Pamukkale and Hierapolis
Izmir, Turkey
- 9 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Marvel at the petrified lime cascades of Pamukkale and the ancient city of Hierapolis during this guided day trip from Izmir. This tour not only journeys to the stunning natural wonder of Pamukkale, but will venture to fascinating Roman ruins at Hierapolis built during the 2nd century AD. Here you will see the Theater and the Necropolis, the biggest ancient graveyard in Anatolia.
- Day trip to Pamukkale and Hierapolis from Izmir
- Experience the soothing qualities of Pamukkale, with its thermal spring water and plunging waterfalls
- Visit the Roman city of Hierapolis
- Explore the Apollo Temple
- English-speaking local guide
- Transport by air-conditioned coach
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop off
- Local guide
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks, unless specified
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Operating hours.6:30 am
Itinerary
Begin your Pamukkale and Hierapolis adventure with a morning pickup from your central Izmir hotel. With your guide, cruise to the mesmerizing natural wonder of Pamukkale. Capture stunning views of water trickling over white petrified limestone tubs. In this fairytale atmosphere, learn from your guide how calcium-rich thermal water continues to cascade down the hillside leaving precipitates in the form of cataracts, stalactites, and basins.
Listen as your guide explains how Romans use to plunge into these waters to enrich their bodies with its therapeutic powers. Continue to Hierapolis, the ancient Roman city perched on a plateau formed over centuries by sedimentary limestone rock. Learn about the huge temples that resided here and how Stephanus of Byzantium helped form the city’s real name which translates to "sacred city."
Next, enjoy the ancient grandeur of the Apollo Temple, the Theatre and the 4th-century basilica - Nymphaeum. Then, finish your tour with a relaxing ride back to your Izmir hotel.
Listen as your guide explains how Romans use to plunge into these waters to enrich their bodies with its therapeutic powers. Continue to Hierapolis, the ancient Roman city perched on a plateau formed over centuries by sedimentary limestone rock. Learn about the huge temples that resided here and how Stephanus of Byzantium helped form the city’s real name which translates to "sacred city."
Next, enjoy the ancient grandeur of the Apollo Temple, the Theatre and the 4th-century basilica - Nymphaeum. Then, finish your tour with a relaxing ride back to your Izmir hotel.
1
Pamukkale
3 hours • Admission Ticket Free
2
Hierapolis & Pamukkale
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
3
Izmir
3 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Confirmation for this tour will be received at time of booking
- In the event of any museum closures, an alternative similar museum will be visited
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for children aged 4 and under
- Children 18 years and under must be accompanied by an adult
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
3.9
based on 63 reviews
Vincent_C, Aug 2019
Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable. He told us about the history of Pamukkale and Hierapolis, and he also did a great job making the entire trip fun and enjoyable.
Response from Host, Aug 2019
Dear Vincent,
Thank you for your kind review. We're more than happy to know that we managed to satisfy your expectations.
We really hope to be in your service again for our other tours in the future.
Neon Tours
Alina_C, Jan 2019
Erman, our tour guide , was very nice, friendly and he gave us lots of interesting information about Pamukkale and other attractions around ! About Pamukkale... I highly recomand it ! It’s incredibly beautiful!
Trinna_L, Feb 2018
It's not a great tour - both the travel agency and the place itself. First off, sitting in a car for 7 hours to visit Pamukkale isn't worth it. I went ahead despite knowing the long journey because relatives who went several years back raved about the place. But we were highly disappointed because Pamukkale now looks nothing like what it's advertised. The pool is depleted thanks to lack of hot spring water flowing into the area. What you end up seeing is a whole lot of white surfaces from the dried up calcium and very little blue pools. Looks like the place wasn't well preserved, which is a real shame since the area relies on tourism for its state/provincial income. It's a matter of time before the entire area dries up and what we are left with is just white surfaces, which isn't impressive at all in real life. I can go to any snowy mountain for the same view, only difference is one is snow, the other is dried calcium. So driving that far isn't worth our time.
Second issue is this travel agency, Neon Tours. The guide they hired, Ismael, isn't up to par at all. I get it based off other reviewers that the guide can be quiet in the 3 hour car ride and that's fine by us. But when we get to Pamukkale and Hierapolis, he should make more effort on his end, as a tour guide to offer a thorough information about the place. Why is Hierapolis and Pamukkale such an important place considering it's in the middle of nowhere? We had to probe him for such information and kept asking him questions about the area itself.
