Pamukkale Day Trip

What can I say! Another fabulous day trip with excursionmarket. A long journey to Pumakkale but what visitor to Antalya could miss this magical place? Picked up from our hotel far earlier than I would have liked (4:45 am) however the long journey was worth it if only to bathe in the magnificent travertine pools that are a natural wonder that are a must see to anyone holidaying in this beautiful country. The long journey was worth it for the calcium travertines alone however we had the additional benefit of exploring the beautiful ancient ruins in Pumakkale also which we considered an additional bonus (and represented a place for great holiday photographs). A swim in the minerals rich Cleopatra pool is a must and again makes for amazing photo opportunities. Burgers and fries etc are available at poolside and despite being slightly expensive we had very good, fresh portions served by very pleasant local people. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and of the loveliest kind. He introduced himself as ‘Ali Baba’. Don’t know if that was his real name but he made our long trip a highly enjoyable one. We had more than sufficient time to explore the area and when we finished enjoying the local magical sights we were taken to a local vineyard where we had an informed presentation by a very cool looking and very pleasant, helpful local. I bought six bottles of locally produced, organic wine which cost us Euro 90 (two free gifts included!) which is far more than I would pay for wine at home. That said the aroma and taste of the wine was magnificent hence represented good value for money. The small coach with air conditioning and reclining seats made for a very comfortable journey as did the playlist of ‘DJ Ali’. We could not have asked for a more enjoyable day than the one we experienced with excursionmarket today. Excellent and immediate responses to my pre-trip inquiries. Anyone booking this trip should be aware the cost does NOT include entrance to the travertine’s and Cleopatra’s pools which came at an additional cost of around 15 Euros per person however given the distance the price of Euro 30 per person was more than fair. Also note you will be required to pay CASH on the day due to the huge credit card fees as such you should ensure you take enough money with you to pay the fare on the coach. The price included breakfast on the way which is the only criticism I have to make of this tour. The breakfast venue felt like a truck stop rather than a restaurant and me and my party were unimpressed with the choice of food on offer. In addition, the place we stopped at had a most unpleasant aroma of animals (like a veterinary) so me and my party only ate bread and butter. There were a number of more than reasonably priced souvenirs for sale at the venue however the smell there was one we found most unpleasant. The only thing I would suggest to excursionmarket would be to find a more suitable place for their guests to eat with more breakfast variety. I would happily have paid more to have had a better choice of breakfast than what was offered at our quite smelly venue today. All in all, for the price paid I have no complaints about highly recommending excursionmarket as any tourist’s go to day trip provider. Well done everyone, you gave us a fabulous day out at a very reasonable cost. Well done, especially to the lovely guide and the hard working driver. Many thanks xx