2 Day Ephesus and Pamukkale Tour From Istanbul

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Istanbul, Turkey

2 days (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

The historical sites at Ephesus and natural travertine pools at Pamukkale can be tricky to see from Istanbul. On this 2-day tour, explore both with ease on a guided tour. Travel by plane from Istanbul and visit the Temple of Artemis, the Library of Celsus, the ruins at Hierapolis, and more. Stay overnight in Selcuk or Kusadasi.

Hassle-free round-trip transfer with flights from Istanbul
Learn about history from your guide
Stay overnight in Selcuk or Kusadasi
Travel comfortably between the sites with a small group

What's Included

Overnight accommodation
All taxes, fees and handling charges
Istanbul airport transfers
Roudn trip flight tickets with all taxes and 15kg +8kg handbag limite
2 days tour with guide, lunch, transport and all entrance fees
Izmir and Pamukkale airport transfers
Lunch (2)

Lunch

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Drinks
Gratuities
Breakfast

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

We will pick you up from any hotel in Istanbul City Center

Itinerary

Day 1

Flight to Izmir and Ephesus day Tour

5 Stops

Ancient City of Ephesus

13 hours • Admission Ticket Included

The Temple of Artemis

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Meryemana (The Virgin Mary's House)

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Isa Bey Mosque

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Sirince

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Accommodation: Overnight at Boutique Hotel in Kusadasi

Meals: Lunch

Day 2

Pamukkale and Hierapolis ancient city day tour and flight back to Istanbul

3 Stops

Pamukkale Thermal Pools

13 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Hierapolis & Pamukkale

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Cleopatra Pools

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Accommodation: Not included

Meals: Lunch

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps

Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.5

based on 28 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Not time efficient

Wilfredo_R, Apr 2025

This tour was very well planed, good guides and you do everything as described. But is this not time worthwhile. From Istanbul the pick you up at 4am on day #1. And you are returned on day #2 at midnight. So you are with them for almost 44 hours. And from this time, you only spend about 6 hours at the main attractions/destinations and about 13 hours at the hotel they get for you. (The hotel is very good by the way) And the rest is travel time... about 26 hours between airports, actual flights, buses and wait time. So, my recommendation is that those particular destinations. House of the Virgin Mary is not worth it unless you are a religious perolson and care about that stuff. Ephesos ruins are a very good site to visit. But the history of thenplave is a lot better than the actual ruins you will see today. The Pomakkle pools... the actual visit will never compare to what you see in ticktock or Instagram... it is super crowded and at most 2 feet deep. So you will not be able to swim. That said, is a beautiful and unique place. Worth the visit, but it is very slippery and if you are not careful can get a serious injury.

Response from Host, May 2025

Dear Wilfredo Thank you very much for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re happy to hear that you found the tour well-planned, appreciated the quality of the hotel, and had a good experience with our guides and overall organization. We would also like to thank you for the clarification during our follow-up conversation, where you confirmed that your review was not meant to reflect dissatisfaction with our services, but rather your personal impression of some of the destinations — especially due to not being able to swim in Pamukkale and the Cleopatra Pool being closed during your visit. As you acknowledged, this seems to have been a case of the review being posted in the wrong context, and we understand that unfortunately, the platform did not allow you to edit it. We truly appreciate your honesty and communication, and we remain at your service should you choose to explore other parts of Turkey with us in the future. Your insights are valuable and help future travelers set the right expectations for this tour. Warm regards, Erkan Türka Customer Relations Team Travel Store Turkey

Must do!!

Ann_O, Oct 2022

Loved it!! I was travelling solo but made so many friends on tour. The tour was well-organised and fun. A lot of clear communication from the provider which made me feel looked after

Scam tour agent - travelstore

Ethan_L, Sep 2022

I m strongly not recommended to join this tour with this ‘deceiving’ tour agent. First at all, he would call you to join another hot air balloon tour which he claimed that the other customers are demanding on this. In fact this is a scam. When we arrived at pamukkale, he would ask you to go to the hotel and take a rest. He promised to pick us up at 12 noon. Again he didn’t turn up till 14:00. Our tour guide was completely rubbish and yet again he doesn’t explain anything during our visit to the pamukkale Roman site. On the next day, we were supposed to pick us up at 06:00 for sunrise balloon ride. Yet, they didn’t turn up till 09:00. They claimed the hot balloon ride was delayed in view of the strong wind but again we did witness all hot air balloon in the sky at about 6:00. Clearly it’s all lie and scam. We just managed to get into the hot air balloon ride at 10:00. Another point, when they sent you the itinerary, the hotel booking is completely different. The hotel was completely rubbish and dirty. On the next day, they were supposed to take us to another tour to visit the Rome ancient city but again it was late. They promised to take us to airport but again they dropped us at the bus stop for an airport ride. Last but not least pls don’t join this tour with this agent- travelstore and again this is a scam. They are not professional but again it’s full of lies and excuses

