Ephesus - Help

Hi, we are going on our first cruise in October, there are 5 of us mum in law of 78, hubby,me and buoys of 12 and 10. We are looking at booking a tour to Ephesus but was wondering which parts will be the most interesting for the boys and his long to book for, half day? Full day? Any other tips gratefully received.

I would do a half day tour of The ruins at Ephesus and Terrace Houses. We did this last year with two granddaughters who were 6 and 10 at the time and this may have been one of the girls favorite tours. The Terrace houses involve lots of stairs, but if mum I law does not want to do that she can just meet you at the end, very easy. We booked a private tour through Ephesus Deluxe for our group of six and it worked out splendidly and was far less expensive than ships tour.

 

I think the tour was about three hours long or so, which gave us plenty of time at the end to shop in Kusadisi. The ship docks right in town so those who choose to go back to the ship can easily do so.

That's really helpful thank you. I've been looking at Ephesus Deluxe, did you do a private tour or a guaranteed departure?

That's really helpful thank you. I've been looking at Ephesus Deluxe, did you do a private tour or a guaranteed departure?

 

We did the private tour. It was in a very comfortable oversized van with tour guide and driver. We have used this company two times and both times the tour was excellent. Ephesus tends to be quite hot, so make sure you stop on the way into the ruins at one of the little stands and buy bottled water. There are a lot of vendors at the end, and the girls enjoyed slushees and bought a few souvenirs. It was a great, memorable day!

 

One more thing, most tours include a stop at a rug factory. I did this once and although found it interesting, we had no interest in purchasing a rug' and the rug salespeople are somewhat pushy. This time with the kids, we told the tour guide that we did not want to stop at the rug factory. You might want to consider this!

Edited October 4, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

My husband and I did a full day private tour with Ephesus Shuttle last November. I can't recommend them highly enough.

 

Our guide and driver picked us up in an air conditioned minivan, which was great because it was hot & humid early. Ephesus was pretty crowded, but since we had our own guide there wasn't any pushing and shoving to hear, you know? And we could go at our own pace and ask any questions we wanted about what we were seeing. Especially - don't miss the Terrace Houses! Ephesus is huge and as much time as you can spend there will not be a waste.

 

We had lunch in a nice little outdoor cafe - I have no idea what the heck it was but it was awesome - and then in the afternoon we went to the Artemission Temple (not much to see, really) and the House of Virgin Mary.

 

The rug factory was extremely interesting but yes, the salesmen are pushy. The guide asked if we wanted to visit one, and my husband blurted out "Yes" before I had a chance to demur :-).

 

They then dropped us off right by the pier a couple of hours before sailaway so we could shop a little.

I think your family really would enjoy a tour of Ephesus and the Terrace Houses there. We had a private tour with Ephesus Deluxe with a group of six in May and thought it was a wonderful tour.

 

Remember: you are in charge of your private tour. If you do not want to shop, simply specify no shopping in your emails and confirm that with your guide at the beginning of the tour day.

 

We always go over our itinerary first thing with our guide so there are no misunderstandings. Often, the communication between the tour company and its guide is not perfect so this has saved us a lot of problems.

Edited October 5, 2014 by CintiPam

We used Hello Ephesus and loved it

Thank you so much for your replies. I've now gone from being apprehensive to very excited about visiting Ephesus.. Now got to book a tour. Would you recommend going early n the hope of getting there before the other excursions? Now need to think about the rest of the holiday.. Any more tips for cruising with boys gladly accepted :)

Thank you so much for your replies. I've now gone from being apprehensive to very excited about visiting Ephesus.. Now got to book a tour. Would you recommend going early n the hope of getting there before the other excursions? Now need to think about the rest of the holiday.. Any more tips for cruising with boys gladly accepted :)

 

Going as early as possible is almost always the best to do (at almost all historic sites). Tour busses start rolling in and it gets very crowded. If you can beat some of the busses, all the better.

Edited October 5, 2014 by MeHeartCruising

Going as early as possible is almost always the best to do (at almost all historic sites). Tour busses start rolling in and it gets very crowded. If you can beat some of the busses, all the better.

 

I agree. Do a half-day tour and start early. Then your family can relax on board the rest of the day (or some can return to Kusadasi to shop, if desired -- plenty of opportunity just steps from the port.

We took tour 4a-2 plus the Terrace House option with Ephesus Shuttle and had a very enjoyable time with a well educated, well spoken guide. We met our guide at 7:30am and appreciated the early start as a crowd beater.

 

We opted not to visit any rug making or leather tooling shows, and were met with no resistance from our guide. However, be aware that this particular tour company DID include at least one of these visits in their estimate of total tour time. In our case, we arrived back at the pier between 1.5 and 2 hours earlier than "advertised" since we declined the shows. Not complaining......but might influence your planning and/or discussions with your choice of tour companies.

