Izmir to Pamukkale: Private day trip

Pamukkale and Hierapolis are a double-threat, showcasing both a stunning natural landscape and historic ruins. Pamukkale (Cotton Palace) is a series of white travertine basins formed over millennia by mineral-rich hotspring waters. Visitors are free to walk through the basins (barefoot only), and bath in the vibrant blue waters before heading to the 2nd century BC spa town of Hierapolis. Built by the Attalid kings, this Grecco-Roman retreat became an important Christian site after St. Philip was martyred here in 80 AD. Several ruins still survive, including the city’s monumental arch, necropolis, and nymphaeum. However the most impressive are the theatre, with its intricate backdrop, and ‘Cleopatra’s pool’, where you can bathe among fallen columns.