Ephesus-the second time around.Looking for something different.What would you do?

[stipmom]

Was in Ephesus in 2001 and saw the major sights. Looking for suggestions on what to besides the ancient sights.Cruise line offers a visit to a turkish village? Anyone use a guide that can do something similiar? Thanks

[juliejoe]

We had been to Kusadasi and gone to Ephesus twice before so on our last stop our guide took us to Aphrodisias. We were almost the only ones there and it was a great stop. You can google it and see if you might be interested. You need to have a long day in port because it's quite a drive.

 

The same guide had taken us to Sirince as well as Ephesus on our second stop. That's the village Princess takes tours to. It was charming but is very small and our guide says it is really crowded and comercial now.

 

We have used Nejat Incedogan 3 times, recommended him many times to people who gave positive feedback, and will tour with him in Istanbul again this fall. He will customize a tour for you, making suggestions for something other than Ephesus.

[nparmelee]

3 years ago they opened the Terrace House exhibit at Ephesus, sadly for us it opened 3 weeks after we visited. Saw pictures from a friend who was there recently and those would be worth going back to Ephesus for if you are into that kind of thing. We would also recommend Nejat.

[Fblack]

I have the same problem. Been to Kusadasi before and saw Ephesus and the main tourist stops. Absent ancient ruins, I cannot find much else to see and do in the area. There is the Ephesus Museum in Selcuk. We are also stopping in Egypt, Israel and Greece and will have seen lots of ancient history and ruins by the time we get to Kusadasi. I am not sure we want to see more ruins and go to places like Miletus and Didya. Most people say Sirince is not much to see and do. I may just spend the day in town, have lunch, and figure out how not to be harassed by the merchants.

[MercedMike]

We had a wonderful second time around tour in Kusadasi with a good private guide.

 

We went to Srince Village, to a carpet factory (we were shopping and bought one as planned) and then ... the ultimate Turkish experience ...

 

A TURKISH BATH -- a Hamam!

 

It is an amazing experience, one you will want to share only with your closest friends in all the world, or else with people you will never ever see again!

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/holyland.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[MightyQuinn]

On our first visit to Kusadasi we went to Ephesus & on our second trip we went to the Terrace Houses. So when we were there yet again, we did a Shorex to the ancient cities of Priene, Didyma & Miletus. The tour covered several ancient sites & ruins of temples, thermal baths, stadiums & theatres. We travelled along the Sacred Way of Didyma & had an awesome Turkish lunch overlooking the Apollo Temple. Of course, we also had the ubiquitous stop at a carpet bazaar. But all in all, the tour was surprising good. :cool::cool:

[mash1]

Mightyquinn, We will be there in Sept. and have done Ephesus twice, but not the terrace houses. Your tour sounds great. Did you do it yourself or through a company and if so which one. Thanks Mash1

[MightyQuinn]

Mightyquinn, We will be there in Sept. and have done Ephesus twice, but not the terrace houses. Your tour sounds great. Did you do it yourself or through a company and if so which one. Thanks

Mash - I wish I could give you a referral for a private operator but we booked HAL Shorex for the Ancient Cities tour. Perhaps we lucked out as the tour was interesting, the guide was incredible & the price was right. Hope your cruiseline offers something similar. ;);)

[ger_77]

The first time we went to Kusadasi we hadn't done our homework, so didn't really know about Ephesus. We took the 3 cities tour that Mighty Quinn took - we were very impressed with it and all that it encompassed. Having a beautiful lunch while looking at the ruins of the Temple of Apollo was something we would not soon forget.

 

Second time around we went to Ephesus and were amazed - again, so rich in history both biblical and historical. To walk in the ruts made by Roman chariots gave me goose-bumps! We saw the sun come up and it made the Library of Celsus look like it was on fire - again an awe-inspiring moment.

 

This time we're going to tour Ephesus with a private guide and will take in the Terrace Houses as well as Mary's house, and will have lunch in the village of Selcuk before going back to Kusadasi for some shopping. Our guide knows we don't want to go to the carpet dealers, and is very accommodating to our requests. We are using this same guide for Istanbul a couple of days prior to going to Kusadasi.

