Kusadasi again

[cruise kitty]

Hi everyone!   One of our ports on a very far off cruise has been changed from Santorini (been, there, but was really, really looking forward to returning) to Kusadasi (been there, & visited Ephesus w/terrace houses  & Sirince village on a private tour)

 

I have to say I'm surprised at Celebrity's change, especially so far in advance,  I'm really not a fan of Turkey's current administration, but  a lot can happen in two years.  

 

This, said, any recommendations on good historic sites to see besides Ephesus?  Not a fan of  beaches, or shopping (unless of course it's a cool  bazaar or market like  those in Istanbul, from what I remember, Kusadasi did not really have those, it was more of a tourist town)     Any advice on day trips from port would be appreciated.  :)

[MeHeartCruising]

I was in Kusadasi 2 times within a 2 week period on back-to-back cruises a few years ago.  I didn't find much I wanted to do other than ruins and I wasn't interested in arranging my own tours since I booked the cruise on short notice.  So I used the ship tours (Royal Caribbean).   I ended up visiting Ephesus twice on 2 different Royal Caribbean excursions.  One of them did the standard Ephesus tour + the Terrace Houses.  The second one did Ephesus, Didyma and Miletus.  These 2 sites of ruins are worth visiting, in my opinion.  I actually didn't mind visiting Ephesus the second time as the guide was different and had a few different spins from the first guide. I still see these excursion on Royal Caribbean's website.  I'd be willing to bet it's available from Celebrity as well.  You might check it out.

[cruise kitty]

1 hour ago, MeHeartCruising said:

I was in Kusadasi 2 times within a 2 week period on back-to-back cruises a few years ago.  I didn't find much I wanted to do other than ruins and I wasn't interested in arranging my own tours since I booked the cruise on short notice.  So I used the ship tours (Royal Caribbean).   I ended up visiting Ephesus twice on 2 different Royal Caribbean excursions.  One of them did the standard Ephesus tour + the Terrace Houses.  The second one did Ephesus, Didyma and Miletus.  These 2 sites of ruins are worth visiting, in my opinion.  I actually didn't mind visiting Ephesus the second time as the guide was different and had a few different spins from the first guide. I still see these excursion on Royal Caribbean's website.  I'd be willing to bet it's available from Celebrity as well.  You might check it out.

 

Thank you I'll check out Didyma & Miletus.    We'd either do DIY or hire a private guide.  We used EKOL in the past but it looks like they've gone out of business.  

[cruise kitty]

On 12/31/2018 at 11:09 AM, NiaGara-Buff said:

You can go south of Ephesus to Didyma, Miletus and Priene to see more Hellenistic ruins or take a tour to Pamukkale. Limestone terraces there are spectacular.

 

Thank you, this is just what I was looking for, I'll look into these sites!  Happy New Year to you.

[cruisemom42]

Hi Cruise Kitty!

 

Priene, Miletus, and Didyma are what I would HIGHLY recommend. Wonderful sites, each one with its own character. I've written a number of posts about them over the years (have visited each of them twice, all three can be done in a 3/4 day private tour...).  And they are not a great distance from Kusadasi. 

 

Pamukkale, while stunning for its "cotton candy" terraces and the Roman ruins next door, is quite a long distance from Kusadasi. Unless your ship is in port quite late, I wouldn't do it as you'll be driving a long distance each way, eating into the amount of time you'd actually have at the site.

 

Out of curiosity, what cruise are you on?  I'm looking at a Celebrity Constellation cruise in 2020 that also had a change to Ephesus from some other Greek island port.  

[bennybear]

Thanks for the great suggestions,  we are going for a fourth time and this gives us some great suggestions. 

[bennybear]

Cruise mom,  is Sirince worth a visit,  or are we better to just visit the three ancient sights?  I see it is quite a distance.