Discovery Balloons — Local services in Göreme

First of all, I must say that I don’t even waste my time commenting about average experiences, this is the second time I’m writing a comment for an establishment after a perfect car hiring experience in Mallorca and that’s all. I don’t have any partnership and no one told me to write this comment. I feel they deserve to be appreciated and I need to share this for the people who are in doubt.

I and my fiancée have never had a balloon ride and we wanted our first time to be the best of all companies according to GetYourGuide. We paid 140€ per person. Not gonna lie, it’s not the cheapest company to choose but if you want to get the best treatment, safety, precision and professionalism, this is it. There are so many other companies with 60€ per person but if you are going to experience this for the first time, you should get this one.

From the beginning to the end, this experience was perfect and the whole crew were professionals. We got picked up at the door of our hotel at 04:40, the exact time they indicated, not a minute early not a minute late. Then, we went to their headquarters to have open buffet breakfast. Right after that, we were taken to the balloon take off place. We have to thank our pilot İbrahim Daşdeler, who is the best pilot we have ever seen although he was very humble and he never claimed that, all of us (around 30 people in the basket) were mesmerized and half of the time we forgot to hold around because we were clapping his skills. He took us up very high in the air around 500-700m height. Then, he lowered us to the valleys and fairy chimneys. Whereas every other pilot was not risking to go down that low to the valleys, he was the only one doing it with such ease and precision that we could touch the tree branches and leaves. There was a time, we cruised between very tight fairy chimneys (you can only pass there if you pass with the side of the basket), it looked impossible to pass but he was so calm and fully in control. No other pilot around dared to fly that low or dared those impossible looking maneuvers. We were literally the only balloon. He said he has been flying for more than 15 years. There were times that we were sure we would hit something but the way he composes himself and doing his job easily gave the complete calmness to all of us. We landed on a towed car platform with the softest landing. The ground crew quickly helped everyone and we had champagne at the end to celebrate the successful landing as it’s tradition since the first balloon flight ever happened in Paris around 1870s which our pilot explained in English like he did with the other landmarks while flying. We also got flight certificates for free to have souvenirs, it was a nice gesture. The whole flight was recorded with two 360 degree cameras and you can buy the recording it with 30€ which is acceptable for this kind of magical experience. After 1 hour of flying and the champagne ceremony, they dropped us back to our hotels. I can say that every single one of the crew was professionals but especially the pilot İbrahim needs a raise if he doesn’t already get what he deserves!

We are so happy that we paid for this high quality service and this high level of professionalism. If we need to choose again we would choose the same Discovery Balloons, but more importantly whichever company this pilot İbrahim Daşdeler is...

It was awesome! They were recommended by my hotel while preparing for the trip. Booked and paid deposit online. Picked from hotel by 4:30am and taken to their office where we had a light breakfast, before being bundled into the bus for out sky-bound adventure.

The driver drove to a distance, gave instructions on not moving close to the balloon while it was being pumped. Who would have though - it was blistering hot. Oh yeah - dress appropriately too. A light wind jacket will do to protect you against the early morning chills - yeah, even in summer.

Finally, our ballon was ready, and we leaped aboard all ready to touch the skies. You will be placed 3 persons to a compartment of the basket and made to go through a demonstration of how to crouch low when landing. You'll also have been given instruction pamphlets when you're picked up from your hotel.

Off we went with our pilots - male about 17 years experience and very reassuring with jokes and teases, and female co-pilot who was in charge of communication relay, video capturing and wind technicalities. I was surprised to see her Mac stationed effortlessly as her makeshift console.

Watching the sunrise while defeating gravitational pull is an experience that needs to be felt...no words can do this justice. Our pilot made sure we surveyed low terrains, valleys and stretched out to touch some trees, get coffee delivered airborne (no jk) before taking us high into the skies - ascending to heights of stillness, afloat in the wonder of the cosmic mystery. Of how everything seems insignificant from high up!

At this point, the nerves and anxiety would have dissipated and you'd find yourself caught up in the beauty of it all. Be ready to take bucketloads of pictures and videos of yourself, other ballloons, and the scenery. If you are a nature lover or earth elemental, it will be a struggle to put away your phone.

Upon descent, we got the prime experience of landing on a driven trailer's empty bed - on which we were safely navigated and latched unto by our most capable driver.

Jump down to earth by being carried out by a stalwart man, ready to help you to gracefully disembark, and hop over for some champagne toasts (non-alcoholic juice flutes available too) as you receive your certificate of completion!

P.s: The only icky spot was being asked to pay in Euros cash before takeoff or pay with card with extra charges. So prepare...

Absolutely amazing!

My husband and I had a few issues along the way which Serpil from Discovery Balloons helped with to get them sorted as soon as possible.

We booked with discovery balloons and everything went smoothly initially. A text confirmation was sent to us but due to not having internet access on that phone we were unable to confirm our attendance and the flight was cancelled (which is totally understandable as they are a busy company). We called up the office and spoke to the wonderful woman Serpil who went above and beyond to rebook our flight for the next morning (We noticed kids in the background on the call so we knew she was doing overtime to help us as we were devastated). She managed to book us on the flight again! The next morning arrived and all the coaches were ready to set off for the flight but it was cancelled due to high winds (this is something you should expect, we learned that the thumbs up for flights are given by the Cappadoccian government) so once again we had to turn back home.

At this point we lost hope as the next morning we would be flying out to Istanbul. So the only chance we had to get on a hot air balloon was if we could some how magically get booked in for the sunrise flight. Once again Serpil made this happen. They were fully booked but she did everything she could to get us to spaces on the balloon.

On top of all this she was kind enough to drive our rental car all the way to the balloon landing ground so we weren’t late to the airport. None of this would be possible without her