Ephesus for group

[mresera]

I will be stopping in Ephesus with a large group of family. Depending on who goes on each excursion, we may have 11 adults, 3 babies, a 4 year old, a 9 year old, and a 14 year old. Any reputable tours that would be ideal to accommodate a group of our size and diversity? Preferably reasonably priced. Thanks.

[cruise_alot123]

I will be stopping in Ephesus with a large group of family. Depending on who goes on each excursion, we may have 11 adults, 3 babies, a 4 year old, a 9 year old, and a 14 year old. Any reputable tours that would be ideal to accommodate a group of our size and diversity? Preferably reasonably priced. Thanks.

 

We've booked a Ephesus tour for 8 with Celsus Travel on our upcoming 4/30/12 X Equinox sailing. If you need more info find me at the 4/30/2012 Celebrity Equinox roll call.

 

http://www.celsustravel.com/

 

This is the custom tour and is different from the website.

 

This is our tour details:

 

Tour Plan :

Meet at Kusadasi Harbor and continue to Ephesus Ancient City - Enter through the Magnesia Gate and begin a

slow, downhill walk with your guide into the ruins of this Roman provincial capital. Your route takes you past the Odeon,

the Celsus Library, the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of Trajan and the Great Theater. The theater had seating for

24,000, which was the site where it is believed St. Paul preached to the Ephesians and is used today for a local spring

festival..

Terrace Houses are located on the slopes of Bulbul Mountain, opposite the Hadrian Temple. Also called as "the

houses of rich", these houses were for the important and wealthy people of Ephesus, as only rich people could afford such

houses.

The Temple of Artemis, which had been built at first during the Archaic period, today it's known one of the Seven

Wonders of Ancient World.

Basilica of St. John - Built by the Emperor Justinian over the tomb of St. John the Apostle, the Basilica, now in

ruins, once rivaled St. Sophia in size. See the remaining graceful columns and mosaics of the Basilica as you take in the

panorama of the rural Selcuk countryside and the ruins of the Temple of Artemis.

Isabey Mosque

Sirince - Stroll down the tree - lined streets of this traditional hillside village. Browse among the tented stalls and

shops. Sample the local wine and stop for a cup of Turkish coffee. Sirince is surrounded by groves and orchards. Stroll

through the streets of this hillside village with its white houses and red - tiled roofs. Visit a village home to have an

opportunity to see authentic Turkish village house. On your return to Kusadasi, you have the opportunity of remaining in

town to view a carpet - weaving demonstration or to shop on your own in the bazaars.

“This prices valid for 8 pax group”

Included :

• Transfer from port and back

• Transportation by a comfortable AC non smoking Luxurious Car/Van with professional driver

• Professional and experienced licensed guide during the tours.

• Entry fees to the various sites.

• Parking fees

 

 

Tony

[bw333]

We used EKOL Tours. They did a great job! The shopping in Ephesus was my favorite. Have a great trip!

[chipmaster]

+1 for us with EKOL too. Funny as this holiday I got a holiday email from them.

 

They met us with a huge bus that could have easily taken twice our party of 15...

 

We used EKOL Tours. They did a great job! The shopping in Ephesus was my favorite. Have a great trip!

[CJcruzer]

We used EKOL travel - group of 18 , and we had a bus that would have accommodated at leat 24, lots of room to spread out. I also emphasized that the group was not interested in Turkish rug demos, or stop for leather shopping, - and the guide respected our wishes. Had a wonderful day with Tilde, she was amazing and showed us so much. In addition to Ephesus, we added in the Terrace Houses at the site, and a further excursion to the hilltop, whitewashed town of Sirince.

[scubamargie]

Another vote for EKOL tours. We were very pleased with both our driver and guide. I didn't want to do the rug factory but another couple on our bus did. As it turned out it was very interesting watching them weave the patterns in the rugs. Just a slight sales pitch, some turkish tea and a snack (can't remember what). We were only there 30 minutes or so and several in our group did buy rugs (not me -- too cheap). If your tour guide suggests it, and the rest of your group is OK with it, then do consider the rug factory. We did the terrace houses too -- a must in my opinion and very worthwhile.

[CJcruzer]

Just to clarify- we did not want a rug demonstration because we have already been to about 3-4 of them (Morocco, Egypt, Istanbul and China) - and the others in our group were not interested. However, if you have never attended a demonstration, it is worthwhile to hear about the different fibres, knotting techniques, etc.

[mresera]

Thank you all for the recommendations!

[Cariad3600]

We've booked a Ephesus tour for 8 with Celsus Travel on our upcoming 4/30/12 X Equinox sailing. If you need more info find me at the 4/30/2012 Celebrity Equinox roll call.

 

http://www.celsustravel.com/

 

This is the custom tour and is different from the website.

 

This is our tour details:

 

Tour Plan :

Meet at Kusadasi Harbor and continue to Ephesus Ancient City - Enter through the Magnesia Gate and begin a

slow, downhill walk with your guide into the ruins of this Roman provincial capital. Your route takes you past the Odeon,

the Celsus Library, the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of Trajan and the Great Theater. The theater had seating for

24,000, which was the site where it is believed St. Paul preached to the Ephesians and is used today for a local spring

festival..

Terrace Houses are located on the slopes of Bulbul Mountain, opposite the Hadrian Temple. Also called as "the

houses of rich", these houses were for the important and wealthy people of Ephesus, as only rich people could afford such

houses.

The Temple of Artemis, which had been built at first during the Archaic period, today it's known one of the Seven

Wonders of Ancient World.

Basilica of St. John - Built by the Emperor Justinian over the tomb of St. John the Apostle, the Basilica, now in

ruins, once rivaled St. Sophia in size. See the remaining graceful columns and mosaics of the Basilica as you take in the

panorama of the rural Selcuk countryside and the ruins of the Temple of Artemis.

Isabey Mosque

Sirince - Stroll down the tree - lined streets of this traditional hillside village. Browse among the tented stalls and

shops. Sample the local wine and stop for a cup of Turkish coffee. Sirince is surrounded by groves and orchards. Stroll

through the streets of this hillside village with its white houses and red - tiled roofs. Visit a village home to have an

opportunity to see authentic Turkish village house. On your return to Kusadasi, you have the opportunity of remaining in

town to view a carpet - weaving demonstration or to shop on your own in the bazaars.

“This prices valid for 8 pax group”

Included :

• Transfer from port and back

• Transportation by a comfortable AC non smoking Luxurious Car/Van with professional driver

• Professional and experienced licensed guide during the tours.

• Entry fees to the various sites.

• Parking fees

 

 

Tony

 

Tony, We did a tour with Celsus Travel in 2009 and can't say enough good things about the company, the driver and the guide. We enjoyed it so much we are booking another one with them on our upcoming September cruise. We are excited to get back to Ephesus and see all the things we probably missed on our first visit. You will not be sorry you booked Celsus.

[PCWalton1]

We just used EKOL last month for a tour of Ephesus and it was the highlight of my cruise. They did a great job of communicating with us over the past year and were very flexible as the size of our group kept changing as the cruise got closer. We went to a restaurant that we had to ourselves where they cooked up an amazing meal for us.

We did go to a co-op for carpets that I thought our whole group knew about ahead of time but judging by some reactions when we arrived I guess I was wrong. I was a bit concerned about it but there was no pressure sales so to me it was worth it, especially when they showed us how they made silk thread.