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This 3-day tour from Istanbul takes you through three of western Turkey’s great ancient sites: Ephesus, Pergamon, and Pamukkale. It starts with an early pickup from your Istanbul hotel and a morning flight to Izmir, then a full day at Ephesus with the Temple of Artemis, the House of the Virgin Mary, and the Isabey Mosque.
Day two covers Pergamon, including the Acropolis, the Zeus Altar, and the Ascelepion healing center. On the final day you reach Pamukkale, seeing the Cotton Cliffs and the ruins of Hierapolis before a late evening flight back to Istanbul. A licensed guide leads each site.
It's an early one. Around 4:30 AM, you'll be picked up from your Istanbul hotel and driven to the domestic terminal for a short flight to Izmir, usually leaving between 6:00 and 7:30 AM. The flight takes just over an hour. Bring a light layer and try to nap on the plane.
When you land in Izmir, your driver meets you and heads to Ephesus, about a 70-minute drive south. There you'll meet your guide and the small group. First stop is the Temple of Artemis, once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Today a single reconstructed column stands where a giant marble temple used to be.
Next is the main event, the Ephesus Ancient City Ruins. You'll walk down Curetes Street to the two-story facade of the Library of Celsus, built around 117 AD. The Great Theatre here seated about 25,000 people. This is roughly two hours of walking on marble and stone, so wear real shoes.
Lunch is included at a local restaurant. Afterward you'll drive up to the House of the Virgin Mary, a quiet stone chapel that Christians and Muslims both honor. Then a short stop at the Isa Bey Mosque from 1375.
After the tour, you'll be driven to your hotel in Kusadasi for check-in, usually by early evening. The town sits right on the coast, so you can walk down to the water before dinner (dinner is on your own tonight).
After breakfast, around 8:30 AM, you'll be picked up from your Kusadasi hotel for the drive north to Pergamon. It's roughly a two-hour drive to the modern town of Bergama. Your guide will fill you in on the way.
First you'll head up to the Acropolis of Pergamon, a cultural center of the Hellenistic world. A cable car carries you to the top, so you skip the steep climb. Up here you'll see the base of the Altar of Zeus (the carved friezes now sit in a Berlin museum) and The Library at Pergamon, which once rivaled Alexandria.
You'll also see the Hellenistic Theater, one of the steepest in the ancient world, cut into the hillside. Pergamon was home to one of the Seven Churches named in the Book of Revelation. Expect uneven ground and a fair amount of walking here, plus sun with little shade.
Lunch is included at a restaurant in town. After that, you'll visit the Asclepieion of Pergamon, an ancient medical center named for Asklepios, god of healing. Patients came for mud baths, sacred spring water, herbs, and even dream analysis. You'll walk the long colonnaded road and see the treatment rooms.
Around late afternoon you'll be driven back to your Kusadasi hotel, usually arriving by early evening. Dinner is on your own tonight.
After breakfast, around 8:00 AM, you'll be picked up from your Kusadasi hotel and driven to the meeting point in Selçuk, where the full group gathers. The drive to Pamukkale starts around 8:30 AM and takes about three hours. There's a 10-minute restroom stop after roughly 90 minutes.
You'll arrive around 11:45 AM and have an included lunch first. The guided tour starts near 1:00 PM with a licensed guide. You'll see the Cotton Cliffs, white terraces formed by calcium-rich spring water over thousands of years. You walk them barefoot, since shoes aren't allowed on the travertine.
Above the terraces sit the ruins of Hierapolis, an old Roman spa town. You'll see the theatre, the Roman Baths, and the basilica. Bring a hat and water, because it gets hot and there's little shade up top.
After the guided part, you'll have free time. If you want, you can swim among the sunken marble columns in the Cleopatra Antique Pools for an extra fee. Your guide will tell you exactly where and when to meet.
Around 4:00 PM you'll be driven to Denizli or Izmir airport for your evening flight to Istanbul, roughly between 7:00 and 10:00 PM. The flight is about 1 hour 20 minutes. Please note your return transfer from the Istanbul airport to your hotel is not included. END OF OUR SERVICE AND TOURS.
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You can book online or by contacting us directly. We confirm your spot once payment is received, and we'll then confirm your exact flight times. Reach out and we'll walk you through the current deposit and payment options.
Yes. Round-trip domestic flights (Istanbul to Izmir, and Denizli or Izmir back to Istanbul) are included in the tour price.
It's a regular small-group tour with a licensed guide. We can arrange it as a private tour on request, at an additional cost.
You stay two nights at a 4-star hotel in Kusadasi with breakfast. The tour includes 2 breakfasts and 3 lunches. Dinners and drinks (other than breakfast drinks) are not included.
Quite a bit. Ephesus and Pergamon each involve about two hours on foot over stone and uneven ground, and Pamukkale is walked barefoot. Comfortable shoes make a big difference.
Yes, during your free time, for an extra fee paid on-site. Bring a swimsuit and towel if you'd like to swim among the sunken marble columns.
Because you fly from Istanbul to Izmir first thing to make the most of the day at Ephesus. Hotel pickup is around 4:30 AM for a morning flight.
Our service ends on arrival. You'll arrange your own transfer from the airport to your hotel, since that ride isn't part of the package. We're glad to recommend options.
It involves significant walking, stairs at the ancient sites, and barefoot walking on the travertines. If you have mobility concerns, contact us before booking so we can advise honestly.
If you need to cancel your tour or change your travel dates, please notify us at least 5 days before the tour start date. As this tour includes domestic flights and bus tickets, which are non-refundable, the cost of these tickets will be deducted from your payment and the remaining balance refunded to you. For cancellations or date changes made less than 5 days before the start date, no refund will be issued and the booking will be treated under our no-show policy.
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We did a 3 day tour that included Pergamon, Ephesus, and Parmukkale. All of our pickups from airports to tours went very smoothly. Also, communication with the Travel agency was very smooth and prompt. Our tour guide was Nezim and he is was so knowledgeable, energetic, truly helpful, and you could tell he loved doing his job. Our driver for the 3 days was very good. I would highly recommend using All Istanbul Tours. Make sure you ask for Nezim as your tour guide.