Short stop in Izmir

[hbsunshine175]

Our cruise will be stopping in Izmir, however on Norwegian Spirit, the port stop in Izmir is only from 7am to 1 pm. I am worried we won't have enough time to make it to Ephesus. Has anyone cruised with this itinerary with the short time in port there? Were you able to do a tour to Ephesus? It seems like most tours are at least 5 hours. Help!

[SelectSys]

made an error and deleted post

[dogs4fun]

Our cruise will be stopping in Izmir, however on Norwegian Spirit, the port stop in Izmir is only from 7am to 1 pm. I am worried we won't have enough time to make it to Ephesus. Has anyone cruised with this itinerary with the short time in port there? Were you able to do a tour to Ephesus? It seems like most tours are at least 5 hours. Help!

 

We are booked on the Spirit in May with the exact same time in port (kinda goofy time, huh). We are doing a tour of Ephesus & the Terrace Houses. Our tour operator is aware of our limited time in port. There should be no problem getting back to port in time for sailing as the 5 hour tour time takes into consideration your travel time to/from Ephesus.

jill

[hbsunshine175]

Thanks for giving me confidence to book a five hour tour. Which tour operator did you book and what kind of pricing did they give you?

[dogs4fun]

Thanks for giving me confidence to book a five hour tour. Which tour operator did you book and what kind of pricing did they give you?

We booked a guided tour (including Terrace Houses) through Ephesus Shuttle Tours. Have a group of us going through our roll call. Price pp is $58 (but we have a group of 19 thru roll call...think their price for group of 2 is $95pp). Let the company with which you book know about your concern about getting back to the ship on time. I initially had the same concern.

jill

[cruisemom42]

If you book a private tour, it really is your tour -- just tell them your parameters and they will be sure to have you back on time. Lots of tours "build in" extra time for things like visiting a carpet factory or ceramic or leather store. Again, if this is not of interest to you and you want to spend the time sightseeing, be sure to tell them ahead of time.

 

I wouldn't try to see more than Ephesus and the Terrace Houses in the amount of time you have. Well....maybe a quick stop at the Temple of Artemis (only one column left now, but the site of one of the seven ancient wonders of the world......)

[dogs4fun]

If you book a private tour, it really is your tour -- just tell them your parameters and they will be sure to have you back on time. Lots of tours "build in" extra time for things like visiting a carpet factory or ceramic or leather store. Again, if this is not of interest to you and you want to spend the time sightseeing, be sure to tell them ahead of time.

 

I wouldn't try to see more than Ephesus and the Terrace Houses in the amount of time you have. Well....maybe a quick stop at the Temple of Artemis (only one column left now, but the site of one of the seven ancient wonders of the world......)

 

Cynthia,

Is the Temple of Artemis along the route to/from the Ephesus ruins? Just wondering if we could just stop for a minute along the way or would one would have to go out of their way?

After reading your and others' previous CC posts regarding Turkey, I specifically noted that we do NOT wish to tour any carpet or leather factories. We have such limited time as it is!! (and, I couldn't care less about shopping...period! Alas, I am such a "kill joy". ) :)

Thanks,

jill

[cruisemom42]

Cynthia,

Is the Temple of Artemis along the route to/from the Ephesus ruins? Just wondering if we could just stop for a minute along the way or would one would have to go out of their way?

After reading your and others' previous CC posts regarding Turkey, I specifically noted that we do NOT wish to tour any carpet or leather factories. We have such limited time as it is!! (and, I couldn't care less about shopping...period! Alas, I am such a "kill joy". ) :)

Thanks,

jill

 

I honestly couldn't tell you if the Temple of Artemis is exactly enroute from Izmir to Ephesus and back, but I know it isn't far from the Ephesus site at all. You really only need a brief stop there. I couldn't pass it up, as one of my (albeit silly) travel goals is to visit the sites of all seven ancient wonders of the world. I enjoyed seeing it, and hopefully your guide will point out how many of the stones from the pagan temple were used to build both the adjacent monastery/church and mosque. The ultimate in recycling. ;)

[dogs4fun]

pagan temple

:D

I've never heard this term liberally bandied about except in Italy. You hear it in Turkey too?? I never would have thunk it. :p

[cruisemom42]

:D

I've never heard this term liberally bandied about except in Italy. You hear it in Turkey too?? I never would have thunk it. :p

 

Come to think of it, they may be my words as opposed to the guide's -- but the concept was definitely there. ;)

[aam3]

Cynthia,

Is the Temple of Artemis along the route to/from the Ephesus ruins? Just wondering if we could just stop for a minute along the way or would one would have to go out of their way?

After reading your and others' previous CC posts regarding Turkey, I specifically noted that we do NOT wish to tour any carpet or leather factories. We have such limited time as it is!! (and, I couldn't care less about shopping...period! Alas, I am such a "kill joy". ) :)

Thanks,

jill

 

I'm pretty sure the Temple of Artemis site was on our route back to the ship after visiting Ephesus. You only need about 5 minutes there.

We used Ephesus Shuttle last summer and were done the Ephesus/ Terrace Houses portion of our tour by lunch, so I would think you should be able to fit it in. Just make sure you tell them that you don't want to visit any carpet/leather/pottery factories as those can eat up quite a bit of time.

[Turtles06]

OP: keep in mind that without trafffic, it's about 45 minutes each way from Izmir to Ephesus. I hope you do get to visit Ephesus (including the Terrace Houses), it's amazing. (We were there from Izmir off the NCL Jade two years ago, but we had more time in port than you will have.) If you decide on a private tour, do leave yourself sufficient time to get back to the ship in the event of a problem along the way. [Perhaps this is an occasion for a ship-sponsored tour, altho unless you pay thru the nose for a small group (if the Spirit even has such a tour) you won't get to see the Terrace Houses.)]

 

As for the Temple of Artemis, well, check out this photo and you can say you've seen it: :)

 

 

(photo by turtles06)