I came to this forum to ask a question about Lisbon but saw your post and knew I had to reply. Ephesus was one of the highlights of our cruise. We went in November. First and foremost the people were absolutely lovely! And then there is magnificent Ephesus - the ruins are incredible. We took our ship's tour and were very happy with it from beginning to end. I even enjoyed the rug tour - it was fun.

 

Have a wonderful time - you've been given some excellent advice here. I believe that Rick Steves has a video on Ephesus - give it a look see before you go - it will give you a great framework to enjoy your visit.

Ephesus was the best day we had on our cruise - I was so impressed with the company we chose - they charged us $40 US per person for four of us. We were collected and returned to the port. We had an airconditioned Mercedes van with a chauffeur and guide. The day was planned by our guide and was fantastic. The above fee included entry fees and a drinks (supplied in the van). What great value and what a fantastic day. Our guide was called Ebru and she was wonderful. Definitely start early and miss the crowds and look out for the "genuine fake watches" if I knew how to add photos of this I would. We used Online Ephesus Tours. You don't pay until you get there.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Janet&Carl

Was it online ephesus travel.com? I couldn't find online ephesus tours. Thank you.

Just so you know…… you can always add something to your tour that is NOT in the itinerary as it is shown on their website……

 

Lets say you don't want to visit a rug factory etc. and it is shown in the itinerary as it appears on their website. That would put you back to the ship earlier than anticipated (as posted above).

 

You can always make arrangements to visit something else (like the small Selcuk museum - where items from Ephesus have been taken) in that extra time. Or whatever else you want to see.

 

A private tour is YOURS to customize JUST HOW YOU LIKE IT :D

 

PS: I am not yelling - just trying to make sure its clear……

A private tour is YOURS to customize JUST HOW YOU LIKE IT :D

For a price, of course… Any modifications you make to the itinerary may require an adjustment of the price. Replacing a shopping stop with a guided visit to a museum will almost certainly raise the price (you may be surprised by how much). Removing an included lunch should lower the price (but you may be surprised by how little…)

 

As always, these things are negotiable.

For a price, of course… Any modifications you make to the itinerary may require an adjustment of the price. Replacing a shopping stop with a guided visit to a museum will almost certainly raise the price (you may be surprised by how much). Removing an included lunch should lower the price (but you may be surprised by how little…)

 

As always, these things are negotiable.

 

We have actually done this - with no price increase. We did not expect the museum visit to be guided tho….. it is a small museum and we could read what the items were….. That is not to say it couldn't increase the price. The key word here is MAY increase the price.

 

But if thats what you want to do it seems it makes sense to work the itinerary so you maximize your experience.

 

As always with any private tour - make sure everything is spelled out clearly so there are no surprises…...

The museum for Ephesus in Selcuk is closed; a new museum is being constructed so this is not an issue this year! :)

The museum for Ephesus in Selcuk is closed; a new museum is being constructed so this is not an issue this year! :)

 

Yep….. but I was just using that as an example. Perhaps it will be open next year.

 

I am thinking the OP is going in October 2015…… she/he posted on October 3rd that their family was going in October…… I hope she meant 2015 ! That is cutting it a bit close if she meant this year :eek:

 

Actually I need to research this….. we are headed back in early May - would love to go back and take our kids to this if its open by then……

I hope it is open as well. On our first visit in 2008, we really enjoyed visiting this small museum, which had very nice displays. We returned this past May and unfortunately could not visit.

 

Hopefully the new museum will be even better.

The muesum website says that it is closed until August 2014… I suppose that is technically truthful even if it has remained closed beyond that :p

 

According to this recently updated webpage (on a site for Turkish tour guides), renovation is expected to be completed in about one month.

The muesum website says that it is closed until August 2014… I suppose that is technically truthful even if it has remained closed beyond that :p

 

According to this recently updated webpage (on a site for Turkish tour guides), renovation is expected to be completed in about one month.

 

Well knowing how things work in Turkey, HOPEFULLY it will be open by early next May :D

Well knowing how things work in Turkey, HOPEFULLY it will be open by early next May :D

 

Yes, that certainly is very true! I also am waiting for the Islamic and Turkish Arts museum to reopen in Istanbul.

 

Fortunately my waiting paid off regarding Santorin, wherei we finally were able to visit Akrotiri on our May cruise. Fabulous site; high recommend for history buffs! Closed for many years, but 22 million Euros (per our guide; I kid you not! :D) has resulted in an amazing historical site!

Edited October 10, 2014 by CintiPam

Yes, that certainly is very true! I also am waiting for the Islamic and Turkish Arts museum to reopen in Istanbul.

 

Fortunately my waiting paid off regarding Santorin, wherei we finally were able to visit Akrotiri on our May cruise. Fabulous site; high recommend for history buffs! Closed for many years, but 22 million Euros (per our guide; I kid you not! :D) has resulted in an amazing historical site!

 

 

Yep, dh and I got to go last November (2013) and almost had the entire place to ourselves. It was a WOW for sure. Our first visit to Santorini it was closed. DH was so disappointed. Not sure if we will go again with ds and dil.