Ephesus & Terrace Houses

[ShipOFools]

Thanks all. :) I think our family's "antiquities" attention limit (mostly daughter) will be 4 hours at this point in the cruise- so at $127 Princess wins. Tayf tours comes very close in price- but only if 11+ people are enrolled- which lends me to believe they are the vendor for Princess on this excursion....

[ericenco]

I will be in Ephesus in May and noticed my cruise ship offered an Ephesus tour for $49 for 3 hrs. They have another tour that only has the difference of adding the Terrace Houses and 1.5 hours (so 4.5 total) and increase the price to $99.

 

My question is how close the Terrace Houses are to the rest of the main Ephesus attractions? I'm trying to figure out why the doubling of price for just adding the Terrace Houses.

 

If I did just the $49 tour and got returned to the ship, would I be able to go do the Terrace Houses on my own cheaper than $50?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Hi Six Foot,

we will also be in Ephesus in May 10 by Navigator of Seas, have go through various tour operator and the cost do differ significantly on no. of people. As my mate be there last time, he join with a rate for 2 person which is US$89 p.p. for a full day tour, end up with a party of 6 and they are only pay US$59 p.p., so if you can get someone on the same cruise and it will save the cost significantly. In fact, all the time if you can locate other party join together will be much better in every aspects.

 

Have a nice crusie

[dabear]

Our group originally booked with Ekol. After we confirmed with them they changed their policy and require an advance deposit(contrary to their original material). None of the other tour operators require this. Has anyone toured with Ekol and were they required to give an advance deposit?

[Turtles06]

Our group originally booked with Ekol. After we confirmed with them they changed their policy and require an advance deposit(contrary to their original material). None of the other tour operators require this. Has anyone toured with Ekol and were they required to give an advance deposit?

 

We had an Ekol tour at the end of January, booked months in advance, no deposit required. Can't say what they are doing now.

[cruisemom42]

Thanks all. :) I think our family's "antiquities" attention limit (mostly daughter) will be 4 hours at this point in the cruise- so at $127 Princess wins. Tayf tours comes very close in price- but only if 11+ people are enrolled- which lends me to believe they are the vendor for Princess on this excursion....

 

Hey, I understand -- you gotta do what you gotta do. I'll just put in one more plug and say that it seems a shame to miss the best thing at Ephesus (the Terrace Houses), given that you're going to be there anyway. They don't take that long to do; they are covered (so you're not in the hot sun); and your daughter might think they're interesting. Sort of the Roman equivalent of luxury condos.

 

But then again, I realize not everyone is as enamored of ancient ruins as I am. :D

[Hlitner]

Our group originally booked with Ekol. After we confirmed with them they changed their policy and require an advance deposit(contrary to their original material). None of the other tour operators require this. Has anyone toured with Ekol and were they required to give an advance deposit?

 

We used EKOL (last year) and they did require a deposit (we had no problem since they have a great long-standing reputation). A few months after we gave them a deposit they started running a "sale" where they discounted their tours by 25% for those that paid (in-full) in advance. We quickly authorized the charge and saved over $50. As to our tour, it was perfect in every way. To be honest, we were always suspicious of those that did not want a deposit or CC guarantee. You must consider that we were met at the port by our guide, a driver, and a very nice van (and this was just for 2 of us) and we wondered why a business would be that trusting of cruise passengers to commit 2 employees plus a van with no guarantee.

 

Hank

[texancruzer]

We also paid in full, in advance with Ekol. If you read their refund policy on their website it is pretty liberal in my opinion. You wonder how many cruisers book a tour and then just decide to do something else that day....leaving the company, a guide and a driver hanging.......

 

Ekol is one of the highest recommended tour companies on this website. First class company. What is the problem with putting up a deposit to hold your place ?

 

On our last trip we had made arrangements with Romecabs for four seperate rides. When our plane had "problems" in Houston and we missed our connection in Newark to Rome (thereby having to reroute to Paris and putting us in 8 hours late :eek:) I simply called Stefano and informed him not to go to the airport as we had encountered problems. He was sooo nice. Said he would come whenever we needed him....but I wasnt sure we were going to get in when we were supposed to (another big mess). I did tell him we still needed him for the other 3 rides tho...... But I felt bad since he reserved that time for us and then "no sale".

