When your cruise ship arrives, our team will be ready to welcome you just outside the Exit Gate, next to the Information Desk. You’ll easily spot us—we’ll be holding a sign with your name on it. To make the most of your time ashore and avoid the crowds, we highly recommend disembarking within 30 minutes of your ship’s arrival. This allows us to leave before the large group tours depart and ensures a more relaxed, personalized experience at each site. When booking your tour, please choose the earliest available disembarkation time. This helps us begin your tour smoothly and maximizes your time at the highlights of the region. We look forward to providing you with a seamless, crowd-free start to your private tour experience!
Your journey begins in a place of peace and reverence—the House of the Virgin Mary, nestled in the quiet hills above Ephesus. Believed to be the final home of Mary, mother of Jesus, this humble stone chapel has become a sacred sanctuary for both Christians and visitors of all faiths. Surrounded by pine trees and birdsong, the site offers a moment of reflection, stillness, and spiritual connection. We begin our tour here, where faith and history intertwine beneath the soft Aegean light. As you step through the ancient doorway, you’ll feel a gentle hush in the air—a sense that this ground, though simple, carries the weight of centuries and prayers whispered across time. Visiting the House of Mary is not just a stop on your itinerary—it is a serene and sacred beginning to a day filled with wonder.
Upon arrival at Ephesus, we embark on our exploration of this meticulously preserved ancient city. Originally founded in the 10th century BC by Attic and Ionian Greek settlers on the former Arzawan capital site, Ephesus thrived as a prominent city-state along the Ionian coast, approximately 3 kilometers southwest of modern-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. During the Classical Greek period, it held significant status as one of the twelve cities belonging to the Ionian League. In 129 BC, Ephesus fell under the dominion of the Roman Republic, marking a pivotal era in its history.
The Temple of Artemis, also called the Artemision or Temple of Diana, was an ancient Greek temple honoring a local version of the goddess Artemis (equivalent to the Roman goddess Diana). Situated in Ephesus, it underwent complete reconstruction twice: first following a destructive flood, and later, three centuries after, due to an arson attack. In its ultimate incarnation, it achieved renown as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. By the year 401 AD, the temple had suffered ruin or destruction. Today, only foundational remnants and fragments of the last temple remain at the site.
Nestled just steps from the port, Kuşadası Bazaar is a vibrant maze of colors, scents, and local charm. From handmade carpets and leather goods to spices, ceramics, and Turkish delights, the market offers a rich variety of treasures. Your guide will lead you through the lively streets and help you discover the best shops and most authentic items, ensuring a personalized and memorable shopping experience in the heart of Kuşadası.
Rising proudly at the edge of the sea, Kuşadası Castle—also known as Pigeon Island Castle—offers a peaceful retreat with panoramic views of the town and coastline. Once a watchful guardian of the harbor, this small but historic fortress is now a charming place to stroll, with stone pathways, scenic lookouts, and traces of Ottoman history. After your tour ends, you’ll have free time to visit the castle on your own. It’s a short and pleasant walk from the port—perfect for those who wish to end their day with a quiet moment by the sea and a view that lingers in memory.
I had an amazing day with Emine , she is extremely knowledgeable and very helpful and sweet and I thoroughly enjoyed my tour. I strongly recommend her and her company. Many thanks.
Amazing & very informative. Ekrem was excellent, explained everything, polite, gentleman & with a smile. I recommend Ekrem to future travelers.
What a wonderful day. Ekrem promised us no rain and we enjoyed Ephesus in the sunshine. Ekrem was a great guide, extremely knowledgeable and always happy to answer questions. Our driver was safe, our mini bus immaculate. We also had a great Turkish meal at the carpet cooperative .
We ended up having our own private tour as we were the only ones! Everything was included in the price, which was much cheaper than booking with TUI. Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable and chatty. Ephesus is amazing and definitely worth visiting. The experience lasted all morning, including a trip to see traditional rug making (learning about silk was fascinating!) and a traditional meze lunch. Highly recommend!
We had an absolutely wonderful experience exploring Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, and the ruins of the Temple of Artemis with our amazing guide, Odhan! From the very beginning, everything was perfectly organized. Ufuk Orhan was already waiting for us at the cruise port ahead of time, ready to welcome us. He is an exceptionally knowledgeable, professional, and attentive guide who took care of every little detail and patiently answered all our questions. We would also like to recognize our excellent driver, whose professionalism and skillful driving made us feel safe and comfortable throughout the entire journey. His careful and confident driving allowed us to relax and fully enjoy the experience. Having enjoyed guided tours in many places around the world, we can confidently say that this was one of the best guided tour experiences we have ever had! Thank you, ufuk Orhan , and our wonderful driver for making our visit so memorable. We wholeheartedly recommend this team to anyone visiting Ephesus!
A very pleasant tour with our guide! He is friendly, knowledgeable, willing to answer our questions. Highly recommended!
