I arrive at 11am local time and plan to spend the first day visiting the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations and then the evening wandering around the old city. I have a full day there afterwards, currently unplanned, then a flight out the next morning. I've looked into some cappadocia day trips, and while the schedule is ALL day 5am-midnight I am leaning towards that as who knows if I'll ever be back to the region. I'm sure I could spend a day finding things to do in the city itself. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

For me, it’s always a strong preference to be in my departure city the night before. If you truly would not be back in Ankara until midnight of essentially the day of your flight, that does not leave much margin for error. Are you sure there are no others that at least give you a taste of Cappadocia but get you back at say 7:00 or 8:00 pm?

Having said that, I LOVED Cappadocia and in particular, my balloon trip over the fairie chimneys and other rock formations. I tend to think the same way you do…I may never be back and so I have to take advantage of every opportunity I can.

As kja used to say, “there are no bad choices. Only difficult ones.”