Where to work in Göreme
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I can hand on heart share that I was not expecting to actually fall in love with Göreme. Like, I knew I was going to enjoy seeing the hot air balloons at sunrise, and that was the whole idea of me heading to the Cappadocia region in the first place. But turning into the town, I was surprised by how quickly I actually fell for the place in general - and I was quickly pleased by the fact we were staying longer than the typical 2-3 days that others recommend.
To get you up to speed, Göreme is located in the heart of the breathtaking Cappadocia region and actually has a lot to offer visitors, including different places that are actually quite conducive to remote work.
Why Choose Göreme?
Now, I will just add a super quick disclaimer that wifi is not always the best in the town and it’s important to both get accommodation that offers decent wifi and have a data back up, like Roamless just in case.
But other than that, I seriously recommend that creatives, as well as adventure nomads, put some extra time in the calendar to see more of this town and region. I felt constantly creatively inspired looking out over the fairy chimneys and wandering around the shops. And there are also so many different tours and activities to do as well - which I’ll get into more of shortly.
Göreme Memories: from sunrise at Love Valley, to Galerie Ikman, sunrise next to the Open Air Museum and Hanzade Hotel
Where to Work Remotely in Göreme
While Göreme doesn’t have any coworking spaces, there are several cafes and hotels that welcome digital nomads, like:
1. Center Coffee & Baklava: This cafe kind of became my ‘second home’ - especially as it’s open 24/7 - and the wifi was a lot better than our hotel. The coffee is also great and we often found ourselves coming back here to work or to chill.
2. Afara: Although the wifi was a little bit weaker here, we also found ourselves coming back to this restaurant a lot as the staff were super friendly and the food was amazing. We also liked sitting up on the terrace to enjoy views of the town while also sitting in the shade.
3. King’s Coffee Shop: We checked out this spot once and the team were lovely, plus the food was delicious! The only issue was the wifi dropped every so often, so if I was in the middle of writing an email or a blog post, then it could get annoying fairly quickly.
4. Coffeedocia: A ‘little further away’ than our other spots we frequented, but we had to visit just for the name. The wifi was great and lunch was delicious, if you’re looking for a cute terrace and restaurant in between shopping in the area.
Remember to be respectful of these spaces, purchase food or drinks regularly, and tip well to support the local economy.
Where to stay in Göreme
The thing to know about Göreme is that it’s essentially built into a valley - and a lot of the hotels around the valley tend to have actually been built into the sides to create a cave hotel experience. While Göreme as a town is super busy through most of the night for the restaurants and bars, but also the tours that wake up for sunrise (from around 4:30am onwards), it is worth picking accommodation in the town so you can wake up and experience the balloons floating through the actual town and the surrounding valleys. Everything in the town is also no more than a 5-15 minute walk, so it’s super convenient for every day necessities, shops and places to eat.
When booking, just check the reviews for Wi-Fi reliability and work-friendly spaces - our hotel was good to crash at, but the wifi wasn’t great and we could hear everything outside - so I won’t share it.
Things to do in Göreme
In order to truly appreciate the region though, you of course need to venture further outside the town and take a hot air balloon ride - or a photo tour of the balloons like we did - hike at least one of the many trails and take a day tour exploring more of the region. The more popular day tours tend to be the Green and Red Tours, however the Blue is supposed to be super underrated and just as beautiful (according to one of my Airbnb hosts in Uchisar - which I’ll get to in a little bit).
If you’re wanting to take a hot air balloon ride, then the general recommendation is to travel from April to about October before the colder weather kicks in - plus the price of rides depends on the demand as well. Personally I would recommend visiting in September when we did as it’s still relatively warm without the summer holiday crowds that were just starting to disappear as we arrived.
If you’re on the fence about whether to take a ride or not, that you should go if it’s your first time in a hot air balloon ever. I personally opted not to because I’ve already been on a hot air balloon ride before. (And if you want to know whether the hot air balloons will go up or not, follow Meteo Blue to check the weather conditions).
Uchisar Memories: checking out the Castle, reading at Uchisar Cave House, lunch at La Casaba and watching the sunset from my Airbnb.
What about Uchisar?
The town of Uchisar is another popular place for visitors to stay when they visit the region, and I will say:
You will likely go through the town to visit the castle and the souvenir shops on one of the day tours.
If you’re looking for a quieter town to stay in, then this would be perfect for you!
I opted to stay in Uchisar for a week after a week in Göreme and it was perfection - to the point where I am actually missing the peace of it. I personally will add that for remote workers looking for slower living and to get some deeper work done while enjoying what this region has to offer: Uchisar is the base for you and then maybe take a taxi or a bus into Göreme for the day to see what the fuss is about. Things close at regular times here and it’s a lot more residential than Göreme.
So while Göreme is not quite the bustling nomad hub (yet?), I could certainly see it becoming a place for retreats and pop-up coworking trips. There is just something about the region in general that is inspiring and had me constantly scribbling thoughts and ideas that I now want to put in place. I mean, there’s a reason so many events and conferences happen here now… So let’s see what happens next!
In the mean time, have you visited Göreme yet? I'd love to hear about your experiences or answer any questions you might have about this incredible destination. Leave a comment below or reach out on socials!
Until next time, keep exploring and creating!
Han x