That said, all he was interested in was to hurry back to Izmir because he was concerned with the evening traffic. We lost track of time while walking on the cotton castle and he wasn't too happy when we got back. To top it off, for lunch he ordered us really cheap food that cost no more than 10 lira for the two of us which basically consists of bread and eggs. Meanwhile, he ordered meat for himself and the driver. We asked for meat skewers since there's only so much bread we can take and were given two pathetic chicken skewers. We highly doubt our lunch allowance by the travel agency would pale in comparison to what the tour guide get to order for himself. Obviously when he asked us if we wanted to join his tour to Ephesus the next day, our answer was a firm no. I'd highly recommend others to just skip Pamukkale and forget about taking a tour with this travel agent to the Izmir, Ephesus and Pamukkale area if their pre-arranged guide is Ismael.
ERLIENE_A, Jan 2017
We me and my 2 daughters did Pamukkale and Hierapolis trip on Jan 2, 2017. We booked the trip via Viator and did it with Neon tour.
We picked up from the hotel by the driver only and the tour guide would be picked up about an hour later on the way to Pamukkale.
We booked this trip in group tour but actually we got it as private tour. Just 3 of us on this trip. We spent the journey in silence. No information at all from the tour guide along the 4 hours journey.
When arrived Pamukkale, he gave us about 10 minutes of roughly information that actually we can read it from the internet and then giving us free time for 2 hours to spend at the site by ourself. No explanation at all about the ruins while we saw other groups were guided and explained by their tour guide in every site.
Journey back was spent in silence and the tour guide dropped off in the middle of the journey as well.
We thought that rented a car more cheaper to do this trip instead of paying the price we did.
Really disappointed and was not worth any penny at all
SOUVIK_G, Sep 2016
Best tour of turkey , very quiet, superb guide by Neon tours and Travels. Excellent english speaking knowledgeable guide.
Khaled_S, Jul 2016
Excellent service. Very polite and professional group. I will go with them again.
David Z, Jul 2016
We were with our same guide Mehmet and driver from the previous day tour of Pergamum. It was great as we had them all to ourselves for the tour. Great lunch at a small restaurant. Pamukkale and the ruins are a must see when in Turkey.
David G, Jun 2016
Great tour with a superb tour guide. We wondered if the long journey from Izmir would be worth it 3.5 hours each way but it proved to be a great decision to visit such a unique place. Both the Roman remains and the travertine pools are awe inspiring.
NoraBeatriz_G, Jun 2016
This was a terrible tour because Pamukkale was not really like pictures !!! At Pamukkale was not water !!! Viator must tell us if there are not water at winter !! We pay 120 Euros each person !!! was a deception for us !!
Rosanna I, Dec 2015
Excellent tour. I advise to be very specific in regards to the pickup times on the vouchers. It added to some confusion.
Henrik H, Nov 2015
Very nice tour - both places were spectacular and worth the visit. We ended up having a private tour due to the low tourist season. We were picked up at our hotel in a very nice van and driven to the sites. Our tour guide did a nice job of explaining the Roman ruins and gave us all the time we needed at Pamukkale which is truly exceptional, the calcium deposit pools are everything you expect and more. Spend the extra 30 liras to spend time in Cleopatras pool - that is the natural thermal waters. It has sunken Greek and Roman columns and this is really where you can enjoy the warmest waters and the pool is plenty deep whereas the terraces are only knee deep.
Theresa R, Sep 2015
I really enjoyed the trip. Pamukkale was definitely worth seeing. My tour was cut short because of the Byran holiday. We got there after 1pm and only had about 21/2 hours to see it all. I did not get to see Hierapolis at all because of the time crunch. My tour guide was interesting but talked too much. I would have liked more time.
Lok Tin L, Jul 2015
Small group of tour in fact it was just me and my partner!
Tour guide was very knowledgable and the coach we travelled was very new 3 months old
Highly recommended - far cheaper than what our hotel offered
Alicia F, Jun 2015
Pamukkale is one of a kind-definite must see!We booked this tour last minute (night before) and the tour company made sure everything was organised for us the next day!Small tour group (3ppl),luxury bus and our guide Engin was so friendly,informative and went out of his way to ensure a great experience!
