All Inclusive Private Ephesus, Village Tour And Traditional Lunch

There is a lot to see. A lot of religious sites if you're into that although there is no imperical evidence showing that they are what they say they are. The city of Ephesus is incredible for the sheer size of what is excavated and what isn't. The food at lunch was absolutely amazing! Now the 4 start review is for the commercial stops at a Turkish rug and leather product center. They say no pressure but they are pushy. The inventory is beautiful but we didn't go on this excursion to go shopping.

We came off a RC cruise and it was super easy, we got off and walked a little bit and saw our names. The guide met us and then we walked to our van and it was luxurious and had great air conditioning. It was a hot day. We then went to Euphusus and explored and the guide was so good he told us so much and showed us around in parts others didn’t even see! We then went to an art store and met the some of the artists and even bought a couple items. We then had an amazing lunch with great food and conversation with our guide. The guide was amazing, his name was Ersan and he made the day. We then saw a Turkish rug making demonstration and then they wanted to try to have us buy rugs but Ersan was like don’t worry and we left pretty much after the demonstration. The rugs are like $1k to $8k so a normal size rug is like 6 x 4 or so and cost $3-6k. Kinda expensive. We then went to back to the port but before hand Ersan took us to get the best baklava I’ve ever had. We did a little shopping with him and it was nice to have a Turkish speaker for us to navigate the stores. He then dropped us off and we high fived and cried a little after. The best day ever

Fantastic tour. Very informative. Tour guide was wonderful.

We spent a wonderful day with Hazal as our guide.We were picked up on time at the port in a minivan. Hazal was attentive to my husband who had injured his knee and was using a cane, which he frequently left behind! Hazal was very knowledgeable about the architecture and history of Ephesus.We had a great lunch in a nearby town and also visited Sirince where we enjoyed a Turkish coffee.I would not hesitate to recommend this company for all your touring requirements.If we visit Kusadasi again we will request Hazal as our tour guide.

Well organized, comfortable and safe vehicle, excellent guide who respected our senior citizen idiosyncrosies. Guide was knowledgeable and gave us an amazing tour with lots of information. This is an excellent company.

We were sailing on the Celebrity Infinity in July 25 and docked in Kusadasi. We found Ephesus Private Tours online and saw many great reviews so we took the leap and are so glad we did! We left the ship and found out tour guide Begüm Hazal very easily once we left the cruise terminal. We waited a few minutes for our van and then started our ride up to the Ephesus ruins. Our guide was so knowledgeable and made the very hot tour so enjoyable. She encouraged us to do the movie which was awesome! We ate lunch at a Turkish families restaurant and then hit the museum which was amazing as well. Everything was included in the price as listed and made the day very smooth. We were able to see a few other places on our way back to the ship! I high recommend this experience if you are in Kusadasi.

Ephesus was incredible! I recommend taking a copy of the package you purchased. We paid for entrance into the Terrace Houses. Our guide had no record of it. Fortunately he called the office and we did get to see them. The guide did not take us to Sirince or the Temple of Artemis because he didn’t think either were worth seeing. We also did not go into a mosque. On the other hand, he was very knowledgeable, courteous and nice. The vehicle was immaculate and very comfortable. He did take us to a pottery studio for a wonderful demonstration because I mentioned that I was interested. I would still highly recommend the tour and the guide.

The personal service that we received with a private tour for Ephesus was definitely worth it. We were able to adjust our time at the sites we visited to our needs, not just that of a group tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and personable. Highly recommend this tour

