Visa for Kusadasi? And what do there

My fiance and I are sailing on an Italy and Greek Isles cruise next summer for our honeymoon. The ship departs from Rome, and we will have one day in Kusadasi.

First of all, as US citizens, do we need a visa to visit the city? I've read that all US citizens need a visa to visit Turkey, but also read that it is not necessary for cruise ship passengers spending only a day in the port. Are both accurate? Is is worth having the visa, just in case?

As for excursions, we know nothing about the port, other than that Ephesus is nearby. What should we do while we are in port there? What can we skip?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

As long as you do not disembark the ship permanently in Turkey, you do not need a visa. Refer to the Turkish website for their rules.

Ephesus is definitely worth a visit. Make sure you do the Terrace Houses which is an additional fee, but definitely worth going into. An added bonus is that it is air conditioned.

Skip the carpet demonstration if you can, unless you want to purchase one. They are quite high pressured salesmen when it comes to tourists purchasing a carpet.

Pick up some Turkish Delight. They will let you try some so you know which flavours you prefer. Carries home well too in your hand luggage.

Just wandering through the town is worth a visit.

If you can, take a private tour. Much better than the cruise tours. You will see more and have the benefit of being able to move at your own pace.

Do some reading on this board...lots to learn here,and check out Ephesus on Google so you can see what it is all about...do not miss it!!!! Note my other reply to you.:D

no_fuss,

Thanks for the suggestions. I was initially inclined to stay aboard the ship that day, and skip the port, but I'm beginning to realize that would later regret such a decision.

Karen,

Yes, saw your other post first. Thanks for both suggestions!

amazing place

Terrace Houses well worth it

we did it with a private tour arranged by a group on Cruise Critic. had to do an obligatory carpet manufacturing place as part of the tour (run by the gov). but no high pressure and actually showed process which was interesting. the stop included lunch so not overly time consuming.

ephesus major feature but made a couple of other stops too

then dropped off near ship for shopping...lots of genuine fake watch shops..so labelled

Captain, thanks for the suggestion!! I'll add it to our planning notes.

My fiance and I are sailing on an Italy and Greek Isles cruise next summer for our honeymoon. The ship departs from Rome, and we will have one day in Kusadasi.

 

First of all, as US citizens, do we need a visa to visit the city? I've read that all US citizens need a visa to visit Turkey, but also read that it is not necessary for cruise ship passengers spending only a day in the port. Are both accurate? Is is worth having the visa, just in case?

 

As for excursions, we know nothing about the port, other than that Ephesus is nearby. What should we do while we are in port there? What can we skip?

 

Any advice is appreciated.

 

Thanks.

We were there last fall and did a small independent tour rather than a ship's tour. We really enjoyed Ephesus and also thought the Terrace Houses were well worth the extra cost. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and bring water. We were there in Nov and the weather was perfect, but I hear it gets REALLY hot in the summer. After Ephesus, our guide took us up to Mary's house, which was a beautiful spot. A tremendous amount of biblical history is from that area and our guide shared a lot of info that I vaguely remembered from my Sunday School days.

We stopped at a small "local" restaurant and enjoyed our lunch....it was a welcome change from ship's food! I went with every intention of buying a leather jacket in that port but I found the vendors to be very pushy. Some people enjoyed the bargaining process....but not me, so sadly I came home without a jacket. :(

budbo,

Great suggestions. Thanks. I've been to Israel several times in the summer, so I'm hoping the climate is somewhat similar; in that case, I'm ready for it. I'm pretty good with Old Testament history, but I'll brush up on my New Testament just in case. Thanks.

Sorry to hear the jacket didn't work out.

No visa required for cruise ship passengers, as stated. Kusadsi was easily one of the most surprising and beautiful ports we saw in Europe. It was lovely and picturesque. We took a ship's tour to Ephesus, which was phenomenal and then walked around the port area before heading back onboard. The vendors are aggressive but just say "No thank you" and they won't bother you further.

A note about the Turkish Delight - do NOT buy the pre-packaged boxes of Turkish Delight candy. It is absolutely AWFUL. I bought at least 5 boxes to bring home to family and co-workers, and opened one box beforehand and it was disgusting. I understand the TD candy sold in the bazaar is different and very tasty - I'm talking about the boxed kind. BLECH. :(

.

Barry-

Here's a link to our photos from last year's Mediterranean cruise. Included a stop in Kusadasi for Ephesus. This was our third time there and it is still just as wonderful. Please consider doing a tour with a private tour company such as Ephesus Shuttle. We have used them twice and they are excellent. Check out the roll call for your cruise. Someone may already be forming a tour. Or you could form one. Most ship's tours don't do the Terrace House because only a limited number of people per group (20 or less I think) are allowed in at a time. If you do do a ship's tour it has to be small and usually VERY expensive to go into the houses.