Charmaine K, Jun 2015
4 hour ride each way with only 2 hour tour with guide:
graham h, May 2015
what a wonderful place to go to - the calcium pools looked splendid
Nicolle H, May 2015
Really fantastic tour and well worth the effort of getting out to the location. Really enjoyed the ruins and highly recommend this tour if down this way. Make sure you take your bathing suit also as there is an opportunity to take a swim.
Anil H, Dec 2014
Superb! Tour was not cancelled even though we (2) were only who had booked the tour. Highly recommend
Wiece K, Nov 2014
It was a long way from Izmir (about 4 hours). The tour guide did not really make any effort and we spent the journey in silence. When we got to Pamukkale, he gave us a 10 minute introduction before giving us free time to spend at the site. Journey back was spent in silence again. Disappointing!
Ayesha S, Nov 2014
The 2 hours of experiencing the site was worth the 9 hour travelling to and from it.
It's a once in a life time and experience. I just hope you can provide other options to reduce the travel time to and from the site. Maybe a helicopter ride or renting bikes as the scenery is great.
Also the breakfast and lunch that was supposed to be included; had only lunch provided which was not appetising at all.
Will surely recommend visiting Pammukkale to others.
Thank you
Ayesha
JANE G, Sep 2014
Really Disappointing. Cleopatras pool was full of algea and there was no way I would infect myself swimming in such an unclean environment. Also the water was not flowing over the calcified rocks, so it was just white rock. We didn't get the opportunity to walk through the external part of Hierapolis only what was inside the fenced area near the calcified rock. Overall 3 out of 10. However saying this, our guide and driver were both fantastic.
Ayanah G, Aug 2014
AMAZING!!! The most fun I've had in years. This place is a MUST do if you are in Turkey. I went July 31st the weather was hot and the water was nice and cool. Words cannot do this place justice, please go and see it for yourself : )
JOSE F, Aug 2014
The tour was awesome. The guide kind and nice. Food was Fair enough peruanos the only lower point but restaurant service was good. The driver excelent.
NICOLE H, Aug 2014
My family and I have traveled many places and this is definitely a must see !!!! Our guide, Lincoln made it even better because he was so informative and knowledgeable.
Nomeian, Aug 2014
I consider myself fortunate to go on this trip as I was the single traveler and Serhat was a great guide. The trip to Pamukkale was quite long from Izmir so I learnt a lot about the valley and the agricultural history of the region. The travertine fountains are a natural wonder but don't discount Hierapolis. I actually probably enjoyed Hierapolis more than the travertine pools and their views. Serhat gave me a lot of free time which was much appreciated and bring a hat and sunscreen as I was quite burnt at the end of it sll .
Pauline C, Aug 2014
If you really want to know we were incredibly disappointed after going to Izmir specifically to visit Pamakkale and Heiropolis amd booking a tour thru this company thst did not eventuate: no fore warnig about ramadan holiday and no tour guide available. Waited to be picked up. No one turned up!
Joanne_G, Jun 2014
I went on 9 tours with Viatour on this trip and I had 2 fantastic guides, 5 good guides and 2 terrible guides. This was one of the ones with a rude guide. She was rude to a number of people. She told then to be quite and listen and all they were doing was asking a question. I can do everything, I am slow. She told me in front of the entire group, that if I could not keep up to meet in the parking lot at 4pm. The kind participants, don't worry we will take time to take pictures, so you can keep up with us. If it was not the participants, I would not have know what I was seeing.
Sun X, Apr 2014
The trip was amazing, driver is very good and professional, and the guide is very experienced.
We are only 4 people, we we got VVIP treatment, the whole day, the exclusive Guide is accompany with us, and the lucxury minibus.
Thanks fro Aviator, we will choose Aviator for all our future trips.
UBL_I, Mar 2014
The pick up was a bit early at 7 A.M in the morning as we were staying in Kaya prestige Hotel. From there we were taken to a town where we changed bus and joined the group already set to go to Pamukkale.
The drive was very long of about approximately 2.5 Hours. This meant we only had around 2.5-3 hours at the actual location which is considerably less for a location like Pamukkale.
I would recommend this tour to someone who does not want to spend more than one day in Pammukale but in my opinion, people going to Pamukkale should stay there at a good hotel for at least 2 days to enjoy properly.
ghinwa b, Nov 2013
It was a very nice trip with a wonderfull guide and friends from other country good job viator
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per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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