Hello Ephesus

[maggie3]

I know there is some discussion of Hello Ephesus tour company included in connection with the Ephesus Deluxe post. I am hoping that returning travelers who have just toured with Hello Ephesus in the past few weeks will read this thread and please let us know about the quality of your tour with Hello Ephesus. We are booked with them for our upcoming cruise, and really want to know if the quality of tours with this company is still excellent, as reported in past travel seasons.

[mckendus]

I know there is some discussion of Hello Ephesus tour company included in connection with the Ephesus Deluxe post. I am hoping that returning travelers who have just toured with Hello Ephesus in the past few weeks will read this thread and please let us know about the quality of your tour with Hello Ephesus. We are booked with them for our upcoming cruise, and really want to know if the quality of tours with this company is still excellent, as reported in past travel seasons.

 

Hi Maggie. We toured with Hello Ephesus, and "Bill" Orkus on May 4th. It was great, he gave us a real historical perspective and insight into everything we saw. I've heard nothing but good things about them. You'll be very pleased and happy. Enjoy. I'd go again in a heartbeat. My husband can't stop telling people about it. :)

[shadow10]

I know there is some discussion of Hello Ephesus tour company included in connection with the Ephesus Deluxe post. I am hoping that returning travelers who have just toured with Hello Ephesus in the past few weeks will read this thread and please let us know about the quality of your tour with Hello Ephesus. We are booked with them for our upcoming cruise, and really want to know if the quality of tours with this company is still excellent, as reported in past travel seasons.

 

 

Following is a review, as promised, of our tour to Ephesus from the port of Kusadasi, organized through Hello Ephesus on 12 May 2010. This is in response to the emails people were receiving from Ephesus Deluxe following the recent split between the two partners of Hello Ephesus.

Our party was a group of 10 from HAL Westerdam. We were meet promptly at the port on arrival in Kusadasi by our guide and taken to a 20 seater minivan which was extremely clean and comfortable.

Our guide arranged through Hello Ephesus was Bulent (Bill) Orkus. Bill was an outstanding guide in all respects – extremely knowledgeable, very personable and at times quite amusing.

Bill is a linguist, so not only did he give us the history of the sites but also explained the origin of the words and how they related to the modern English language.

Lunch was at a small government – sanctioned carpet school and wholesale outlet. The demonstration was interesting and brief. There was no pressure to purchase. However several of our group did in fact make a purchase. All in the group commented that the demonstration and prices were much better than those attended in Istanbul.

Lunch was enjoyed in a shaded garden area. The food was authentic local cuisine, freshly prepared, delicious and thoroughly enjoyable.

Everyone in our group agreed that the entire day was well organized, informative, well paced and great value. We would have no hesitation in recommending Hello Ephesus – you will have a great day especially if you request Bill as your private guide.

 

Lesley :)

[denby]

We just returned from an 11 night cruise and stopped in Ephesus (Kusadasi) on May 9th. We had an outstanding guide as well as a driver from HELLO EPHESUS. Our guide made sure we visited all the major sites either before or after tour busses. We arrived at the House of the Virgin Mary early in the morning before crowds and ended our day at the Ephesus ruins after the crowds had left. Being first time cruisers we had booked all our other tours through the cruise line. We had such a good experience with the private tour through HELLO EPHESUS that we would not hesitate to book other private tours in future.

[cynbar]

10 of us from our roll call banded together and toured with Hello Ephesus on May 5th off the Norwegian Gem in Izmir. It was great ---- a comfortable and air-conditioned mini van, great driver and guide who could not have worked harder or been more enthusiastic. The tour company and the guide were both most accommodating to our wishes. There was talk during the tour about how EphesusDeluxe had contacted our group member who set this up and tried to talk her into switching to them. But we have no reservations re recommending Hello Ephesus.

[BARNOWL ONE]

We recently returned from a cruise on the prinsendam. We used helloephesus for our tour to ephesus...dont worry, this is a first class outfit. The tour was wonderful. Our guide spoke excellent english and was extremely knowledgeable of all the sites. The van for our 12 cruisers was a new , air conditioned mercedes bus. And the meal served in a beautiful outside setting was delicious....yes, there was a rug tour and sales pitch....but all the folks in our group said they enjoyed the pitch....no rugs were purchased...all our dealings with nilay were answered promptly and she ably handled the increasing number of cruise critic fans who joined our group....john hildebrandt palm coast fl

[anniversay/grad trip]

Can anyone elaborate on what was served for lunch? We have a tour booked with Hello Ephasus for our upcoming cruise, and I have to admit I am a very very fussy eater and anything that is strong smelling with spices I cannot eat. My problem is not about the lunch, but I do not want to offend anyone. I have brought it up to my DH and he just rolls his eyes and says here we go...lol...I am hoping that there will be fresh fruit or salads so that I can eat without having to take part in any meat products that may be spiced up....

