Your tour guide will be ready at your hotel lobby in Kusadasi or at Kusadasi Cruise terminal at pre-arranged time. After Greeting, drive to The House of Virgin Mary.
Our First stop is The House of Virgin Mary is one of the pilgrimage center of Christians where Virgin Mary passed her recently time and died. Pope Paul VI visited the shrine in 1967, and ‘unofficially’ confirmed its authenticity. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI has visited this shrine After House of Virgin Mary.
We drive to Ephesus, famous in antiquity for its Temple of Artemis during the years of the Roman Empire, the Greek port of Ephesus became the greatest city in Asia Minor. You will start your Ephesus excursion at the upper Magnesia Gate, and work your way down through the city, ending near the ancient Harbor. Along the way you will see the Forum, the Odeon, the Library of Celsus, the Thermal Baths of Scolastika and the Great Theater, built in the Greek era and reconstructed in the Roman period. It has played host to programs as varied as Paul and his sermons to the Ephesians, to concerts by Sting, in part due to its remarkable acoustics. You will walk along the Arcadian Way, where once Mark Antony and Cleopatra rode in procession. You will hear stories of Alexander the Great, the Virgin Mary, and many other famous visitors who walked the same marble streets that you are walking. Lunch will be served in a restaurant in the garden of handcraft center.
After Lunch, we will visit The Basilica of St. John it is believed that the evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the region around Ephesus and buried in the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill.
Then Continue to visit Temple of Artemis which is one of the seven wonders of Ancient time. Returning back to your hotel / Cruise terminal in Kusadasi and the end of our tour.
Return back to Kusadasi after the tour. free time in city center or port
Amazing day with our guide Ozzie! We got to see all the major sights in Ephesus including a delicious Turkish farmhouse lunch, followed by seeing how rugs are hand made and a stop at a leather shop including a fashion show and some Turkish wine.
This tour was more than what we expected. Had a wonderful time learning the history and biblical significance of Kusadasi. I would highly recommend this trip. A very personal a unique experience, The lunch was very good too, just the right amount to keep us going and provide a local food experience.
Our tour guide Fumur was a wealth of information and shared her country with us. The lunch was a great extra bonus not to be missed. Comfortable van and great driver too. What else can I say except not to be missed if you want a great tour in Ephesus
Highlights: A personalized small tour just with the two of us. I got all of my questions answered and more. Seeing and learning about the history of the vast city of Ephesus, St. John’s Basilica, Mary’s House and the tasty lunch. We paid all entrance fees. Not a highlight, just info. Midlight: The lunch was very modest but tasty: beans, beet dish, rice, tomato dish, salad, lamb meatballs and chicken, and bread. Lowlights: While I appreciate Mustafa’s honesty at the beginning of the tour letting us know he was a smoker, I would have preferred to have this information beforehand. I have a mild allergy to smoking but for someone with major allergies this could have been a huge issue since the tour was so intimate and we were in close contact for hours. The rug, ceramics and leather experiences were definitely tourist traps with pressure ranging from subtle to aggressive to buy high priced rugs and costly ceramics and expensive leather. The leather was the biggest surprise. As soon as I walked into the reception with “Payless” in bright lights on a black wall then quickly shuffled into a dark room and saw the runway lined with red velvet seating I thought “Oh no, a major tourist trap!!” After we emerged from the 10 min abbreviated leather jacket fashion show (mind you this was AFTER we explicitly told our tour guide we were NOT interested in leather jackets) we were escorted into a large show room with jackets, bags and purses. The salesman stuck to us like white on rice insisting in telling us how excellent the prices and quality were and how everything was 75% off. Honestly I would be surprise if everything had a 90% mark-up. I found it hard to trust a place called Payless. It was should have been more appropriately called “Pay More, Much More.” In retrospect, the fact that in a Turkish country everything was written in English was a huge tip off that it was a tourist trap!! Enjoy the tour but beware of the rug, ceramic and leather tourist traps. I recommend you ask “Where do the Turks buy their rugs, leather and ceramics? Pls take me there!”
Nilgun is an excellent guide. She is passionate about her country and history. We all learned a lot and even the teenagers were not bored. The Ephesus site and especially the terrace houses was so interesting. Definitely take the 155 steps thru the houses; it is not hard. We also went to see locals make hand-made rugs. The process is more than you can imagine and they offered tasty Turkish coffee and tea. We had lunch there as well and it was delicious. The driver was very good too and kept the car nice and cool in the heat.
Our guide was the absolute best! Our tour was amazing. We loved everything from beginning to end. Highly recommended this guide and tour.
Our trip was brilliant. Great locations visited. Lots of interesting things we saw and learned. Pick up process was perfect. And our guide Alayna was fantastic. She was so knowledgeable and friendly and helpful. And our driver was great too. We could not rate this trip any better. It was all excellent. Thank you.
Melih was an incredible tour guide and was extremely knowledgeable. We requested an emphasis on Biblical History and we were impressed with his knowledge. He also did a great job accommodating my parents’ disabilities. We highly recommend this tour.
You get to see the same things but at a much cheaper price than Celebrity and includes a delicious lunch. You also do less walking because unlike a tour bus it meets you at a location where you end up when you decide to head back. No need to climb back up to where you were dropped off initially. Definitely worth it!
What a fantastic tour— it was easy to connect with our tour guide from the start and we felt like we were in great hands all day! Mr. Sinan was very knowledgeable and personable. We would definitely recommend this tour!