Low quality / budget tour

Amber_B, Jul 2022

I only rated this tour a 2 because the tour guides were wonderful. Day 1 -To start with, when I was picked up to be taken to the airport, the first thing the driver did was ask us what airport. This guy literally had one job, to drive our group to the airport, and he didn't even know which one. Once we arrived at the airport, there were no instructions on how to obtain tickets (Turkish airports operate differently than US airports in the ticketing and gate process). Luckily someone else on the tour knew what to do, otherwise I would have had no idea. Once we arrived in Ephesus, we had to sit at the airport for over an hour waiting for other people to arrive to join us. Our tour was supposed to begin at 9:30 AM, but we didn't leave the airport until close to 10. Once we arrived in Ephesus, we were dropped off at the tour office. No one greeted us or explained what was going on. We waited about another hour there with no obvious purpose. Then, after we got into another van, we were driving around picking up other people and waiting on others to arrive. By the time we started our tour at Ephesus, it was 2 pm. As it was July, it was miserably hot, and it was hard to enjoy the tour because of the heat. If we had started at 9:30 AM as we were supposed to, this would not have been an issue. Food and lodging - this was the lowest quality that could possibly be found. Lunch was buffet style and there wasn't even any meat available at the restaurant on day 1. The hotel in Ephesus, while clean and functional, reminded me a hostel. Lunch on day 2 was slightly better, but still buffet style and low quality. In contrast I used a different tour company for Cappadocia, and we were taken to two of the nicest restaurants in the city and provided a 3 course meal on each day. We received no breakfast on any of the days of the tour, which was supposed to be included. Day 2 in Pamukkale - besides not having any breakfast provided, as mentioned above, the drive to Pamukkale (about 3 hours) and the Pamukkale tour went well. However, when we arrived back in istanbul, we had no transportation to pick us up. We waited about an hour and a half until I finally contacted the tour office who found our driver. Overall, I feel I would have had a much better experience, and saved a lot of money if I would have arranged my own transportation, lodging and food. There was a lot of wasted time just sitting around, waiting on transportation or other people to join the tour. The quality of the food and lodging was very low for the price overall.

Excellent tour.

Clara_P, Jul 2022

It was great Tur . Everything was well programmed . Transportation services very punctual. Everything offered was given.

BETTER DO IT ON YOUR OWN

Euge_S, Jul 2022

The sites are amazing but the tour was a disaster from the get go, with awful communication and terrible hotel accommodations (Hatit Hotel in Selcuk was worse than a hostel!). Provided food was ok although did not include drinks (not even water). I traveled with a friend and they booked our flights on different times which caused us to miss a whole hour of the first day of the tour, and mind you, that day the tour only lasted about 4 hs….. When we finally got to the first stop of the tour and met the rest of the group the van that drove us around did not have enough seats thus the guide stood the entire day while riding making the rest of us pretty unconfortable and unsafe. Both tour days included “cultural workshops”, only designed to get you to buy stuff after they gave you a quick explain on whatever product they were showcasing. Total tourist traps. Would much rather spend that extra time in Ephesus or Pamukkale than inside a store. Hotel was about $40, roundtrip flights and taxis another $120. The entrance fees to most sites are minimal or none…. most private day tours are $40 per day. If you do this on your own with control over flights hotels etc, you may spend $240, $300 max if upgrading hotel which in our case we would have done if given the chance. With this tour you end up paying $200 extra just to be underwhelmed by poor service. In summary, plan the trip yourself, and book the day tours once you are in Izmir, that way you control timing, stay, etc.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

firstly let's start from the beginning, you talked with me on WhatsApp very rude before you begin the trip. I was already sure that you going to write a review for us. are you our guide? who is a manager we can speak with? this is ridiculous (This is your conversation on whats-app with me) After giving you an answer you became very quiet and did not talk anymore like this. As you know we are on the Eid holiday in Turkey and most of the hotels doesn't give room for one night also I gave you 2 single room not one room with your friend. Also, our tours are very good and we are using the best tour guides in the area. the amount you will be paid: EUR 328.28 This is also how much money we get and we also refunded to you 100 USD to make you happy according to your refund request. Now we will get 228.28 USD from your trip, this payment pay just flight tickets and airport transfers Happy Guests doesn't write reviews. If everyone writes a review for us we have min 20.000 excellent review

Breathtaking

Morne S, May 2019

This was one of the highlights of our vacation. The sights are incredible. Both cities have their own beauty and identity. At Ephesus it feels like you become part of history. We had a hot air balloon ride in Pamukalle, which is well worth it. This trip would not have been the same if it wasn't for Erkan, the tour operator, that made all the arrangements and made sure that everything was absolutely perfect for us. His agency is excellent and without a doubt we will make use of him and his team when next we visit Turkey. We also had him arrange a 2 day tour for us to Cappadocia. Once again, Erkan made sure that everything was perfect. All transfers was on time, flights was on Turkish Airways and they made sure we reached the airports with ample time to check in. All the accommodation on both trips was comfortable. We stayed at the Holiday Cave Hotel in Cappadocia, which was quite an experience. Our room (which was a cave) was on the top terrace and even had a jacuzzi. Both trips is great for first timers as well as returning vacationers. THANK YOU to Erkan and his team for the wonderful time we could spend seeing your country.

This tour was an amazing experience...

GEOVANNAM_F, Apr 2017

This tour was an amazing experience, we travelled in April 2017. Well organised and the accommodation and lunch was fabulous! Our tour was organised by Travel Store Turkey. The organiser is always in touch and make sure you are happy during your tour. You can always call them for extra information. The Tour Guide was very informative and helpful. It was a small group and we were giving reasonable time for all the activities, shopping and photos sessions. Geovanna The transport was very comfortable and they accommodate all our needs on the way to the historical sites. This part of Turkey is a must do.... the views are amazing and everything is cheaper than in Istanbul. Food was absolutely lovely! Turkey is an amazing country, lovely food, friendly people and they are very helpful.