[sunshine nana]

The meal was a very good salad, spiced meatballs and chicken on a stick. There were several appetizers that you could load up on such as cucumber and other things.We also had dessert. It was outdoors, so the smell wasn't too overpowering.We had free bottled water and had to pay for beer (not anything special) or wine.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

I know there is some discussion of Hello Ephesus tour company included in connection with the Ephesus Deluxe post. I am hoping that returning travelers who have just toured with Hello Ephesus in the past few weeks will read this thread and please let us know about the quality of your tour with Hello Ephesus. We are booked with them for our upcoming cruise, and really want to know if the quality of tours with this company is still excellent, as reported in past travel seasons.

 

I have some reservations about Hello Ephesus. The tour was good, the tour guide was good. Knowledgeable, personable, good English. BUT, I had specifically emailed to request that we NOT be taken to a rug place...we had no desire to see rugs, see demos of rugs, etc. Rug demos are NOT listed on the tour. Lo and behold, the lunch that was provided inclusive in the tour turned out to be at a rug place, which we didn't initially realize. By the time we figured it out it was too late and I was peeved because I specifically asked them NOT to take us to a rug place. So, I would not recommend them, as a result.

 

With the competition for tourist dollars, I would suggest you give them to a company that is responsive to your requests.

[cruiser620]

We were very happy with Hello Ephesus. Yes the tasty lunch was served outside at the rug making center, but you were under no obligation to go inside or look at the rugs. We actually found it rather interesting to see how they unwound the silk cocoons, spun the thread, and wove the rugs on looms, and it made for great photos! They ask if you would like to look at the rugs, but they are very gracious and not at all pushy and you can easily say no and tell your guide you are ready to leave.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

We were very happy with Hello Ephesus. Yes the tasty lunch was served outside at the rug making center, but you were under no obligation to go inside or look at the rugs. We actually found it rather interesting to see how they unwound the silk cocoons, spun the thread, and wove the rugs on looms, and it made for great photos! They ask if you would like to look at the rugs, but they are very gracious and not at all pushy and you can easily say no and tell your guide you are ready to leave.

 

I hear you and understand what you are saying. However, we didn't understand....we were startled that lunch was at a rug company. We weren't asked if we wanted to look at rugs--we were taken into the room with the rugs.

 

We felt we would be rude and 'ugly American-ish" if we refused to look at rugs after we had just eaten a meal there. Please understand that my issue is not so much how it was handled, but that we had specifically asked to not be taken to rug places well prior to the trip and that was not honored.

[cweed]

Is "Hello Ephesus" a tour company that I would book through RCCL? If not, how would I book a cruise with them? Thank you.

[cweed]

Sorry, not cruise - tour

[Jdell]

Since it appears most of you were taken to the rug demo for lunch, is it included in the price they quote you for the tour and are there other options for dining?

 

We have a tour booked for next month and would love to know if there is a great place for a quick meal?

 

Thanks.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

The lunch was included in the price of the tour. Don't know what the other options are. Obviously there is a deal of sorts between the tour company and the rug company. I would suggest that you communicate your desires clearly and be sure you receive more than a form answer in reply, then take copies of that communication with you.

[BARNOWL ONE]

Just get over the rug tour thing.....the helloephesus tour was fine. Some of the folks in our tour group sat outside and enjoyed the sun. There is no obligation to go in and go through it. I think it lasted for no more than 20 minutes.....by the way, the lunch was delicious...we had two folks who were vegetarians and they did fine.....the outside setting was lovely and the various dishes they served us suited the taste of our group....the food was not spicy, hot, or exotic.....john hildebrandt palm coast

[maryann ns]

I did my research here before we went and was well aware that the lunch was at the rug making school. I decided that I wanted to see this and am very glad I did. However for our later stop in Antalya, Turkey I had to work very hard with TravelEphesus (by email before we went) to insist we go nowhere near rug shops or tours. I got my way. We had a great day and there was no sight or mention of rugs.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Just get over the rug tour thing.....the helloephesus tour was fine. Some of the folks in our tour group sat outside and enjoyed the sun. There is no obligation to go in and go through it. I think it lasted for no more than 20 minutes.....by the way, the lunch was delicious...we had two folks who were vegetarians and they did fine.....the outside setting was lovely and the various dishes they served us suited the taste of our group....the food was not spicy, hot, or exotic.....john hildebrandt palm coast

 

"Just get over the rug tour thing".