[Fitzemt]

Lunch was included in our private jeep tour. We had a wonderful picnic style (white tablecloths and big umbrellas) in a grassy lawn area of the rug factory. Was nice breeze and sunny blue sky. Good food.

 

We ate in many restaurants in Turkey (YUM!) as we were in Istanbul 2 days and Kusadasi from sunup to midnight. Once we returned to Kusadasi from our tour, we showered and changed and went back ashore for dinner. We found a wonderful place (Kings Place) right on the main harbor road and enjoyed a delightful Turkish dinner while the sunset over the harbor and our ship. The food is safe and soooo good. They use spices like no other place.

 

Ditto on the Rug factory lunch....one of the best local meals of the cruise. All you can eat including beer and wine..10 euro's I think. :D:D After you see the Terrace Houses, you will understand what all the fuss is about..EKOL...private guide is the ONLY way to go.

[texancruzer]

Ditto on the Rug factory lunch....one of the best local meals of the cruise. All you can eat including beer and wine..10 euro's I think. :D:D After you see the Terrace Houses, you will understand what all the fuss is about..EKOL...private guide is the ONLY way to go.

 

We did not pay extra.......lunch was included in our private tour price with Ekol. But good food to be sure ! I love the mezzas.

[Turtles06]

Ekol is one of the highest recommended tour companies on this website. First class company. What is the problem with putting up a deposit to hold your place ?

 

 

I had the same thought. As long as the company is reputable (as Ekol certainly is) and there's a reasonable cancellation policy, I don't see the problem.

[navigator0709]

I am looking into Tours for our July 28th day in Ephesus. I think we will do Ephesus Deluxe:

 

Ephesus & Terrace Houses from Kusadasi port

- Pick-up from Kusadasi Port

- Visit of ancient city of Ephesus & the Terrace Houses

plus the temple of Artemis

 

- By the end of the tour drive back to Kusadasi Port

Min.2 - 4 Pax50 USD Per PersonMin.5 - 8 Pax45 USD Per PersonMin.9- 12 Pax40 USD Per PersonMin.13 - 16 Pax35 USD Per PersonMin. 17+30 USD Per Person

Rates Included:

 

- The price includes the professional licensed tour guide, all entrance & parking fees, private air-conditioned transportation.

- Approximate time to reach to Ephesus is 20 minutes.

- Please contact us for your group requests.

- Children 0-6 ages are free.

- The price is valid during the year 2010.

 

Has anyone here done this tour? Does the tour operator require any deposit? (no mention of this on the site). I just emailed them with some of these questions, will follow up on this thread when I hear back.

 

I think the 4 hour tour will work best for our family because it will be HOT and I don't want to do ruin overload with my family (but also don't want to miss the "must see" sites). Our ship docks at 7:00. I'm thinking they will pick us up at 8:00, and we'll be back by 4:00. Does anyone know if "4 hour tours" include the commuting time? It would be nice to relax back at the ship in the heat of the afternoon. My kids (and parents) won't appreciate the shopping/lunch in the heat of the afternoon, so I think this is a good compromise. Plus, we're doing a full day in Athens the very next day (that I still need to plan).

 

More to come...

 

Sally

[cruiser620]

We went with Hello Ephesus last summer and I can definitely recommend them. I don't remember the price offhand, but check their website -- they were very reasonable compared to Ekol and the other tour agencies mentioned. We had our own driver as well as a tour guide for just my daughter and me. We told them what we wanted to see, and our visit included Ephesus and the Terrace Houses, a wonderful Turkish lunch (yes we chose to see the rug demonstration but there was no pressure and it was very interesting to see the silk cocoons, etc.), the museum in Selcuk (in my opinion a must-see since that's where all of the Ephesus artifacts are), and we also went by the "Temple of Artemis" (which I knew ahead of time was just one reconstructed column standing in a field). It was a wonderful day and we loved the Turkish people we met.

[petesweet]

Thanks for the feedback. I will see the Terrace Houses and have looked into Ekol, but none of their tours of Ephesus include seeing the Fountain of Trajan. My ship tour does. Is that a big deal?

