Ephesus

[Royalco]

I am looking to book a private tour of Ephesus. Has anyone had experience with Ekol Travel? Recommendations would be appreciated.

[Benita]

We used Ekol for a tour of Ephesus and we also used them in Istanbul. We were very pleased on both occasions.

[bphman]

We used Ephesus Deluxe (ephesusdeluxe.com) in August of 2010 and had a great day. I believe we paid $75 pp for 2 and had a wonderful private tour which included the ruins, the Virgin Mary's house, the Terrace houses, lunch and the requisite hard sell at a local carpet store which we flew through as the prices of the carpets dropped by thousands the closes we got to the door. We found Ephesus Deluxe to be very reputable. Hope this helps.

[CintiPam]

We had our very first private tour from a cruise when we booked a tour for just us two in September 2008 from Kusadasi port for a day visiting Ephesus, including the must-see fabulous Terrace Houses, plus the Archaeological Museum for Ephesus in nearby Selcuk, as well as Selcuk's St. John's Basilica, Isabey Mosque, and the sad sole remaining pillar from the Temple of Artemis, once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

 

We had a comfortable new Mercedes van, an excellent driver and a fabulous guide, Mr. Ali Elphan. He reviewed our itinerary while we drove to Ephesus, a great idea for our private tours so there are no misunderstandings or disappointments later. Also, all of our emails, with EKOL's Ms. Nur Koray, were answered promptly and clearly.

 

BTW, there never should be a "requisite hard sell" on a private tour; it's your tour, and when we emphasized no shopping, there was no shopping. At the end of our six-hour tour, my spouse (Mr. I Hate Shopping) happily returned to the ship while I happily shopped at the extensive stores right outside the port.

[rubysue]

We used Kusadasi Tours (can also be found by searching for Turkey Explorers). I was using a cane and collapsible wheelchair on our cruise in September and this company does a great job letting you take your time going through Ephesus. We also visited the House of Mary, stopped for photos at the Temple of Artemis and, of course, had the obligatory lunch and demonstration at a Turkish rug gallery. We ended up negotiating and buying a smaller area rug (wool/cotton) and also bought an exquisite silk pillow cover. We love both items; the rug was shipped to us so we didn't have to carry it back.

 

Ephesus is fantastic. Now that one of my knees has been replaced, I would love to go back to see the Terrace Houses.

[robbie21]

Concur that Ekol does a great job. Our guide was well informed and eager to show us one of the gems of his country.

 

We were among the first off after the ship cleared and found our guide waiting. We went straight to Ephesus and beat the tour bus crowds by an hour or two. When it began to get crowded in the street we went into the Terrace Houses which was our highlight of the tour. We found out later that folks that took the ships tour didn't even know about the Terrace Houses. There is a size limit for groups.

 

So, recommend an early departure for the best experience.

 

Robbie

[rubysue]

Hi, CintiPam -

 

You posted at the same time I did. I decided to post on this thread because we really did enjoy our time at Ephesus with Kusadasi Tours, even with the rug gallery stop. Our tour guide was extremely well-informed and it was nice to have a large Mercedes van just for the two of us. I don't post that often on this board because I tend to be a "thread ender" or the regulars jump over my comments (or so it seems). :rolleyes:

 

Although we were somewhat dubious about the stop at the rug gallery, we ended up enjoying the demonstrations of how they make the rugs, our lunch was excellent, and we were delighted with the beautiful rug and silk pillow cover we ended up buying (they bring back many great memories).

 

And, yes I agree - the port facility at Kusadasi has some fantastic shops! Very nice!

 

A comment on Ekol tours - although they are highly recommended and I know other folks who have enjoyed their tours, they did not respond to multiple emails I sent requesting nformation on their tours and if they could accommodate someone with somewhat limited mobility. I found Kusadasi tours through discussions on the disabled special topic area on CC.

[no fuss travel]

We used Ekol Tours last May and were very impressed with them. They were prompt in answering our questions and the guide, Alex was fantastic. My husband really is a photo nut, and Alex was very patient about waiting for him to take his pictures and actually pointed out several places where he could get a better shot than where we were at the moment. His knowledge of history was impressive. He helped us with our shopping at the end of the tour and as well took us out for lunch as we were celebrating our wedding anniversary that day. He took us to a restaurant where the locals ate, and the food was great. He was very good at telling us what we were eating.