 

Well, Barnowl, everyone has an opinion. :) Mine is that I didn't go to Ephesus to cool my heels sitting in the sun waiting for a rug demo I asked not to go to in the first place! Obviously, there are others who feel the same way!

 

I have no problem with you defending your pleasure with your tour with Hello Ephesus. You should have no problem with my displeasure with that portion of my tour. If someone asks me specifically about the rug demo situation, which you can clearly see is the case, they will receive my honest answer! To each his own. Right?

[BOGOman]

Hi everyone ~ The bulk of your responses are positive for Hello Ephesus, and we're thinking about going with them to Ephesus in a few weeks. However, we tried to contact them through their website without getting a response. Is that typical? They don't offer an email contact point, so we're forced to use the website which might not get the message to them efficiently. Does anyone have an email address for them?

~ Bill

[mckendus]

Hi Bill,

Anytime I've heard someone having no response it tends to be that the reply gets sent to junk mail. I don't know what your mail program is, but you may want to check and make sure you mark them as "okay." I'd email again. If you went through their website there is no other email.

Good luck!

[cruisemom42]

"Just get over the rug tour thing".

 

Well, Barnowl, everyone has an opinion. :) Mine is that I didn't go to Ephesus to cool my heels sitting in the sun waiting for a rug demo I asked not to go to in the first place! Obviously, there are others who feel the same way!

 

I have no problem with you defending your pleasure with your tour with Hello Ephesus. You should have no problem with my displeasure with that portion of my tour. If someone asks me specifically about the rug demo situation, which you can clearly see is the case, they will receive my honest answer! To each his own. Right?

 

I have to completely agree. If one is paying for a private tour, one should have the right to decide where one wants to go and does not want to go. I, for one, have seen the rug demo several times already :rolleyes: and have NO desire to see it again. I also agree that spending time eating lunch in the courtyard of a rug factory is not my idea of local color nor of time well spent. If it happened to me, I would be dissatisfied also.

 

I booked a private tour for one with Ekol tours (also based in Kusadasi) and specified very clearly that there was to be no shopping and no rug demo. They completely abided by my wishes and it was never an issue. That is the way it should be, IMHO.

[Ainhoa]

Hi everyone ~ The bulk of your responses are positive for Hello Ephesus, and we're thinking about going with them to Ephesus in a few weeks. However, we tried to contact them through their website without getting a response. Is that typical? They don't offer an email contact point, so we're forced to use the website which might not get the message to them efficiently. Does anyone have an email address for them?

~ Bill

 

Snap! I contacted them, using the form on their website, three days ago and have heard nothing. A page on the site says "send us an email at the address below". There is nothing there. Not a good start. I have sent a further request but if I don't hear back tomorrow, I shall go elswhere.

[Ainhoa]

 

I booked a private tour for one with Ekol tours (also based in Kusadasi) and specified very clearly that there was to be no shopping and no rug demo. They completely abided by my wishes and it was never an issue. That is the way it should be, IMHO.

 

But have you seen what Ekol are charging? According to their website, a full day (6 hours) to Ephesus and then Sirince village is $195 per person (for 2 or 3 people). For the same tour, Helloephesus is charging $75 ( 5 hours) and Ephesusdeluxe $90 (7 hours).

[cruisemom42]

But have you seen what Ekol are charging? According to their website, a full day (6 hours) to Ephesus and then Sirince village is $195 per person (for 2 or 3 people). For the same tour, Helloephesus is charging $75 ( 5 hours) and Ephesusdeluxe $90 (7 hours).

 

I'm wondering if that is perhaps a typo, since Ekol's 5-hour tour is only $100 per person; I can't figure why they'd charge nearly twice as much for an extra hour. At any rate, I'd contact them directly to see what they offer. After all, the other company doesn't seem to be answering emails -- not a great recommendation to me!

[BOGOman]

Thanks. Not a junk mail problem for me, which makes me all the more suspicious. One possibility is that they don't have room or resources for that day. But a reputable company would tell us so if that's the case. I suppose there's a myriad of other reasons, including a communications failure at their end. Then there's the unpleasant possibility that they're nearly out of business or unable to conduct it responsibly. I hate to take a chance when there are several others that have been recommended on these boards. ~ Bill

~ Bill