Fatima was exceptional. We met with her at cruise terminal on time. The lunch was excellent. We were back to port on time
About Activity
What's Included
Includes
- Cruise Port/Hotel Pick-up & Drop-Off (mentioned on the details)
- Transportation with A/C Minivans with separate Driver
- GUARANTEED ON-TIME RETURN FOR CRUISE PASSENGERS
- Professional LICENSED LOCAL TOUR GUIDE
- SKIP-THE-LINE ENTRANCE TICKET (according to the option chosen), allow you to bypass long lines
- PRIVATE TOUR that ensures more personalized service
Excludes
- Gratuities recommended
- Food and Drinks (optional)
- Entrance Fees if the option is not selected
Departure & Return
Departure Point
- *****CRUISE PASSENGERS WHO WILL JOIN FROM THE CRUISE PORT***** • We highly recommend you to meet our team, after 30/45 minutes your ship docked to the Port. So, you might beat the crowds, school buses, and hot weather in order to have a better experience during your Tour in Ephesus. • After you sent your reservation, please contact our reservation team via our e-mail or WhatsApp and coordinate your meeting time. • This tour doesn't include Entrance Tickets & Lunch. The Skip the Line Entrance Tickets & Local Lunch can be arranged by our team due to your request. Please contact us and advise our team, if you wish to have all-inclusive and pre-arranged for your day. *****HOTEL PASSENGERS WHO WILL JOIN FROM THE HOTELS***** • We have pick-up and drop-off services from CENTRALLY located KUSADASI and SELCUK TOWN Hotels. • We have pick-up and drop-off services from Izmir Hotels and Izmir Cruise Port with an additional fee of 100 USD in total for up to 15 personas. • Please contact our reservation team via our e-mail or WhatsApp and learn your certain meeting time.
Itinerary
We meet you at the Cruise Port! Our team will be waiting next to Information Desk at the Exit Gate of Cruise Port by holding a sign which is your name written on it. After booking this tour, please contact our team to agree on your meeting time. Please note that there are several Cruise Ships with different arrival and departure timings. So, you might decide with our team about the best meeting time which is fitting your schedule.
The House of Virgin Mary is one of the pilgrimage centres of Christians where the Mary came to Ephesus with John the Apostle and lived her last 10 years. Pope Paul VI visited the shrine in 1967, and 'unofficially' confirmed its authenticity. Pope John Paul II also visited the shrine in 1979. Pope Benedict XVI visited this shrine in 2006. Whether or not she died in Ephesus was not known until Anne Catherine Emmerich’s vision. A disabled German nun who had never been to Ephesus, had a vision of the House of the Virgin Mary and described it in detail to the German writer Clemens Brentano who later published a book about it. Catherine Emmerich died in 1884. In 1891 Paul, Superior of the Lazarists from Izmir read about her visions and found a little building which corresponded with Emmerich’s descriptions. Then, the archeological works started which allows us to visit Mary's House and see the result today!
UNESCO listed place the Ancient City of Ephesus that is one of the best well-kept Greco- Roman ancient cities in the world, famous for the Odeon where music concerts were organized, Domitian Temple that is one of the first temples dedicated for a human, Celcus Library which was the third biggest library in the ancient time, Amphitheatre where is one of the biggest amphitheatres in the world with 24.000 people capacity and St. Paul preached to Ephesians, Marble Street, Roman Baths, Fountains, Temples, Agora, Love House, Public Toilets, Terrace Houses famed with gorgeous mosaics and wall paintings...
We will have a visit to the Basilica of St. John the Apostle. It is believed that the Evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the region around Ephesus and was buried on the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill. The tomb of St John was under the central dome of the basilica. In addition, while we are visiting the Basilica of St. John, we will have a panoramic view of the Temple of Artemis and Isabey Mosque and learn about the stories of these places too.
Temple of Artemis, also called Artemisium was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
We will drive through the Kusadasi Town and will have a panoramic view while listening the key informations from our Local Tour Guide.
You are able to see local handicrafts and experience local shopping if preferred. You will be also able to collect informations from your Local Tour Guide about: best traditional handicrafts, best places to go, things to be carrefull, and best tips for hassle free experience...
Also called Pigeon Island! One of the earliest settlements of modern Kusadasi. We will pass by and have an opportunity of seeing it in a distance. It is located very close to the Port, you might be able to have time after your tour if you are interested.
At the end of our tour, we will return to the Cruise Port. PLEASE NOTE THAT: There are several Ships with different arrival and departure times. We carefully check all the timings, confirm with the passengers, and coordinate the return time. OUR TOURS ARE WITH GUARANTEED ON-TIME RETURN TO THE BOAT!
Language Offered
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
Reviews
We loved our tour guide but they took us to a rug factory and leather clothing place and we had no idea about either. Beware before you book this tour. We were not interested in these extra stops.