Our guide, Nahide, provided an excellent experience. She was passionate about sharing the local culture and bringing us to the sites that best exemplified this. While many other tours can feel rushed and rigid, Nahide took into account what we were looking to do and combined that with her expertise of the culture to provide an amazing day. She even organized a visit to a Turkish bathhouse for us after our tour which we enjoyed immensely! We would highly recommend her to any family or friends visiting the local area.
Our guide, Nahide, provided an excellent experience. She was passionate about sharing the local culture and bringing us to the sites that best exemplified this. While many other tours can feel rushed and rigid, Nahide took into account what we were looking to do and combined that with her expertise of the culture to provide an amazing day. She even organized a visit to a Turkish bathhouse for us after our tour which we enjoyed immensely! We would highly recommend her to any family or friends visiting the local area.
This was an amazing tour. Loved the tour of Ephesus. Mr. Yavuz was a great guide. Very knowledgeable.
Kerem was wonderful. He picked up our whole family right at the dock and we were on our way. Our driver was great and Kerem showed us all the best sites of Ephesus based on our requests. He even added several stops that were perfect for our family to have a great experience. Even the kids enjoyed it. I'd highly recommend this trip and Kerem as a tour guide.
Touring Ephasus was wonderful, but equally as pleasurable were the stops we made for a delicious traditional lunch and rug-making demonstration, a generations-old ceramics store where I enjoyed a delightful conversation with one of the owners, and visiting the leather goods store. The tour guide tailored the day to my desires, was informative, and made for a very interesting day without feeling rushed despite the variety of all we were able to see.
Amazing tour. Food was wonderful. Communication before tour was super. The care given by Yavuz to those of us who were slower was excellent. Our driver was so very kind and safe. Would highly recommend
We had great experience with our tour guide Emre, he was extremely knowledgeable and made the trip very enjoyable. One of the best tour guides we have ever had. He customized the itinerary to include all the sites we wanted to see in the time available. His knowledge of ancient Ephesus and biblical history was second to none. We had a wonderful private lunch in the garden of a rug coop, absolutely great Greek food! Our driver was Ibo who somehow knew all the best spots to park! What an exciting tour, one of our best ever!
We loved the historic sites as well as lunch with local farmer. Food was delicious in beautiful peaceful setting. Watching rugs being made was mind blowing.
We had wonderful and memorable time in Espesus. Our tour guide Mrs. Nilgün is excellent , she provides great customer service to all of us. We highly recommend.
Our tour of Ephesus was one of the highlights of our trip. This is a must see, do not miss tour. Nafia was very knowledgeable and courteous. We did the one day tour while on a Mediterranean cruise. We highly recommend this tour.
We have been very impressed with the quality of tour guides in each location used. Tez on the Ephesus tour gave very interesting information in each location and the lunch was locally sourced with the farmer, so of course was delicious. As with other tours with Viator, before the trip the company stayed in close contact and answered my questions with kindness and promptness. Well worth the investment!!
Our guide Selda was simply perfect. The right amount of history, archeology and mythology she kept things moving at a good pace and we had an amazing day.
Inan was a fabulous host for our tour of Ephesus. His knowledge of the archaeology and religious history of the area was amazing. We had a luxurious Mercedes van for our trip, which was just for the 2 of us. Lunch was included, which turned out to be at a local Turkish restaurant, very traditional. The only downside was being taken to a sales outlet for leather goods. This was unexpected and unwelcome.
Brilliant private tour of Ephesus and the Virgin Mary's house. Emre our guide was so knowledgeable about the area and the biblical history. He answered all our questions and also allowed us free time to take photos and buy souvenirs. Ephesus was utterly amazing, and we learnt so much about how the Ephesians lived. Visited the terraced houses (inside Ephesus but a separate fee) and it was worth the money to see the frescos and the mosaics. As a family of 3, this tour was no more expensive than going on a hotel coach trip, but it really was so much better. Lunch was great, lots of choice. Emre went out of his way to make sure we had a fabulous trip.
The guide... she was very very nice... I remember her name... was Mary. The tour was excellent and the food really good. i did the tour with my sisters and friends, we were really happy. Efhesus ruins are amazing! and the house of Virgin Mary was really nice to be there. Hope to back again! some day! Thanks
Arman and his driver were wonderful. He is an excellent guide who is extremely knowledgeable about each of the sites on this tour. (Please be aware that entrance fees to the sites are not included in the price of the tour and will total about 20 euros per person, which you will pay to the guide at the end of the day). The included lunch was excellent, much better than the typical fixed-menu lunches provided on similar tours (beverages are extra). One note: the rug factory is more of a high-pressure sales pitch than a cultural learning opportunity.
Without a doubt worth doing. The price for 3 of us to do this trip was cheaper than the hotel was offering for a full coach tour. The guide and driver turned up on time and in a very comfortable Mercedes mini van with a/c. Throughout the whole day our guide was extremely friendly and knowledgable, the ancient town of Ephesus is a sight to behold and the guide, again, was brilliant throughout. I would 100% recommend this tour instead of a crowded coach option.
It was amazing, our tour guide was really good and knowledgeable. Best tour of my life, we loved it!!!
Encounter with your faith, beliefs and love of God, it is a journey full of Hope for reaffirmation and questions, I felt a lot of peace and the site is also, it is surprising.
A place to see everything possible to see and try not to miss anything. Need a very good guide.
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