Pamukkale village sits at the foot of the travertines, with the South Gate of the site immediately above it. The nearest big city is Denizli (DNZ), twenty kilometres south, which has a small domestic airport (Çardak / Denizli Çardak Airport, DNZ, an hour from town) with flights to Istanbul. Many travellers also fly into Izmir (about 250 km west) and drive — the road is good and the journey takes three to four hours.
By bus, there are hourly long-distance services between Denizli's otogar and Istanbul (overnight), Antalya, Izmir, Kuşadası and Selçuk. From the Denizli otogar, frequent minibuses (dolmuş) run the half-hour up to Pamukkale village. Day tours from Kuşadası, Selçuk and even Antalya are common but make for a very long day.