We will meet you at the Cruise Port! Once your tour is booked, we’ll reach out promptly with your customised meeting time and precise meeting location, arranged according to your cruise ship’s arrival & departure.
Ephesus Ruins is the largest open-air museum in Turkey, dating back to the Greek and Roman periods. Within this remarkable ancient city, we will explore the Senate Building, the Ancient Hospital, the Temple of Domitian, the Nike Statue, Hercules Gate, Trajan Fountain, the Temple of Hadrian, the iconic Celsus Library, the Grand Theatre of Ephesus, and many other fascinating structures.
The House of the Virgin Mary is one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites, believed to be the place where Mary came to Ephesus with John the Apostle and spent the last ten years of her life. Pope Paul VI visited the shrine in 1967 and unofficially acknowledged its authenticity. Pope John Paul II followed in 1979, and Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2006. The question of whether Mary actually died in Ephesus remained uncertain until the visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich—a bedridden German nun who had never visited Ephesus. She described the House of the Virgin Mary in remarkable detail to the writer Clemens Brentano, who later published her accounts. Emmerich passed away in 1884. In 1891, Father Paul of the Lazarist Order in Izmir read about her visions and discovered a small structure matching her descriptions. This led to archaeological excavations, which eventually revealed the site we visit today as Mary’s House.
Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt and twin sister of Apollo, was later worshipped as the Goddess of the Moon. Her temple, built around 650 BC, stood on a site already sacred to the Anatolian Mother Goddess Cybele. Financed by the wealthy Lydian king, it was constructed on marshy ground to help protect it from earthquakes. Despite this, the temple was destroyed and rebuilt several times due to natural disasters.
*OPTIONAL VISIT DEPENDING ON REQUEST* Terrace Houses were the houses of rich & upper class people in Ephesus City have been lived, famed for gorgeous mosaics, frescoes, and wall paintings. One of the best-preserved sites in the Ephesus in which archeological works still continue.
*OPTIONAL VISIT DEPENDING ON REQUEST* You can see the Saint John Basilica from a distance when we are in the Temple of Artemis. It is believed that the Evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the in & around Ephesus and buried in the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill. The tomb of St John was under the central dome of the Basilica.
You will also have the chance to explore authentic local handicrafts and, if you choose, enjoy a truly genuine shopping experience. Your professional local tour guide will be by your side to offer valuable insights—highlighting the finest traditional crafts, recommending the most reputable places to visit, and providing expert tips to ensure a smooth, enjoyable, and completely hassle-free experience.
We will drive through the Kusadasi Town and will have a panoramic view while listening the key informations from our Local Tour Guide.
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!
Dennis was fantastic. He provided a great overview of the activities of the day and was very knowledgeable regarding the history of the area. Restaurant was authentic and the food was fantastic. Just a great tour overall.
Wonderful experience fully recommend… A+++ Good value for money ;) The Ephesus tour is truly worthy and the guide was really knowledgeable…
Canan was very professional and knowledgeable. She was really good. I will advice her who wants to visit. We went to St John Church. We visited Turkmen where women weaving. It was nice to see. Highly recommended
What a fantastic tour guide...Dennis. He was so very knowledgeable, kind, friendly and helpful. This was a private tour for just me. Since I walk with a cane, I need to stop many times when walking long distances. Dennis was very patient with me and accommodated my needs. I highly recommend taking this tour with Dennis.
Some part of the tour was good. Fatima was knowledgeable about the city and history. The only caveat was that I realized afterwards she manipulated us to go to leather shop and the carpet shop. I wanted to visit a good local restaurant but found out the restaurant she said was so great was part of the carpet shop lol. She said it was part of the government program which was not true after doing research afterwards. The sales pitch part was actually funny so there is some entertainment value I guess. We bought some stuff at the leather shop but it was very overpriced even with discounts. I guess it was stupid of me to trust her because I genuinely wanted to like her and help her. She is a very good salesman with a lot of subtle tactics. It left a bitter taste in my mouth about turkey after researching and finding out the whole country tourism is run this way. But having said that if you are smart unlike me and say no to things firmly you can have a decent tour.
Where do I begin, this was the best guide and tour. He was so knowledgeable and thought provoking and answered things before we could ask. From the ruins to Mary’s house to the Firca pottery where we had Turkish coffee and tea and watched a pottery demonstration of how they still make there pottery. My husband bought me the pottery in the picture and not only came in the allotted 60 days but they made it glow in the dark for me. We were of course worried since we had to wait and it was being sent from Turkey but it definitely was worth it my adult sons loved it and thought haw unique and great it was. I will always remember our guide and the time we had in Ephesus. This is definitely a must do in Turkey. Thank you for the memorable time
The tour was perfect in every details...we loved it! Ezgi, our guide, was very kind and professional, and also the driver was very gentle. The meeting point was easy to reach they were punctual and careful.
Knowledgeable, friendly local guide with good language skills and a sincere interest in a good tour. Flexible and adjusted the tour for our requirements. Great local lunch with clean comfortable transportation.
We would like to thank Denise Taskin our private tour guide who definitely provided a wonderful, unforgetable day in Ephesus , temple of Artemis and House of the Virgin Mary. Our driver Yildirim made us feel so safe with his professional driving along the winding road to the House of Virgin Mary. They both made us feel special riding in the mercedes benz van.
Fatima is a knowledgeable, well organized tour guidessses. We enjoyed all trip in Ephesus. This private shore excursion worth the money.