Here's the link: https://picasaweb.google.com/gkappesser/Best2014Mediterranean?authkey=Gv1sRgCKKcu6Kb_ZXfXQ

Enjoy!!!

<<<Karen>>>

Barry-

 

Here's a link to our photos from last year's Mediterranean cruise. Included a stop in Kusadasi for Ephesus. This was our third time there and it is still just as wonderful. Please consider doing a tour with a private tour company such as Ephesus Shuttle. We have used them twice and they are excellent. Check out the roll call for your cruise. Someone may already be forming a tour. Or you could form one. Most ship's tours don't do the Terrace House because only a limited number of people per group (20 or less I think) are allowed in at a time. If you do do a ship's tour it has to be small and usually VERY expensive to go into the houses.

 

Here's the link: https://picasaweb.google.com/gkappesser/Best2014Mediterranean?authkey=Gv1sRgCKKcu6Kb_ZXfXQ

 

Enjoy!!!

 

<<<Karen>>>

Just to clarify...I did a ship sponsored tour to Ephesus that included the Terrace Houses and it was excellent, not expensive. Our guide was very knowledgeable and sympathetic to those of us that did not want to participate in the usual carpet store visit, allowing us to just walk back to the ship instead.

We were on Princess and while I don't remember the prices what I do remember is that they were much greater for tours that did the houses. A quick check on the Princess shows that a tour including the houses is $99.95pp. If you add in lunch it jumps to $129.95pp. And that's 25-35 people. We did the same tour with Ephesus Shuttle with 10 people for $82.00pp including lunch and no carpet or leather shops.

My point is that you don't need to be locked into ship's tours. Places like Turkey have great private tour companies and in our opinion you get more for less. People should do what they feel comfortable with.

<<<Karen>>>

Karen and Chloe,

Thanks for clarifying. I will look into both options; at this point, based on what I've read here, its seems like the Terrace Houses is a no brainer! And anything that can skip the carpets is a definite plus!

Thanks.

not my favourite either..but on the plus side the government run carpet cooperative we had lunch at had very clean bathrooms....

A clean bathroom is ALWAYS a plus!

We were on Princess and while I don't remember the prices what I do remember is that they were much greater for tours that did the houses. A quick check on the Princess shows that a tour including the houses is $99.95pp. If you add in lunch it jumps to $129.95pp. And that's 25-35 people. We did the same tour with Ephesus Shuttle with 10 people for $82.00pp including lunch and no carpet or leather shops.

 

My point is that you don't need to be locked into ship's tours. Places like Turkey have great private tour companies and in our opinion you get more for less. People should do what they feel comfortable with.

 

<<<Karen>>>

I will put in another vote for Ephesus Shuttle. I have used them twice, once for my family's Mediterranean cruise and a second time with a group of junior high school students I led from my school. The company was absolutely wonderful both times and the cost was roughly $80 US per person and this included lunch as well as the terrace houses. OP, as others have stated, do not miss the Terrace houses.

For our family trip, Ephesus shuttle provided the 4 of us with a big Mercedes 15 seater, with a driver as well as a certified guide. Can't say enough good about them. They were waiting for us as we got off the ship and managed to get us to Ephesus well before the big ship tour buses got out there. We managed to see most of the site before the crowds had a chance to descend. If you insist to them that you do not wish to stop at a carpet factory, they will be more than happy to accommodate you.

Note of caution: the vendors in the bazaar close to the ship were some of the pushiest (verbally) ones I have seen in all my travels. Best to treat it with a degree of amusement rather than annoyance. It's just the way the world works over there :) But don't let that stop you from wandering about there, as it is quite an entertaining place.

Hi Barry

We have been to Kusadasi on 2 separate occasions. Once by cruise ship & the other for 2 days on a 11 day land tour of Turkey. Still was not enough time to enjoy this wonderful port city & Emphesus.

Our suggestion would be to find Ekol Tours on the internet. They offer over a dozen tours of the area. We chose to do Emphesus, Terrace House, & Temple of Artemis. This was a private tour for just the two of us. We had a very nice van with a driver & tour guide. You can also join a small group ( van holds 4 couples comfortability ) Will be cheaper as you are paying for the van divided by the group.

Our experience was great. The guide's knowledge was terrific & the pace of our trip perfect. We would skip items of little interest & move-on to the more import areas of interest. Plenty of time for photos, earlier departure than the cruise ships to get ahead of the big crowds. Time for shopping in Sirince, with the best lunch of the entire trip. We arrived back at the port in plenty of time, so had a quick introduction to the city before boarding the ship in the late afternoon.

Emphesus has the best intact Roman Ruins, anywhere in the world. Take lots of photos, carry some water, & enjoy your guide. This was one of the best tours we have taken, with over 6 cruises to Europe & one extended land trip.