In May, my husband and I took our third private tour with Ephesus Shuttle; each time was from a cruise stop. A number of years ago, they guided us through Ephesus followed by a beautiful lunch in Sirince. The tour guide was excellent, and we asked whether they could provide a tour in Istanbul, which was our next cruise stop, and they accommodated us at last minute with another wonderful tour there. This year, we did a cruise that stopped in Kusadasi again, and rather than repeat Ephesus, we did a private tour to Priene, ruins of a Greek city on a hill, followed by a visit to the village of Doganbey and lunch along the sea in Karine. Our tour guide was Ogze, and she was accompanied by a van driver. Priene was amazing, absolutely peaceful, and we barely saw any other visitors during our time there. The ruins are mostly unreconstructed because of the remote location and there are wonderful views from the site. Lunch at the fishing village was amazing. Once again, it was very quiet and peaceful and barely any other people there. Ogze was very knowledgeable and a very pleasant person with who to spend the day. Prices are very reasonable for their private tours, and they make it easy, picking you up right at the cruise port. This was an excellent alternative to visiting busy Ephesus, and we really enjoyed our day.

Our guide, Pinar, was excellent. This was our third time using Ephesus Shuttle for a private tour. Pinar did not disappoint. She listened to our needs and what we wanted to see and was very attentive to the fact that we can't walk very fast. Pinar was very knowledgeable and could answer all our questions. We had a comfortable ride in a large Mercedes van (just 2 of us) and got to visit the House of the Virgin Mary and ancient Ephesus . Then she took us to a buffet Restaurant for homemade Turkish food that was grown there. We tried a little of everything and it was all delicious. After that we visited Sirince, a nice village in the hills. We were given plenty of time to shop at each place too. We enjoyed our day, and are happy to recommend Ephesus Shuttle AGAIN!

When we came off our ship, we found our name on the board and then we were directed to our tour guide. Our tour guide was Selda who then walked us to our van and driver. We started by going to Mary's house. We beat all the other cruisw excursion busses so there was no wait at Mary's house for the quick walk through. Next, we went to Ephesus for a walking tour and then a tour of the terrace houses. Both are incredibly amazing. Next, we went to learn about turkish rug making. This is government run and funded to preserve their culture. It's really an amazing art form. We did have the turkish rug spiel. But it was not high pressure. The rugs are gorgeous but very expensive. After that, we had a traditional turkish lunch outside. We did not go to Sirince village which now I'm disappointed about after reading such great reviews. Our guide said it was more like a marketplace, and we really didn't need to go. This meant we were brought back to port a little over an hour earlier than expected.

very interesting and knowledgeable guide, thoroughly enjoyed the day. Teenagers in our party were very engaged

Erkan (our guide) is local and showed his live for the City. He has great knowledge about the history and every details of Kusadasi. Ephesus is a place not to be missed and unique. We did not appreciated the visit to the rugs factory and trying to sell us overpriced rugs and jewelry. It has happened to us in Egypt, Dubai and other places and it was unfortunated. Other that than tour is highly recommended

Very knowledgeable & informative tour guide. We see lots of places. The only issue so hot in the summer otherwise the whole private tour is excellent!

we booked this tour through booking.com. travelled in late october 2024. to start with we arrived from Istanbul at about 11.00 am and were picked up on time by our tour guide Sel. In our private van [same as in pic] we first went to sincre village a cahrming greek style village spent about an hour there and then headed to Ephesus. our guide Sel was well versed with all the history about the place and she took us through the ruins and the theatre expaining properly all the important facts. after about two hours we were through and went straight for Lunch. it was already 4pm by then. upon our request of vegetarian lunch , Sel took took us to a nice place in town , the pizza and other dishes were all good , thanks to Sel for the nice Lunch we had. we reached our hotel in Kusadasi at about 6pm to end the tour. Thanks to Sel and thanks to Curio travel for the wonderful tour. would recommend it.

Our guide, Gorki, was excellent. Took us to each site at Ephesus and gave us great information, allowed us enough time to see things on our own before meeting us again. He took us to a great place with Turkish food for our lunch. This excursion was the highlight of my trip to Greece and Turkey. I recommend this to anyone wanting to see Ephesus . We heard some complaints about the ship excursions when we got back on board, so if you are going there, do this!