We did this tour with just my wife and I. Serdar was a wonderful guide who was very knowledgeable and spoke terrific English. We left feeling fulfilled, and appreciated the information shared. The museum was an interesting experience, and provided a unique view and visuals on what Ephesus was like. The lunch was very filling and had great Turkish touches. We would definitely recommend taking this tour, especially if you can request Serdar!
Ekrem great tour guide and lovely person. Ehpus was stunning, Ekrem was so knowleagble, we also had plenty of time to take in the information. Lunch was delcious. Private tour was perfect.
We had a wonderful tour with Hakan Senyen! Very knowledgeable about Ephesus and all of Turkey. Our lunch at Nakkas was delicious! The food was grown locally, farm to table!!!!
This was an excellent tour with Ekrem. He is a great guide. Took us to Ephesus- showed us around and explained things in detail. The tour also included a cultural lunch which was very nice and top standard. Good was delicious. I’d recommend this to others. And especially those with elderly parents and kids.
Ekrem was very knowledgeable and kind. Lunch was delicious driver and ekrem our guide was absolutely great provided great informations to us. So worth to book it for our family.
We had a wonderful private tour of Ephesus with Ekrem, who was friendly, engaging, and very knowledgeable about both Turkish history and modern-day Turkey. Ephesus is an incredible site with so much history, and our traditional Turkish lunch was delicious. Travelling with young children and elderly parents, we appreciated being able to explore at our own pace. Highly recommend this tour and Ekrem as a guide.
Really nice knowledgeable guide who was super enthusiastic to explain local turkey history and geography.
Oscar was amazing & enlightening!
Ismail was sooo great! He answered all of our questions and was very personable.
Ismail was amazing!! So knowledgeable and kind!! Loved having a private driver. Every stop was great including lunch!!
Loved the trip. Ismail was very knowledgeable. Lunch was the best food.
Ekrem was a very good guide, friendly and kind. Private tour is really the way to go to get personalized explanations. Saved time avoiding the line up. Well done had a great time! Great value.
Our tour with Filiz was amazing! We learned a lot about the history of Ephesus, and she was so knowledgeable, kind, and had a great and fun personality. I really enjoyed our lunch and the demonstration for Turkish rug making.
We had a private tour guide, my wife and I. Our guide Ismael, contacted us beforehand, we had no issues on meet up. Our transportation was private as well in a nice van. We started at ancient Ephesus, amazing, taking our time, seeing what we wanted. Ismael very knowledgeable about the history of other interesting things of Turkey. Our time at a carpet business was nice. A sales pitch similar to a time share and similar in price too for the high quality goods. We’re not good with those experiences, but we’re pleased with a purchase that should last for generations. A lunch along the way was very nice too. Everybody was very accommodating and kind. Plenty of English speakers most places we went. We are pleased with our experience and would recommend it. The price was good for the transportation, tickets, lunch and private guide, good value.
Absolutely wonderful history at the ruins so very impressive- loved the hospitality and immersive experience at the Turkmen corporative, loved seeing the whole sulk process and the rug viewing experience, and then a wonderful traditional lunch shared together, definitely value for money - very impressed with the whole day.
Lovely day out. Ruins worth a look. Carpet making good. Lovely lunch.
Great Ephesus tour with our guide Bugra. He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and shared lots of interesting historical information. The tour was well organized, and lunch was excellent. Highly recommend!
We had a great day visit to Ephesus with our excellent guide Bugra, he was very good with all his knowledge and answered all the questions we asked him He is also a very nice person to chat with Alan and Nicola from Ireland
Great tour. Very informative . Our tour guide Mehmet was amazing he nows his stuff and was able to answer all our questions. Traditional Turkish lunch was fabulous, Would definitely recommend.
We had a fabulous day out. Our guide Celal was awesome and very knowledgable Would highly recommed this trip.
Exploring Ephesus with Atalay K. was the absolute highlight of our trip to Kuşadası! His deep knowledge of ancient history and local culture brought the ruins to life in a way no guidebook ever could. Atalay was incredibly engaging, attentive to our pace, and handled all the details seamlessly so we could just relax and enjoy the experience. If you are visiting Kuşadası and want a top-tier guide for Ephesus, ask for Atalay—he made our visit truly unforgettable! If you ever read this Atalay, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Our guide Ismail, was very knowledgeable. He gave us a lot of history lessons (very helpful and great to hear). One person in our group has a slight mobility issue and he made sure we were always looked after. We had a group of 4. Lunch was fantastic - all local ingredients. This was a private tour, the van was just for our group, Air conditioning worked well. Our driver was great ( I felt very comfortable). I highly recommend this tour. Our guide did mention we could stop or bypass an event if we wanted. I would hire again.
