How to go to Sirince on our own in Kusadasi?

We have been to Kusadasi and did the all day tour to Ephesus, House of Virgin Mary, Basillica of St. John, etc. In May our cruise will stop at Kusadasi again but the cruise tour have Sirince included with other places I had visited. I like to go to Sirince on our own is it possible and or is it easier to do please advice?

 

LS.

I like to go to Sirince on our own is it possible and or is it easier to do please advice?

How many are in your group? With public transportation you have to take two separate buses, from Kusadasi bus station to Selcuk, then from Selcuk to Sirince. You may have to wait up to half an hour or more for each bus. It will be easier (but more expensive) to take a taxi one or both ways. If you like bargaining you can arrange a taxi for the whole day at the port. Or arrange a private tour with one of the companies in the area, with a custom-tailored itinerary not including the "basic" sights that you've already seen.

We did a trip to Sirince from Kusadasi last October. We were a group of 4, but our taxi could have comfortably seated 6 people. The price was 65 Euros/taxi. I wrote about our experience in my travel blog

 

http://pandbtraveladventures.blogspot.com

 

Click on Oct.2nd 2013 on the left hand side of the blog. I took lots of pictures. We had a great time.

Happy New Year

Petra

We have used the public buses (they are actually large vans) but do not normally recommend that form of travel for most cruisers (except the more adventurous). A taxi will work, but the one's at the port will not be cheap. You can sometimes get a much better deal by walking away from the port and trying to find a taxi (not always easy). Believe it or not, but our favorite times in Kusadasi (we have been there at least 6 times) was when we rented a car and drove ourselves. Rental cars are pretty inexpensive, there are several agencies within a 10 min walk of the port, and the roads in this part of Turkey are excellent.

 

As to Sirence, we do have some thoughts (others may see it differently). Once upon a time (20 years ago) Sirence was a cute hilltop village worthy of a visit. But then Kusadasi became very popular (they now get over 1,000 ships a year) and the Turks, being great entreprenaurs, quickly adjusted to handle the masses and maximize their profits. Sirence gradually became more of a touristy destination and less of a real village. Now, the village is full of souvenir shops and café/restaurants aimed at tourists. DW and I will stop there when we have a rental car (because we have the time and its an easy drive) but not sure we would recommend the place.

 

So where to go for the adventuress who want something genuine. Well, for those who just happen to be in Kusadasi on a Tuesday (and this only works on Tuesday) we recommend renting a car and driving all the way to a town called Tire. Tire has a weekly market on Tuesday that is one of the most interesting (and genuine) in all of Turkey. And we can honestly say that when we drove to Tire we did not see a single tourist (other then ourselves) in the town. This is the real Turkey where the women where their muslim covers (you do not see much of this in Kusadasi or Sirence), men sit at cafes with their café and waterpipes (you do not see any women at the cafes), and the market sell everything you can imagine. Having been to lots of places in Turkey, we found Tire to be the most fascinating place of all.

Hank

Edited January 1, 2014 by Hlitner

Thank you very much for the informaiton, seem like rent a taxi would be a a choice. Will be just me and my dauther 53 and 30 years old, is it safe to rent a taxi, anys suggestion? I did get the taxi e-mail address from Ssislandgirl travel blog. The town Tire sould good too but I unless it on the way to Sirince. How long is the texi ride from port to Sirince village?

 

LS.

Tire is not on the way to Sirince, it's three or four times farther inland from Kusadasi. A taxi would be very expensive, I would think. It's a good destination for people spending several days in the area, but probably unreasonable for a short day in port, especially if you're not there on market day.

We found Sirince very pleasant but very limited. Unworthy of more than an hour or so, & it doesn't surprise me that it's just one stop on a ship's tour.

 

But we'd hired a car (very easy & inexpensive), so then went on to the national park & coastline beyond Guzelcamli, south of Kusadasi.

 

So consider renting a car & adding somewhere like that or Tire (don't know the place), or taxi to Sirince for an hour or so then explore Kusadasi in the afternoon. Otherwise you might feel it was a bit of a wasted day.

 

Just MHO as always

 

JB :)

We found Sirince very pleasant but very limited. Unworthy of more than an hour or so, & it doesn't surprise me that it's just one stop on a ship's tour.

 

But we'd hired a car (very easy & inexpensive), so then went on to the national park & coastline beyond Guzelcamli, south of Kusadasi.

 

So consider renting a car & adding somewhere like that or Tire (don't know the place), or taxi to Sirince for an hour or so then explore Kusadasi in the afternoon. Otherwise you might feel it was a bit of a wasted day.

 

Just MHO as always

 

JB :)

 

OP, the prices of Ephesus Shuttle, the company we're using, are very reasonable. John Bull, we have a private car and driver giving our family of 4 a full day tour of Ephesus, Mary's House, Artemission Temple, as well as a stop at Sirince for a traditional lunch. Do you think we might have time for a quick stop at a beach? We are there from 8-5. We are also considering dropping the stop at Mary's House to give us more time to drive around the countryside. Your thoughts? Sorry, OP, not meaning to hijack.

 

Thank you!

 

Harjinder

OP, the prices of Ephesus Shuttle, the company we're using, are very reasonable. John Bull, we have a private car and driver giving our family of 4 a full day tour of Ephesus, Mary's House, Artemission Temple, as well as a stop at Sirince for a traditional lunch. Do you think we might have time for a quick stop at a beach? We are there from 8-5. We are also considering dropping the stop at Mary's House to give us more time to drive around the countryside. Your thoughts? Sorry, OP, not meaning to hijack.

 

Thank you!

 

Harjinder

 

Hi, H.

 

Don't know Artemission Temple but my friend Googlemap says it's at Selcuk, only a couple of minutes drive from Ephesus.

Yes, I'd have thought you'd have time to dip your toes on the way back to the ship. It's what we did after Ephesus & House of VM - it was only 3 minute drive from the ship, though it was a poor beach & your driver may know of a better one.

 

JB :)

We returned to Kuasadasi in November 2013.

We hired a local tour guide Ertunga. His email is ertungaecir.com

Five of us took a trip to Sirince and Selcuk. We were met at the ship with a large van. went to Sirince, once a Greek settlement. We walked up and up the winding steets, stopping at the various market stalls, having Turkish coffee at a cafe. At the top of the town you have a great view and we visited a early Christian Church.

We then went to Selcuk and toured a mosque which is a diffent style than you would see in Istanbul, the St Johns Basiiica. Really wanted to see the Ephseus museum that hold many of the artifacts that they found in Ephesus.but it is closed for renovations until the summer of 2014.

Ertunga would have also found us a place for lunch but some in our party wanted to do their won thing in Kuasdasi.

It was a great day and a good tour company.I even got a Christmas greeting from him in December. Nice touch.

I couldn't find this tour on his website. Did he customise it for you? Grateful for an idea of the total cost. Thanks

I couldn't find this tour on his website. Did he customise it for you? Grateful for an idea of the total cost. Thanks

 

yes, I customize our tour through emails with him.

If I remember right it was around $ 75.0O USD. WE had a driver, guide and a nice 10 passenger van.

yes, I customize our tour through emails with him.

 

If I remember right it was around $ 75.0O USD. WE had a driver, guide and a nice 10 passenger van.

 

 

Thank you