Ephesus Tour; Where am I going wrong?

[twoatsea]

From recommendations on this board, & because I want to be able to "create" our own tour details, I emailed Ekol Tours. I clearly explained what I wanted - ship to Ephesus; tour Ephesus & Terrrace Houses, approx. 4 hours; Ephesus to ship; no shopping; no lunch.

 

I received - will pickup about 8:15am; must have lunch because driver & guide need lunch; will drop off in Kusadasai for independent shopping.

 

I emailed again - since we don't want lunch, & tour is only 4 hrs., can't driver & guide eat after we are dropped off at the ship; also since we don't want to shop, can't they drop us off at the ship after returning to Kusadasi? I also asked how long it takes to get to Ephesus (trying to establish a time line about their lunch).

 

I received & this is a copy - The lunch time will be around noon

time, mostly after you have visited the ruins of Ephesus. After lunch

you will continue to the other sites. The drive from Kusadasi to Ephesus

is only around 20 minutes. Ephesus tour 1 takes around 3 hours + the

30 minutes Terrace Houses so around 3,5 hours depending on the

crowdsness as this is the Minimum time. After the tour you will be dropped of at the port where also the shopping area is.

 

I'm assuming the "other sites" means we will finish Ephesus where we stopped for lunch? So, sounds like we will "lunch" at the ruins - even though we don't want to do so on our time. To me = pickup 8:15am, drive=arrive before 9am; tour 4 hrs=1pm; drive 20 min=1:30pm. I don't see why they can't eat then? Is there a special lunch law in Turkey? All other places in Europe we have visited eat much later for all meals than the US noon time for lunch. Or are they wanting us to buy lunch for the guide & driver?

 

"dropped off at the port where also the shopping area is" ? Is this at the ship - does anyone know? Or are they still trying to get us to shop?

 

I'm going to send 1 more email = Here is what I want; if you can not do this I will look for another company; repeat of my first paragraph.

 

But thought I would try here for advice first. Since others have said they got to create their own tour with Ekol, what am I doing wrong?

 

Another important issue for us is not to extend our tour beyond 4 hours due to our stamina & attention span - that's just us; realize many won't agree with our strategy. So, we will not eat lunch with the driver & guide & do not want to add more time on our feet (in the heat), & do not want to just sit somewhere & cool our heels for an hour of our precious time in port while they eat! I know some will think we sound like pains in the whatever, but we feel it is our dollar (uh, euro, uh lira).

 

Anyone have any other tour company suggestions, besides Sammy's (don't want them).

 

Thanks

Sorry but for some reason, once I turned on the italics, it wouldn't turn off!

[eqr]

I'm sorry your having to go through that.......I know of 2 other companies that my friends and family have used.

 

www.leventsolmaz.com and www.toursinistanbul.com

 

let us know how they worked for you.

[sea-explorer]

I've booked Levent Solmaz..use search on this board, I have not found one bad or iffy review. His prices are good too, (quotes in $) better than Ekol I think, & his website hasn't been ******* out like many others, so no self promotion on the board etc and no advance deposit.

 

http://leventsolmaz.com/

 

If he is busy try kagan or lale kosagan, again excellent reviews, but maybe slightly more expensive as they quote in euros.

 

http://www.privatetoursinturkey.com/

 

Again, I don't think you'll find a poor review. I searched extensively before booking and these three came out on top.

 

Good luck. :)

 

(PS. Ekol can also be hit & miss with guides from what I have read on these boards.)

 

Edit. Whoops, eqr beat me to it...I must be a slow typist. Interesting though, we both came up with the same 2 recommendations. :)

[lambs2]

A group from our roll call in January are going to use Nejat Incedogan. We told him exactly what we wanted to see on our tour and he fashioned one just for us. I will try to give you his email. Hope you can "decipher" this as if I put his name in email form it will be xxxx'd out by the automatic thingee here on Cruisecritic.

 

 

His email is n followed by incedogan (run that all together like one word) at yahoo.com.

 

He will get back to you in a day or two.

 

We asked for stops at the Virgin Mary House, Ephesus and to have the Terrace Houses included. Also some participants want to see the rug weaving, but we want NO PRESSURE to buy. Also I asked that lunch not be included. He wrote us back with an excellent price and all the elements we asked for included in that price. No advance deposit required.

