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Travel to Erciyes with ski insurance from Essential Travel

Located in the centre of Turkey, about 5 hours’ drive southeast of Ankara, Erciyes is a much loved ski resort among skiers and snowboarders for its off-piste valleys and gullies covered with champagne powder. Erciyes ski resort resides on the beautiful, treeless Erciyes Volcano, which offers a range of pistes and good overall facilities.

The ski centre of Erciyes lies at 7,000 feet above sea level and facilities here include a ski school with qualified instructors, ski and snowboard equipment rentals, first-aid station and a clinic. Erciyes also boasts slope-side accommodation and coffee shops.

Erciyes ski resort has seven and a half miles of slopes that are suitable for all levels of ability ranging from beginners to advanced-level sliders. Two chairlifts and two t-bars provide access to the slopes, the longest of which is just over two miles and the highest being 10,170 feet. The snow is powdery at Erciyes ski resort, but it can sometimes be patchy on the pistes and high winds on the unprotected sides of the volcano can cause problems.

Erciyes has one large hotel, the Erciyes Dedeman Hotel, which features numerous smart rooms and an indoor pool and sauna, while there are also two ski hostels. For alternative lodgings, there are plenty of villages in the area and the town of Kayseri has thousands of beds available. Après-ski at Erciyes ski resort is provided by coffee shops, restaurants and a few bars, while Kayseri has much more to offer.

Away from the slopes of Erciyes, the nearby town of Kayseri is well worth a visit, with its impressive castle, Honat Hatun Mosque, Keykubatiye Palace and the Archaeological Museum. Southwest of Erciyes are the beautiful Sultan Sazlýðý Marshes, home to many species of migrating birds.

The ski season at Erciyes ski resort runs from mid-November to mid-April and the best snow can be found between December and March, while cheaper rates are available at the season’s beginning and end. The most convenient means of transport to Erciyes ski resort is to fly to Kayseri and then take a bus direct to the resort.

Skiing in Erciyes

Erciyes ski resort lies on the eastern face of Erciyes Volcano in central Turkey and boasts incredible powder off-piste and a number of pisted runs suitable for most levels of experience. The mountain itself is a wonderful sight and the resort village has just the right number of facilities, without being considered lavish.

Several pisted runs extend for seven and a half miles down the eastern face of the awesome Erciyes Volcano, the longest being two miles. The runs are suitable for beginners, intermediates and experienced skiers and snowboarders, while some off-piste areas will especially appeal to expert skiers. Four ski lifts carry up to 1,900 people per hour up the 3,115-feet vertical.

Alternative winter activities at Erciyes ski resort include ski touring, heli-skiing and mountaineering; while for relaxation, the Erciyes Dedeman Hotel has a heated indoor swimming pool and a sauna. There are a couple of choices for après-ski enjoyment at Erciyes, but Kayseri offers more suitable alternatives for partygoers.

Equipment rentals, a ski school, clinic and first-aid centre make up the ski facilities at Erciyes, while accommodation here consists of two hostels and a well-equipped hotel. The Erciyes Dedeman Hotel at the base has 60 rooms and good facilities, while nearby Kayseri handles the overspill of skiers, with reasonable rates available.

Erciyes ski resort has the best snow in January and February and the cheapest rates in November and April, while the ski season runs from November to April. Flying to either Istanbul or Ankara and then taking a domestic flight to Kayseri, from where buses go to Erciyes ski resort, is the most practical travel option for getting here and away.

Transportation to Erciyes

Erciyes ski resort is situated on a plateau about 220 miles southeast of Ankara, Turkey’s capital, and it straddles the eastern slope of Erciyes Volcano. The closest town to the resort with an airport is Kayseri, 20 miles to the north. Options for getting to Kayseri include flying to Ankara and then driving or taking a domestic flight to Kayseri and then catching a bus to the resort.

By car, driving all the way from London to Erciyes ski resort is not really an option as the journey is more than 2,175 miles. However, if you fly to Ankara and hire a car, the journey is only a 5-hour drive via Kirikkale, Kisehir and the D-260 highway. Those coming from Istanbul should head for Ankara on the O4 motorway.

The journey by train from London to Istanbul is a 60-hour trip via Paris, Munich, Wien Westbahnhof and Bucharest; there are four departures daily from London’s Waterloo Station. There are services, including night trains, from Istanbul to Ankara, from where trains continue onto Kayseri via Kirikkale and Yerköy.

By air, many international carriers including British Airways from London fly to Istanbul-Atatürk International Airport, and it is only a short hop to Kayseri from here aboard Turkish Airlines or Onur Air. From Kayseri Airport, take the 38-75 to Kayseri town, from where the 38-28 continues to Erciyes village; the ski resort is well signposted from here. Buses and taxis also run from Kayseri Airport to Erciyes ski resort.

Long distance bus travel across Europe to the middle of Turkey is time consuming and can be uncomfortable, while bus travel within Turkey can be relatively expensive; therefore, travelling by air outweighs the possible savings of using other modes of transport.

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