If we had to skip part of the ruins in Esphesus, which should we skip?

[World Gallery]

We are only in Ephesus from 7 to 1 and we arrive in Izmir. Our guide does the Terrace Houses if there is time. We told him we definitely wanted to see them and are willing to skip parts of the ruins. These are the names of the ruins included on the tour: Theatre, Themple of Hadrian, The Odeon, Celsius Library or Gymnasium and much more monuments.
Which part would you skip if you didn't have enough time to see all of it?

We are taking our 5 kids, ages 10-18 so that needs to be taken into consideration I guess.

[cruisemom42]

I agree with the previous poster. Almost all of the sights are along the pathway you travel from the place where you are dropped off, through the ruins, to the theatre which is the end. (Well, except for the gamut of shops you must walk through to exit. )

You'll just have to make sure your guide is clear on how much time you have. Whatever you do, you'll surely see the Library (biggest draw) and Theatre. Don't miss the Terrace Houses, even with limited time.

[iancal]

The site is really not that large. If we were to skip anything, it would be the little show that they put on at the end as you are exiting the site.

The Terrace Houses were the highlight for us. If we went back, this is where we would spend our time.

[chipmaster]

Agree with the other posters, its a one way walk thru, walk fast and only stop at what you want to see and hear about, also forget the shopping at the end and you'll save time as needed.

[Cornishpastyman1]

Originally Posted by in78

unfortunately all this ruins are just along the road in ephesus Terreca houses being located just in the middleç
to visit the terrace houses it takes about 30 min minumum.
Just tell to your guide you have limited time and to give you short information along te routes to save time.
in78

Quite so. Most of the ruins on the site can be seen just by walking past them and pausing briefly. Some, like the Celsus library and the Grand Theatre are worth a few minutes but you can never 'save' enough time to make up for the 30 minutes you'll want and need in the Terraced Houses. From my time there I made this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stRtMjyuwVg which shows some of the main features and inside the houses. From memory it was about 8 euros per person to go in them.

All the best, Tony

[World Gallery]

Thanks Tony! Great video. I realize even more so that we are going to need a great guide to make sense of it all since we are taking our kids 5(ages 11-18).
We we using Ephesus Shuttle but it is my understanding that the guide is what makes the trip.

Anyone know the name of a guide I can request that would be good with kids?