Red is the north — chimneys, Uçhisar, Zelve, Paşabağ, Avanos. Green is the south — Ihlara, an underground city, Selime. They are not two names for the same van. If you have one full day after the balloon, pick the landscape you have not walked.

Both are hotel pickup around 10:00, 7–8 hours, licensed guide. Do not stack either on a sunrise flight. The 3-night spine lives on how many days in Cappadocia.

Red vs Green at a glance

	Red Tour	Green Tour
Map	North	South
You came for	Chimneys, castle, pottery	Canyon walk, underground city
Stops we run	Uçhisar Castle, Avanos, Zelve, Paşabağ, Devrent, Love Valley	Göreme panorama, Pigeon Valley, underground city, Ihlara, Selime, onyx workshop
Legs	Short walks, viewpoints	Ihlara path + underground stairs
Wheelchair	No	No
Open Air Museum	Not this tour	Not this tour

Red Tour page · Green Tour page.

Who should book which

You already did / want	Book
Balloon over Göreme, not yet Uçhisar or Avanos	Red
Enough chimneys; want a river canyon and tunnels	Green
Kids who will not do underground stairs	Red, or skip both
Four nights	Both — different days
One leftover afternoon, not a full day	Neither — walk Göreme or Çavuşin

First-timers who sleep in Göreme and fly Göreme often pick Green on day three so the trip is not chimneys twice. Guests who chose Uçhisar or skipped Avanos pick Red even if they already saw balloons.

What the Red day actually is

Uçhisar Castle first — the ridge knob, a climb if you want the top. Avanos for the wheel: a demo and a shop, not a two-hour lesson. Zelve Open-Air Museum is the cave settlement. Paşabağ (Monks Valley) is the mushroom chimneys. Devrent is the “animal rock” valley. Love Valley is the viewpoint at the end.

That is the north circuit. It is not Ortahisar Castle. It is not the Göreme Open Air Museum. Town pages: Uçhisar · Avanos.

What the Green day actually is

A Göreme panorama and Pigeon Valley on the way out. Then the underground city — stairs, low ceilings, a guide talking you through rooms people hid in. Lunch. Ihlara is the walk along the Melendiz, rock churches in the canyon wall. Selime is the large rock monastery. An onyx workshop is the last commercial stop.

Moderate fitness. Not wheelchair. Not a balloon morning. If heat or knees are the limit, Green is the harder of the two. I will not invent an Ihlara kilometre count that is not on the voucher.

2026 prices on our calendar

Snapshot 22 August 2026 from the same option calendar guests book. Option base prices in the admin are zero; the live cell is what you pay.

Option	Typical Aug 2026	Other loaded cells
Red all-inclusive (lunch + listed tickets)	€38	Jan–Feb €28; Mar €30; Apr–Dec €38
Red basic (no lunch, no tickets)	€23	Apr–Jun €15; Aug–Dec €23
Green all-inclusive (lunch + listed tickets)	€64	Jan–Mar €40; Apr–Dec €64
Green basic (no lunch, no tickets)	€33	Apr–Jun €17; Aug–Dec €33

Drinks at lunch are extra. Tips optional. I will not print museum lira at the gate — that is why all-inclusive exists. July basic cells mix the low and high number; read the date you are buying.

All-inclusive vs basic

All-inclusive is the product I send first-timers to: pickup, guide, lunch, listed entrance fees, parking. Basic is the same van without lunch or tickets. Basic is not a “budget safety tier”. It is you standing at the ticket window with cash or a card that may not work.

Both options: 24-hour guest cancel for a full refund. Later than that is non-refundable. Red notes also say weather can rebook or refund. Green is a walking day; wear closed shoes.

What is not on either van

Göreme Open Air Museum. Ortahisar Castle. A real pottery lesson. A wine tasting. Those are leftover afternoons or a fourth night. Çavuşin is on the Red road; do not assume the church is a stop. If the cliff village is the point, taxi from Göreme and give it two hours.

Pickup, pace, who should skip

Hotels in the usual belt — Göreme, Ürgüp, Uçhisar, Avanos, Ortahisar, Çavuşin. Map the hotel. 10:00 is the listed time; confirm the night before if your property is a long driveway.

Skip Green if you cannot do stairs or a canyon path. Skip Red if you already did Uçhisar, Zelve and Avanos on your own and wanted Ihlara. Skip both if you only have the balloon afternoon — walk the museum instead.

Infants on laps; no child seats on these vans. Shared balloon ages stay 5–80 and are a different product. Balloon booking.

When the calendar is ugly

September–October is peak balloon money on our Göreme list. The day-tour cells above do not jump the same way — Red all-in stays €38 from April through December on the dates we have loaded. Green all-in stays €64 in that window. Book the balloon first; the van still has seats when the basket does not.

January–March Green all-in at €40 is the winter cell, not a different tour. Ihlara in January is cold and can ice. Pack shoes that grip. The month balloon table is still the weather page, not this one.

How this fits a 3-day trip

1. Night one: arrive, confirm the balloon.
2. Morning two: fly. Afternoon: Open Air Museum or the village.
3. Day three: Red or Green. Out the next morning.

Four nights if you want both vans. Two nights: skip the circuit. Full timing: how many days.

What I would book

• Green after a Göreme balloon if you have never seen a canyon or an underground city.
• Red if Uçhisar and Avanos are still a blank.
• All-inclusive unless you already hold museum cards and want a cheaper seat.
• The live tour page, not a screenshot of this table in December.

Red is the chimney day. Green is the canyon day. Pick one on purpose. The live cells on the tour pages beat this article the morning you pay.