Ephesus tour - Kusadasi

[Oldies123]

Just looking at excursions for Kusadasi, Turkey with our HAL cruise 2020.  Has anyone any suggestions or recommendations for private tours to see Ephesus and the Terrace Houses ?  There are a couple on TripAdvisor which look ok, but has anyone had any experience and can recommend ? We are looking for a 5 hour (ish) tour.

Thank you

[Tbay]

We have done a private tour but I am sorry I can't help you with the name of the company as we didn't arrange it.  But, I would suggest that you do go to the Terrace Houses.  Amazing.  You need Turkish currency to pay the admission, if it isn't in your tour fee. Enjoy.

[iancal]

We did this several years ago.  We selected a guide based on tripadvisor recommendations.  We were on a Celebrity cruise.

 

We paid less for our tour -four of us.  As I recall, even with tip the private guide was about the cost of 3 people for the cruise excursion.  Cost was not our motivator.  We simply did not want a tour with a bus full of people.

 

What we got:  Private van with guide and a driver.  We were moved thought the sites prior to the arrival of the cruise tour busses.  We spent lots of time at the terraced houses.  As we were leaving, the tour bus crowds arrived.  Our guide was very informative, she was a grad of the college tourism course and spoke perfect english.  We were not subjected to any carpet stores or trinket and trash stores operated by her cousins.  As I recall, we were about four hours.  They guide and driver picked up another group from the ship after dropping us off in the early afternoon.

 

Our companions wanted to visit Marys house or whatever.  Turned out to be nothing but a tourist trap, albeit a well conceived tourist trap.    Overall  an excellent tour, perfect guide and driver.   If we do this again we would not even consider a cruise ship excursion for this one.

Edited December 15, 2019 by iancal

[Oldies123]

Many thanks for the replies,   iancal - can you remember who the tour operator was ?

[cruisemom42]

I've been to Ephesus a number of times, both on my own, as part of a private tour several times, and once on a ship tour (no cost) that was a small-group tour and offered the Terrace Houses. I used Ephesus Shuttle last time I was there, but that was about 4 years ago, and I thought they were okay to good. (Not great.) 

 

Fair warning, most of the private tour operators from Kusadasi insist on taking you to one of several "shopping" opportunities as part of your tour. If you don't mind that sort of thing, then you're fine. There is the carpet "factory" with a very perfunctory "educational" component on how rugs are made, then you are asked if you want to see the rugs....   Or there is the leather "factory" with very expensive leather jackets, primarily, where you have to sit through a runway show -- I consider that the worst option. Finally, there is the ceramic store. 

 

If you do not want to include one of these stops, you must strenuously insist on it, not only when you book the tour but also when you arrive and meet your guide. They will not be happy as they all get a kickback from any sales and (I assume) some sort of money just for bringing you there.

 

 

[iancal]

I cannot recall who the tour operator was.  It was several years ago.  You cannot  IMHO really depend on tour, restaurant, hotel data unless it is fairly recent.  These places change.  It was not a mom and pop operation with a beat up old van.   We lucked out.  We were asked specifically if we wanted to shop.....we declined.

 

We reserved via email.  No payment req'd.  We re confirmed a few days prior to our arrival day.  We have had very good luck when touring in Turkey and in Greece.  Which is why we keep returning!

Edited December 15, 2019 by iancal

[Oldies123]

Many thanks, I think we will most certainly do a private tour as opposed to cruise excursion, probably will leave it until early 2020 as we are not sailing until late June 2020.

 

Thank you to all responses

[bennybear]

We used Levant Solmaz a few months ago.  He was excellent, he is a trained guide and will do exactly what you wish to see.  We had visited the terrace houses twice so this time we did the Ancient cities of Priene, Miletus and Didyma.   But he also does Ephesus and we would highly recommend him.  

[1025cruise]

You should check the port of calls forum that covers Ephesus. 

[kazu]

When we did it, I booked a private tour with Denizhan.  He is an excellent guide and we all had a fabulous day thanks to his expertise.

