Ephesus tours

[Katherine Heart]

Has anyone used Celsus Travel or New Faces Travel? We are interested in a tour of Sirince, the Isabey Mosque, etc. We are on the August 26 Black Sea Oceania Cruise.

[Christine Frances]

We used GoEphesus http://www.goephesustour.com/ephesus-terrace-houses-tour,17.html

Great tour and only 10 of us. We got to the site before the tour buses. We were dropped at the top and worked our way down and were met by our transport at the base - very nice. Do not miss the Terrace Houses!!

[jane02]

We also used Ekol for both Ephesus and Istanbul and were very happy with both tours.

We always have a laugh about Ephesus as I made the infamous statement among our group of four "under no circumstances are we looking at a rug shop". My sister in law wanted to look and of course - I was the one who bought a rug!!:o:o I absolutely love it - it was a smallish silk rug but we have a large ensuite and it looks divine. Everytime I walk into that room it reminds me of Ephesus and I have had so many people comment on how unique my rug is.

We also stopped at a leather shop(sister in law again!!) and all three girls in our group bought beautiful leather jackets.

There was no pressure by our driver and tour guide at any time to stop but we are all glad we did.

Ephesus was amazing and Istanbul was one of my most favorite ports. I cannot wait to go back.

Kellie;)

[amer_can]

"Hello Ephesus" worked for us.. Both the terrace houses and Mary's house were included ( not all the tours include both) great little gal as a very knowledgable guide (Rabi ? sp?) included lunch and a tour of the weaving school..very interesting. You can certainly opt out of the rug buying but I didn't as they were lovely. A private tour is the way to go. I believe it cost $75 US each and they preferred cash which eas no problem..Check them out. Turkey was awesome...

[huskies561]

We used Ephesus Shuttle. Our tour guide was Yelda Celik and she was amazing. We saw Mary's house which we all agreed was inspiring and very peaceful, Don't miss the Terrace Houses it is the best extra $10 you will spend. We also visited a ceramics factory which our guide suggested. There was no pressure to buy but we all loved the work so much we didn't come away empty handed. It was amazing to watch the craftsmen work. Again I can't say enough about Yelda, she was so knowledgeable and very pleasant. Also the price was great. In our 17 days of cruising this last trip it was definetly our best tour.

[tanny18]

Has anyone used Celsus Travel or New Faces Travel? We are interested in a tour of Sirince, the Isabey Mosque, etc. We are on the August 26 Black Sea Oceania Cruise.

We've used New Faces on many occasions, most recently just a few weeks ago when we were in Kusadasi and went to Izir. We used them in Istantul 2x, Ephesus, Antalya, Trabazon. Great guides, reasonable prices and no deposit..Enjoy. Arlene;)

[rhohea]

Have just returned from 20 days on Marina and we had Yelda Celik as our guide and she was amazing. I can't say enough about Yelda, she was so knowledgeable, very pleasant and down to earth with excellent English. She took us at the end of our tour to lunch in a nearby village of Sirince at a restuarant called Ocakbasi. We had the best meal at the cost was only E18 per couple and that included coffee & beers for everyone. The price of the tour was very reasonable as well.

[pier]

We booked Levant Solmaz months in advance for Istanbul and Ephesus, and it was a really bad experience. Ekol saved us at the last minute. We were very satisfied.

 

Below is a link to the best discussion on tour guides for Ephesus and Istanbul that I have seen. Anyone thinking of booking a guide there should read it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1221993

 

The terrace houses are amazing! Don't miss them.

[JimandStan]

Alternatively, we've used Levant Solmaz twice......once for four days In Istanbul. and the second time for a day in Ephesus and three days in Istanbul and had an exquisite tour each time.

 

Levant is truly a gifted tour guide, and was brilliantly kind and solicitous of my eighty year old mother in law who needed kid gloves treatment getting through Ephesus.

 

We're using him again, next April, for a tour of "the unseen Ephesus".

 

http://leventsolmaz.com/

[AdvenLee]

Has anyone taken the ship's tour of Ephesus that includes the Terrace Houses? We have been to Ephesus about 10 years ago, but have not seen the Terrace Houses. My husband is leary of any tours except ship tours. Thus, I would like to hear of anyone's experience of taking the ship tour to Ephesus that includes the Terrace Houses.