Fatma Kuşcu was our tour guide for the ancient city of Ephusus, she was very welcoming and extremely knowledgeable about the area and the history of Greece, Roman Empire and Turkey. I would highly recommend this tour and Fatma in particular, thank you for a most enjoyable day ! I'm so impress of this young girl! love her and really hope to see her again ! xxx
Fatima was our tour guide for the ancient city of ephusus, she was very welco.ing and extremely knowledgeable about the area and the history of Turkey. The driver (who's name I have forgotten sorry) was very efficient and had the air con on in the bus ready for when we got back when we had been off the bus. I would highly recommend this tour and Fatima in particular, thank you for a most enjoyable day 😀
The tour was great! Ephesus is beautiful, it’s so crazy to see the ruins and thinking about the people that used to live there. So much history. The guide was nice and he taught us a lot about Ephesus and Turkey. I really liked it!
I guarantee that it is the local agency that provides the best service in Kusadasi. We had the most wonderful experience doing this tour, everything was so well prepared and in an impeccable timely manner. Our guide Ismail was knowledgeable and friendly. Ismail's detailed and interesting information about Turkey and Ephesus was very effective for all of us. The lunch they organized for our group was very tasty and affordable. After the lunch, the silk production and Turkish carpet history information prepared for those who want to learn more about the region and examine Turkish art on-site was really exciting(optional). I can't wait to come to Turkey again. It was an amazing group tour in a private tour class. I would recommend it to everyone.
The day tour was excellent- we had an enjoyable day. The guide was very knowledgeable and gave all the necessary history details Ephesus ia a must see .
Our guide Fatimah was really friendly and accommodating. She was on time waiting for us at the gate immediately we disembarked and she is very knowledgeable and provided great information on the Ephesus.
Our Turkey day tour arrangements were made with Ismail through Iglesias Tour Turkey. All correspondence was through emails prior to our visit. Ismail proved to be an extremely competent and educated professional in his field. Ismail has a vast knowledge of all aspects of Turkey and his entire conversations are delivered in impeccable English. He showed us all the important main attractions in Epesus and he took us to a quaint and friendly restaurant located at the rear of a carpet factory for a delicious Turkish meal all the while attending to our every need. Many thanks, Ismail, for providing our group with a delightful and memorable tour of Turkey.
Fantastic tour of Ephesus and trip to carpet factory and lunch was amazing, no hard sell. Amazing!!!
We booked a guided tour with the lovely Fatima and her husband. We were a family of nine with young children! We were very well received by Fatima at our hotel. She is an awesome, kind and patient guide with lot of knowledge and many tips. The chosen route, restaurant and local shop were great 👍 I would absolutely recommend other travelers to choose Fatima and her husband as their guide.
Fatima is fun, fantastic and fabulous tour guide. She was patient w/ all of our questions and requests and always flexible about what our group wanted to do. She was one big smile and made our tour perfect. I valued her information as we explored each site. Her English skills are very good. The lunch stop was not only relaxing but full of more interesting things to see. We would request Fatima as a tour guide again.
Great day out with Fatima to see Ephesus. Ordered and well paced. Lunch was delicious. Highly recommended
Fatima was incredible with her historical information. So thorough yet not boring. Highly recommend booking with her specifically. We were on a Windstar cruise and booked a day touring Ephesus and the Virgin Mary's home. Plus, she took us to an out of the way spot for lunch with the locals. If you book anything in Kusadasi make sure you ask for her.
When I was collecting information about tours for May 19, Ismail responded promptly to my emails and answered all my questions in great detail. Fatima and Ismail were waiting for us at the cruise port, with a warm welcome to Turkey. Fatima was our guide for the day and did a fantastic job! We went to the House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus Ancient City and the Temple of Artemus. Fatima's expertise made the history of these places come alive and her enthusiasm kept us interested and engaged. Our group was given lunch at a local restaurant where the food was excellent! Afterwards, we saw a bit about carpet making that was quite interesting. The timing of the day was about as perfect as it could be, we saw a lot without being rushed. By the end of a day rich in experiences, I was so happy to have booked with "Best Turkey Tours". Best of luck Fatima and Ismail. Hope to see you again! Susan
Our guide for this excellent day was Yavuz. He met us at the cruise port. We were a small group (12). Once on the bus, he introduced himself. He was very knowledgeable, very informative, attentive, friendly and just a nice person. We first visited Mary's house. He gave us tips there and free time to explore. Next was Ephesus. What a wonderful place. We stayed together as a group and he led us through the grounds. He pointed out many interesting things and gave us background information. He was a gentleman and even lent me his umbrella when it started to rain. We had our group and individual pictures taken at the library which was a lovely surprise. We received these pictures at the end of our tour. We visited Artemis' Temple (the one lone column still standing). Next was a delectable lunch at Turkmen followed by a demonstration on handmade Turkish carpets which was quite interesting. We also had an opportunity to buy some of these carpets but no one in our group bought. There was actually no pressure to buy so that was great. We got back to the cruise ship with time to spare to look through the shops at the cruise port or explore on our own. All in all, it was a great tour, thanks to Yavuz. He explained that Turkey was safe and that extra measures were taken to ensure everyone's safety. This was said at the very beginning and not once did we feel uncomfortable. Our one regret was that we wish we had left earlier. We waited till 9am for a member who never showed up. This gave the large group tour busses a head start. We would have loved it if we had left earlier and beaten the crowds at the interest spots. Thank you to Yavuz and Best Turkey Tour for a very enjoyable time. I highly recommend them.
Excellent!!! We took the tour with Fatima, absolutely recommended. He was very friendly, explained everything in detail. From when he waited at the port until the end. We toured the ruins of Ephesus, the house of Mary and the temple of Artemis. Everything spectacular!
- Timely delivery service - Guided to know a good country Talk a good country - Good lunch Although there are d sunbathing but overall allok comfortable many trees in the shade and many cats 😍😍😍
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