 

Smooth Sailing! :):):)

[mash1]

MightyQuinn, Thanks for the info. Yes we always do HaL and the tour is on the list. We will sign up. Mash1

[Hlitner]

We have been to the region 4 times and also had to deal with the OPs issue. One time we simply hired a taxi for about 6 hours and drove to Didyma, Miletus, and Priene and we also stopped at some other ruins along route. Since we love to see historical areas and ruins, this was a real fun day. Watching our taxi driver drive like a mad man on the 2 lane Turkish roads (probably hit over 90mph) was also fun. My DW and I have talked about what we will do the next time we are in Kusadasi (we cruise quite often and will return) and decided we will probably just rent a car and do some of our own exploration (driving in Turkey is best left to those with lots of experience driving in strange countries).

 

Hank

[Dbedros]

We have done Ephesus and did the tour with Ekol which included the House of Virgin Mary, The Temple of Artemis and St. John Basilica. Like others we missed the Terrace Houses. I would like to see them but no companies that I have contacted will take us to them without going through Ephesus again. The first time was wonderful, but spending another two to three hours there just to see the Terrace Houses is not acceptable. So we are going to The House of Virgin Mary again and to Sirince Village this trip. We got a reasonable cost for two.

[nparmelee]

Dbedros, the Terrace Houses are inside the Ephesus area so you have to enter Ephesus to get to them.

[HandD]

If you've seen the sights already, why not take a trip to the huge water park we saw on the way to Ephesus earlier this month. In a hot July, this would be my pick next time.

[Bluesmama]

Was in Ephesus in 2001 and saw the major sights. Looking for suggestions on what to besides the ancient sights.Cruise line offers a visit to a turkish village? Anyone use a guide that can do something similiar? Thanks

Hi.

Just got back from the Noordam 10 day cruise (july 8-18) and Kusadasi was one of our favorite days. Besides touring ancient Ephesus and the awesome Terrace Houses, our guide took us on our request to: Sirince Village for a WONDERFUL pre-ordered Turkish meal (even accomodated our vegetarian needs), time on our own to shop (found the prices cheaper than Greece), visit to the Isabey Mosque in Selcuk, and then a stop at a Rug factory which even interested my teenager (no we did not buy). Loved the ride to Sirince ;it was breathtaking through the Turkish country.

 

Our great day was due in large part to our very educated, interesting and fun guide: Mr. Emre Ates (who used to be with Ekol). He offered us the customized tour I was seeking for our only Turkish port stop and it was worth every lira. (They actually took dollars in payment). He made us want to go back! As I originally found his recommendation here on Cruise Critic, I am more than willing to share his contact info. and answer your questions if you email me.

 

Margo Singer

margosinger@yahoo.com

[BigGuy25]

Is anyone aware of good beach opportunities near Kusadasi?

[texancruzer]

Ahhhh - got everybody beat !!!! We were there last May and did the Jeep 4X4 tour with Ekol Tours.

 

We had a driver and a guide with a jeep all to ourselves for the day. They first took us way up into the mountains (not for the faint of heart) on what I like to refer to as a "goat trail"........ the countryside and views were gorgeous. We then headed to Sirince and had some free time there where we shopped. Then to lunch and a carpet demonstration (which we really enjoyed by the way). Finally to Ephesus where our guide took us thru the ruins and the Terrace Houses. After that we were taken back to the ship (but not until they asked if there was anything else we would like to do or see ;)).

 

What an amazing day ! If you are looking for something different - try this one !

[Casshew]

I was wondering about this too, I don't want to go back to Ephesus, was almost considering having a nice quiet day onboard the ship when everyone else leaves.

 

Has anyone just poked around Kusadasi on their own?

[samavarcruiser]

Was in Ephesus in 2001 and saw the major sights. Looking for suggestions on what to besides the ancient sights.Cruise line offers a visit to a turkish village? Anyone use a guide that can do something similiar? Thanks

 

Tour ideas :)

 

http://www.ekoltravel.com/turkey/tours/shore_kus.html

[cruisemom42]

I was wondering about this too, I don't want to go back to Ephesus, was almost considering having a nice quiet day onboard the ship when everyone else leaves.

 

Has anyone just poked around Kusadasi on their own?

 

Hi Cass, haven't seen you on the boards in a while. :)

 

Kusadasi can be a pleasant place to poke around, but not as much if there are several cruise ships in town. I was there on a land trip and enjoyed just walking around near the water and eating at a traditional fish restaurant (pretty close to the port).

 

I can't' say I enjoyed the shopping -- the first time I was there in 2006, shopkeepers were like vultures and pretty much would PULL you into their shops. So I avoided shopping last spring when I stayed there. However, I've heard it's gotten better and vendors are less aggressive.