[CintiPam]

Has anyone taken the ship's tour of Ephesus that includes the Terrace Houses? We have been to Ephesus about 10 years ago, but have not seen the Terrace Houses. My husband is leary of any tours except ship tours. Thus, I would like to hear of anyone's experience of taking the ship tour to Ephesus that includes the Terrace Houses.

 

When I visited, there was a group size limit of 12 or 15 for entrance to the Terrace Houses, so none of the ship's tours included them.

[swifs]

We recently returned from a Seabourn cruise where we took the ship's tour that included the Terrace Houses. We thought our guide was wonderful and the Terrace Houses were incredible. It is one of the few places where you can really visualize what the living quarters of the ancient residents actually looked like. Don't miss this.

[pier]

Alternatively, we've used Levant Solmaz twice......once for four days In Istanbul. and the second time for a day in Ephesus and three days in Istanbul and had an exquisite tour each time.

 

Levant is truly a gifted tour guide, and was brilliantly kind and solicitous of my eighty year old mother in law who needed kid gloves treatment getting through Ephesus.

 

We're using him again, next April, for a tour of "the unseen Ephesus".

 

 

You're fortunate that you've had good experiences with Levant Solmaz. A number of us weren't as lucky. After I related my experience, others came forward with theirs, all of us treated similarly, and badly. It mystifies me as to why anyone would want to risk engaging Levant Solmaz when there are so many choices of excellent guides for Istanbul and Ephesus who are absolutely dependable and charge far more reasonable prices.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1221993

[JimandStan]

You're fortunate that you've had good experiences with Levant Solmaz. A number of us weren't as lucky. After I related my experience, others came forward with theirs, all of us treated similarly, and badly. It mystifies me as to why anyone would want to risk engaging Levant Solmaz when there are so many choices of excellent guides for Istanbul and Ephesus who are absolutely dependable and charge far more reasonable prices.

 

As I understand it, when you made the initial reservation for Ephesus and mentioned the possibility of adding additional people to keep the cost down, Levant was under the impression that either YOU or HE had that option.

 

After that initial misunderstanding, nothing that he could do or say would make you happy, and so you decided to part ways.

 

Money had never changed hands, so it seemed like "no harm, no foul".

 

I can sympathize with your discomfit at having to change your plans at what you see as "the last minute", but since you admit that you were able to book a very satisfactory replacement that you actually preferred, I have to wonder why you remain so upset with Levant?

 

Maybe it was all for the best.

 

Sometimes people just rub each other the wrong way. Why not just chalk it up to experience and let bygones be bygones?

[pier]

As I understand it, when you made the initial reservation for Ephesus and mentioned the possibility of adding additional people to keep the cost down, Levant was under the impression that either YOU or HE had that option.

 

After that initial misunderstanding, nothing that he could do or say would make you happy, and so you decided to part ways.

 

Money had never changed hands, so it seemed like "no harm, no foul".

 

I can sympathize with your discomfit at having to change your plans at what you see as "the last minute", but since you admit that you were able to book a very satisfactory replacement that you actually preferred, I have to wonder why you remain so upset with Levant?

 

Maybe it was all for the best.

 

It's admirable that you want to defend Levant, but when you defend someone, it's helpful to have the correct facts. When we made the initial reservation with Levant, the agreement was that we would be engaging him for three days in Istanbul in a private tour and that we would add people in Ephesus AT OUR DISCRETION, NOT HIS, if we chose to do so. He waited until the week we were going to leave to inform us that he was putting us in with a group of 10 people who all knew each other. (From previous emails we knew that the van comfortably seated 10. The day we were in Ephesus it was 106 degrees.) We didn't want to intrude on another group, and we didn't want to be the cause of the van being overcrowded. Most important, I had promised two other couples a tour in Ephesus that would cost them $50 a person. Levant said we could go with one of his associates at a considerably higher price.