Good luck whatever you decide, John

Emphesus has the best intact Roman Ruins, anywhere in the world. Take lots of photos, carry some water, & enjoy your guide. This was one of the best tours we have taken, with over 6 cruises to Europe & one extended land trip.

 

Good luck whatever you decide, John

While I can relate to your enthusiasm for Ephesus, I'm not sure I'd agree they are the most intact Roman ruins anywhere in the world. I'd say Palmyra (Syria, probably now partially destroyed thanks to ISIS), Herculaneum, Ostia Antica, Jerash (Jordan) and possibly even a couple of sites in Tunisia and Libya might be more "intact" than Ephesus, which is mightily reconstructed.....

However, it's certainly ONE of the best cities that one can easily access from a cruise. ;)

I will put in another vote for Ephesus Shuttle. I have used them twice, once for my family's Mediterranean cruise and a second time with a group of junior high school students I led from my school. The company was absolutely wonderful both times and the cost was roughly $80 US per person and this included lunch as well as the terrace houses. OP, as others have stated, do not miss the Terrace houses.

 

For our family trip, Ephesus shuttle provided the 4 of us with a big Mercedes 15 seater, with a driver as well as a certified guide. Can't say enough good about them. They were waiting for us as we got off the ship and managed to get us to Ephesus well before the big ship tour buses got out there. We managed to see most of the site before the crowds had a chance to descend. If you insist to them that you do not wish to stop at a carpet factory, they will be more than happy to accommodate you.

 

Note of caution: the vendors in the bazaar close to the ship were some of the pushiest (verbally) ones I have seen in all my travels. Best to treat it with a degree of amusement rather than annoyance. It's just the way the world works over there :) But don't let that stop you from wandering about there, as it is quite an entertaining place.

Sounds like a really great experience. I will definitely look into it more. Thanks for the recommendation! It's clear, at this point, based on comments and suggestions of others, that we MUST include the Terrace Houses in our tour. And the thought of doing them before the bus loads of ship-organized excursions arrive is very appealing!

Thanks.

Hi Barry

 

We have been to Kusadasi on 2 separate occasions. Once by cruise ship & the other for 2 days on a 11 day land tour of Turkey. Still was not enough time to enjoy this wonderful port city & Ephesus.

 

Our suggestion would be to find Ekol Tours on the internet. They offer over a dozen tours of the area. We chose to do Ephesus, Terrace House, & Temple of Artemis. This was a private tour for just the two of us. We had a very nice van with a driver & tour guide. You can also join a small group ( van holds 4 couples comfortably) Will be cheaper as you are paying for the van divided by the group.

 

Our experience was great. The guide's knowledge was terrific & the pace of our trip perfect. We would skip items of little interest & move-on to the more import areas of interest. Plenty of time for photos, earlier departure than the cruise ships to get ahead of the big crowds. Time for shopping in Sirince, with the best lunch of the entire trip. We arrived back at the port in plenty of time, so had a quick introduction to the city before boarding the ship in the late afternoon.

 

Ephesus has the best intact Roman Ruins, anywhere in the world. Take lots of photos, carry some water, & enjoy your guide. This was one of the best tours we have taken, with over 6 cruises to Europe & one extended land trip.

 

Good luck whatever you decide, John

Hi John,

Thanks for another great recommendation! I will add Ekol Tours to my notes and look into them in greater detail. Definitely a lot of potential here, especially given your recommendation. Thanks.

While I can relate to your enthusiasm for Ephesus, I'm not sure I'd agree they are the most intact Roman ruins anywhere in the world. I'd say Palmyra (Syria, probably now partially destroyed thanks to ISIS), Herculaneum, Ostia Antica, Jerash (Jordan) and possibly even a couple of sites in Tunisia and Libya might be more "intact" than Ephesus, which is mightily reconstructed.....

 

However, it's certainly ONE of the best cities that one can easily access from a cruise. ;)

Having been to Israel a number times, I've been very impressed by many of the Roman ruins throughout the country - the Old City of Jerusalem, Caesaria, Beit She'an. I think that one will find "good" ruins throughout the Mediterranean region, but the "best" ones are probably very subjective. Most of Israel is accessible by cruise ships that dock in Ashdod or Haifa, but I've only done land tours.

Of course, I'll only be to speak to Ephesus after I visit next June....

Hi John,

 

Thanks for another great recommendation! I will add Ekol Tours to my notes and look into them in greater detail. Definitely a lot of potential here, especially given your recommendation. Thanks.

Another vote for Ekol Travel. We used them in Kusadasi and it was a fantastic experience. There were 10 of us from our roll call who went together. Our guide, Fulya, was fantastic and we all enjoyed the ruins at Ephesus. When we got back to Kusadasi, Fulya brought us into a shop for Turkish Delight tastes and recommended a restaurant with authentic Turkish kebabs for lunch. It was a fantastic day!