[Mura]

We did a tour of the Terrace Houses and the Selkuk Museum on 10/31 with CTC Turkey, which I highly recommend. We had a marvelous guide. (We had a very early departure time so not much more could have been done that day.)

 

We were only four people and the tour was intended for people who have been to Ephesus before. One thing that gave CTC high points for us was that a few people were interested in joining our tour but CTC recommended that they NOT do so since these people had not previously been to Ephesus.

 

The Terrace Houses are not to be missed if you have the time and a small enough group. And yes, it's rough on the knees -- especially coming down at the end!

 

Mura

[brian_uk]

My one tip is ALWAYS start at the top and walk down the hill.

 

Some tours do it the other way round and when hot it looked much harder.

 

Brian

[Bruin Steve]

We've used Ekol for multiple tours in Istanbul and twice in Kusadasi...Couldn't have been more pleased...

First time in Kusadasi, we did a full day tour to Miletus, Didyma and Ephesus for two...Second visit, we had a shorter day and did a tour for four to Ephesus with the Terrace Houses...Guides were outstanding, prices, even with just two, were better than shorter big bus shore excursions...

I would hire them any time we return to Kusadasi...

I always found Nur to be VERY responsive...

[Mura]

My one tip is ALWAYS start at the top and walk down the hill.

 

Some tours do it the other way round and when hot it looked much harder.

 

Brian

 

I guess they think they'll be going against the crowds doing it that way, but I agree it would be harder ... especially in summer heat.

 

Mura

[CintiPam]

Hi, CintiPam -

 

You posted at the same time I did. I decided to post on this thread because we really did enjoy our time at Ephesus with Kusadasi Tours, even with the rug gallery stop. ....And, yes I agree - the port facility at Kusadasi has some fantastic shops! Very nice!

 

A comment on Ekol tours - although they are highly recommended and I know other folks who have enjoyed their tours, they did not respond to multiple emails I sent requesting nformation on their tours and if they could accommodate someone with somewhat limited mobility. I found Kusadasi tours through discussions on the disabled special topic area on CC.

 

I am sorry to hear that, rubysue. As Bruin Steve posted early today (Steve, were you really on this forum from CA at 3 AM?), I found Nur to be very responsive, so I am surprised by your comment. I am glad you found a tour company that met your needs. Aren't these forums great? So much helpful practical information.

[Mura]

I have to chime in to say that I'm surprised you found Ekol unresponsive. We didn't use them (for several reasons, none of them important) but they were very responsive to my questions.

 

The main problem I had with them was they seemed to be insisting that we use them for every day we were in Istanbul as well (which would have been 3 days) and we were only interested in a guide tour to Ephesus/Terrace Houses and the Jewish area of Istanbul. The standard places in Istanbul we'd already seen or, if we were planning on returning, we knew we could do them on our own.

 

Mura

[bw333]

We did a tour this past September with EKOL tours. Our guide was great! Terrace Houses were my favorite, but I also liked Mary's house and the scenery. Our guide asked if we wanted to go see a carpet demo, we declined. Our guide also handed me a tour review sheet, so I guess they care about their future cleints. I also loved the shopping back in town next to cruise ship. Have a great time!:)

[CintiPam]

EKOL offered me guided tours for Istanbul as well, but Rick Steves' Istanbul guidebook (actually written by two local guides) was my guide for my first visit. I love his guided tours of sites, particularly those relating to art, and walking tours. It's a lot more work for me, if I am seeing a place on my own which is not covered in any Rick Steves' guidebook.:)

[JimandStan]

It's a lot more work for me, if I am seeing a place on my own which is not covered in any Rick Steves' guidebook.

 

As FDR (POTUS not CEO) once said, "All that walking can't be good".

[cathi]

Now to cloud the whole issue - Just returned from Ephesus & Istanbul, had wonderful tours in both places and we used a company called Magical steps travel. They were very quick in answering all my questions before we got there and the guides were fantastic in both places. Haven't used the other companies mentioned but it's worth a look at this company when you are deciding.