Private Ephesus Tours

[sheepie]

I have made a reservation with the above company and they require a deposit. Most other companies do not take any money up front, but they do have good reports from CC and TA. I am thinking of changing it. Anyone booked these and paid deposits?

[jelayne]

We used Ephesus Shuttle for both Istanbul and Ephesus and did not have to pay a deposit. They were very very good and reasonably priced.

[sheepie]

Thank you, we have changed it and booked Ephesus Shuttle

Thanks

[Cheekyrn1]

Interesting because last week I booked with private espehsus tours and did not have to pay a deposit....

[maodd]

I booked a privat tour in Ephesus and I was asked to pay Euro 50 for the deposite. it is OK for me to pay euro 50 in order to keep my spot, however, I was asked to give my visa # to them for the deposite rather than through Paypal.

 

should I trust this private tour company or I should swith to another one (at lease accept paypal). Thanks for your advise.

[Melozone]

I have made a reservation with the above company and they require a deposit. Most other companies do not take any money up front, but they do have good reports from CC and TA. I am thinking of changing it. Anyone booked these and paid deposits?

Is it with AboutEphesus? I booked with them and paid $20 deposit. I have read all good reports on them. I think it is a safe deposit.

[iancal]

We have taken many private tours, including Ephesus, and have NEVER paid a deposit.

 

We simply won't do it and we have always been able to find a great private tour operators who do not require this.

[maodd]

Were you asked to give your visa card information to the tour company in order to keep your spot (even without the deposit?)? Is that safe?

 

In order to book the our, I prefer to give the deposit through the Paypal rather than letting them know my Visa#.

 

if the tour company doesn't ask anything from you, how do you know that your tour in that port is reserved? I am afraid that my group goes out of the ship and couldn't see anyone to meet us. Thanks.

Edited May 15, 2013 by maodd

[Melozone]

Were you asked to give your visa card information to the tour company in order to keep your spot (even without the deposit?)? Is that safe?

 

In order to book the our, I prefer to give the deposit through the Paypal rather than letting them know my Visa#.

 

if the tour company doesn't ask anything from you, how do you know that your tour in that port is reserved? I am afraid that my group goes out of the ship and couldn't see anyone to meet us. Thanks.

I used PayPal for the deposit. Every other tour we are taking on this trip required our CC to hold the spot but we have to pay for the tour in cash on that day.

[teralin]

We used Ephesus Deluxe two weeks ago. Very good tour, good price and no deposit.

[Petoonya]

Another happy Ephesus Deluxe cruiser. We had Mahmet and he was terrific. We had a private tour and it was maybe $20 more than going with a larger group. Don't understand why people don't book it that way? We got so much more out of it, doing what we wanted to and having our questions answered. It was one of the top two days of our cruise.

[Klinkschakel]

Thank you, we have changed it and booked Ephesus Shuttle

Thanks

 

We did Ephesus Shuttle two weeks ago and they were great. No deposit.

[west coast grandma]

We just returned and used Ephesus shuttle as well. The very pretty Melissa was our tour guide and we had a fantastic time. They got us to the Virgin Mary house before the big tour buses arrived and at Ephesus, her knowledge made touring the site and the terrance houses a wonderful experience. I wouldn't hesitate to use this company. No deposit was asked for.

[griffy116]

We used Ephesus Deluxe two weeks ago. Very good tour, good price and no deposit.

 

We used Ephesus Deluxe too...we had ESSA...he was wonderful..great English, great knowledge of the area and very flexible to accomodate what we did and did not want to do!

[pjn]

We did Ephesus Shuttle two weeks ago and they were great. No deposit.

 

I am thinking about using them. Did you have to go to a carpet, ceramic or leather demo? I prefer not to and hope they don't strongly encourage it.

i am looking forward to the ruins, terrace houses and Virgin Mary's home. If there is time for a lunch stop not affiliated with the carpet demo, I would like to do that also.

 

Thanks!

[hansolosmom]

We were so much looking forward to this stop because of the religious connection with the Virgin Mary & Sts. Paul & John. But it has become the worst port to try and find a tour.

 

All of the operators I have contacted so far require a stop in either a factory or 'nomadic center' I have 2 more emails out for which I am awaiting answers - Ephesus Deluxe and Ephesus Shuttle. I thought I'd try them since they are mentioned in this post.

 

I'm ready to punt on the tour operators and look for a rental car in port.

[Cheekyrn1]

We are booked with Ephesus plus tours, Leyla is her name who will guide for the whole day...I have requested NO carpet or ceramic displays and told no problem. No upfront deposit either....

[cruisemom42]

For those who have booked a tour with a company and were promised no (thinly disguised) shopping stops, I am curious and I hope you will report back whether your request was fully honored.