 

He used "family troubles" as an excuse for contacting us so late and for being unable to be our guide on our first day in Istanbul and said he would send another one of his associates. He did, however, want to be our guide for the last two days, and he especially wanted to provide transportation to the airport from our hotel. When we first booked him, I didn't pay much attention to the $70 airport transportation fee that he tacked on to the booking (I only requested guide services, not transportation services). Under the new, last minute agreement that he sent, he'd raised the airport transportation fee to $90. At that point in made no difference. We sent him an email telling him we no longer wanted his services.

 

I felt terrible telling the people who were supposed to go on the Ephesus tour with us that we no longer had the guide. I would never have posted on roll call if I'd known that this would happen. We found Nur at Ekol at the very last minute and feel fortunate that it all worked out.

 

I thought we were done with Levant, but we weren't. On our third day in Istanbul, we were at a tourist site with our guide and happened to meet a woman from the ship who told me that Levant was talking about us, telling people he was upset because we canceled him. The fellow certainly isn't professional.

 

But he is ambitious (to put it tactfully). In Istanbul, we arranged transportation to the airport through our hotel. We were told that the cost was usually 25 euros, but because we would be sharing the van with another couple, it was 20 euros. Then we understood why he was so anxious to "provide" our transportation.

 

 

As fate would have it, we happened to stay in the same hotel in Athens pre-cruise as the group of 10 that Levant had scheduled. They booked him long before he let us know that he was breaking our contract. Apparently he felt that if he waited until the last minute to let us know what he had done, we would have no choice other than to go along with it. So much for his excuse of "family troubles." I believe he was also their guide on the first day in Istanbul, for which he used the family troubles excuse.

 

I don't know how our experience with Levant Solmaz was "all for the best." Instead of having a relaxed time packing before our vacation, we had days of aggravation. And he has burned others as well, using excuses of family illness or family troubles. It is all so unnecessary when there are so many competent, reliable guides who play it straight with people.

[JimandStan]

I certainly don't intend to ruffle any feathers, but, since you haven't mentioned (as I'm sure you would have) that anything was in writing about the aborted tour of Ephesus, it strikes me as odd that you cannot entertain the possibility that you and Levant misunderstood each other in terms of adding more people.

 

As an example, you assume that he would have crowded the twelve of you into a ten person van, but as that Van would have been a rental, it would have been nothing to upgrade to a larger size of vehicle.

 

FYI we also used Levant as "transportation" to the airport when we left Istanbul, and he ties the trip into a very charming tour of the Ottoman Walls and Gates of the City which seem to run on for miles and miles

-With lunch, if the time of your flight allows......much nicer than a taxi ride

[pier]

I certainly don't intend to ruffle any feathers, but, since you haven't mentioned (as I'm sure you would have) that anything was in writing about the aborted tour of Ephesus, it strikes me as odd that you cannot entertain the possibility that you and Levant misunderstood each other in terms of adding more people.

 

As an example, you assume that he would have crowded the twelve of you into a ten person van, but as that Van would have been a rental, it would have been nothing to upgrade to a larger size of vehicle.

 

I think you have done enough nitpicking. The size of the van wasn't the issue. The point was that I had promised two other couples the tour of Ephesus with us. Instead, Levant placed us as tag-alongs with a group of ten people when our agreement with him was that it was OUR CHOICE regarding adding others to our tour.

 

For someone who doesn't intend to ruffle any feathers, you're certainly doing a good job of it, particularly when you seem to question my veracity. As it happens, I printed all of my email communication with Levant--including everything about the tour to Ephesus--and would be happy to mail a copy to you.

 

In my opinion, Cruise Critic is one of the most valuable websites on the Internet. The Oceania thread is particularly wonderful. Many times I have asked about hotels, tours, transportation, etc., and I have always received generous, well-intentioned responses for which I've been grateful. This is the Internet at its best.

 

Last year when I asked about hotels in Athens, I discovered something negative about a website that a fellow Cruise Critic member had recommended. When I posted what I'd learned, he thanked me and made the comment that that's what this board is about--giving a head's up sign when it's necessary. And that is my intention with Levant Solmaz. We had a problem with him, as did whale-watcher and MercedMike. I'm sure there were others. People need to know. With so many reliable guides out there, they don't have to be at risk for repeating our experience.

 

This ends it.

