Pamukkale Day Tour from Selcuk

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. The ancient city of Hierapolis is located on a 200 meter high terrace of limestone deposits amid a wonderland of mineral water pools and petrified limestone waterfalls. The ancient city overlooks the modern town of Pamukkale in Turkey's Inner Aegean region. Founded as a thermal spa in 190 BC by Eumenes II, the King of Pergamon, the city was most likely named for Hiero, the wife of the legendary founder of the Pergamene dynasty.

   1 h

2. It is located in the middle of Hierapolis and is very well preserved. it was built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian in 2nd century AD. In Emperor Severus' period the cavea and the stage of theatre were restored by using the remains of another old theatre built earlier on the north of the city. Roman Theatre had a capacity of 8500 – 10000 spectators and was divided into two parts as upper and lower parts of seat by a diazoma.

   20 minAdmission included

3. Located on the main street between the theater and a sacred pool, this forty-by-sixty-foot temple was dedicated to the supposed god of light, Apollo. The entrance faced west and was approached by a broad flight of stairs.

   15 minAdmission included

4. The surreal, brilliant white travertine terraces and warm, limpid pools of Pamukkale hang, like the petrified cascade of a mighty waterfall, from the rim of a steep valley side in Turkey’s picturesque southwest. Truly spectacular in its own right, the geological phenomenon that is Pamukkale, literally "Cotton Castle" in Turkish, is also the site of the remarkably well-preserved ruins of the Greek-Roman city of Hierapolis. With such a unique combination of natural and man-made wonders it’s little wonder that Pamukkale-Hierapolis has been made a Unesco World Heritage site. With over two million visitors annually, it is also Turkey’s single most visited attraction.

   2 hAdmission included

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 25 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 5Entertaining tour

  This was a very entertaining and educational tour, we had a great time. Pamukkale is such an amazing place and natural wonder.

  Joel_AOctober 2025via Viator

• 1Awful experience, please read below

  I've taken enough tours to know what to expect and most have booked through Viator. This review is soley about the tour guide and unfortunately he represents the entire tour company. I will start with his ability as a guide then move to why this is a 1 star rating. I wish I had his name, it is difficult for me to remember Turkish names and I don't want to mistakenly use the wrong name. In truth, the guide makes or breaks a tour, the places/event usually handle themselves but it is the role of the guide to ensure everyone is engaged and enjoying themselves. It is a skill. As a guide he was quite knowledgable but his delivery of the information was done facing forward looking out the front window and speaking into the microphone and delivering a monologue. It was like listening to a recording, no breaks, pause or interaction with the people. For a 3 hour ride, it was painful and everyone fell asleep. Because of this there was no chemistry on the bus and it did not feel very welcoming. Now the big reason I would give 0 stars if I could....his first comment to people is that everyone needed cash to pay for extra events not included in the ticket. He said Turkyie doesn't readily accept credit cards which is untrue, especially going to tourist attractions. This seemed very strange and then I realized why he said that. He asked to pay him in cash for any events and he would name the price. People thought he was making things easier for them and being a helpful guide. This didn't sit with me because of his credit card comment so when I decided to pay for the thermal pool swim as an extra, I went to the ticket both myself and paid by credit card. I then realized he was overcharging people. For this extra activity he asked for 860 Lira cash for 2 people. When I went to the ticket counter to pay by credit card, I paid 640 Lira. He then asked for 80 Lira to get a locker for your things and you had to bring the key back to him when done. I gave my key back to the person hosting the lockers and when he asked where my key was, he showed some panic and went back to the locker attendant to talk to him. Strange. To top it all off he never offered water, which he had for the tour, and expected people to buy there own when we stopped for a break. I knew water was available and asked him for it and his response was people usually buy there own but if I wanted, he could get me a water. He was strangely discreet about it. I would ask 2 more times on the trip and each time it was like I was bothering him. It was 32 degrees celsius! Not that size matters, but they were the tiny 330ml bottles not the normal 500ml. And last but not least, the company took all our hotel names so we could be picked up and dropped off at our hotels. No one was picked up at their hotel but someone did come to collect each of us at our hotel and everyone needed to walk to a bus convienient spot, some people walking 15 min. Some were elderly. After almost a 12 hour day can you imaging having to walk back to your hotel because they dropped everyone off where you walked to in the morning. Young or old, it is a bit of a chore, and it was at night. I felt so bad for some people, they looked very disappointed but didn't really say much. As you can imagine it was hard to truly enjoy ourselves as I knew what was going on behind the scenes but decided to not cause a mutiny and leave my comments here. I hope that reprecussions come to the guide and the company for allowing this to happen.

  Sheldon_HOctober 2024via Viator

• 4A site to see….

  A site worth seeing. Unfortunately there was little water flowing over the travertines at this time. The highlight was the theatre. The guide was very informative and helpful. Trip could be improved be eliminating the stop for the onyx and jewellery factory and given us the extra 1/2 hour at Pamukalle and Hieropolis.

  Anne USeptember 2024via Tripadvisor

• 5Highly recomended

  Very professoinal, on time helpfull, friendly and informative.great guides and lovely lunch no waiting at entranses nothing to hard for them!

  andreaJ2189VYAugust 2024via Tripadvisor

• 4Wonderful day trip to Pamukkale from Selcuk

  Wonderful small group tour from Izmir/Kusadasi/Selcuk to Pamukkale/Hierapolis. Comfortable ride, knowledgeable guide Mr Fais, sumptuous Turkish lunch and the beautiful Pamukkale. Just a regret, only if the tour was about an hour long would've been perfect.

  gourabb1986March 2024via Viator

• 4...

  Eran was a good guide, lots local and Turkish nowledge, the hot springs were a very comfortable warm temperature

  Trevor_SNovember 2023via Viator

Know before you go

How it compares in Selçuk

• Its from-price is 32% above the median of the 215 experiences we list in Selçuk.
• It is longer than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 33 of 215.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Selçuk

Selçuk is a small Aegean town beside ancient Ephesus, with a hilltop fortress, a lone column of the Temple of Artemis and a hill village nearby.

Selçuk is a small town in İzmir Province, about three kilometres from the ruins of Ephesus, one of the great cities of the Roman east, with the Library of Celsus, a huge theatre and streets lined with columns. In Selçuk itself a single column marks the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The Basilica of St John stands on Ayasuluk Hill below a Byzantine fortress, and the İsa Bey Mosque dates from 1375.

Top-ranked sights in Selçuk: Ephesus (Efes), Temple of Artemis (Artemision), House of the Virgin Mary (Meryem Ana Evi).

See all 215 experiences in Selçuk