RazaB

@Aka414 the phone number I have for Deniz is 905314590933. Like most people there, they are active on Whatsapp; a regular text went unanswered, but via Whatsapp he was very responsive. A note on how this particular operation worked: you'll communicate with the guy who is their arranger; he will set up (depending on your requirements and preferences) both a driver and a tour guide. The driver may or may not speak any English, but the tour guide (Omer, in our case) was fantastic, both in language and knowledge. Their Mercedes busses were immaculate, modern, and comfortable. In our case, the main guy (with whom we had been communicating) and his driver met us outside the cruise terminal, on the sidewalk. He confirmed a few things, introduced us to the driver, then he was done, and we didn't see him again. The driver (who spoke decent English) took us up the central area we wanted (Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Cisterns all in a central area); he took us to the tour guide, introduced us, then the driver departed. After the tour was over, the tour guide called a different driver, who arrived and took us to OUR chosen dinner spot; he didn't speak any English, but he used Google Translate and it was surprisingly effective (mostly he asked yes/no questions, so that helped). I must stress how anxious and focused that driver was on getting us to our chosen dinner restaurant (there are apparently several locations in town); he had a good heart and wanted our trip to be perfect. If my contact info for Deniz doesn't work out for you, let me know. I don't recall specifically, but I think our total (not including the food) was about $170 US. This was a private tour, just the two of us.

@Thatmakes7 below is a link to all their Rome tours, which might change seasonally: https://citywonders.com/rome-tours I believe this is the Vatican tour we did: https://citywonders.com/vatican-tours/sistine-chapel-early-access Any further discussion on this shold probably take place in the Rome section rather than Ephesus.

@Thatmakes7 for the Vatican tour? We also booked a Coliseum tour but I was unable to go.

Our excursion experiences on this trip: pre-boarding Rome: City Walks was excellent and professional (I also liked their Web site/booking). I found the in-the-ear buds in their system problematic for me, but I doubt most others have a problem with them. About 16 in the group. Olympia/Katakolon: The Travel Insiders had a great guide who was sensitive to our individual needs. The largely pointless stop at the olive oil tasting could probably have been better used at an historical non-commercial venture. Roughly 14 in the group. Mykonos: self tour. We took the water taxi (very inexpensive) both ways and wandered around the town. Athens/Piraeus: PK Travel's guide was superb - very knowledgeable, and we felt it was just about the right amount of time around noon to tour the city area near the museum and get lunch (best lamb kabobs I've ever had). About 16 in the group. The Acropolis has to be experienced; the hundred photos I took can't convey what it's like. Istanbul: we booked a private tour based on a recommendation from an in-law that had traveled there earlier this year. A lot of "moving parts", but Omer the guide was excellent. A pointless stop at a rug seller. Ephesus/Kusadasi: Celebrity, "Destination Highlight: City Panoramic Drive". It was OK; larger group, but a decent value. The stop at the rug school was informative, though of course there was a soft-sell at the end. Large bus. Santorini: Celebrity, "Destination Highlight: Island Drive and Village Oia". It was a good tour of the island and a couple of the towns, but it was spoiled by the tremendous bottleneck of getting on the cable cars going back to the port (about an hour in a hot, poorly-organized line). Large bus. Naples: Celebrity, "Small Group: Explorations of Pompeii". I might dispute the small group description, but it's all relative; maybe 25 people? Large bus. The guide was exceptional and extremely knowledgeable, and seemed to be a legend there. I felt the addition of the VR goggles added weight and bulk, and weren't used all that much, but I admit they did help convey what areas would have looked like pre-blast. The Pompeii tour is listed as more challenging than the "moderate" ones we had, but it was much easier than, say, Athens/Acropolis. Hopefully this may help someone on a future cruise.

About one in seventy companies seem to have trouble with my email address, for unknown reasons, so I'll allow the possibility that they tried. I'll try with a GMail address in a few days if I don't hear anything back. And I agree: communication, especially when dealing with someone internationally involving a time-critical arrangement, is vital. I'll report back either way.

Yes, thank you. As I mentioned, I did try their Contact Us form on their site, as well as following up a few days later with a direct email to Info, but no responses. Hopefully I will hear back using that email for Valentina.

Thank you! I will give that address a shot. Thanks again.

Sorry to bump this, but it is the most recent post I could find about EKOL. For those who have used them, how did you contact them? I filled out their Web site form, and no response after several days. I then emailed directly to the email address on their Web site; again, no response. Any tips would be appreciated.