Bucket list
Ephesus and Pamukkale Tour
Ephesus at dawn, then Pamukkale's Cotton Castle and the Roman spa city of Hierapolis — the two icons of Aegean Turkey in one day.
Two giants, one day
Ephesus and Pergamon Tour
Ephesus ruled the coast; Pergamon ruled the sky. See the marble metropolis and the mountaintop acropolis — with the ancient world's greatest hospital in between.
- from €49 per person
- ⏲ 10–11 hours
- Private · your group only
- Lunch + skip-the-line included
- TÜRSAB No. 15746
- No prepayment
- Skip-the-line included
Tour overview
What makes this tour special
These were two of the greatest cities of the ancient Aegean, and they could not be more different. Ephesus is a metropolis you walk through — streets, shops, library, theater. Pergamon is a proclamation: an acropolis stacked on a mountaintop, its theater plunging down the cliffside at an angle that still makes visitors gasp, its Zeus altar so famous that Berlin built a museum around it.
This full-day tour joins them, with a scenic Aegean drive between. In Ephesus you will have a complete guided visit including the House of Virgin Mary, Temple of Artemis and optionally the Terrace Houses. In Pergamon, the acropolis — temples of Trajan and Athena, the vertiginous theater, the foundations of the Zeus altar — and then the Asclepion below.
The Asclepion deserves its own sentence: this was the Mayo Clinic of antiquity, where the physician Galen — whose ideas ruled medicine for 1,500 years — treated gladiators and emperors with sacred springs, dream therapy and a tunnel whose acoustics were part of the cure. Walking its colonnaded sacred way is one of the quiet great experiences of Turkey.
Highlights
- Complete guided Ephesus visit: city, House of Virgin Mary, Temple of Artemis
- Optional Terrace Houses add-on
- Pergamon acropolis: Trajan's temple, the cliffside theater, the Zeus altar terrace
- The Asclepion — Galen's legendary healing sanctuary
- Two lunch options: quick in Ephesus or scenic in Pergamon
Price, pickup & practical details
Everything you need to decide
from€49per person — final quote depends on your group size — from solo travelers to full-coach groups of 44; every group gets a private guide and a private vehicle
Lunch and skip-the-line priority entrance are included. Entrance tickets are paid separately at the Ministry’s gate price — we buy them for you, with no mark-up. No prepayment is needed to reserve, and there is no cancellation fee.
- Duration
- 10–11 hours
- Start time
- Your choice — we suggest 08:00, when the gate opens and the streets are quiet; cruise guests start the moment they are ashore
- Pickup / meeting
- Your hotel in Kusadasi or Selcuk, the Kusadasi cruise port, or Izmir airport — door to door
- Group size
- 1 – 44 travelers, private — never shared. Full-size coach available for big groups
- Languages
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Italian, German
- Walking
- Moderate, mostly downhill — comfortable shoes, hat and water in summer
- Tickets
- Bought for you in advance at the official gate price — see current entrance fees
- Cancellation
- No prepayment, so no cancellation fee — read the policy
Step by step
Your day, hour by hour
Early pickup
A grand day needs an early start — we suggest 08:00, coffee guaranteed en route.
Ephesus Ancient City
The full classic circuit with your guide, before the day's biggest crowds.
House of Virgin Mary & Temple of Artemis
The shrine in the pines and the last column of the wonder.
Scenic drive north
Roughly two hours along the Aegean, with the guide's stories or your nap — both respectable choices.
Pergamon acropolis
The mountaintop city: temples, the breathtaking theater and views across the Caicus plain.
The Asclepion
The sacred way, healing springs and treatment tunnel of the ancient world's most famous hospital.
A well-earned rest
The comfortable evening drive is for napping — you will have earned it.
Priority access
Skip the line at every gate
Book with us and you do not queue. As a licensed Turkish travel agency, Gezginol holds priority passes and buys your tickets before you arrive — so you walk past the ticket line and straight into the site.
On a summer morning at Ephesus the queue at the gate can run to an hour. Independent visitors join it; cruise groups join it; our guests do not. Your guide has the tickets in hand before your vehicle stops, which is the difference between starting your visit at nine o'clock and starting it at ten.
- Skip-the-line entry — tickets bought in advance, never at the gate with you standing in it
- Fast pass at busy sites — the priority lane where the site operates one
- Priority entrance across Turkey — not only Ephesus: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Pergamon and every other region we guide
- No mark-up on the tickets — we add nothing to the fast-pass tickets. You pay exactly the same price the Ministry of Culture and Tourism charges at the entrance gate; we simply buy them for you in advance so you never stand in the queue
To be precise about what this is: we skip the ticket queue, not the security check, and no agency can override a site's daily capacity. But the ticket line is the one that actually costs you your morning.
It is one of the quiet advantages of booking a licensed agency rather than turning up alone.
No surprises
What's included
Included
- Skip-the-line priority entrance at every site on the itineraryHow skip-the-line entry works
- Lunch included — whatever is local and fresh, cooked by local chefs, at a local artisan center
- Private licensed tour guide (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Italian or German)
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver
- Hotel, cruise port or airport pickup and drop-off
- Parking fees and fuel
- All taxes, official expenses and required insurance
Not included
- The cost of the entrance tickets — we buy them for you at exactly the gate price set by the Ministry, with no mark-up (see our entrance fees page)
- Personal drinks
- Personal expenses and souvenirs
- Gratuities (optional, always appreciated)
Arriving by sea?
We serve all of these cruise lines
Whichever ship brings you to Kusadasi or Izmir, our guides know its pier, its schedule and exactly how much time you really have ashore.
Guaranteed pick-up and drop-back on time — for every one of these cruise lines.
Good to know
Frequently Asked Questions
Is one day genuinely enough for both cities?
It is a full, rich day — about ten to eleven hours — and absolutely worth it if your schedule cannot spare two days. If you can stay overnight, ask us to split it into a two-day version at half the pace.
How is the acropolis reached — is there much climbing?
We drive most of the way up, and a cable car covers the final stretch when operating. Inside the site, expect uneven paths and some steps; the theater's steepness is optional viewing, not compulsory descent.
Can cruise guests from Izmir do this tour?
Yes — Izmir port sits conveniently between the two sites, making this one of the best big days available from an Izmir docking.
Do you charge extra for the skip-the-line tickets?
No. We add nothing to the fast-pass tickets — you pay exactly the same price the Ministry of Culture and Tourism charges at the entrance gate. The only difference is that we buy them for you in advance, so you walk past the ticket queue instead of standing in it.
Ready for the Ephesus and Pergamon Tour?
Every tour is private and tailored to your pace. Send us your date — a local expert replies within 24 hours.
- TÜRSAB No. 15746
- No prepayment
- Skip-the-line included
- Reply within 24 h
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