Private tour was amazing, our guide Ismail was very informative and very great with our friend with mobility issues. He pointed out all the uneven ground and helped her down steps... Our local lunch was very tasty. We made a side trip to a Turkish delicacy that was the cherry on top of this trip. Thanks for a great day
Emine Yigit Yildirim was our guide on this private tour of Ephesus. She was friendly, knowledgeable and helped bring the ancient city to life for us. She was keen to tailor the tour to what we wanted. Ephesus itself was truly amazing and we spent about 1.5 hours there including the immersive experience at the end which was very worthwhile and gave more context - though be warned, the immersive nature of the video can make you feel a bit dizzy. We stopped at a carpet weaving workshop on the way back and were given demonstrations- though this is something we had experienced before, the guide there (a carpet expert) gave a lot more detailed information about the process, materials and tradition and whilst they clearly wanted to sell carpets, they weren’t pushy when they realised we weren’t in a position to buy. Lunch there was included and consisted of delicious Turkish food. All in all it was very worthwhile and Emine was an excellent guide.
Great experience! Selcuk was an excellent guide. Very informative and always mindful of our footing on very slippery stone surfaces.
Our guide Celal was just awesome!! His knowledge and stories of the area was fantastic. The lunch was great. We also got to see the master of rug weaving. We had an amazing day with Celal & our driver Erhan. We highly recommend this tour!! Thank you both so much Joanne & Erin from Canada
Experienced guide Denic was very organized, had lots of information to share and was very flexible. Loved Ephasus and the lunch at the Carpet coop. Fabulous tour of a ceramic place. Bought a beautiful moonstone plate that actually glows in the dark!! Thank you so much for the great day.
Our guide Emine was so great with our kids, on time and very knowledgeable - the tour was a great day to get to know Turkish culture and the food at lunch was awesome! Thank you for a wonderful tour
The entire experience was delightful. Lunch was beautifully arranged in a serene open-air setting, and the meal itself was excellent. The museum visit was equally memorable, offering a fascinating glimpse into the richness of Turkish civilization.
Wow! We had an absolute amazing time! Our guide Tugrul was so informative, entertaining, detailed and down to earth. He made the whole experience so much better than we anticipated. Can’t wait to visit again for another tour.
Just perfect! a new Van. The place was super interesting! our guide Celal just perfect. Super helpfulll with a lot of explanations but vey helpfull. He adapted to all our request!!! Just ask for him becauses he was helpfull in all senses. with a lot of knowlage able to speak english spanish .. many other lengages. Just when we come back we would ask for him for sure
What a great day. So much great information and suggestions
This tour was excellent. Our guide Gokche was absolutely fabulous. She was very knowledgeable with all the information friendly but mostly I enjoyed when she spoke of Turkey you could see the love she had for her country. Highly recommend.
We had an fantastic tour and lunch. Our guide Ibrahim Battim has a lot knowledge and was very pleasant and attentive.
We had a superb tour with our guide Ibrahim Battal. Everything was SO good 🙏
The tour was amazing! We were met at the port by our wonderful guide, Emina, and our private driver, who took us around in a comfortable, air-conditioned minivan. Emina was incredibly friendly, professional, and knowledgeable. She shared fascinating information about the history of Ephesus and was happy to answer all of our questions. She was also very attentive to our needs and made sure we were comfortable throughout the day. We visited the ancient ruins of Ephesus, which were absolutely incredible. The tour also included a few shopping stops, but there was absolutely no pressure to buy anything. We actually really enjoyed the stops, and the products were high quality. We were even able to try some samples before deciding what to buy. The included lunch was also excellent and was a lovely addition to the tour. Overall, we felt that we got an incredible value for our money. The organization, private transportation, knowledgeable guide, amazing sights, and lunch made this a fantastic experience. We would definitely recommend this tour!
Great experience with a professional guide.
The whole experience was fantastic! From the moment we were picked up until the moment we were dropped off. Deniz was so knowledgeable and customized the tour to avoid crowds and meet our interests. She shared facts but also taught us about Turkish language, culture, and food. We went to the house of Mary, Ephesus, Turkish rug factory with lunch, and the Temple of Artemis. I would highly recommend this tour over all the tours offered by the cruise line! And ask for Deniz!
A nice, complete private tour. We appreciated that our tour guide, Ercument, allowed us to go at our own pace as we had an elderly woman and a toddler in the group. He was very knowledgeable and helped us to avoid common tourist traps as well. We enjoyed the lunch and the sweets tasting. The carpet-making was interesting as well. A great experience :)
Oscar was our guide and went above and beyond to personalize our experience. We had a great time and learned so much! Oscar is absolutely the best. Very knowledgeable. He took us to an amazing lunch at Greenfarm Restaurant. Delicious!!
Amazing tour, very accommodating and well organised with a confirmation and clear instructions for where to meet when we arrived. Emine was very knowledgeable, friendly and patient! Great guide and tour. Lunch was delicious. Couldn’t recommend this enough!
We got picked up very efficiently and easily, we had an amazing tour guide named Emine who was very insightful and knowledgeable. We then went to a lovely family owned restaurant which had lots of lovely foods and local cuisine. We then did activities such as learning how handmade carpets were made. Overall great time and great tour guide.
Friendly, efficient and knowledgable. Thank you Eine
Guide was terrific! Slow paced walking tour. Very informative.
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