Small-Group Pamukkale Day Trip from Kusadasi: Travertines and Hierapolis

Kusadasi, Turkey

Visit the archaeological site of Pamukkale and see its extraordinary white travertine rock terraces cascading down from the crumbling city of Hierapolis. On this full-day trip from Kusadasi, you’ll walk around the incredible UNESCO World Heritage Site with your guide, learning about the rock’s formation and history. Then head to the ancient city of Hierapolis for a refreshing dip in its naturally formed bathing pools before taking a walking tour around its evocative ruins.

Numbers are limited to 14 on this small-group Pamukkale trip, ensuring a more intimate experience at this archeological site.

After a pickup from your Kusadasi hotel, head inland to Denizli Province to visit Pamukkale –Turkey’s most incredible natural wonder. Meaning ‘cotton castle,’ this stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site consists of dazzling white travertine rock terraces that seem to flow down 656-foot (200-meter) cliffs. From a distance, the travertine terraces almost look like snowy cliffs or frozen waterfalls, but in fact they are mineral deposits from Pamukkale’s hot springs.

Walk around these fascinating rocks and see the naturally formed bathing pools while learning about their geology from your guide. Views from Pamukkale are unforgettable – see the white travertine terraces contrasting with brown mountains in the distance, and then walk up to Hierapolis, the ancient Greco-Roman city with crumbling ruins and geothermic bathing pools.

Enjoy time at leisure here, and be sure to bring your bathing suit as the pools are definitely worth a dip (entrance fee is at your own expense)! Relax in the warm natural springs that are separated by ancient columns, and then visit a café for lunch before meeting your guide for a leisurely walking tour around the ancient city. Take in its impressive Classical ruins, such as the necropolis (Roman burial ground) and the vast Roman theater that was capable of seating more than 12,000 people. See St Philippe Martyrion (also known as the Basilica of St Philippe) and learn about this important early Christian sanctuary before returning to your coach for the ride back to Kusadasi.

USD $63.00

Traveler Reviews

Review by:   marinabhargava,    October 2017
Pamukkale is amazing. The only thing I'd change are the trips to the leather fashion show and gem store.

Review by:   Jarich M,    September 2017
Tahsin was an incredibly passionate guide and was really nice to talk with. He was very informative and knowledgeable about Turkey and the environments. I wish we'd have him for Ephesus as well. His and the drivers services deserve an absolute 10!

Review by:   Carol T,    August 2017
We had a well presented and air conditioned mini bus. Our driver was charming and spoke excellent English. Our guide at Pamukkale was lovely and she was very knowledgeable and also spoke excellent English. It was a really hot day so we spent quite a while bathing in the warm Cleopatra pool. Sadly, I think the magical powers associated with the water have waned over the years as I didn't look any younger after my swim haha. Pamukkale is a beautiful place and I would recommend this trip as we had a great time. _br/_ We stopped off at an Onyx factory on the way back and it was interesting to see how the artists manipulated and shaped the onyx. There was a gift shop full of beautiful things and even though we did not feel pressurised into buying anything, of course we had to get a little momento of the trip. Overall, an excellent experience.

Review by:   Wendy K,    May 2017
Wonderful tour and sightseeing.

Review by:   Delyan N,    April 2017
This tour was amazing!

Review by:   KIMBERLEY A,    March 2017
Pamukkale and Heirapolis - Incredible places to see, though I wouldn't bother with this tour at all. We basically paid GBP97 for a driver.

Review by:   Bernie W,    May 2016
It was a lovely day and the site was worth anyone seeing. True wonder of the world.

Review by:   Eduardo W,    November 2015
The tour is a good way to go from Kusadasi to Pamukkale, but doesn't add anything other than that. You should face it as an alternative to a shuttle or taxi.

Review by:   Marilyn M,    October 2015
Its a fabulous place to visit however we went from Kusadasi which took 3 hours to get there and we only had 1hr 30min there which wasn't enough time to see and do everything, so its great to see but check out how long it takes to get there so you can have as much time there to take everything in.

Review by:   Tyler,    September 2015
This tour was great from start to finish! Our guide Mehmet was friendly, professional and knowledgeable. Our tour included a buffet lunch which has really nice. Visiting Pamukkale, the white travertine rock terraces and Hierapolis is something I would recommend to travelers visiting the area. I would recommend paying the little bit extra to go into the thermal pools, we had a good time all round.

Review by:   Tara P,    July 2015
The guıde was really ınformatıve and helpful. It was a small tour and very accomodatıng to everyones needs. It was fun to swım ın the natural waters of pummakale.

Review by:   Shivani S,    July 2015
I was dissapointed with our tour guide who didnt speak English fluently. Also, lunch was not authentic rather just a buffet restaurant. We spent more time at shopping venues such as textile store and onyx factory. I would not recommend this tour.

Review by:   Louise L,    July 2015
There was not enough time at the Pamukkale site as we spent more time travelling on the bus to and from the location. We felt very rushed during the visit and did not have time to visit all the ruins. The guide had poor English which meant you could not understand what he was saying. His commentaries/explanations were extremely light and indicated a lack of knowledge. The driver was constantly on the phone whilst driving, putting the lives of every passenger on board at risk. The lunch was unsatisfactory and poor quality and choice. Overall I felt the tour was sub-standard for the price we paid. I believe I could have joined a cheaper local tour and had a better experience.