We have taken many Viator-sponsored tours.. and this was one of the best. We were lucky enough to have Genghas as our guide. He was very knowledgable about Turkish history, shared his love for his country with us... and I would highly recommend this tour. The tour of Ephasus was memorable and you can feel the history of this place. We also visited the town of Sirince , which had many local vendors and small shops. The restaurant where we had a traditional Turkish lunch was amazing. Additionally, we visited local businesses that made pottery , and one that made Turkish rugs. We were shown the process of how these items were made which was interesting to see. One observation about the time at the Turkish rug facility... we were taken to a large room and then were shown many rugs ( about 30 of them, one by one).. and there was some pressure to purchase something. Although this is the culture and they were very nice to us... it was tough to say " no" as they spent a lot of time and effort showing us the rugs. We did not purchase anything and we went on our way.

Excellent private tour to Efes. Our guide Yavuz was incredibly knowledgable and gave us a fantastic day. We learnt about the history of the sites we’ve visited. We were very happy with our tour guide - he was great and spoke excellent English. Time and money well invested.

Had a great full day private Ephesus and are tour. Take our advice and start at 8:00 not the usual 9:00 to beat both the crowds and the heat. Really enjoyed our guide, Cenk Daghan. He adds a great personality and sense of humor to the information he provides. Happy to adjust the tour schedule on the fly to accommodate your changing wishes. FYI the Virgin Mary house can have huge lines as the morning moves on. When we arrived we had the place to ourselves. if you find a long line just skip it. The house itself is tiny and was reconstructed from just one corner of a stone foundation. Barely worth 5 minutes. Dagan selected an excellent roadside lunch restaurant. Again by starting our tour early we arrived at 11:30 an beat the tour busses who came later as we were finishing up. this was absolutely the best wat to experience Ephesus. Thanks Daghan!

Fantastic guide. Loved doing a private tour. Our guide and driver picked us up right on time. He was able to avoid all the large tour groups at the site! He offered to take our picture for us. Going with a guide also allows you to enter at the top of the site a walk downhill instead of going on your own and walking uphill the entire time! Also, go see the Terrace Houses. We were very glad we did! Gorgeous :). We then went to a small village and had free time to walk around and shop a little, again before the crowds, then off to lunch. Seriously, take the early pick up. We did 7:30 to be there at 8am when the gates opened. Helped cut down on crowns everywhere! Most of the tour buses have not arrived yet!

Had a great full day private Ephesus and are tour. Take our advice and start at 8:00 not the usual 9:00 to beat both the crowds and the heat. Really enjoyed our guide, Cenk Daghan. He adds a great personality and sense fo humor to the informatio he provides. Happy to adjust the tour schedule on the fly to accomodate your changing wishes. FYI the Virgin Mary house can have huge lines as the morning moves on. When we arrived we had the place to ourselves. if you find a long line just skip it. The house itself is tiny and was recostructec from just one corner of a stone foundation. Barely worth 5 minutes. Dagan selected an excellent roadside lunch restaurant. Again by starting our tour early we arrived at 11:30 an beat the tour busses who came later as we were finishing up. this was absolutely the best wat to experience ephesus. Thanks Daghan!

Ecem did a great job explaining history concepts!! She is sweet and very cordial! We will definitely reach out to her for our next Turkey vacation !

Our group had a great time on this tour. Aleyna was a wonderful and patient guide, and answered all of our questions, and we were able to personalize certain activities to what we wanted. The tour covers all the major sights in this area, with plenty of time to take all the pictures and see everything. The car we traveled in was very clean and comfortable. The lunch consists of homemade traditional Turkish food, which was delicious. I highly recommend this tour!

Guide Aleyna is superb. Very accommodating. Nice coach as well. The entire tour took us ard 7-8 hours. We visited Ephesus village and a pottery factory.

Tugba was attentive and shared lots of local history and cultures with our family. Vehicle was comfortable, and the driver was great. Lunch was a buffet with Turkish dishes; everything was delicious.

Amazing tour and educational. Service and experience was great . Definitely recommend. We didn’t have to wait in the long lines

We had great Ephesus tour with ozz ozguvenc. He was knowledgeable about history. He explained us our surroundings very well. He took us for a nice traditional restaurants for lunch. Overall it was a good tour. I would recommend ozz and this tour company.

