Izmir to Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary

A Greek city , located on the coast of Aegean sea, conquered by the Romans and later rebuilt by Alexander the Great, Izmir finally was taken over by the Ottoman Empire and inducted into Turkish territory. This Historical city is also the third most populated city in Turkey as well as a key hub in the west coast to connect to other nearby European cities .

Izmir is also the base city to visit

  • Ephesus, the 7th wonder of ancient World
  • Pamukkale , the super famous thermal water terrace city.

Given my short travel time, I had only one day to spend, so I chose to visit Izmir and Ephesus (since it’s historically more significant) .

So here’s a full detailed guide on Izmir Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary!

Where to Stay in Izmir?

Since you’d end up visiting Pamukkale and Ephesus in two days from Izmir, it’s recommended to stay close to the Railway station. After much research, I chose Alican 1 Hotel in Izmir. The hotel was almost opposite to the Izmir Basmane Railway station, surrounded by plenty of shops, restaurants, cafes and was on the main road itself. Couldn’t have made a better choice than this.

Izmir to Ephesus and Pamukkale by Train

Distance from Izmir to Ephesus is around 80KMS and Izmir to Pamukkale is around 222KMS and the best way to travel between these two cities is through a very comfortable , super fast train.

Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary

Here are the train schedules

Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary
Izmir to Ephesus & Pamukkale
Izmir train schedules
Ephesus & Pamukkale to Izmir

Train Ticket Fare

  • Izmir to Selçuk TL 7.5
  • Izmir to Denizli TL 22
  • Denizli to Selçuk TL 16. 

Children under 8 go free, children 8-11 travel for half the adult fare, children 12 & over must pay the youth fare.  Seniors over 60 20% off, over 65 50% off.  Youths under 26 get 20% off.

Ephesus – City of Ancient Ruins & Last House of Blessed Virgin Mary

A short min van takes you from Selcuk railway station to Ephesus city (for 10TL per person) , with a journey time of 15 mins.

Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary

Pro Tip : It’s highly recommended to opt for a tour guide , outside the entrance to get a lot of insightful knowledge about this amazing Greek city and also ensure you spend the optimum time before you move to the next place. Do ensure you negotiate a good deal with the guide and not settle in with his opening price.

Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary

Where to begin?

Start from the south entrance, visit the house of blessed Virgin Mary and then walk back the couple of kms through the ruins and library to the North entrance taxi & bus stand

Time needed for Ephseus City : Approx 2 hours

Below are some of the pics from the house of Blessed Virgin Mary

Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary
Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary

Pictures from the Ruins of Ephesus City

Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary
Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary
Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary
Goddess of Victory, Nike
Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary
The Grand Library at Ephesus
Ephesus ruins
Ephesus Ruins
Ephesus Pamukkale itinerary
The Grand Theatre/ Auditorium in Ephesus
Turkish veg food in Selcuk, Izmir
Me at the Auditorium of Ephesus

Lunch at Selcuk

Once you are done with the morning tour of Ephesus , come back to Selcuk in the same van and have your lunch in one of the restaurants near the mini-van stand. This was our vegetarian lunch menu at a small restaurant in Selcuk

You can also follow me at Instagram.com/hkmurali 🙂

Izmir / Ephesus to Pamukkale

For those who are staying in Izmir, you can either make a direct train connection or a bus to Pamukkale, the white Cotton Castle city.

Else take a bus/train from Selcuk post the Ephesus visit , reach Pamukkale by late evening and visit the fields by morning.

You wouldn’t need an entire day at this city and only half day max. Though most tour operators would make the halt here overnight for convenience and fly out to the next city from the nearest airport.

Meanwhile do check out my other posts on Turkey

If you still have questions planning your Ephesus and Pamukkale itinerary, drop me a mail at [email protected]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All the data shown above will be stored by Chronicles of a World Traveller on www.anasiantraveller.com. At any point of time, you can contact us and select the data you wish to anonymise or delete so it cannot be linked to your email address any longer. When your data is anonymised or deleted, you will receive an email confirmation. We also use cookies and/or similar technologies to analyse customer behaviour, administer the website, track users' movements, and to collect information about users. This is done in order to personalise and enhance your experience with us.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.