Kiwi_cruiser Posted June 2, 2015 #1 Share Posted June 2, 2015 (edited) We have never been to Kusadasi, Turkey before and I was wondering what is their to do there?, any tips/ideas?? And What do you do when you go there?? :) Any tips/advise/ideas are very welcome. PS: Is there any private tours you would recommend? Edited June 2, 2015 by Kiwi_cruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zqvol Posted June 2, 2015 #2 Share Posted June 2, 2015 We have never been to Kusadasi, Turkey before and I was wondering what is their to do there?, any tips/ideas?? And What do you do when you go there?? :) Any tips/advise/ideas are very welcome. PS: Is there any private tours you would recommend? I would suggest a private tour using on of the many services. We like EKOL. The MUST see in Kusadasi is Ephesus. A private tour will get you there and some of the other historical sites in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryann ns Posted June 2, 2015 #3 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Ephesus is a must see. Take a private tour. Go to your Roll Call and you may be able to join a tour with others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonTowner Posted June 3, 2015 #4 Share Posted June 3, 2015 I would also visit Ephesus. It is easy to get a taxi at the port. Make sure you agree a price beforehand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted June 3, 2015 #5 Share Posted June 3, 2015 The reason the cruise ship stops there is its proximity to Ephesus. If you have never been, that would be the thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angeleyes27 Posted June 3, 2015 #6 Share Posted June 3, 2015 We were just there last week. We went to Ephesus including the Terrace Houses, Basilica of St John and Virgin Mary House. We are Catholic and wanted to see the Christian sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funtoocruise Posted June 3, 2015 #7 Share Posted June 3, 2015 We were just there last week. We went to Ephesus including the Terrace Houses, Basilica of St John and Virgin Mary House. We are Catholic and wanted to see the Christian sites. Did you go with a ship tour or private tour? And if it was private which tour company?, we are going in August and I'm trying to decide on tour companies. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisefanatic16 Posted June 4, 2015 #8 Share Posted June 4, 2015 hi do we need turkish lira in Kusadasi or we can use euros? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve ch Posted June 4, 2015 #9 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Did you go with a ship tour or private tour? And if it was private which tour company?, we are going in August and I'm trying to decide on tour companies.Thanks The terrace houses at Ephesus are a must see. Check carefully if booking through your cruise line that they are included. Many cruise line organised tours skip the terrace houses, as the number of people allowed in is limited, and the cruise line tour size is too big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angeleyes27 Posted June 4, 2015 #10 Share Posted June 4, 2015 We just used Ephesus Shuttle last week and were pleased with them. Most places accept Turkish lira, Euros and credit cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted June 4, 2015 #11 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Do be careful with your credit card in Ephesus as we had one of credit cards compromised and our bank caught it right away so we were not out of pocket. It was compromised at a rug making school near the port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alohaaloha Posted June 5, 2015 #12 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Kusadasi itself is just a small port town with a harbour, restaurants and bars and a Grand Bazaar area, which is basically shop after shop full of counterfeit and replica goods. There is the odd authentic Turkish shop selling leather goods, rugs etc, but we didn't see many of those. Apparently there is a beach area quite close to port, but I don't know much about that as we didn't venture there. Ephesus is definitely a must do if you haven't been to this area before. You could do Ephesus first thing and then do the more touristy Grand Bazaar before heading back to the ship. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funtoocruise Posted June 5, 2015 #13 Share Posted June 5, 2015 We just used Ephesus Shuttle last week and were pleased with them. Most places accept Turkish lira, Euros and credit cards. Thanks we were looking at Ephesus Deluxe as they include the terrace houses. Does anyone have experience with them?