It was a fun and historical trip, the man leading the tour was very funny and got a long with us well. Would definitely travel back for the tour

Awesome trip, customized for us and exceeded expectations. Very knowledgeable and highly flexible, very personable. Can Emre lead our other tours please?

The guide was great he gave lots of information very inclusive, informative and interesting. The lunch was great and way fresher the cruise food.

This tour was so much better than we expected. We (family of 4, with 2 teens) were picked up promptly in a clean and modern A/C van. There's a short scenic drive to Ephesus. Faz was one of the best guides ever - very friendly and knowledgeable. Ephesus was quite busy with tourists, but our guide led us around the crowds, and told us about the history of the site and showed us where to take the best pictures. We had opted for the lunch, and were so glad we did. It was a nice break from the hot morning. Had a tasty traditional lunch in a lovely private garden. They were able to accommodate our food allergies with no issues. Nearby, there were some local artisans. We were even shown how silk filaments were reeled from the actual cocoons to make silk thread. Overall, even our teenagers agreed that this was one of our best excursions during our cruise! Ask for Faz T if you can! Our tour was in July 2022

My husband and I had a great time touring Ephesus on our private tour. Our guide was very polite and knowledgeable and made us feel super welcome. We got one of the most authentic experiences we could have asked for and had a great time!

Excellent historical tour with several stops and a great tour guide. Our guide “Han” was really great and adapted to our schedule.

We had a great tour! Very nice guide. Friendly and interesting. Transportation in nice van with great air conditioning. Amazing lunch buffet of authentic foods in a beautiful location. She was accommodating to our wishes and answered all our questions. Weather was very hot but glad we did it. Bring an umbrella for shade.

We had a great day with the friendly and fun Nilgun. She is a very knowledgeable guide who navigated the crowds of Ephesus, taking us from shady area to shady area, telling us about the Hellenic and Roman times. As a private tour, we asked not to go shopping so she honored our wishes and we were able to see exactly what we wanted to see, and spent exactly as much time as we wished. The terrace houses were amazing! Lunch was also exceptional. The van was very cool and comfortable. Cold water was included as well. Highly recommend!!

Yavuz was an excellent tour guide. Loved every minute of our tour. We got to choose what some side trips were. Highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in the history of Ephesus.

We had an amazing time. We were picked up in a nice van and first saw House of Mary and Ephesus. The ruins and museum were great. Our guide then took us to a shop where they had samples of tea, baklava, Turkish delight, and other snacks along with oil products. The workers were so generous and kind with samples teaching us about it all. We then went to have lunch and the food was really good and the patio was relaxing. After that we went to Sirince where our guide took us to have Turkish coffee and taste wine and walk the village streets. She taught us so much about Turkish culture, the food, the history, just everything. It was so great traveling with a local. It was truly a highlight of our trip. Teşekkürler !

There were only 4 of us on the tour Guide was waiting for this when we got off the ship. It was a short walk to the immaculately maintained tour bus. In an attempt to beat the crowds at the house of the Virgin Mary we went there first first. Following that we had an approximately 2-hour total of the Ephesus site including the terrace houses-which I don't think are normally included in this tour.They are certainly well worth seeing He gave us plenty of time to wander around by ourselves to take photographs. Following this we went for a traditional Turkish lunch at a carpet factory. Lunch was tasty. The only extras with the adult beverages. Following lunch we went up to the Village where we were given an hour and a half free time to wander around and sample the pomegranate juice and Turkish coffee.Most of the tourists were Turks themselves It was then about a 30-minute drive back to the crew ship terminal. Our guide was excellent and obviously takes pride in his job. The only minor criticism of the tour was the seemingly mandatory carpet factory visit and hard sell Would thoroughly recommend this tour

