Private Tour : Customized Ephesus Tour For Cruisers From Kusadasi Ephesus Port

Excellent experience. Wonderful guide that i would recommend to anyone. Knew excatually what schedule to have for the best experience

Dou met us promptly at the pier and got us to Ephesus early, before the crowds. He's a working archaeologist in Turkey, and it shows. He explained how the amphitheater worked, Ephesus's role as a Silk Road trading city, and the history of the Library of Celsus, and his stories about the tunnels had us laughing. He was patient and kind with Nora, helping her across the rough surfaces and taking our photos. After Ephesus, Dou took us to a seven-generation family pottery workshop and a rug workshop, where we watched artisans knot rugs by hand and walked on them barefoot. Nora chatted in Armenian with the half-Armenian manager, and he even recognized her favorite rug as a Kayseri. There was no pressure to buy. Lunch in Kuşadası was a huge shish kebab plate, followed by a stroll through the bazaars and a look at the Kervansaray, the old merchant inn near the port. My MIL’s grandfather likely stayed there while shipping goods along the Silk Road, which made it very personal. Highly recommend Dou if you want a guide who brings history to life.

Ugur Duman was an amazing tour guide. His knowledge is outstanding. The best tour i have ever been on.

Very old site that has had many identities, well worth the visit , can get very busy do go early, take water and wear sensible footwear as ground very uneven

We had a fantastic trip. Out guided Alp was informative and let us decide the pace and places we wanted to visit.

Eren was a wonderful tour guide, and the tour company provided a luxurious sprinter van with a separate driver for our private tour group of 7. He customized our itinerary based on our needs. We found him friendly, knowledgeable, and engaging.

Ot guide as fantastic. Helps us narrow down our tour to accommodate our wheelchair. Very good English and personable.

Guide was excellent, very thorough very well organized and very personable. Would highly recommend her.

This private tour for four is the only way to go! Emma took us where we wanted to go. No fluff - just pure sights. Emma made every minute count. We were able to beat the crowds at Mother Mary’s house as well as Ephesus where there were throngs of tourists. The fixed lunch that was provided was a traditional Turkish meal with a wide variety of delicious plates. Emma had perfect English and her knowledge of history was widespread. No complaints whatsoever. Plus, our driver was excellent and dropped us off as close as possible - passing all the tour buses. Well worth the money. We are so glad we had this private tour. Highly recommend this one with an air-conditioned, roomy van.

This was by far the best tour we’ve ever been on. Fatih was a terrific tour guide and made our experience so much fun. It was all personalized to what we wanted to do and see. He gave lots of great recommendations and let us pick and choose what we would like best. He took us to mass as we had requested and was a wealth of knowledge about all the different religions and beliefs in the area. Then we went to a carpet place where we got to see how they made their beautiful hand made rugs and even how they get the silk from silkworms! Even my kids loved this rug experience and I would’ve thought they would be bored. It wasn’t boring at all!! Super cool! We ate an authentic Turkish lunch that Fatih explained everything we ate and we enjoyed it son much more knowing the background of the dishes. I can’t say enough about how much my family enjoyed this tour. We would recommend it 1000%.

Our tour guide, Azime, was amazing! Turkey is so much more than I ever knew! We saw and learned so much from her! One of my favorite stops on our cruise!

Great tour. Oktay met us off the boat and took us in luxury SUV to Ephesus, Temple of Artemis etc. he was very knowledgeable and interesting. Happy to do what we wanted for as long as we wanted. We really enjoyed our time with him.

Eda Aksoy was fabulous!! Do to husband's impaired mobility, she got us to the most important sights ahead of the crowds & ensured we had a great experience. Very personable and knowledgeable! A+!!

Excellent tour guide abs fantastic food. The only down side was the "carpet making" demonstration. It was very good, but any shown obverse was met by a perpetual assaults from sales personnel to get you to buy...... and prices dropped 40% from original price

Our tour guide Azer is extremely friendly and knowledgeable. We have a wonderful day. Highly recommedted.

I was traveling with a group of 13 people on a cruise to Greece and Turkey. Honestly, I thought Turkey would be a “throwaway“ port. Boy was I shocked. Turkey is absolutely beautiful, clean, and the people are friendly. Of course, another contributing factor was Hakan and Ephesus Port Tours. The leader of our group booked a private tour with Hakan, and he did not disappoint. He was organized and very informative. He was able to flawlessly negotiate the crowds of people at all of the sites, and assemble our group of 13 before he started giving any information about each of the mini stops. On other tours we went on, the guides talked as we walked from sight to sight, and only a few people could hear. Hakan waited until EVERYBODY was assembled before he began educating us about the site. He definitely knew his stuff, and made it fun to be on the tour. He knew where to go, where to take pictures, and kept the tour at a comfortable pace. I give Hakan and Ephesus Port Tours my highest recommendation. And, don’t sleep on Turkey, it is a beautiful place to visit.

