Private & Small Group Ephesus & Virgin Mary Tours For Cruisers

Very knowledgeable. Excellent stories. Made us feel safe and comfortable with the local culture. I would highly recommend Ibrahim Onur.

Wonderful experience. I would highly recommend a tour with Ibrahim Onur. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour. He is very knowledgeable and took into consideration of what we wanted to see in Ephesus.

Akeem our tour guide was amazing his knowledge of history given us a real experience of what it was like back then, and his knowledge of history of what it was like made the experience feel real you can tell he takes pride in his work you can see it in his eyes in his experience makes you feel like you’re part of a family. We’ve done out of tour guys and I have to rate him in the top, very kind, considerate, and very knowledgeable of the history of emphasis in the surroundings as well as the Turkish heritage economy was a pleasure. We had a wonderful time.

Ekrem was just fantastic ! The booking process and communication throughout was fantastic. We highly recommend.

Alayna was a wonderful guide. Highly recommend her. Great from pickup to drop off.

Our guide, Aleyna was outstanding. She is highly educated and knowledgeable at the same time very friendly and super nice. The weather didn’t cooperate, it was nonstop rain. She gave us umbrella and didn’t cut corners of the tour. She has it all that you may expect from the tour guide and even more. Highly recommend.

Aleyna was knowledgeable and very pleasant to talk to. I recommend her tour to everyone.

We had an EXCELLENT time touring from Kusadasi to Ephesus with Ephesus Shuttle. Our guide, Selda, and driver met us at the cruise dock on time (actually early). We paid for a semi-private tour, but it was only the two couples in our group present, so we essentially had a private tour. We were able to see everything we had wanted: Ephesus, Terra Cotta Houses, Temple of Artemis, and the House of the Virgin Mary. Selda walked with us through each site, guiding us through its history and significance. She timed our arrivals to minimize the lines. She also took several pictures with our phone, sparing us from the dreaded selfies, and making for much better photos and memories. We did stop at rug making and pottery shops, but more so for cultural significance. There was no pressure to buy - unless you saw something you like, and we could have excluded them from the tour if we wished. The entire tour was about 7 hours, but it would have been 5 without the shops (yes, we bought a rug, but we had on mind to do so). We thoroughly enjoyed our introduction to Turkey, thanks to Selda. I researched several providers, and Ephesus Tours provides the most complete and customer service oriented tour that checks all of the key boxes for your visit to Kusadasi.

Aleyna was an excellent tour guide. Very knowledgeable and great to listen to! We thouroghly enjoyed her guiding 👍

Very well organized. Excellent booking experience. We loved our guide Aleyna.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this excursion with Gurkan. Pick up and drop off were smooth as was the trip itself. Gurkan was very knowledgeable, helpful and friendly. It's a lot of walking but worth it to see the history.

This was a great experience and so much better with our guide, Aleyna. She was so enthusiastic about telling us about the history of the area and showed us all around Ephesus. Lunch was delicious. So much food. And we enjoyed meeting every cat we saw!

Very informative and guide did a great job at explaining what we were seeing

Aleyna was guide. She was terrific! Very knowledgeable and gracious. I had some trouble walking the steps of the Terrace Houses and she was happy to slow down and let me rest. Our private tour included the House of the Virgin Mary, the terrace Houses, the ancient city of Ephesus and Artemis. It was a great tour. I re ommens this company and Aleyna highly.

Our guide Gurkan made this an incredible experience. He was extremely knowledgeable about all of the ancient sites we visited today. We highly recommend Gurkan for this small group tour and any other tour he may lead! His professionalism, kindness, patience and humor are worthy of praise.

Selda was a friendly and knowledgeable tour guide. We had an amazing afternoon. Tour included Upper Ephesus, Mary's House, and the Temple of Artemis. The pickup from the cruise ship was fast and simple. We were always ahead of the bug tour groups from the ship. Amazing experience. Would definitely recommend to a friend.

Our guide, Selda, and driver were FABULOUS!!! Very knowledgeable and very accommodating! I would do another trip with her again!!

