No Hidden Fees: Private & Small Group Ephesus, The House Of Mary

This tour of Ephesus was exceptional. Our Tour Guide was Nejdet Kahraman. His actual local company was Curio Travel, booked through Viator. Viator definitely works with local professionals. Nej's knowledge about the area was phenomenal. He is kind, friendly and toured at our pace. The lovely terrace houses are a must see. The tour last about 6 hours. Nej also took us to a carpet exhibit/store where we watched the carpets being made by hand. They offered a lovely, delicious lunch in their outdoor garden for 13 Euro. Don’t miss Epheus with Nej!

This tour of Ephesus was exceptional. Our Tour Guide was Nejdet Kahraman. His actual local company was Curio Travel, booked through Viator. Viator definitely works with local professionals. Nej's knowledge about the area was phenomenal. He is kind, friendly and toured at our pace. The lovely terrace houses are a must see. The tour last about 6 hours. Nej also took us to a carpet exhibit/store where we watched the carpets being made by hand. They offered a lovely, delicious lunch in their outdoor garden for 13 Euro. Don’t miss Epheus with Nej!

This private tour to the Ephesus Ancient City, House of Virgin Mary, and St John Basilica was great and our tour guide Inan was very knowledgeable and provided detailed explanations of each site. However, our tour guide took us to an unplanned stop at a leather goods store that resulted in discovery of sub-par products after returning home to the USA. My advice is Just take the tour, but not participate in any unplanned shopping that the tour guide take you to.

I absolutely cannot recommend this tour enough. Our tour guide was Goksel and from the minute we met him to the minute we left him we had the best time ever. His knowledge of Turkey & Ephesus was just incredible and it was clear he is very passionate about his work. He was with us the entire time and was just superb. Our driver was Murat and he was also exceptional. We decided against visiting the ceramic or rug places and this was not an issue with Goksel. If I return to Ephesus again which is highly likely as the excavation work is just phenomenal, then I will be using this tour again.

Excellent informative tour. Tas was a wonderful guide providing much history of the area while making the day fun as well. We got to see a lot of places on this tour!

Tez was an amazing guide! His love for the people and history of Turkey was infectious :) This was the only destination on our cruise where we booked a guided tour and it was well worth the money.

This was an amazing tour of Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary. Our guide Gonca was wonderful and so knowledgeable. She timed when we visited each site to minimize the crowds and waiting and we even stopped at a traditional Turkish restaurant to sample the delicious food. The ride was comfortable and we were picked up at port and dropped off seamlessly. Would highly recommend!

My sister and I had an absolutely wonderful day exploring Ephesus with our guide, Nejdet Kahraman from Curio Travel. Nejdet was truly one of the most wonderful tour guides we have ever had. He was incredibly knowledgeable, funny, friendly, and so eager to share the history and culture of this fascinating area with us. He made the history come alive and took the time to explain everything so we could really appreciate what we were seeing. Visiting the ancient city of Ephesus, the spectacular Terrace Houses, and the House of the Virgin Mary was an unforgettable experience. Nejdet went above and beyond to make our day enjoyable, informative, and memorable. We had so many laughs along the way and learned so much. We would highly recommend Nejdet and Curio Travel to anyone visiting Ephesus. If you have the opportunity to have Nejdet as your guide, you are in for a very special day!

This was a fabulous excursion. Our Guide Ozlem Arkun Erdogan was brilliant. She certainly knew her history. She answered any questions we gave her regarding Ephesus and its history. We visited the house of Mary and the Temple of Artemis. She also took us to Selcuk where we experienced a beautiful town end enjoyed the local produce. Altogether a great excursion with a great guide.

Our tour guide was fantastic and incredibly informative. Beyond bringing the history of Ephesus and Mary’s House to life, she shared a wealth of fascinating insights about Turkish culture, local customs, and the surrounding areas. Easy pickup/drop off from cruise port. Highly recommended!

Our guide was Emre for the day, tour included a separate driver. Emre met us as promised on time at the port, and is a super friendly guy and has a wealth of knowledge of all the sites that we visited during the day. This was a wonderful tour, full of history. Would recomend this to anyone who has a limited time, such as a cruise stop, as you will see it all and not feel rushed.

Excellent guide. Very knowledgable and friendly. Lots if history was told. Enjoyed aircon travveling

We had a small group tour, 11 people, which was a good size group. We did go to House of Mary, Ephesus, and the Terrace Houses. Most tours do not do all three places, that is why we picked this tour. We got in quickly to all of them. I had written that I didn’t want to go to a leather or ceramic tour after reading reviews. I thought they would group us with others who didn’t want to do those tours. Instead, the tour guide put us on the spot in front of the group and said if we don’t want to go then nobody else could go to those sales tours. She kept saying it over and over. I did not appreciate that at all!! We did the carpet tour which I was fine with because you actually learn about the trade. Overall the tour was fine but very unhappy the guide put us on the spot on purpose. She knew exactly what she was doing

The tour was interesting but we didn't get off to a very good start as I had the tour leaving at 8:00 and it didn't leave until 9:00. Viator claimed I received an email even though I did not. At the end of our tour our guide took us to shops (rugs, purses) that we felt were inappropriate. Almost like she was going to get a kick back if we bought something.