 

I'm responding to this before reading all the posts, so it may be answered by another person already.

When you take a private (nonship) tour, you tell them what you want to see. If they won't individualize your tour, then I suggest you find another vendor.

For example: I specified NO FACTORY TOURS. (These are where you are a prisoner to high-pressure sales pitches.) Also, no lunch break. (We take snacks or grab something on the way without sitting in a restaurant and wasting our precious time.)

Make the tour your very own and enjoy what you want to enjoy after doing your research. Have a great cruise.

Kathy

[petesweet]

Good point -- a lot of people don't realize that when you book a private tour, it is certainly your prerogative to decide how you want to spend the time. I think a lot of people who haven't done private tours think that they have a "set" tour and can't make changes. Not so! You can definitely customize a private tour -- within reason, of course (in other words, if the agency says that adding a site may compromise getting you back to the ship on time, you should believe them!).

 

The best thing to do is to put a schedule together with the agency before your cruise via email. That way, when you arrive, the guide should already be prepared for what you want to do and can arrange the day in the best possible way to avoid traffic, crowds, etc. That's not to say that you can't change things midstream if you want to spend more time somewhere. Just realize that the extra time may mean that you have to cut something else out later in the day....

 

Also, some guides are more than happy to gently "mislead" you by saying that lunch is included but without mentioning where lunch is. If your group does not want the carpet demo (and again -- no problem if you do!), it behooves you to make that very clear from the outset.

 

I was talking to one poster recently who was on a private tour with a CC group that stopped at one of these carpet demos. One woman in the group wasted quite a bit of the others' time shopping for a rug and then bargaining the price down. The others in the group were not so happy as they really didn't want to be there for a couple of hours.

 

If you're sharing a tour with others, I guess it pays to make sure you're all on the same page when it comes to how the time is spent. ;)

One more suggestion:

Someone said (although I have not experienced this personally) that even though a "forced shopping stop" was negotiated out of the tour, the driver "forgot" or "misunderstood" and the folks ended up there anyway and had to get very firm with the driver, who in turn was an unhappy driver the rest of the trip.

From now on, I will carry my confirmed itinerary with me and will go over it with the driver before we start our tour. Just a suggestion.:)

Kathy

[Hlitner]

Regarding the Fountain of Trajan (SixFoot previously posted a question) this structure is simply part of the ruins within Ephesus and would be seen by any tour as you walk through the ruins. There are dozens of different structures within the ruins and most tour companies do not bother to list these structures. The only part of the ruins for which there is an additional entrance fee (and does not allow large groups to enter as a crowd) are the amazing Terrace Houses, which is a recently opened section contained under a large building (this protects the dig).

 

Hank

[petesweet]

Well I have a reason. 8 year old daughter and wife. $49 + $49 +$29 for 4 hours Princess (my daughters attention limit probably) yields the cheapest tour I have been able to Google. Downside again is the Terrace Houses- but we have seen these a couple of times on TV specials and travel-logs. So price and time and 2/3's the way into a port intensive 12 days not to mention time in Venice before and some extra days in Rome. We plan on using the rest of the day to chill on ship after ten days of non stop in other ports.:)

As a side note it will be the only ship tour we will do- the rest of the trip is DIY with a lot of car rentals, and public transportation...

 

Maybe you've mentioned this already, but are you porting in Izmir? I read somewhere that it takes 1 hour and 15 minutes just to get to Ephesis from the port. (I don't know this from experience--just something I read here on Cruise Critic.)