Canan was awesome and knowledgeable. We had a great experience. It was a fun day. She was very helpful.
Canan, our tour guide, greeted us and explained our expectations of our tour and the biblical history of the area. She was most knowledgeable in the history of Ephesus. She also, took us to a Turkish rug weaving place. We learn so much and had much appreciation for the Turkish rug making and culture. So impressed! I would recommend her.
Tour guide, Dennis, was great. Friendly and VERY knowledgeable. Driver was great as well. Got us everywhere we needed to be safely and in a timely fashion. Tickets to all the places are extra (and so is lunch) so plan accordingly. One part that I really did NOT like was the whole sales pitch of Turkish rugs. This was a big waste of time and we weren’t even asked if we wanted to participate. It was just forced upon us. Not cool.
Though our tour guide was very good and knowledgeable, I wouldn’t say this is a biblical tour. The guide was able to adapt the tour for us and take us to several other places we wanted to go, like to go see carpet weaving, but when it came to the biblical sights I was unimpressed. There was little to say about Ephesus, in regards to Christianity, and the rest of the sights that were listed most of the information given was heavily catholic sourced. Not biblically founded. Overall though it was still a good tour, just a little bit of a let down
We booked this tour with Ozzy. He was amazing! He was very knowledgeable and was a lot of fun. He made our trip to Ephesus perfect.. We highly recommend this tour
Professional and fun, on time and personalized! ....................................................
Expect to go to a very high- pressured sales presentation on Rugs and other items. Had to watch a movie - very strange.. It was never mentioned in the description of the tour. We would have never gone with this company. It was ridiculous. It also made the tour extra long. Wound up spending a fortune and felt taken advantage of when all was said and done. We think the guides get a kick back on purchased items. Good luck!
This was the best and most informative tour of Ephesus! Nilay was excellent guiding us to all the major important sites in the ancient city and imparting her expertise and love for Ephesus and for Türkiye. She is caring, kind, intelligent and interesting, and she speaks English very well. Be sure to ask for Nilay as your guide.
Brilliant tour. I use a scooter and Yigithan Was excellent at helping and adapting tour Coming back in April and will definitely book with them again
Josh was a great guide we had an amazing service we loved the basilica of St. John Ephesus and the house of Virgin Mary.
This was a great excursion for us. Our guide was right at the port when we came out took us to the van. He shuttled us to see Ephesus , The house of Mary and. St. John’s basilica all three which were wonderful. Dennis our guide was very knowledgeable and was able to adjust to the pace we wanted. vVery reasonably priced and we had a nice lunch Highly recommend.
This tour was an awesome experience. Our tour guide was Fatima , she was so nice , knowledgeable about the region. We stopped at all key destinations (Virgin Mary house, Ephesos, library , Artemisa temple ) , with great explanations from Fatima. We had a private tour for the 4 of us and because of that she managed to accommodate the time we wanted in every place , including skipping the lines and getting earlier that the big crowds. Lunch was very good too. We came back to the celebrity infinity ahead of time and most importantly happy.
Kusadasi shore excursion. Great tour! Learned a lot from Fatima. Easy meet up. She was very good in organising where to go first in order to beat the crowds. Very helpful and kind. Would definitely recommend to all my family and friends.
Very good, informative. She was given the information w good personality. She was very patient and helpful showing us around
We had a great time with our tour guide Deniz. Very knowledgeable and got us back in the port on time.
This was a customized tour of the ancient city of Ephesus, mary’s house, farm to table restaurant at a rug, making school. Our tour guide Fatima was excellent and fun. We enjoyed sharing time with her and her wonderful driver.
Great trip with knowledgeable and friendly guide. Excellent value and wouldn't hesitate to recommend
Our tour experience was absolutely wonderful, thanks to our incredible guide, Busra! She was not only knowledgeable and professional but also tailored the tour to fit our interests perfectly. Busra skillfully adjusted the itinerary, ensuring we visited each spot at the best times to avoid crowds. We had a fantastic time and wholeheartedly recommend this company, especially with Busra as your guide, for your upcoming trip to Kusadasi!
Amazing trip. Our guide (Fatima) was waiting for us early to greet us as we got off our cruise ship. The transportation was roomy and comfortable (they even arranged a car seat for our young daughter). The tour was customized based on our preferences with the very limited time allowed by our cruise (5 hours on Celestyal Discovery). We saw everything we wanted to see and more (house of Virgin Mary, Temple of Artemis, St John Church, Ancient Ephesus). We also had a stop at a local co-op providing local jobs making hand made traditional carpets. We were returned to the port with plenty of extra time before our departure. Our kids loved the tour as well and were energized and engaged. I would highly recommend this tour and would gladly book again if we are back in the area.
Monday through Friday 9 am to 7 pm EST
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