[nparmelee]

Levant may have gotten too popular. When we went to Ephesus and Istanbul back in 2006, we booked him for Ephesus and he cancelled on us for what he said was a family wedding. He did recommend another guide who worked out great, but I rather suspected then, and think it even more likely now, that he picks which tour group might be in his best interest and then throws customers to other friends or associates and maybe plays a few other little games. My suspicion here stems from the timing, he booked with us quite a few months before our trip, he does book up early, but did not cancel until just a few weeks before our arrival and in my family, we pretty much know about family weddings months ahead. Our day at Ephesus happened to be a Friday, not sure if that was a factor or not. There are plenty of options in that area, I would always have a plan b or even c if booking with Levant though and would be happy to get him as the guide but would not necessarily expect it to happen. In our case our day still turned out great and we are now trying to figure out which cruise is most appealing to us to get back to Ephesus since our last trip was a few weeks before the Terrace Houses opened and we would really like to go back and see those.

[no fuss travel]

We booked with Ekol and were more than happy this past May. Our tour guides name was Alex. The company, because it was our 25th Wedding Anniversary, took us out for lunch which we were not expecting. Alex ended up answering several questions from Oceania tour groups, which I though was very nice of him while he waited for my spouse to take pictures. We would highly recommend the company.

[BlindCreek]

We booked tours with Levent Solmaz for both Ephesus and Istanbul. We were a group of 6 in Ephesus and just two of us for Istanbul. We were very happy with the Ephesus tour which made us look forward to devoted time alone with him in Istanbul. He is extremely knowledgeable, speaks English very well, is personable and goes out of the way to make the history come alive in interesting and engaging ways. We also heard from a number of previous travellers that Mary's house was not worth the look or expense. The terrace houses are amazing as is the whole Ephesus experience.

[JimandStan]

The odd thing is that, compared to the guides in France, Monte Carlo, Rome, Naples, and Athens. we found Levant to be very inexpensive.

[muddsmom]

We booked tours with Levent Solmaz for both Ephesus and Istanbul. We were a group of 6 in Ephesus and just two of us for Istanbul. We were very happy with the Ephesus tour which made us look forward to devoted time alone with him in Istanbul. He is extremely knowledgeable, speaks English very well, is personable and goes out of the way to make the history come alive in interesting and engaging ways. We also heard from a number of previous travellers that Mary's house was not worth the look or expense. The terrace houses are amazing as is the whole Ephesus experience.

 

Regarding Mary's House! I think that is a very personal experience. My husband and I found it overwhelming. Of all the things we saw during that tour, her home was the one thing I will always remember

[ToTravelIsToLive]

If you are going to do Ephesus under no circumstances miss the terrace houses and Mary's house. Our tour company would be hard to beat. It was very much more than the cruise tour could offer, included lunch and both the above venues and way, way less costly:). There were 6 of us, not hard to arrange and a great experience. If you want I can give you the name.

 

I would love the name- trying to arrange a tour for next week in Ephesus and Athens.

[YoHoHo]

I would love the name- trying to arrange a tour for next week in Ephesus and Athens.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! The problem you have is amer_can may not be seeing this immediately as this thread is a year old and you have little time to wait. I am sure other O board readers will post though.

 

However, you should also ask for guide advice in the Ports of Call section for Turkey on these boards and most definitely join the Roll Call for your cruise. That is another section of these boards where you can meet up with others on your same sailing. If your cruise is departing in a week most on the Roll Call will have made their arrangments but someone may still have an opening on their private tour that you can join or have guide suggestions. Also if they are having a Meet & Greet they would be happy to have you join in.

[su-arizona]

We used Ekol Tours from Kusadasi last year and were very pleased (although they did try to get us to stop at a carpet factory on our way back). The guide was extremely knowledgable, and they used a comfortable small Mercedes bus for 8 of us. Comparing notes afterward, our tour was much better than the ship tours.

 

We were on Nautica in July - and 3 passengers ended up in the hospital from the Ephesus tour with heat problems. One person in our group ended up with the ship's doctor with heat problems. Beware - it can be VERY HOT in Ephesus; there is no shade (except in the Terrace Houses, which can be even hotter due to limited air flow) and there is no place to stop from the beginning of the street to the end. It is an amazing sight, but take along LOTS OF WATER.