Goreme Open-Air Museum

Please go early (8:30) if you can. Get there before the big group tours. The cave churches are confined spaces so if you don't get there early, you'll be queing being the big group tours. No pictures or guides allowed in the frescoed churches so take a picture of the sign outside so you know what each fresco is talking about. I definitely think seeing the frescos are worth it. There is another church inside that has a separate entrance fee that also has a bunch of frescos that is worth seeing.

The open air museum is strongly recommended in the area- it’s combined architecture, arts and nature and history .
The ancient painting inside gives a very quiet and simple sense of beauty.

Recommend - spend 2 hours to clearly go with the audio guide and more reference material and go through all the caves to enjoy the time machine :)

I went with My husband today. I was a bit cold but totally worth it. We visited with no guide, just read the signs. We recommend you pay the extra 18 liras and enter the dark church the paintings are just amazing and well preserved. The general view is surreal.

I love the history of the place and highly recommend taking a walk to the museum instead of public transport.

The only problem with most sites in Turkey is that it's crammed full of tourists. It's very hard to imagine the tranquility that those who carved out these caves must've experienced when everyone is trying to get their instagram shots, boomerangs and videos for their amateur youtube vlogs.

You need to be strategic about how you walk through this museum. Everyone is taking photos and videos and everyone wants to be everywhere.

My advice is to take it slow. Rest often and just take it all in.

1 thing that you'll also find is that the better preserved sites are an additional fee. Save your money and go to the museum lower down the road with the same ticket instead. It's way better preserved that anything in the open air museum but, once again, also very full.

We visited on a relatively quiet weekday. The admission price is absolutely absurd for how small the museum was. It was an interesting visit but nothing special. I would have preferred to just venture off the beaten path and explore the caves that line the area without the tourist factor and self explore. Would not really recommend unless you already have a museum pass or are really interested into more tourist hotspots rather then going on your own adventure.

It was snowing during our visit since there was weather anomaly in Cappadocia. The view was quite amazing as if it was from one of the locations on Game of Thrones.
The stairs leading to the chapels inside the caves were pretty narrow with no handrail in several spots along the stairs. There was only one way to enter and to exit making it quite crowded at times. As it was snowing during our time there, the stairs become slippery too.
You surely need to wear suitable shoes for walking as you need to go through quite a few flight of stairs to visit the ancient chapels inside the cave.
Also be mindfull of the narrow stairs if you are travelling with young children and/or elderly people.
Please noted that it is forbidden to take pictures inside the cave due to risk of the camera flash damaging the centuries old paintings on chapel's wall. Kindly only take pictures when you are outside of the caves.
There were several cafes and souvenir shop inside the open air museum. The prices on those establishments was quite the standard of tourist attraction.

Went here during the Red Tour, which we had with an English speaking guide. Great experience walking around the caves and churches. The Dark church up the hill is extra to get it in to but I recommend the entrance as it was worth checking out even without the ability to take photos inside. The paintings were very well preserved and you can definitely see the set as it was supposed to be seen unlike
Manu other churches were painting were crosses
out or damaged.

This was part of a tour organised for us by our agent in Istanbul (Efendi Travel). The local guide picked up my wife and myself from the hotel, and took us around local sights in a mini-bus (there were about ten people in the minibus, picked up from various hotels in Goreme). Highlight of the day, undoubtedly, was the Goreme Open-Air Museum. Truly amazing! If you have not organised a tour which includes this museum, get it done through your hotel front desk. I would NOT advise anyone who does not know Turkish to just wander around on your own. It may be a bit cheaper, but you would waste a lot of time. In any case, you would not know what you were looking at. The local guides can explain the history and background of the various churches, monasteries and convents hewn into the rock. This place is a delight for both history buffs and photo buffs. We were lucky, we went on a bright sunny day. I don't how dangerous it would be on a wet day, you would get badly hurt if you slip and fall. Talking of slipping: wear GOOD walking shoes, real sturdy ones, which grip your heel, and which would prevent you from losing your footing. There is a bit of climbing. NOT a place for someone in a wheelchair. Also, NOT a good place for someone with a stroller. Keep a sharp eye on little kids with you: they could easily get lost in the crowds, or they could fall. Good toilet facilities near the entrance. The place is HUGE, it would be simply impossible to see it fully, unless you spend several hours here. Most tour operators (like ours) allow just about two hours. Just enough time to see the highlights.

We visited Zelve Open Air Museum the day before, which is why the Goreme Open Air Museum was very disappointing for us. By comparison, GoremeOAM was 3x more expensive than Zelve, most of the sites inside Goreme OAM was closed, too many people were around, the sites that they allow taking pictures in were the boring ones. The ones with paintings were prohibited from pictures being taken. Also, there was one site where you have to pay extra to get in.
Basically, we were only there for only about 30 minutes and had managed to get around and see everything, except for the prohibited areas and paid sites. Compared to Zelve that took almost 2 hours to explore, GoremeOAM was not worth it. (Plus the ticket fee was too much for a 30-minute small-round tour).
The only thing GoremeOAM has that was better than Zelve was the colourful religious drawings.

We decided to stop in here on the way back from Avanos to Goreme. Desipite heavy snowfall overnight, we enjioyed exploring this place. The outdoor caves and rock formations were an impressive sight. Take care in snowy/icy conditions, as the pathways were very slippery in some sections. Good shoes/hiking boots are recommended. Entry is included on the museum pass. Buses are available from Avanos and Goreme for 5TL, expect to pay 30TL for a taxi to/from Goreme.