This is the second time I have toured with Ephesus Shuttle and it was just as amazing the second time around. We added 4 more people at the last minute and they accommodated us with no trouble at all. We went to Ephesus and then to the Sirince Village. Our guide, Emre, was outstanding!! His knowledge was incredible and he really made us feel like friends/family! There was never any pressure to do anything we didn't want to do - Emre asked what we wanted to do that day at the beginning of the tour and that is exactly what we did. He offered other stops (i.e. rug market, leather outlet) but since we were not interested, he did not push either. I wish there had been more hours in the day - I could have spent the entire day in the Village and our lunch was outstanding!!!! I highly recommend this company and Emre in particular!

small group.Luxury minibus.Minimal waiting.Excellent guide Could do without the obligatory carpet show room stop though

We had a wonderful time! Our guide Ozgur Ozan (Ozzie) was amazing! He customized everything based on our desires. it was over 100 degrees and it was very uncomfortable but he made it fun and great for us nonetheless. We had a beautiful lunch with no tourist around and we saw peacocks while we ate in this great shaded garden then looked at lovely carpets. Awesome day

My group and I loved this private tour with Ozzy. He was such an amazing guide and customized the tour based on what we were interested in and all his suggestions were amazing. It was over 100 degrees and he made sure we saw the important things without passing out. Lunch was great … everything was amazing!

We had a great experience with Sado who prepared a lovely day for us in Ephesus. He even arranged a birthday cake for my husband at Agora Restaurant! Emre was our very knowledgeable guide who was ready to share all of his biblical knowledge with us! He was kind & made our day run smoothly. This was important as there was road construction that altered our plans & required an earlier departure back to our ship. We were disappointed to miss one stop, but they got us back to the ship in time where others were greatly delayed. This was our second time working with Sado & I would recommend them over & over.

Our favorite part was being away from the HERDS of people at Ephesus that were on group tours. Emre knew the ends and outs of where to go so we could talk and absorb what we were seeing without other people in the way. He listened to our interests and personalized the day for us. And, we enjoyed hearing about his life in Turkey. Emre was personable and knowledgeable and without a doubt made the trip the highlight of our cruise. We were able to spend as little or as much time as we wanted at the stops. I love this flexibility after having done bus tours for days. We had high expectations and Emre exceeded them in all aspects over and over throughout our day! We had a true Turkish lunch with locals, not just a tourist trap stop. We would do this tour again in a heartbeat! And, I must say that making the arrangements with the main office was seemingly easy, prompt, and courteous. I cannot fail to mention our driver. Again, courteous and polite.

Unfortunately, the cruise on which we had booked fevzi’s tor was cancelled by the pandemic. We were so sad because we had looked forward to traveling to Ephesus and to celebrating our friend’s special birthday there. When heard it was a milestone birthday, Fevzi asked me to get a picture of him, which he had intended to use on the welcome sign when we met him at the port. He arranged a special meal and had promised a cake there. In other words, when Fevzi heard about our celebration, he went above and beyond to try to create an unforgettable memory! We hope to travel to the missed ports in the future, and Ephesus SHuttle will be our first booking.

We were scheduled for this shore excursion with Fevzi and team. Unfortunately, due to change in our ship itinerary we will no longer be stopping at Kusadesi. We are rescheduled for 2022 and will definitely be contacting this excellent team again to schedule our shore excursion. Their communication is wonderful. Clear and prompt. We were offered a wonderful itinerary at a fair price. Our concerns about tour size was addressed and understood as well as our safety issues. I will rebook with total confidence that our tour will be 5 star.

I am writing to review my experiences booking a private tour with Sado and Ephesus Shuttle tours. We were supposed to have cruised here in October 2017, and when the cruise company cancelled this stop Sado was very cooperative and understanding. It was of no surprise to me that when we had to cancel our next private tour this year due to COVID-19 that again Sado was very graceful and concerned for our health and safety. We are hoping that “third times a charm”, and look forward to working with Sado again when we book our next shore excursion to Ephesus. I know that our enquires will be answered quickly and look forward to seeing this beautiful part of the world soon.