Behind the Scenes of My Hot Air Balloon Photos From Cappadocia, Turkey

I’m going to be honest here, I’ve been procrastinating editing this particular set of photos from Turkey because I thought they were all going to be awful. Which I know sounds ridiculous – LOOK AT THAT BACKDROP. How can you have a bad pic with that?

But, as you may recall in my previous posts, there were a lot of incredibly rude and flat out mean folks watching the hot air balloons at the Sultan Cave Suites with us that morning. So, I wasn’t too keen to even look through some of these pics and see them in my photos, haha. But I figured these photos could make for a good “behind the scenes” blog post to show that sometimes things can look a little more glamorous than they actually are!

When I finally went through these photos this weekend, I was pleasantly surprised there were some good ones hidden in there! And you’re probably thinking I must be a heck of an actress if it was such a bad morning, but I still look like I’m having a good time….however, these pics are genuine. This was the first time I had seen the hot air balloons coming up over Goreme – and despite the unfortunate crowd – I was absolutely amazed at the sight of them!

Behind the Scenes of My Hot Air Balloon Photos From Cappadocia, Turkey

BUT, anyways! You’re not here to see more balloon pics I bet! So, let’s check out some of the “behind the scenes action” I’ve been promising…..

The Breakfast Area is Staged…

The reason I keep bringing this up… that the luxurious breakfast with hot air balloons rising behind us is not real… is because 1.) I had totally thought we ate breakfast here before we came to the Sultan Cave Suites 2.) In a travel group I’m part of (that actually has hundreds of thousands of girls in it) a girl recently posted a photo of this breakfast setting with the caption “This was my favorite breakfast ever! So good!” and tons of girls were commenting on how yummy it looked, and how they can’t wait to visit and have breakfast here, etc, etc,…..and legit – I think my head exploded. Don’t get me wrong – I’m obviously not above sharing the photos from here, but they have to come with the disclaimer that it isn’t real! I mean, come on. No one eats that breakfast. (This was one of the few times I called someone out on Facebook.)

So, the photo above is what I actually ate for breakfast that morning! It was still really good. And honestly, that photo is doing Sultan Cave Suites a disservice because they have a fabulous breakfast buffet. But I wasn’t feeling the greatest, so I stuck with some bland, safe bets. My husband, being the awesome Instagram husband that he is, had offered to switch plates with me before we took the photo because his breakfast would look a lot better in a photo. I then had to explain, “Thank you, husband. But the point of this photo is to show what I ACTUALLY ate.” Haha.

Had to Crop Lots of People Out of My Photos…

Not having people in the background of the photos was almost impossible (hence, why I didn’t think I actually had any photos to share). I think those two are in the background of almost every single person’s photos from that morning, haha. (I do hope they got at least one good shot!)

The photo above is a much more accurate photo of what my morning of hot air balloon viewing was like. Also, don’t worry…I’m not publicly shaming some stranger. The guy’s face pictured above taking a selfie is my wonderful husband being a good a sport and letting me share this pic for the blog. 😉

People Were Savages When It Came to Getting the Perfect Photo!

Do I look uncomfortable here? Because I’m a little terrified. A girl honestly was ready to pounce on me (who had just had her photo taken here before me) because the hot air balloons were moving in closer and she wanted my spot. My husband was kindly but firmly telling her to wait her turn…while he took my photo. But, needless to say, I didn’t feel comfortable taking any more photos!

*This spot and the breakfast area are the designated photo areas – you’re supposed to get 5 minutes at each them. But obviously that wasn’t working this morning, and no one was up there enforcing it. We were one of the first people out there before the sun came up – and as you can imagine, that didn’t matter to anyone when it came time to take photos! (There was even a woman with a baby waiting with us before sunrise – and people were butting in front of her!!)

Cappadocia Does Get Cold…I Changed After These Photos!

Also, do you notice how everyone who is not being photographed is wearing warm coats? That’s because Turkey does have seasons – it’s not warm all the time! It gets cold during the winter months (they actually have snow right now) – and it’s even colder before the sun is up. There were girls wearing sundresses, barefoot, though, for the gram…(not that I’m one to talk, I put my coat on and swapped my skirt out for jeans after these pics too). Just be aware that it’s not always HOT in the Cappadocia region of Turkey and pack accordingly. (Or better yet, check out my post on it here.)

But the Balloons Are Real & They’re Absolutely Magical!

You may be thinking that this whole thing is staged by now! But I can promise you, the balloons are real, and real people are riding in them, and they do go up every morning (weather permitting). (You can click here to read more on that.)

I know I did some venting here and made it sound like it was a pretty terrible experience (which it was), but it was only about 2 hours of my life. The rest of this trip was fabulous! And we even woke up the morning before we left to try our hand at getting more photos – and that morning was actually pure magic! The people were so kind and fun. However, due to the wind – the balloons were much further away. So, if you can – try booking more than one night at the Sultan Cave Suites, if you’re set on getting that perfect hot air balloon photo!

(More pics of the hot air balloons getting ready to go in the morning – they remind me of sleeping giants before they take off. I love how close that one balloon was able to get to the terrace as well!)

*Click here to see all of my posts from Cappadocia.

What are your thoughts? Do you like getting a glimpse of the behind the scenes action? Or not so much…and would rather just see the pretty pictures? Let me know in the comments!

Where to find it:

Skirt: c/o* Stylewe – but no longer available (Similar here & here)
Cardigan: Thrifted (Similar here & here)
Shoes: ModCloth (Totally only worn for these photos – at no point were they practical for this trip!)
Scarf: Market in Cusco (Similar here)

Travel Insurance

It’s a good idea, no matter where your adventure takes you, to have travel insurance. You never know what might happen! Whether you get sick before your trip and can’t go, or you become sick or injured while on your adventure – being covered with travel insurance is a must. Some credit card companies do provide this service (check with yours), or you can get a quote from companies such as Squaremouth to find the best plan for you and your adventure. (This is the company I, personally, use. They are even recommended by Forbes!) To get a free quote, click here.

Visa Requirements

To check if your country requires a Visa for traveling to Turkey, click here.

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*c/o = courtesy of, meaning the company gave me the product to be used on my blog, and I did not pay for it. All opinions are my own, and I am not being compensated for a positive review.