Kathy

[TLCOhio]

When you take a private (nonship) tour, you tell them what you want to see. If they won't individualize your tour, then I suggest you find another vendor. For example: I specified NO FACTORY TOURS. (These are where you are a prisoner to high-pressure sales pitches.) Also, no lunch break. (We take snacks or grab something on the way without sitting in a restaurant and wasting our precious time.) Make the tour your very own and enjoy what you want to enjoy after doing your research. Have a great cruise. Kathy

 

Kathy is 100% correct that if you set-up and have a private, individualized tour, it should be "YOURS"!!! The logistics need to work, of course, in a reasonable manner. We have done this with our tours in St. Petersburg, Istanbul, Paris, Greece, etc. They will suggest ideas and potentials, but you need to communicate your interests, needs, dislikes, etc. Don't be afraid to ask questions, revised the plan, etc. And to make sure you know what you want, it is important to do some researching and reading ahead. Below are a few samples of what is there to enjoy in and around Ephesus. It's wonderful!!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

At Ephesus, here is the famed outdoor theater that hosted Saint Paul preaching, plus rock stars, etc. At this site in the 1st century AD, the Apostle Paul spent over three years in Ephesus preaching the Gospel. This included a sermon condemning pagan worship in this theater:

 

 

 

Looking downhill towards the library and other ruins from when Ephesus was Rome's capital of Asia Minor:

 

 

 

At Ephesus, architectural details on its famed library building:

 

 

 

Another area for seeing added ruins at Ephesus:

 

 

 

A smaller temple at Ephesus:

 

 

 

A closer view of a carved stone piece at Ephesus:

 

[gsquaredb]

I was looking on the Ekol website and if I understand the pricing - it costs about $90/p/p for a 31/2 hour tour incl the terrace houses.

 

Doesnt that seem rather high?

[Hlitner]

I was looking on the Ekol website and if I understand the pricing - it costs about $90/p/p for a 31/2 hour tour incl the terrace houses.

 

Doesnt that seem rather high?

 

When we used EKOL (last year) they were giving a 25% discount if you paid in advance (we put it on a credit card). I think we paid about $160 (for two) for what was a 4 1/2 hour tour (our third visit to Ephesus and 4th visit to the area). As to cost/benefit we could have reduced the cost if we had wanted to invite others to join us, but DW and I wanted to do our own thing (our norm for Kusadasi). So what did we get for that cost? Our guide had two college degrees, was very professional, turned out to be a friend of the curator of the ruins, etc. We had our own large air conditioned van with our own professional driver (seperate from the tour guide). The price also included the various admission fees. We have also done Ephesus "on the cheap" by taking the local van/bus out the main road (this cost us about $1) and then walking the last mile up the road to the ruins. However, we do think most would prefer the private tour :). Whether you use EKOL or one of the other reputable local companies you should expect to have a wonderful day.

 

Hank

[gsquaredb]

Did that include the seemingly obligatory "factory" tour where the lock you in a room with a group of high pressure salesmen for an hour or so?

[numbersix]

Did that include the seemingly obligatory "factory" tour where the lock you in a room with a group of high pressure salesmen for an hour or so?

 

It's your tour--just say 'no' (in advance). You tell them what you'd like to do.

 

They'll be very accommodating.

 

Kevin

[texancruzer]

We paid $ 239.00 US dollars for a private tour for just me and dh with Ekol. This was ALL day...... we had a 4X4 jeep, a driver and a guide for the whole day.

 

239.00 divided by 2 = 119.50 divided by almost 9 hours = 13.28 per hour. Oh - and we got a great lunch too !

 

This also included the extra $ for the Terrace Houses.

 

We feel this was the best return on our money for the whole trip !!!!!

[DBLDWN12]

When you arrive at the port in Kusadasi, can you hire a driver/guide right outside to take you to Ephesus and pay the admission there, then do it on your own?

Can you hire a guide right outside the gates as in Pompeii?

Have been before, but some in my group have not.

Thanks,

Yvette

[pennsylvaniamimi]

We are booked with EPHESUS DELUXE FOR MAY 18. They do not require deposit. Deniz saidn they would like cash for payment- will take US$. I will post a review when we come home. Deniz was very prompt in replying to emails and I had some personal emails from posters that were happy with his work. I think he is a little less expensive because he recently broke away from his partner and is trying to build up a name. Do a search and you will see a whole thread relating to this issue. Maureen

[floridatravelersforlife]

I am coming in late also but we did Ekol - Ephesus, T Houses, Vrigin Mary, jArtemis, St John and lunch at Sirince (a welcomed rest). Well worth it. Re the carpet factory skip it if you have allergies. My DW almost had a ashtma attack. Get an early start ahead of the crowds. stay in a small group