The entire tour was incredible- beginning to end. Our guide Fusun was friendly, informative, and great with everyone in our party from 6 yr old to adults. The van was clean, comfortable, and modern. Our driver was also very good. Loved seeing everything from Ephasus to the Terrace Houses (DO NOT MISS THIS)! And we ended the tour with a lovely farm to table lunch and rug-making demonstration. Highly recommend!!

Ershan our guide was really amazing, informative and entertaining. He is very knowledgeable around the history of the sites and was so kind to share with us his culture and history. We really enjoyed our experience especially since its our first time in Turkiye and we’re only there very briefly. Would definitely recommend him as your guide !

Was highly impressed with our guide! And our Driver! We had a full day, exploring the ancient city along with some great shopping and food! Probably the highlight of our time in Turkey. Cankat (our guide) was phenomenal. Highly recommend..

It was a fantastic trip. We had Nahide as our guide. I dont think a better guide exists honestly. She was very informed and is a super sweet lady. She spoke great English. She gave us plenty of time to take photos and explore, explaining everything to us before letting us explore and giving us frequent meet up points. I cannot recommend this enough. Also, they were very easy to find walking off our ship. Didn't even have to try to find them.

Melih was our guide for this tour, and Sergei was our driver - both did an outstanding job, providing us with a safe and entertaining tour. Melih clearly loves his country, and its history - his information was both educational and entertaining. Sergei was a good and safe driver, providing us with smooth transportation. Overall, this was an excellent tour - recommended!!

Mere (our guide) was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable and interesting along with a great sense of humor. His knowledge of history, archeology, mythology and his love of Turkey was epic. He also made sure we saw the highlights without waiting in any lines. He was very observant and kind making sure we were comfortable, had bathroom breaks and food and drinks. It was a wonderful experience and we thank you

Tour guide was easy to find at cruise terminal, even with 4 big ships arriving at the same time. Ben was our tour guide. Had an amazing experience. Very knowledgeable and informative throughout the day. He gave us paper to write a wish at the Virgin Mary house. We also stopped at a carpet workshop on the way back which we found quite interesting. We did not feel obligated to buy anything. Thanks Ben for a great day and the laughs!

Our guide (Melih), and our driver (Sergei) gave us a comprehensive and interesting tour of Mary’s House and Ephesus - we were super happy with the feel of the tour and the detail of the information that Melih shared with us. Sergei was a great driver, and we felt very safe with him on these roads. Overall, this was well worth the money and is highly recommended.

We had a great experience with Tez. He was very knowledgeable and understandable. We did not feel rushed and were never pressured to buy anything. Don’t miss out on the terrace houses. They are a must see. We booked this from the celebrity infinity cruise ship. Super easy and more affordable.

Love the tour, the views, the tour guide was the best. Use comfortable shoes. Take some paper and pen so you can leave a message on the wall. We love it.

Ozer the guide and the driver were excellent - friendly and organised - would highly recommend - very knowledgeable

outstanding itinerary and guide. day was near perfect and guide was knowledgeable, engaged and spoke excellent english

Our tour was great especially our tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and informative. He made sure we saw everything we wanted to see and made an extra stop for us at a carpet weaving location. I would highly recommend this private tour.

Book this tour Company!! Selenay (our tour guide) was AWESOME!! We arrived in Kusadasi via Royal Caribbean and finding our tour guide was a little difficult to find (at no fault to her or the tour company) simply, every tour company, tasi (taxi in Turk), and bus line in the port wants you for touring and shopping. Skip the crowds!! Have this educated, well spoken, and pure Turkish Professional educate you on the rich history, art, culture, traditions, and cuisine of this beautiful Country. 5 stars is underrating this review, I give 7 stars (the new 5 Star Standard being used by everyone trying to out do the others in the industry. These professionals exceed the hype!

Good tour. The guide was open to making special accommodations which was great. And will highly recommend.

Great tour of Ephesus. Wonderful guide - very pleasant with so much information and history of the area. The only complaint we have, and it didn’t affect the rating of this tour, was the pushy sales at the end of the tour. We asked not to be taken to a carpet demonstration as we do not want any sales pitch, but we would be interested in trying some local coffee. On our way back to the port we thought we’re going to a coffee shop, as our guide said “ I know a place, here we will have coffee” only to find out we were taken to a family run pottery store. We were offered coffee there, yes, but that was not at all what we were lead to believe. It was uncomfortable and we were taken by surprise. We had to sit through a demonstration and then the sales pitch. The pottery was very nice and seemed to be very good quality but again, not what we wanted . Our guide should have been clear where she was taking us. This was a private tour and we should have been given a choice as where to go.

