 3.5 hours."

On equipment, the site says its balloons and equipment were made in 2013, 2015 and 2019 by the Spanish manufacturer UltraMagic, and that the baskets have "better and improved designs." It describes the pilots as FAA certified and says its balloons comply with Turkish Civil Aviation requirements. Safety claims are all in the company's voice: the team page says it "has one of the best safety records," and that its "safety standards and insurance coverage exceed Turkish, European and American regulations."

Languages vary by page. The team page says staff speak fluent English, Portuguese and Japanese; the balloons section lists English, Japanese, Korean and Spanish among the team's languages.

Booking, payment and weather

You book through the Book Now link, by phone or on WhatsApp. The FAQ recommends reserving before you arrive in Cappadocia, because "the balloon flights are limited in Cappadocia by Turkish Civil Aviation." The site lists several numbers: +90 532 717 50 50 in the header, +90 384 271 3030 as the office phone, and +90 532 347 1514 in the FAQ. The email is fly@voyagerballoons.com.

A reservation is confirmed when you pay the deposit or the full amount. The cash discount works like this: pay the deposit, get a confirmation, then on the flight day pay the balance in cash or by card; paying in cash earns €10 off per person.

The weather rules are short and clear. "If the flight is canceled due to weather conditions, you'll receive a full refund." You can also move to the next morning, "subject to availability," with priority. The top 10 list repeats that a weather cancellation costs you nothing "of any kind," and promises no hidden costs, extra fees or taxes.

The company leans on outside recognition. The homepage shows a Star Diamond Award from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences and quotes short recommendations it attributes to Lonely Planet, Fodor's, Petit Futé and the writer Tom Brosnahan, all selected by the company. There is also a clip of Richard Quest's flight with the company.

Loose ends, and who it suits

Some of the site's numbers do not match. The team page says pilots have flown over 25,000 hours with more than 311,000 passengers, while the homepage balloons section says over 12,000 hours and more than 200,000 passengers, and a banner says over 14.000 hours. The team page mentions nine balloons, another homepage block says 12. None of this changes the booking, but a careful reader will notice it.

The Exclusive flight has no published price, so private flyers must ask. The site does not state the deposit amount, what happens to the deposit if you cancel for your own reasons, or which weather conditions stop a flight. It does not say whether the breakfast can handle dietary needs, and it gives no rule for children.

On the strength side, prices are printed per person and per season, inclusions are listed, the weather refund is stated in plain words, and the company names the people who fly and run the operation. It suits travelers staying in Cappadocia who want a sunrise flight from a long-established local operator with a choice of basket size, and couples or families who want a private basket and are ready to ask for a quote.