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptrpanpens Posted June 7, 2015 #14 Share Posted June 7, 2015 I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Turkish guides as they have very stringent requirements and in my experience have all been fantastic wherever I have gone in Turkey. Having said that, we had an especially outstanding guide in Ephesus, Hakan Edirne from Meander Travel, whom I would highly recommend. This was my fourth visit there over the years and it was very interesting to see the progress in the Terrace Houses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downsmead Posted June 10, 2015 #15 Share Posted June 10, 2015 We used this company for our tour of Ephesus and found them excellent. The guide was very knowledgable. Agree that a tour of the Terrace houses is a must. Fatma was great at responding to emails and creating a tour to suit our group's wishes :). I think that Ephesus is one of the unsung sites of the Med. IMHO it is better than Pompeii. fatmaacarguide@hotmail.com fatmaacar@ttmail.com www.ephesuskusadasi.com Alternatively the AquaPark looks fabulous (depending on age), my daughter and her boyfriend are going there when their cruise docks at Ephesus later this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiltonian Posted June 10, 2015 #16 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Thanks we were looking at Ephesus Deluxe as they include the terrace houses. Does anyone have experience with them?? We used Ephesus Deluxe, and were very impressed, especially with the guide. The lunch break (free) is at a carpet factory, but the sales pitch was brief and not oppressive. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasjan Posted June 17, 2015 #17 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Kusadashi has market with very aggressive vendors. We went on a cruise ship tour to Ephesus. It was very good, but they took us to a rug shop afterwards where we saw a demonstration and then the salesmen came in to talk about selling us a rug. It was near the ship, so we ducked out as soon as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angeleyes27 Posted June 18, 2015 #18 Share Posted June 18, 2015 I wanted to shop in that mall near the port but the salesmen stood outside and were coaxing me to see what they had. I felt uncomfortable and would probably have bought more things if they were not as pushy. Maybe they do not realize that. We bought a rug but my husband did not bargain for it so I wonder if we paid too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funtoocruise Posted June 19, 2015 #19 Share Posted June 19, 2015 We used Ephesus Deluxe, and were very impressed, especially with the guide. The lunch break (free) is at a carpet factory, but the sales pitch was brief and not oppressive. Stuart Thank you so much that is what I needed to hear:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangearmy Posted June 20, 2015 #20 Share Posted June 20, 2015 (edited) We have been to Kusadasi twice & on both occasions used Ephesus Deluxe. We bought their package with a guide and driver so there were only the 2 of us in the vehicle. Both times were outstanding. If you use them, i would recommend asking for an itinerary that stops at Mother Mary's home, Ephesus, & the Basilica of St. John. The temple of Artemis is really just one column sticking out of the ground now & you can see it from the Basilica of St. John. As for lunch the first time we were taken to a farm(?) where they also manufactured carpet. It was interesting to see & the sales pitch was not that high pressured. The second time we opted to skip the carpet factory & went to a local restaurant for lunch. The tour also included a stop at a museum in the area with some nice artifacts from Ephesus. So it was a very full day of touring & we felt very good value for the money spent. Edited June 20, 2015 by orangearmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_cruiser Posted September 5, 2015 Author #21 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Is Kusadasi easy to get around on your own?? and is it easy to get to the Ephesus on your own? or do you need to do a tour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabear Posted September 6, 2015 #22 Share Posted September 6, 2015 while you can walk around Ephesus alone you will miss the history and explanations of what you are seeing. We do also recommend touring the terrace houses there even though there is an extra charge, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinkBellaMom Posted September 6, 2015 #23 Share Posted September 6, 2015 (edited) We were just there last week. We went to Ephesus including the Terrace Houses, Basilica of St John and Virgin Mary House. We are Catholic and wanted to see the Christian sites. Forgive me for going a little off topic but, we have a friend who is catholic and would love to have a keepsake from Virgin Mary House. I read somewhere that you can get water from a fountain there. Do you know if this is true? Do you need to bring a bottle to collect? Thank you Edited September 6, 2015 by TinkBellaMom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angeleyes27 Posted September 6, 2015 #24 Share Posted September 6, 2015 We were there in May. They have a gift shop where you can get little bottles of the holy water as well as rosaries, keychains, and different puctures of the Blessed Mother. You can also bring a bottle and get your own holly water. It was similar to soyvenirs from Rome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angeleyes27 Posted September 6, 2015 #25 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Sorry, holy water and it is souvenirs. My fingers have a hard time typing on this tablet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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