We were picked up directly from the cruise port and taken to The House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus and a local family owned pottery shop with exquisite pieces. Selenay was the perfect tour guide. We greatly appreciate her knowledge,kindness, and the energy she brought to our private tour. She exceeded our expectations And we can’t recommend her enough. Our driver was fantastic as well and the transportation was very nice, clean and had great air conditioning. 5 star experience for sure!

We had an amazing tour with Gurkan! He picked us up directly from the port and first took us to the House of the Virgin Mary, followed by a wonderful tour of Ephesus. He explained everything clearly and was incredibly kind, friendly, and knowledgeable throughout the day. He made the whole experience very special and unforgettable. Thank you so much, Gurkan, for such a wonderful day! We highly recommend him to anyone visiting Ephesus.

We booked a private guide through with Gurkan, and the whole experience was fantastic. Pickup was extremely easy, he met us right at the cruise port with no hassle at all. The tour itself was excellent. Gurkan is incredibly knowledgeable; he walked us through all the ruins of Ephesus and shared the fascinating stories behind each one. He also showed us the beautiful mosaics in the Terrace Houses and gave a great explanation of the Temple of Artemis and its significance in the present day. Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Ephesus!

Inan was the absolute best! Really knowledgeable and friendly!

Inan was very personable and he was extremely knowledgeable. We loved his suggestions and he even arranged a Turkish lunch us and it was delicious! I would highly recommend this tour to anyone that is visiting Kusadasi.

Wonderful time on this tour, could have done without the carpet factory though.

Excellent experience touring the ancient sites with Cem. Knowlagable and accommodating.

Had a wonderful time seeing the sights of Ephesus and Mary’s house and hearing the stories about them and learning more about Turkey from Cem our guide.

Fusun (our guide) was magical! Great knowledge and showed us loads of interesting things whilst also giving us the opportunity to wander. The whole experience was brilliant!

We had a fantastic day today. Tour was well planned out and perfect amount of time. Our tour guide, Ol’Good, was the best we can ask for. He is kind, knowledgeable and professional.

Tour was exceptional! We booked for Virgin Mary’s House and Ephesus but the guide took us to a rug making factory as well which was a highlight of our trip! Would definitely recommend! The tour was highly educational and enjoyable. Most importantly we felt totally safe.

Very enjoyable tour. Guide very knowledgeable and friendly.

This is the best tour I have ever received with a guide. Our guide was extremely kind and went out of his way to give us the best experience possible.

Cem was an amazing guide, very knowledgeable and friendly. The transportation was new, clean, and very comfortable. It was a great tour, and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Kusadasi!

We had an absolutely amazing day exploring Ephesus, and a huge part of that was thanks to our fantastic tour guide, Fuson, and our incredible driver, Ibo. Meeting up with them couldn't have been easier. Ibo took us to our first stop, the House of the Virgin Mary. We arrived right as they were getting ready to open just after 8:00 AM, which turned out to be perfect timing. It was so peaceful and tranquil to take in before any crowds arrived, and Fuson gave us wonderful context that made the visit feel truly special. From there, we headed to Ephesus, it was completely stunning. Fuson guided us on the top-down route, taking us through the Terrace Houses and the Experience Museum. Spending three hours walking through it all was a real highlight. We wrapped up with a stop at the Temple of Artemis before Ibo brought us back to the ship. If you are heading to Kusadasi, you could not ask for a better team than Fuson and Ibo. Warm, efficient, and thoroughly knowledgeable—they made our entire day effortless and truly memorable!

Gengiz our guide was very informative and helpful through each venue visited.

Very knowledgable and friendly guide!