[MAVIP]

In 2015 we used kusadasitaxiport.com  We reserved a few weeks before visiting Kusadasi. We paid at the end of the trip  (from just outside the terminal to Ephesus and back) € 50,= for the taxi; not per person. If I remember well we spend a little more than half day for the trip (about half an hour one way) and visit. Take care to buy tickets to visit the appartments at the same time as the entry tickets. The taxi driver waited during our whole visit. No limit. Very correct driver and car. 

[leanstostarboard]

In 2016 we had a full day tour for 3 of us from contact@ephesustours.biz which is part of a larger Turkish tour company whose name I cannot recall.  We were met at the dock by a guide a driver and a comfortable car. We had arranged in advance for a full day tour of Ephesus and some additional stops.  They were excellent and I would use them. 

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

We have used the ship tours twice.  Both times we skipped the rug factory at the end of the tour.

 

This summer we noticed there were tours being offered in the port area as you walk to the port gate.  We talked the people selling the tours, and the price was reasonable.

 

There is a new port building, and a new shopping area inside the port.

[ger_77]

3 hours ago, bennybear said:

We used Levant Solmaz a few months ago.  He was excellent, he is a trained guide and will do exactly what you wish to see.  We had visited the terrace houses twice so this time we did the Ancient cities of Priene, Miletus and Didyma.   But he also does Ephesus and we would highly recommend him.  

We used Levant Solmaz about 10 years ago - for both our Istanbul and Kusadasi tours.  Unfortunately, he wasn't able to join us for Kusadasi, but provided a colleague who was equally personable and knowledgeable about the area and history.  I would certainly recommend Mr. Solmaz - the 6 of us had a great experience with him.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[Lady Chew]

One of the advantages of doing a small, private tour at Ephesus is that your guide can take you off onto the small side paths that are all over Ephesus that are too narrow for the large groups.  It was unbelievable how much more we saw on that tour (our third, the first two were ship tours)

[Ryten]

Our family four took a private tour in June 2016 through Trip Advisor who sent us off with OTTI Travel on a small bus that could hold up to 12. We were the only passengers so we got a very personal tour of Ephesus and the Terrace Houses with a woman who was fluent in English and had her husband driving the bus. Can't say enough about her professionalism and historical knowledge of the site. We were given the option of the rug factory or returning to the ship. Since it was late June and we were already out we opted to see the rugs and the lunch which was included with wine. The presentation wasn't awful and the prices were cheap as tourism was tanking (Istanbul airport bombing). We now have a small throw rug gracing our stairwell which reminds us daily of the wonderful trip. Hoping you find your own wonderful memories on your cruise.

[kazu]

3 hours ago, Lady Chew said:

One of the advantages of doing a small, private tour at Ephesus is that your guide can take you off onto the small side paths that are all over Ephesus that are too narrow for the large groups.  It was unbelievable how much more we saw on that tour (our third, the first two were ship tours)

 

Excellent point and reminder.  And very true.  We went off on many paths and saw things I am sure the ship’s tours did not.

[westcoastcruiser]

We had an excellent tour 4 years ago.  We used Ephesus Shuttle and our contact  was Suzan.  Our tour was called Private Ephesus with Terrace Houses, Artemission Temple Tour and included a traditional Turkish lunch.  I arranged the tour and it was 5 hours in length.  There were 4 of us on the tour and the total cost was $304 US or $76 US per person.  It was well worth it!  

[Oldies123]

So much info and so helpful, many thanks to you all.  I have checked out the forum on ports of call, it seems both Levent Solmaz and OTTI are mentioned a couple of times so going to check them both out.  Again many thanks

[SargassoPirate]

21 hours ago, Oldies123 said:

Just looking at excursions for Kusadasi, Turkey with our HAL cruise 2020.  Has anyone any suggestions or recommendations for private tours to see Ephesus and the Terrace Houses ?  There are a couple on TripAdvisor which look ok, but has anyone had any experience and can recommend ? We are looking for a 5 hour (ish) tour.

Thank you

 

We have had wonderful tours all over the world through Tours By Locals.  Highly recommend them.  We have not used them in Kusadasi, but I see that their website lists 10 tour guides to choose from.  Hopefully this link will work or you can cut and paste.