 

You could walk to one of the nice hotels along the water and enjoy a cool drink on a terrace overlooking the sea. (Or you could just stay onboard ship and enjoy much the same view. ;))

[Casshew]

Hi cruisemom42 :)

 

Thanks for remembering me, I've been taking land based holidays lately but I think it's time to get back to cruising :D

 

We had a fabulous day in Ephesus, we were the first group in, in the morning, I have gorgeous photos and memories of the ruins and terraced houses. When we were leaving Ephesus was mobbed with tourists, you could not take a pic without 10 people in the way. I was so happy with our day there that I don't want to even try to repeat it in case it's a failure, I don't want to tarnish my fondness for it.

 

All I remember about Kusadasi was the Starbucks and BurgerKing at the port :eek: and the large duty free bottle of Baileys I walked on board with.

[swcruise]

Hi there,

 

We are faced with the same dilema for our upcoming trip. We have seen the ruins of Ephesus and enjoyed it very much, but don't want to repeat the same trip again. Looking at Ekol tours they all seem to take this in as part of the itinerary.

 

My mum is keen to revisit the house of the Virgin Mary and I also lost the fab picies we had of that, so it will be an opportunity to recapture them.

 

What I was thinking was of hiring a taxi outside the port to visit the House of the Virgin Mary and possibly Sirince.Does anybody know approx how much that would cost for the two combined, or just Mary's House alone ?

 

Do we need local currency to pay taxi drivers, or will they accept euro. Any experiences on taxi-drivers, are the reliable, or will they be looking to rip-off the tourists ?

 

Thanks in advance. S

[cruisemom42]

Hi there,

 

We are faced with the same dilema for our upcoming trip. We have seen the ruins of Ephesus and enjoyed it very much, but don't want to repeat the same trip again. Looking at Ekol tours they all seem to take this in as part of the itinerary.

 

My mum is keen to revisit the house of the Virgin Mary and I also lost the fab picies we had of that, so it will be an opportunity to recapture them.

 

What I was thinking was of hiring a taxi outside the port to visit the House of the Virgin Mary and possibly Sirince.Does anybody know approx how much that would cost for the two combined, or just Mary's House alone ?

 

Do we need local currency to pay taxi drivers, or will they accept euro. Any experiences on taxi-drivers, are the reliable, or will they be looking to rip-off the tourists ?

 

Thanks in advance. S

 

 

Ekol will arrange to do whatever combination of sites you wish -- just because they don't have it listed on their website doesn't mean they won't arrange it for you.

 

I can add my recommendation to those of several others -- if you enjoy ruins, do not miss Didyma, Miletus, and Priene. I am going back to Ephesus for the 3rd time this fall and I am really torn between doing Ephesus and the Terrace Houses again -- which was one of the absolute highlights of my first Med cruise -- or whether to visit the 3 cities again, which was another absolute highlight last spring. They were THAT amazing. Of course, the fact that I had a private tour for one and was the only one wandering the sites about half the time may have been a factor.....:D

 

Also, I have yet to visit the Ephesus museum in Selcuk and I'm hoping to get there this time; I've read it has some wonderful things from all the nearby ruins.

[cruisemom42]

We had been to Kusadasi and gone to Ephesus twice before so on our last stop our guide took us to Aphrodisias. We were almost the only ones there and it was a great stop. You can google it and see if you might be interested. You need to have a long day in port because it's quite a drive.

 

The same guide had taken us to Sirince as well as Ephesus on our second stop. That's the village Princess takes tours to. It was charming but is very small and our guide says it is really crowded and comercial now.

 

We have used Nejat Incedogan 3 times, recommended him many times to people who gave positive feedback, and will tour with him in Istanbul again this fall. He will customize a tour for you, making suggestions for something other than Ephesus.

 

 

Juliejoe, how long did you need for the trip to Aphrodisias? I'd love to do that -- it would be something new for me. We are in port from 7am to 6pm. I have asked Ekol about doing Hierapolis and they said it's too far......:(

[Babs02]

We did a tour to Epheses on our previous visit to Kusadesi, with Sammyeli travel. We contacted them to see what else they could offer. As we were so pleased with the service they gave us. We will be there again in August and have arranged to go to Adaland.

 

Adaland consists of several parks, a dolphin park, water park & Sea Park they have individual entrance fees. We are doing a relaxing day at the Water park.

 

check out the website, it may be of interest to you.:)

 

Babs