Excellent private tour with a fantastic guide We had a thoroughly enjoyable private tour of Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary and the Temple of Artemis. Our guide, Ugurcan, was excellent throughout. He was friendly, helpful, extremely knowledgeable and very considerate. He made sure everything ran smoothly and was particularly thoughtful about the fact that one member of our party was only seven years old, adapting the experience so that it worked well for all of us. Ugurcan answered every question we asked with impressive knowledge and context, which really added to our understanding and enjoyment of the sites. He also took photographs for us throughout the day and did such an exceptional job that we genuinely suggested he should consider specialising in photography-focused tours. We came away with some wonderful family photographs as well as great memories of the day. The tour also included visits to a carpet and rug manufacturer and a leather goods manufacturer. We found both interesting and, importantly, there was little to no pressure to buy anything. Overall, this was a very enjoyable, well-organised and personal experience. Ugurcan was a superb guide and we would happily recommend this tour to others visiting Kuşadası and Ephesus.

Great tour and guide. Very informative and professional.

Brilliant tour with Gurken his passion for The history of Ephesus was amazing and very informative. The pick up was easy and the whole tour was really enjoyable. The tour was efficient and plenty of stops in shade and for photographs. Great driver Benke too. Highly recommend and would use again.

We did a small‑group tour of Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary, and it was outstanding. Our guide, Gurkhan, was exceptional — incredibly knowledgeable, engaging, and always checking in with the group to make sure the pace suited everyone. The experience felt personal and relaxed, so much better than a large group tour. Our driver was also fantastic, and the air‑conditioned minibus was spacious and comfortable. A tip for future visitors: bring an umbrella or hat for shade at the ruins. It gets very hot and there’s limited cover, though our guide did a great job finding shade whenever possible. Highly recommended. • Perfect for history lovers — Gurkhan brings the site to life with detail and storytelling. • Smooth logistics — no waiting around, no crowds, just easy movement through the site. • Comfortable transport — makes a huge difference in the August

Emma gave us an amazing tour of Ephesus. Learned so much about the history that we would not have appreciated on our own.

We had an unbelievably good tour with Cenk. We were on a cruise and we have never booked independently before but after doing some searching on gemini, this tour operator was suggested and we booked despite being someone hesitant historically to book outside of the cruise. It was super awesome, safe, luxurious travel, and extremely knowledgeable tour guide. Highly recommend!!!

Yavuz was an amazing guide! He customized our day to what we were interested in learning/hearing about. He was very personable and was great with the kids (6 y.o. and 8y.o.) in our family. He gave us the option to do the one hour Ephasus ruins tour or the two hour tour. We chose the one hour tour due to the heat but the two hour tour looked and sounded really cool (a little bummed we missed out on that)! Yavuz filled the additional time with a lunch at a really good restaurant (I don’t think we would have gotten lunch if we did the two hour tour), and we got to see how the Turkish rugs are hand made. This was a really neat lesson but when the lesson was done, the employees were pretty insistent on getting us to buy one. It’s their job, I know but they really did not want to us to walk away without buying something. Overall, this was a great trip and Yavuz was an incredible guide! If you are taking this trip, try to get him for your guide. I definitely recommend this if you’re looking for something to do while in Kuşadasi/Ephesus!

Yavuz was a phenomenal tour guide! He was extremely knowledgeable about each tour stop and accommodated all of our requests. The stop in Ephesus was a highlight and we enjoyed walking the ruins and learning of the way life was thousands of years ago.

Yabuz was outstanding. One of the best tour guides we have had.

Fantastic tour with Erason. He was so knowledgeable! He made us feel comfortable and not rushed. I recommend a tour with him and speedy anytime!!!

Ersan was amazing and very knowledgeable. I highly recommend this tour. The tour company are very professional.

Cem (pronounced Gem) was spectacular from the beginning to end very informative and knew all the answers to any questions we had. Highly suggest asking for him as your guide.

Excellent 10/10 would recommend your guide was very professional & knowledgeable

Cem is the best tour guide ever! Besides being knowledgeable and explaining everything in the tour with detail, he shared information about culture, and made our tour super fun. He is passionate about his job and made out time in Kusadasi a great experience. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Our guide, Nejdet. Kahraman was outstanding. Very friendly and knowledgeable . Tour went at a very good pace.