Ephesus tour without Shopping

[bwgreen]

Hi everyone,

 

We'll be in Kusadasi in October on the Celebrity Reflection and wanted to go to Ephesus to go to the ancient city and the Terrace Houses. I've been looking at tour companies and I am trying to find one where they don't make a stop for shopping at a rug factory, ceramic factory, leather factory or any other type of local factory and store. Does anyone know of a good tour company that doesn't do this?

 

Thanks,

 

Brian

[mina]

I just booked a private two person tour with esphesus shuttle and they confirmed that we would not be required to make a carpet or leather stop. It was less than 200 US dollars for our private tour. They get good reviews on here.

[dabear]

Agree that the stops for shopping & rug factory were a waste of time, but since the tour guide gets a kick back if anything is purchased, the group tours all stop there even if the group asks not to stop or leave early (which our group asked to no avail). Only way to avoid would be to put together a private tour.

[angeleyes27]

Ephesus shuttle confirmed a tour for me without shopping for $100pp. When are you sailing?

[angeleyes27]

Sorry. I see you are on Celebrity. We are on RC.

[texancruzer]

Book a private tour - you control where, when etc……. BTW private tours in Kusadasi are quite reasonably priced. Try Ekol Tours. We have used them 3 times and have our 4th tour booked for late April. We customize exactly what we want to do.

[Hlitner]

Ok, so here is the "real" story. When tours (be it large cruise ship excursions or smaller private tours) stop at certain shopping venues it is because these "venues" kick-back benefits to the tour company. While some of the visited shopping places are pretty decent, many others are simply tourist traps built primarily to serve tours. It has long been said (we cannot confirm the truth of this claim) that one particular large "Jewelry Factory" in the Kusadasi area is partially owned by a major tour company. But when a tour group spends money at a jewelry factory, rug factory, pottery factory, etc. a percentage off those sales is paid back to the tour company, guides, and possibly the cruise line (if it is a cruise line excursion). In fact, if I walk into one of those "factories" on my own when there is no tour I can always bargain for a better price (because they do not have to kick-back any percentage of a private sale).

 

So how to avoid? If you take a cruise line excursion you are a virtual prisoner and will have to go where they take you....although we have seen some folks just sit on the hot bus. But, if you book a small private tour your group can determine the itinerary if you want to be assertive with the tour company and guide. When DW and I decided to hire a highly educated professional guide/historian (on our 5th visit to Kusadasi) we asked Ekol Tours if they could get us such a guide. They were able to provide us with a guide (no longer in Turkey) who had multiple college degrees (including history) and we had a fantastic 5 hours with that guide. Although he did suggest the usual rug and jewelry factory visits we simply made it clear that we did not need to pay a guide to take us shopping and simply wanted to spend more of our time in Ephesus exploring some of the more subtle parts (and history) of those ruins.

 

So my message is simple. When you hire a guide/tour company it is your tour and you can usually control the itinerary and timing. Sure, if you prefer being led around like a herd of cattle (just follow the lead cow) then book a large group excursion. But if you prefer to set your own agency either book your own small tour or just go on your own.

 

Many cruise ship passengers seem to leave their skepticism and "shopping smarts" at home when they get on a ship. Haven't you ever wondered why there is an entire industry of stores that just live to serve cruise ship passengers. When was the last time you saw a Diamonds International, Tanzanite International, etc. in your home town, or in any major city. And the irony is that Diamonds International is actually a New York City based company (Almod Diamonds) that does not even bother having a store in NYC. Given that NYC is one of the major jewelry sales centers of the world do you wonder why they do not choose to compete in that market?

 

Hank

Edited February 19, 2015 by Hlitner

[sunsetbeachgal]

We have done private tours of Ephesus and Terrace Houses on our last two trips to Kusadisi, both were with Eohesus Deluxe and in both cases we told the tour guide that we did not wish to go to a rug factory. No problem.

 

The shopping in Ephesus, with the exception of a few souvenir and jewelry stands right at the end of the ruins, are all in town within an easy walk of the ship. So tell the private tour company no stop at a rug factory, then at the conclusion of the tour you can just get right back on the ship. Actually we enjoy strolling around Kusadisi, nice waterfront, lots of streets full of and cafes..some of which offer free wifi!

Edited February 22, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[bwgreen]

Thanks for the input! I contacted Ephesus Deluxe - if we take a Private tour and tell our guide - then no additional stops! We think that's who we'll go with. But we're still a ways out - just planning ahead!

[Iowa-Cruiser]

I just booked with Best of Ephesus tours for our trip in June. They have some prepackaged tours and one where you pick what you want out of 6 or 7 options. This includes the an option of stopping at Sirince where you can have lunch and shop in a small village rather than the port-side bazaar. The prices are very reasonable at 40-60 Euros per person depending on number in tour.

[suec12]

We took a private tour to Ephesus several years ago. While touring the ruins, the guide began talking to us about stopping afterwards at a rug shop. We declined several times, then she mentioned there would also be snacks. We admitted we were interested in local cuisine but NO rugs. Eventually we agreed to the stop and the snacks were wonderful - lunch, really. Of course we did not want to take advantage of the vendor and we noticed a box for tips - we put a very generous tip in there to cover the cost of the food. Then we were subjected to a rug viewing but it was interesting as there was a presentation of how the rugs were made, including info about silk production. We did not buy a rug. Just wanted to share our experience to give you some "food" for thought.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for the input! I contacted Ephesus Deluxe - if we take a Private tour and tell our guide - then no additional stops! We think that's who we'll go with. But we're still a ways out - just planning ahead!

 

Both times we used this company, the tour was one of the highlights of the cruise. Being a tour guide is a profession in Turkey, with most getting advance degrees, not just a job. The guides are very knowledgeable about history and culture. It is also a great stop to do a private tour as they are much less expensive than ships tours, but more importantly a very small group.

 

Be sure to include the Terrace Houses. It is extra but well worth it as these are homes that are being excavated. Fascinating!

Edited February 23, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[Podie]

We took a tour through Samelyi's Travel and Tours and it was the best tour we've ever taken. The female tour guide was wonderful and after seeing Ephesus and the Terrace Houses, we had lunch in a nearby town which was one of the trip highlights. The company is also known as Sammy's.