Those going to Kayseri in winter, be ready for peak excitement and a dynamic city that turns into a sports stage! In winter it becomes a city different from the Kayseri you know. Now it's time to give detailed information about Erciyes Ski Resort.
What Are the Slopes Like at Kayseri Erciyes Ski Resort?
Including Kartepe, Uludağ and even the Mavrovo slopes in Macedonia that I experienced abroad, the Kayseri slopes come first for us in terms of technology as well as capacity and size. As if these advantages weren't enough, it's also cheaper than the other resorts!
The gradient on the slopes ranges between 10% - 60%. As everywhere, the slopes here are divided by colour. There are 34 slopes in total. By difficulty, 13 are classed as easy/blue, 15 as intermediate/red and 6 as difficult/black.
Skiing and boarding are fun on the way down, but as you know, getting up to the top of the mountain can sometimes be torture. Especially if there's a T-bar lift, you get sooo tired going up 😔 That's partly why we loved Erciyes. Almost all slopes have cable car systems. They're fast, and they give wonderful views while you rest on the way up!
There are 4 gates to the slopes. In order: Develi Kapı, Tekir Kapı, Hisarcık Kapı and Hacılar Kapı. If you're going at the weekend, our tip is not to enter from Tekir Kapı. Especially at weekends, the people of Kayseri come too, and this is the only gate where entry is allowed for non-skiers. So it gets very crowded. If you insist on entering here, there are cable car connections from here to the other slopes. Of course you'll need to ski a bit too. 😄
When to Go to Kayseri Erciyes Ski Resort?
Ski times for enjoying skiing can vary, but our tip, both for skiing comfortably and enjoying it, is definitely weekdays.
If you don't coincide with the semester holiday, that is the 15-day break, you won't meet big crowds. At those times both the hotels and the slopes get very crowded. With the ski schools planned for little skiers on the slopes too, it's busier than usual..
Apart from that, you can check the snow conditions and go when the snow is good for skiing. We generally prefer January and February.
How to Get to Kayseri Erciyes Ski Resort?
There are lots of alternatives for getting both to central Kayseri and to Erciyes Ski Resort. Getting there from both the airport and central Kayseri is very easy.
The ski resort is 25 km from Kayseri Erkilet Airport. You can get there by taxi, by renting a car, or with the minibuses leaving from the city centre, as you like. The minibuses take you for 8₺.
Click for information about getting from Kayseri Airport into Kayseri city.
Let's also thank Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality from here. Throughout the ski season, work on the ski resort road is carried out feverishly and the roads are kept open 24 hours.
In case you want to look at the slopes in Kayseri live, I'm leaving the link here.
Should You Stay at Kayseri Erciyes Ski Resort or in Central Kayseri?
The answer to this question depends on your budget, and if you're reading this post you're probably of the minimum-budget philosophy.😬 Because hotels at the ski resort start at around 400-500₺ a day for 2 people. In that case, of course, staying in Kayseri city centre will cost you much less.
On our first visit we stayed at Radisson Blu Kayseri. We paid 180₺ a night. We can't forget the Radisson Blu breakfast; the hotel has been renovated, and the attention and service are top-notch. Especially after skiing, the SPA and hamam part relaxed us a lot.
On our second visit we chose Hilton Kayseri . We paid 140₺ a night for a room for 2. Hilton disappointed us even with the breakfast options on the very first morning. The omelette station should normally start with breakfast, but at Hilton we didn't see the omelette station open on either of the 2 mornings.
Hotels like these also have SPA, fitness and hamam options after skiing, which really make your stay nicer. But at a hotel like Hilton, facilities like the sauna and steam bath being separate for men and women left us stunned! Nonsense like this isn't something you'd see at another Hilton. You can only use the pool together. The sauna, available to men, doesn't exist for women. And the steam room is only in the women's changing rooms. We didn't think it suited them...
Note: If you'll go in the pool, you need to bring a swim cap with you. You can also buy one at hotels for a price between 5-10₺.
What Are the Ski Pass Prices at Kayseri Erciyes Ski Resort?
I've turned 26 and I'm married, but while my student days last, it's best to still make use of student perks. Looking at daily unlimited ski pass prices, adult is 70₺, student 55₺. Season prices are adult 500₺, student 400₺. If you love skiing or live in Kayseri, the season passes are great value. Plus you can enter all the slopes with the same card!
But for snowboard beginners like us, instead of a daily ski pass you can get a 7-ride or 50-ride card. The 7-ride card is adult 45₺, student 35₺. The 50-ride card is adult 200₺, student 150₺. On the first day we got a 7-ride card, and on the second day, since there were 4 of us, we chose to get a 50-ride card.
For more detailed prices, I'm leaving the link here.
Which Should You Do? Skiing ⛷ & 🏂 Snowboarding
Actually, when we think of winter sports, both skiing and snowboarding are sports that keep you lively. We learned to ski last year. This year, my close friend Kağan was both an expert at snowboarding and very keen to teach us. So, saying "Why not give snowboarding a chance?", we started learning to snowboard from the first day.
For some reason boarding always seemed a bit crazier to us, but the truth isn't really like that. Boarding is safer, and overall you're in control. When skiing, as you speed up with the slope, you're not in control of the speed, and at times that can be quite worrying. In that sense, as a couple who has tried both, our vote goes to boarding! 🏂⛷ Many thanks to Ezgi and Kağan for the lessons!
22 km
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256 km