 

It's one thing to promise, but I've found that once on the actual tour, the guide will sometimes try to persuade you to make a stop anyway. This can get dicey if you are sharing with others -- some will want to stop and others will not.

 

I would suggest, for those booking an upcoming tour, that the organizer take a few minutes before setting off to go over the tour itinerary with the guide and to re-emphasize the request not to include any shopping stops.

[deb63]

Like Cruisemom42, I also hope you'll come back and share if your request to skip the carpet demonstrations, etc. was honored.

 

I think seeing it would be a neat experience. However, most port times are so short - there are other things we would rather be doing, etc.

[hansolosmom]

I heard back from Ephesus shuttle who said they do not require a stop it is optional. Believe me I will reiterate that on tour day. If I were by myself I probably wouldn't mind so much, but with 2 teenage boys, all I'll hear is ' mom lets get back to the ship' :(

 

I think was has annoyed me the most, is how they're not upfront about it. Some will mention it on their site or when you get the itinerary email, they say they make a stop. But the email response I got the other day where I flat out asked because nothing was mentioned in the previous or itinerary email, was almost like they did to want to mention it. It was kind of - oh yeah we do make a stop because they support us ......

 

That's great that they support each other, but be upfront with me about it, don't try to hide it.

[iancal]

One thing that we really enjoyed with our guide and driver is that they knew 'when' to take us to each spot in order to avoid the busloads of ships tours. We had been there before but not to the Terrace Houses. We really appreciated being able to take out time to go through this area without being jostled by crowds. As we were exiting, there were two large tours lined up to go through this area. We were so very thankful that we did not take a ships tour.

[MarleneAm]

Like Cruisemom42, I also hope you'll come back and share if your request to skip the carpet demonstrations, etc. was honored.

 

I think seeing it would be a neat experience. However, most port times are so short - there are other things we would rather be doing, etc.

_________________________________________________________

Please note that after visiting Ephesus and the Terrace houses you will need a restroom break. Unless you want to wait in a long hot line for a turkish toilet at the site, the optional shopping stop will allow you to use a modern restroom and relax in airconditioning. I recommend a leather factory since much more limited inventory so you can get out much sooner. If you don't buy anything, please give the tour guide a small extra tip in lieu of commissions from the shop.

Also if you plan on buying nothing, wear a strong charm to ward off the salesman's anger.:)

I was the only one in our group not to buy a jacket and the only one

to get both the real evil eye from my salesman and a bad stomachache, even though we ate nothing on this excursion. The tour guide tried to pressure us to go also to a carpet factory but we had agreed in advance that we were going only to the leather factory for bathroom break. Those of you lucky enough to be impervious to the evil eye don't have to worry about wearing the charm.:)

We were using Ephesus Shuttle and we had a good tour guide. At our request she let us off on a real shopping street in Kusadasi so we could window shop and buy souvenirs. The rest of our group went back to the boat; it was a short port call.

[cruisemom42]

Please note that after visiting Ephesus and the Terrace houses you will need a restroom break. Unless you want to wait in a long hot line for a turkish toilet at the site, the optional shopping stop will allow you to use a modern restroom and relax in airconditioning. I recommend a leather factory since much more limited inventory so you can get out much sooner. If you don't buy anything, please give the tour guide a small extra tip in lieu of commissions from the shop.

 

Our guide found us a nice, modern bathroom facility just outside the Ephesus site. There were at least 6 stalls in the womens bathroom (about half were Western toilets and were very clean). There was a small charge to use them -- I don't remember how much.

 

I do not believe one should have to be taken to a high pressure "factory" if one does not want to go! There are always other options, if your guide isn't trying to bamboozle you.

 

.....and apparently I am impervious to the evil eye.

Edited May 23, 2013 by cruisemom42

[lalawgirl]

We used Ekol last summer -- fantastic. no deposit necessary. Our guide was great with rests and breaks. Answered all of our questions. When we asked if we wanted to see the carpet demonstration, we politely said no, and that was is. One thing I do recommend is an early pickup -- we docked by 6:30 am. we were one of the first off the ship and our guide was there at 7 already waiting for us. We made it to the House of the Virgin Mary right as it opened -- had the place to ourselves. Magical.

[cruisemom42]

We used Ekol last summer -- fantastic. no deposit necessary. Our guide was great with rests and breaks. Answered all of our questions. When we asked if we wanted to see the carpet demonstration, we politely said no, and that was is. One thing I do recommend is an early pickup -- we docked by 6:30 am. we were one of the first off the ship and our guide was there at 7 already waiting for us. We made it to the House of the Virgin Mary right as it opened -- had the place to ourselves. Magical.

 

Ekol has made it clear in correspondence to folks this year that a shopping stop is mandatory. Unfortunately. I used them several times and I won't use them again. :mad:

 

I have found another agency that promises no shopping pressure. I will use them instead.