Ephesus Excursion Queries

[Hlitner]

We have been to the ruins at Ephesus, 4 times.  On those visits we have used a Princess Excursion, gone on our own (twice), and booked a private tour (for just the two of us) on one visit.  By far, the best experience was when we had our own private guide (which actually cost less than a similar large group excursion),  2nd place was when we simply went on our own (once using public transportation and hiking and the other time with our own rental car.  The excursion was not a very good experience (compared to the other three visits).  In the interests of full disclosure, we strongly dislike most large group excursions.

 

By the way, a huge advantage to a private guide (we used Ekol Tours) or DIY is being able to avoid the usual pottery/jewelry factory malarkey that is part of nearly every cruise ship excursion.  Shopping in Kusadasi can be a lot of fun, but being held hostage at some kind of faux factory (a major profit center for the excursion companies).

 

Hank

 

 

[dickinson]

On 7/18/2024 at 11:22 AM, Hlitner said:

We have been to the ruins at Ephesus, 4 times.  On those visits we have used a Princess Excursion, gone on our own (twice), and booked a private tour (for just the two of us) on one visit.  By far, the best experience was when we had our own private guide (which actually cost less than a similar large group excursion),  2nd place was when we simply went on our own (once using public transportation and hiking and the other time with our own rental car.  The excursion was not a very good experience (compared to the other three visits).  In the interests of full disclosure, we strongly dislike most large group excursions.

 

By the way, a huge advantage to a private guide (we used Ekol Tours) or DIY is being able to avoid the usual pottery/jewelry factory malarkey that is part of nearly every cruise ship excursion.  Shopping in Kusadasi can be a lot of fun, but being held hostage at some kind of faux factory (a major profit center for the excursion companies).

 

Hank

 

 

Thanks for your input. We are going next June.  Princess excursions are very expensive now.  I checked out Ekol tours that you recommended but can't tell if their pricing is per person or total.  It lists the number of people and then a price. Most expensive is $99 and that is listed under 2-3 people.  I will contact them if necessary but wondering if you remembered.

[Hlitner]

10 minutes ago, dickinson said:

Thanks for your input. We are going next June.  Princess excursions are very expensive now.  I checked out Ekol tours that you recommended but can't tell if their pricing is per person or total.  It lists the number of people and then a price. Most expensive is $99 and that is listed under 2-3 people.  I will contact them if necessary but wondering if you remembered.

I truly do not remember, but even so, what existed pre-covid may have changed.  I did just look at the site and it appears they are cost, per person, as the cost decreased with greater numbers.  

 

Although I mentioned that we used Ekol, I was careful not to give them a personal recommendation.  Times have changed, and since it has been more than 5 years since we used Ekol, I do think one would want to rely on a more recent recommendation.  I can tell you that Ekol has been around for quite a few years and does operate private tours in quite a few places within Turkey and Greece.  Our own experience with Ekol was terrific, but these days, who knows?   

 

Hank

[dickinson]

17 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I truly do not remember, but even so, what existed pre-covid may have changed.  I did just look at the site and it appears they are cost, per person, as the cost decreased with greater numbers.  

 

Although I mentioned that we used Ekol, I was careful not to give them a personal recommendation.  Times have changed, and since it has been more than 5 years since we used Ekol, I do think one would want to rely on a more recent recommendation.  I can tell you that Ekol has been around for quite a few years and does operate private tours in quite a few places within Turkey and Greece.  Our own experience with Ekol was terrific, but these days, who knows?   

 

Hank

Thank you. I’ll be checking them out plus others.

[BETTY2K4]

On 3/7/2023 at 12:15 PM, Peadar2000 said:

 

Hello everyone. This is my first post (transferred from the Roll Call section where in my ignorance I originally posted it). My husband and I (early 40s) are going on our first cruise this summer aboard the Constellation. It’s a belated honeymoon. For most of the ports we’ll do our own thing, except for Kusadasi/Ephesus. I’m torn between the Celebrity excursions and the independent providers. I have some queries.
 

1.  Group size. How big are the general excursion groups? Are we talking 50/60 people? And does this mean a slow, sluggish slog with difficulty hearing the guide/seeing the monuments? Is it worth looking at the tours with limited numbers? (I’m not particularly interested in the very private tours.)

2. I am interested in seeing the House of the Virgin Mary and the Ephesus complex. I know the Temple of Artemis in Selçuk is one of the seven Wonders of the World but Google Earth suggests it’s little more than some stones in a field these days. If I picked a tour that doesn’t include this would I regret it?

3. I’ve seen competing tours offer pretty much the same sites but one might last 4 hours and another 6 hours. What can account for this time difference? Is the short one going to be ‘bang, bang, bang, you’re done’ and the long one an in-depth, informative dive into history?
4. To lunch or not to lunch! Some tours include a lunch of Turkish meze. To be honest that kind of food doesn’t particularly appeal to me and I wonder too does an included lunch add unnecessary time to the excursion. As it’s our first cruise I’m happy to head back to the ship and graze for lunch there.

5. Another area of slight concern is the carpet demonstrations which seem hard to avoid. From what I can tell they are used to pressure guests into buying largely unwanted products. I have no interest in learning how rugs/carpets are made; can I get duck out of these without too much issue?

6. The Celebrity excursions seem to be more expensive than the ones on Shore Excursions Group and Venture Ashore. Are they all essentially the same offerings? The ones on Viator offer ‘skip the queue’ tickets. I assume all the other ones include entry tickets that also skip the queue? Our trip is in July so crowds will be inescapable but obviously I’d like to keep the waiting around to a minimum.

 

I’m sorry for throwing all these questions at ye, but I would really appreciate any helpful advice. We booked this cruise last September when July seemed so far away but it’s scary how fast the time is passing and now July is coming into sight. I’m getting excited!

I highly recommend you read the article below; You will find answers to all your questions.

https://www.bestephesustours.com/blog/ephesus-tours-group-vs-private.html

[Markanddonna]

Skip the House of the Virgin Mary unless you are a Roman Catholic. Read how it was discovered.