Hello Ephesus or Meander tours

[basil's mom]

We are going to be in Ephesus September 2011 but are lining up our tours now. Which would you recommend, Hello Ephesus or Meander tours?

[Goldygolfer]

We were in Ephesus last month and did a tour from the port at Kusadasi with Hello Ephesus. Another CCer was the organiser and we were a group of 10. It was excellent. If you can get Bill Orkus as the guide, you will have a great day.

[stevehg]

Besides the Ephesus ruins, what did your guide show you? We are considering just a taxi to and from the ruins.

[UlvaZell]

Besides the Ephesus ruins, what did your guide show you? We are considering just a taxi to and from the ruins.

 

The ruins are about a half hour away from Kusadasi. We booked the cruise ship tour. You enter the site at the upper gate of the city and then meander down through the ruins to the lower gate. I think we spent a couple of hours at the site. Our tour then took us back to Kusadasi to visit a rug maker. All in all our tour was probably about 4 hours...

[FLACRUISER99]

We are going to be in Ephesus September 2011 but are lining up our tours now. Which would you recommend' date=' Hello Ephesus or Meander tours?[/quote']Did Hello Ephesus, top shelf and I highly recommend.

[cruiser620]

We also used Hello Ephesus. I liked that they did not require any payment in advance. They have different tours listed on their website, but you can also change them and go wherever you want. Our tour was just my daughter and I with our own driver and tour guide, and it was very reasonably priced. We went to Ephesus and the Terrace Houses (do not miss them!) then had a wonderful Turkish lunch outside. (Yes, it was at a rug making place, which some have complained about, but we actually really enjoyed seeing how they unwound the silk cocoons and wove the carpets. There was absolutely no pressure to buy anything.) We were not interested in going to Mary's House since it's just a reconstruction, but we did ask to go to the Selcuk Museum which was really good and is where all the artifacts from Ephesus are kept. We had a really nice day, and I wouldn't hesitate to use Hello Ephesus again.

[MS52]

We just completed a seven day tour with Meander Travel in Turkey (land tour, not a cruise). Our last day was a tour of Ephesus. They were wonderful.

[maryann ns]

Unless someone has taken tours with both companies, they cannot compare.

 

I was very pleased with Hello Ephesus (Bill). This company is professional in every way and very responsive to requests. You can tailor the tour to meet your needs.

[MercedMike]

We used Ekol tours for our third time in Kusadasi and were very happy with them.

 

I sincerely recommend including Srince village in your trip. It is a beautiful drive through the olive groves up there, and the village is very nice. Be sure to do a wine tasting of the melon, blackberry and other wines!

 

Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/blacksea2.html

 

Also check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/holyland.html for another good tour in Kusadasi and a Hamam (turkish bath!)

 

Have a GREAT cruise!