 

https://www.toursbylocals.com/TBL/WebObjects/ToursByLocals.woa/wa/mapclick?type=guide&region=62&area=235&wosid=T4TPsQqUIfMxFfuRYKEGHw

 

Edited December 16, 2019 by SargassoPirate

[Oldies123]

36 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

We have had wonderful tours all over the world through Tours By Locals.  Highly recommend them.  We have not used them in Kusadasi, but I see that their website lists 10 tour guides to choose from.  Hopefully this link will work or you can cut and paste.

 

https://www.toursbylocals.com/TBL/WebObjects/ToursByLocals.woa/wa/mapclick?type=guide&region=62&area=235&wosid=T4TPsQqUIfMxFfuRYKEGHw

 

thank you, I have checked the website but it says nothing meets my criteria, no worries, I am confident we will sort something out, thank you again

[ghstudio]

We used cityofsultans.com for all of our tours in Turkey....but it was 6 years ago.  You absolutely should use a private guide and pay the extra admission, if it's not included, to see the terrace houses.  The guide did not insist on visiting any "shopping" sites.

[cruisemom42]

On 12/15/2019 at 11:44 AM, bennybear said:

We used Levant Solmaz a few months ago.  He was excellent, he is a trained guide and will do exactly what you wish to see.  We had visited the terrace houses twice so this time we did the Ancient cities of Priene, Miletus and Didyma.   But he also does Ephesus and we would highly recommend him.  

 

What did you think of Priene, Miletus and Didyma?  The temple at Didyma was breath-taking for me. And I love the site location of Priene...!

 

Also a query, if you don't mind:  Did you ask Levant to avoid any shopping stops and did he comply?  (I'm going back to Ephesus in October and hoping to find a GOOD guide.)

[bennybear]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

What did you think of Priene, Miletus and Didyma?  The temple at Didyma was breath-taking for me. And I love the site location of Priene...!

 

Also a query, if you don't mind:  Did you ask Levant to avoid any shopping stops and did he comply?  (I'm going back to Ephesus in October and hoping to find a GOOD guide.)

 

We were absolutely awed by this tour!  It was so beyond my expectations.  We were the only ones at Priene, to be at the top of the mountain in a ruined city of 50,000 and be in such great ruins. Levent made it come alive, no notes, vestal virgins and all.  Other than my knees didn’t enjoy the climb😔

 

The theatre at Miletus and the baths were also stunning.  The sites just got better and better.  Levent picked fresh figs for us, we were near farmers fields.  Again stunning to see.   I found a pottery shard just laying on the ground.  

 

We then had a lovely fresh fish lunch that Levent provided complete with salads with a view of Didyma.   How had I not heard of this place?   The temple columns seemed to be the largest I have ever seen.  The stories of the Oracle and ornate carvings of Medusa and columns were breathtaking. 

 

No shopping at all, other than we asked to be dropped at the market on the return.  My son loves Turkish cotton and linen shirts 😄 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2019 by bennybear

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, bennybear said:

 

We were absolutely awed by this tour!  It was so beyond my expectations.  We were the only ones at Priene, to be at the top of the mountain in a ruined city of 50,000 and be in such great ruins. Levent made it come alive, no notes, vestal virgins and all.  Other than my knees didn’t enjoy the climb😔

 

The theatre at Miletus and the baths were also stunning.  The sites just got better and better.  Levent picked fresh figs for us, we were near farmers fields.  Again stunning to see.   I found a pottery shard just laying on the ground.  

 

We then had a lovely fresh fish lunch that Levent provided complete with salads with a view of Didyma.   How had I not heard of this place?   The temple columns seemed to be the largest I have ever seen.  The stories of the Oracle and ornate carvings of Medusa and columns were breathtaking. 

 

No shopping at all, other than we asked to be dropped at the market on the return.  My son loves Turkish cotton and linen shirts 😄 

 

 

So happy to hear that Priene is still relatively crowd-free. I had the same experience when I went -- I could actually hear the faint tinkle of bells from goats roaming on nearby hills and a light breeze rustling the leaves; the only sounds there to be heard...  And gorgeous photos!

 

Thanks also for the positive comments on Levent; I have contacted him to ask about a tour.  (I want to go back to Ephesus but see it in depth, including parts that normally aren't included in the "two hour" tour...)