Taxi to Ephesus

[amandas friend]

I have scheduled a taxi to Ephesus from Kusadasi. The driver said he would take us for 80$ , not including entrance fee. He is planning to meet us at the Starbucks near the port. My questions are- is that a safe adventure and is the price reasonable? Thanks 

[Host Kat]

8 hours ago, amandas friend said:

I have scheduled a taxi to Ephesus from Kusadasi. The driver said he would take us for 80$ , not including entrance fee. He is planning to meet us at the Starbucks near the port. My questions are- is that a safe adventure and is the price reasonable? Thanks 

 

Hello @amandas friend

 

Thank you for your new thread, however it was off topic in the forum where posted. To help you out, your new thread has been moved to the Ports of Call - Europe - Mediterranean - Eastern & Western - Other Mediterranean and Black Sea Ports forum where it will be on topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have been there frequent this forum and provide feedback here. Browse through the thread titles on this forum looking for threads of interest. You may find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you. 

 

Hope this will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

 

[zqvol]

20 hours ago, amandas friend said:

I have scheduled a taxi to Ephesus from Kusadasi. The driver said he would take us for 80$ , not including entrance fee. He is planning to meet us at the Starbucks near the port. My questions are- is that a safe adventure and is the price reasonable? Thanks 

I think I would pay more and arrange a private tour. We have used EKOL travel both in Kusadasi and Istanbul and were very pleased. The cost is a bit more but you have a guide and admission is included. 

[John Bull]

Some years back we negotiated the same thing with a taxi - he took us to the entrance then drove to the other end of the site where he waited for us. 

Yes, it's a safe excursion.

I don't recall how much we paid, it was a lot less but it was quite a few years ago.

 

But there's a big  big BUT ..........................

We hadn't researched & we didn't buy a book from the stalls at the entrance - there's virtually no signage in Ephesus so we didn't have a clue what we were looking at.

We're not keen on hot & dusty old sites, but even we realised that the way we went about it wasn't the best and was a bit of a waste of a day.

 

You need a guide to bring the place to life, you can pick one up at the entrance but that's pot-luck. And adding  the admission charge & a guide to the taxi fare just might make it more expensive than you thought.

I agree with @zqvol that you need a well-recommended tour - privately or shared (but do carefully check timings if it's a shared tour with hotel-based visitors)  Best might be a shared tour via your cruise RollCall

 

JB 🙂

[Hlitner]

We have gone to Ephesus in our rental car, on the local van/bus line (which dropped us along the main road more than a mile from the ruins), on a cruise line excursion, and with our own private guide from Ekol.  I guess you could make the case we have done Ephesus about every reaonable way.  I do think that $80 is very overpriced for a one-way taxi, but not too bad for round trip (assuming the taxi waits or returns at an agreed time).  Keep in mind that ideally, at Ephesus, you would be dropped at the upper entrance, walk down through the ruins, and meet your transportation at the bottom exit.  This saves a lot of walking.

 

I agree with JB, that a private tour (we recommend Ekol) makes the most sense in terms of logistics, and having a professional guide to explain some of what you will see.  The ruins of Ephesus are truly fantastic, and a good guide really adds to the enjoyment and understanding.  I do not normally suggest that a first-time visitor go to these ruins on their own.  No problem with the safety issue, but without a guide the first-time visitor will miss out on a lot of the history.

 

Hank

[lydnsyd]

I would recommend a private tour with a guide so they can explain all about the history 

[Fred321]

I would also recommend a private tour with a guide who will explain what you are seeing. We have used a company called Ephesus Shuttle a number of times and they have always been great.

[LEtue]

I have also used Ephesus Shuttle in Kusadasi and Istanbul and both were great.  

 

Will be using them again next year.....