Review by:   Nancy A,    July 2015
The tour of Pamukkale and Hierapolis was wonderful. The guide was knowledgable, the lunch was delicious, and the sites were beautiful and interesting, even though there wasn't much water in all the pools. It seemed as though we spent a lot of time shuffling people around and waiting for vehicles to arrive to take people from our bus to different locations, which I hadn't experienced on a day tour before....which is why I gave this a 4 star rating, instead of a 5.

Review by:   Vesa A,    June 2015
Pamukkale is surely a place to visit. Travertines are really amazing and scenery in front of you magnificent. When you are experiencing travertines you forget time. There are so many photos to shoot. It's good to remember that also theatre and museum of Hierapolis is worth to see. I give the place five stars but for tour planning only two stars. What irritated me was the fact that we drove some three hours to get Pamukkale and then spent nearly one hour in textile shop. So we had only two hours to spent in Pamukkale itself. Time in textile shop was wasted ... we should have gone straight to Pamukkale....

Review by:   Lynette G,    May 2015
This day trip was worth the 3 hours or so in a small but comfortable mini bus. Our tour guide was very informative and had an outgoing personality. We thoroughly enjoyed his enthusiasm. Pamukkale is worth the effort! Hieropolis was fascinating. A tour well worth doing.

Review by:   Paul,    September 2014
Pick up on time . Hard to fault the day. Knowledgeable guide and a spectacular place well worth seeing. Lunch was impressive all you could eat Buffett option and a stop at a onyx rock making factory for a short demo. Took you into the shop but no pressure to buy anything. Good value day out

Review by:   Nasrin A,    August 2014
Amazing, picked us up and dropped us off plus best of all we had plenty of time to see the beautiful Pamukkale!!

Review by:   Ian,    July 2014
The bus trip there from Kusadasi was about 3 hours and quite pleasant with a food/drink/toilet stop._br/_ We wasted some time at a linen/Manchester outlet store which we were not interested in._br/_ So between the bus trip, the Linen shop and the lunch getting to the actual site took about 4.5 hours._br/_ Everything else on the tour was fantastic, we had plenty of time at the site, we walked around the travertine's and did all the photos, visited the museum which is excellent and then had about 1 hour swimming in the pool before departing. If we had just a bit more time we could have also had a short walk to the roman amphitheatre but we some many more better ones later on our trip so no big issue. _br/_ The tour guide and driver were both fantastic, great English skills and informative._br/_ Great tour just get a book to read for when they do the outlet store.

Review by:   Mary H,    July 2014
I definitely recommend this tour as the most painless way of seeing Pamukkale. We were collected from our hotel at 8.45 am and returned at 6.45pm. The three hour drive was broken up by a stop half-way at a cafe/shop at a petrol station, with good toilet facilities. There were five travellers in total in a very comfortable vehicle with driver and excellent guide, Gul. We enjoyed the buffet lunch at a large restaurant at the foot of Pamukkale, obviously used by all the various tour groups. There was a good selection of food. Drinks are payable in any currency and were not expensive. We had two hours free time at the top of Pamukkale to swim in the Antique Pool and paddle in the travertines. We really enjoyed the Antique Pool with its very warm water and decidedly unusual experience of swimming over ancient ruins. We were offered a stop at an onyx factory, but were able to decline easily.

Review by:   Garry H,    May 2014
I had a great day with this tour company ,they run a very professional and informative tour ,thought it was terrific value for money ,even though we were offered a tour cheaper with another company ,I would use this company again ,I couldn't imagine the same quality tour for less money ,the guide was great .

Review by:   S,    May 2014
All in all, this tour was not bad. Pickup from the hotel was prompt and convenient. Our guide was very knowledgeable and sweet. However, the majority of the day was not spent at Pamukkale. At least 6 hours were spent on the bus. Prior to our arrival at Pamukkale, we stopped at an Onyx factory. Frankly, this was a waste of time and a silly, overpriced tourist trap. Then, we went to a truly awful buffet lunch which was unnecessary. Finally, upon arriving at the site, we briefly toured the ruins at Hierapolis and were then given one hour of free time to either see the pools of Pamukkale, swim at Cleopatra's Pool or hike to the theatre. I would have preferred that we had more time to see the main attraction and had spent less time at the Onyx factory and buffet.

Review by:   Maria B,    March 2014
The trip was great. It was only four of us and the guide was very good.

Review by:   Maricris R,    June 2013
Pamukkale is indeed a must see! Our trip there had been really awesome. Our tour guide Rose from Fez Travel is not only very knowlegeable but really helpful as well. The price that I paid for my whole family to go on this trip is really affordable. I have been recommending Viator.com to all my friends since then and will regularly check their website for great deals on my future travels.

Review by:   Eleftherios K,    May 2013
It was perfect day trip to Pamukkale.. the guid was excellent .. they picked us from the hotel in time ..we had enough time to walk around and discover the magnificent Pamukkale pools ..Thank you

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