We booked a private tour of Ephesus and the terrace houses for 6 people online. The process was easy and the operator responsive to email. We got clear instructions on costs and where to meet our guide at the cruise terminal. Right on time, we met our guide Dilek and the driver Mustafa (sp?). The car was a almost brand new Mercedes van with very comfortable seats and excellent air conditions. Dilek went over our itinerary and quickly figured out that we weren't interested in the religious aspects of the area (i.e. House of Virgin Mary, etc.) and wanted more time at Ephesus and the Ephesus museum. At Ephesus, Dilek led us on an excellent tour, spending just the right amount of time at each location, answering our questions, and providing background and insight into what we were seeing. Even having visited Ephesus before on a guided tour, Dilek still shared information we had not heard before. She also told us about very recent discoveries and how they are changing the understanding of Ephesus history. Following Ephesus, we visited the Ephesus museum and the Temple of Artemis. On the way back to the port, we discussed local food. Dilek even had the driver stop by a local bakery famous for their baklava so that we could buy some - needless to say it was fantastic. Back at the port just after lunchtime, DIlek gave us several recommendations for where to each lunch. Overall an excellent tour - efficient, personal, and beyond expectations. Even better was the price - about 1/3 of what the cruise line was charging for a group tour. I highly recommend this company and this tour.

Hakan was terrific. He was very flexible and tailored the excursion to our needs. He was very knowledgeable and the entire family enjoyed the tour, the restaurant and the special touches. Highly recommended.

We used EPHESUS PORT TOURS to customize an excellent tour in Kusadasi, Turkey. HAKAN was our tour guide and he was first rate. I will be reviewing him separately. The tour was easy to find and easy to book, but be warned, Ephesus Port Tours are very popular so you need to book well in advance. My family is quite diverse ranging in ages from 12 to 61 but we all love history and visiting the home of Saint Mary, mother of Jesus, and Ephesus was amazing. We also had the chance to visit a silk rug making school and Wow was that cool!!! The air-conditioned van met us at the dock as promised and we raced off passing all the other Cruise ship tour busses to be first in line at the home of Saint Mary’s. A major plus!!! Hakan was informative, about the history of Saint Mary’s without any overtly religious commentary. He was well versed in the religion, as he does pilgrimage tours as well, but we wanted the history and to race off to the next place Ephesus!! While Saint Mary’s was in the mountains and cool and comfortable Ephesus was HOT!!! Fortunately, Ephesus Port Tours offers umbrellas to its guests, one of the only tour companies to do so and they provided a welcome respite from the heat so we could better enjoy the tour.!! Ephesus is awe inspiring and awesome. The history was well explained and Hakan showed us the best places to get the best selfies, and photographs. He also gave us time to self-explore. The next stop was one of the wonders of the ancient world the Temple of Artemis. Hakan explained the history and the layout of the ancient temple and showed us a very interesting view. On the mountains behind the Temple were a Muslim temple and a Catholic cathedral. Thus, our view of the Temple was the only place in the World where you could see Pagan, Muslim and Christian structures in the same place. The photos were wonderful. I would highly recommend Ephesus Port Tours. Look them up on Trip Advisor and work with them to get the tour that is right for your family and friends!

We had a wonderful tour with Hakan. It was suggested we get an early start and we were well rewarded. We were the first to the V Mary’s house. It was a beautiful morning as well as very moving. Then on to Ephesus were Hakan gave us a very thorough tour. Thanks Hakan!

EPHESUS A delicate balance today between fellow travellers with interests primarily in visiting Ephesus Ancient City, and the more devout with interests also in what a little house up in the mountains above the ancient city represents to Christians. But thanks to our excellent guide, Hakan, we do it well and finish up with excellent Kebabs in a small family establishment near the port in Kusadasi for lunch (a place where Hakan takes his family), washed down with refreshing local wines or beers. It is thought that Mary and the beloved disciple John came to this part of the world from Jerusalem across the sea. Imagination and some quiet contemplation helps to truly appreciate this place. I wouldn’t mind settling in this peaceful with little birds singing as they flit from branch to branch. Perhaps, I wouldn’t like to walk to a well somewhere to get the water to bathe, as Mary did. I wonder if she cooked kebabs as delicious as we enjoyed? Visits of three popes to this House of Mary in recent times is an indication of the significance of the site. Silently inside, we can see the lamp that was gifted by Paul VI, a chalice from St John Paul II, and a gold rosary from Benedict XVI. My sister Anne and I take the opportunity to light candles, and say a prayer for elder brother Tony, and also remember other friends and family. Ephesus Ancient City is so much more than I expected. It has been excavated from under tons of silt built-up over the years by flooding from a river than brings floods down from the mountains. So much silt that the once seaside City is now some miles inland with fertile lands of peaches and olives all the way to the now distant sea.