We had an amazing time on this tour. Arzú was a great tour guide who was friendly and very informative. Although it was a very hot day, we got to see everything we wanted. We opted out of seeing any presentations at the end and instead walked around the port after the tour. I would highly recommend.

Beautiful day touring Ephesus. Our guide met us at the port, AC vehicle and helped avoid the larger crowds with timing of each stop. We also visited a family owned pottery store where we were given a live demo of pottery making and they showed us their hand painted pieces. Beautiful place.

The guide was an educated his story and and native to Turkey very aware of the culture adaptable to our small group. Outstanding.

Excelent agency we go whith and old woman and find a place to enyoy , very Good guide and driver será Kind and have a lote of information

Our guide Gonja was excellent, very knowledgeable of the places we visited. She answered all of our questions and gave us an incredible experience in Kusadasi/Efesos.

My husband and I had an amazing experience with Göksel. He was thorough, knowledgeable and super accommodating. I recommend this trip to anyone that is visiting for the first time... So worth every dollar.

Loved this tour of Ephesus, House of Virgin Mary- it was amazing! We would highly recommend going just to see how huge Ephesus is! Another highlight was going to a family run pottery business with the most beautiful pottery, never seen anything like it! Sadly out of our budget... Our tour guide was Ozer who was very knowledgeable and clearly loves his job, although a little hard to understand at times.

Yavuz was an excellent tour guide. He was flexible to our needs and interests. He provided thorough and interesting information at each of the sites we visited. The sites were all fantastic, with the highlights being walking through Ephesus and the Terracotta Houses. I highly recommend this tour!

We were met right off our ship. Everything was very organized. We had a very good driver in a very nice van. Our tour guide was excellent. Ms Pinar is very knowledgeable and interesting and very thoughtful. We loved everything about this tour. We are a family of six and we were emailed well ahead of time that we would have the van and guide to ourselves. This was extra special. Thank you for a great day.

We had a perfect day our guide Ms. Pilar started our day by giving us several options so it truly was what we wanted to see. We visited craftsman as well as Ephesus. Her knowledge of the history of Ephesus was outstanding. We ended our day with a lovely lunch at a local restaurant. I booked this trip only a week before we arrived as our plans changed last minute so was even more impressed with the high quality service.

Fantastic tour by John and his driver. Lots of knowledge and very friendly. I highly recommend them for your next Ephesus tour!

Must do!! Just did an Ephesus tour with our guide Hazel. Her expertise and passion brought ancient Ephesus to life! Her detailed commentary and engaging storytelling made every step fascinating. Highly recommended! Thanks!

We were in Kusadasi with a cruise, and this tour was well organized around our port schedule. Our guide was very knowledgeable and informative. We really enjoyed our time at Mary’s house & the Ephesus site. The only downside is that we spent an hour at the end of the trip going to see a rug weaving shop and a leather goods shop. While these were both a bit interesting, there was a sales pitch to buy something at both places, which was awkward for most of the guests. It would have been nice to spend the extra time at the Ephesus site or stopping for a Turkish lunch, etc. I’d definitely recommend this trip, but be aware of this. To be fair, we were given the option to see these local crafts and did not decline.

Our family of 4 so enjoyed our Ephesus tour. Our tour guide Ms. Gonca was wonderful. She was extremely knowledgeable, so nice and friendly. We were so impressed that we are booking another upcoming family tour with her this fall. The tour was well organized with all fees included. We would highly recommend this tour with our guide Gonca!

The guide was good, but the air condition of the car is no good. Emma worked hard and had tried hard.

Ms Pinar our tour guide was excellent and the whole tour was well organised from start to finish. We got to see all sites as advertised and given enough time to see everything. We booked this as an alternative to a cruise ship tour and very glad we did it was far better visiting in a small group.

Ersan was such a wonderful and professional guide! His knowledge of the history of Ephesus and the surrounding area was amazing. He also took the time to explain many interesting facts about Turkish life, customs, and traditions. He always kept us ahead of the large crowds. A tremendous day in every respect. Highly recommend Ersan and this trip!

Very good tour. Would recommend. Ephesus is a must see. Tour guide was knolwgable about the history of the area and able to answer all our questions.

My husband and I so enjoyed our Mini Group Tour 2 (Ephesus and Virgin Mary House). Our guide (unfortunately I do not know his name) was fantastic! He was very knowledgeable, helpful and conscientious. He efficiently guided us through Ephesus, providing shelter from the sun and places to rest, when the group required it. We enjoyed our conversations with him and can’t thank him enough. In addition, thank you to you and your team for arranging for the return of my cell phone at Kusadasi port after the tour! The driver was excellent and went above and beyond to return my phone. Please give him a special thank you on my behalf. I regret having to leave Turkey and wish our stay was longer. Thank you for making it so memorable yesterday. Sincerely, Lisa B