[tigercruiser]

used Levent last Wednesday and would highly recommend him. Very knowledgeable, speaks English very well, and is a perfect gentleman. He will do and go where you want

[ShipsandDipper]

Why don't you want Sammy's? They did a nice tour for us, with Ephesus + Terrace Houses, House of the Virgin Mary, and St. John's Cathedral, all before lunch (which was after 1 or so). We actually had lunch at the rug shop in the Kusadasi shopping district (and it was one of the best meals of the trip).

[lambs2]

Why don't you want Sammy's? They did a nice tour for us, with Ephesus + Terrace Houses, House of the Virgin Mary, and St. John's Cathedral, all before lunch (which was after 1 or so). We actually had lunch at the rug shop in the Kusadasi shopping district (and it was one of the best meals of the trip).

 

 

I can't speak for the OP, but we did not use Sammy's because a 25% deposit is required. Since we are organizing a group from our roll call we just did not want to have to handle collecting finds, sending secure payment, etc. Also Sammy's charged more than the tour guide we have booked.

[kimiata]

But thought I would try here for advice first. Since others have said they got to create their own tour with Ekol, what am I doing wrong?

 

You are lucky that you found this out before you sent in your money to Ekol, who required payment in full from us eleven months before our trip. I have posted about our recent experience with them in Ephesus.

 

Please consider using a company where you know who your guide will be. We used Kagan in Istanbul and can't speak highly enough of him. Friends have used Levent and raved about him as well.

[twoatsea]

Thank you, thank you to everyone! :D So glad I got some great options. I can't check them now, but tonite I will definitely contact the one's offered & see what I find. I'll let you know.

 

Re: Sammy's - the deposit is a good point. Plus I read a thread that is now buried that was obviously "planted" posts by Sammy's. So since that is being done, I just don't trust what info I get from them unless it is from folks who have been around here for quite a while.

 

Thanks again everyone. And I'll keep checking back in case anyone offers more info.

 

Glad I won't have to use Ekol. Don't like to use someone I am already "battling" with before the tour even begins! :rolleyes:

[ShipsandDipper]

I can't speak for the OP, but we did not use Sammy's because a 25% deposit is required. Since we are organizing a group from our roll call we just did not want to have to handle collecting finds, sending secure payment, etc. Also Sammy's charged more than the tour guide we have booked.

 

OK, I understand. We had our own group and Sammy's arrangements suited our plans better at a comparable price.

 

I also just wanted to let the OP know that apparently lunch is not required at noon sharp, and that his/her plan seems like it should be quite feasible.

[Destin Mom]

Hi twoatsea. Not sure why you haven't had any luck with Ekol. We are using them in Ephesus and Istanbul. We booked the tours assuming our young children would be with us and customized (we added in Terrace Houses and Harem, cut out any and all shopping stops and told them we would like tickets in advance to eliminate line waits and will move fairly quickly if the kids are with us). They were more than happy to accomodate us and responded very quickly. We weren't worried about the time aspect (i.e. how many hours other than making sure we were not rushed and would be back to the ship in plenty of time). Looks like you have some other good options to work with on here so I'm sure you will find the perfect tour for you. Have a great time!

[Hlitner]

Interesting threads. Its not surprising that some tour companies try to insist on lunch and shopping stops, because they get commissions for bringing you to some restaurants and shops. As to shopping in Kusadasi, the most fun (and best shopping) is in the bazaar area which starts right across the street from the port. You do not need a guide for the bazaar since the merchants are all friendly (sometimes too friendly) and many do speak some English. Besides, shopping and money are international languages. The Turks love to negotiate with calculators. They punch in their price and hand you the calculator, and than you clear it and put in your price! So much fun.

 

Hank

[neil5054]

I have just booked with Ekol for istanbul and Kusadasi and had no trouble, in fact Nur from Ekol and I emailed back and forth to agree on itinerary and price and it was very pleasant. I did see a lot of positive things about Ekol on this site. For Ephesus we just chose their Tour 2, 4 hours and no lunch, but they confirmed exactly as their website tour called for. For Istanbul, I modified their tour somewhat to see the sites I wanted and leaving us off at the Grand Bazaar, and again, they negotiated a fair price and were accommodating. So I am hoping things will go well....

[NAJNLA]

Has anybody checked into taking a public transportation bus from Kusadasi to Ephesus and return? Does anybody have a link to a bus route map and schedules?

[Hlitner]

I previously posted detailed info on how to use the local buses. But, you are talking third-world bus company and we have never seen on-line schedules or maps. The bus/van will only drop you along the main road which leaves you a good mile from the Ephesus entrance. Its fun if you like to hike and have a lot of travel experience.

 

Hank