Private Ephesus Tours

[pjn]

Thank you everyone for your positive reviews of Ephesus Shuttle. We are booked with them in the fall. If they deliver a fine tour with no side trips to carpet or leather stores, I think we should continually recommend this company on CC and trip advisor. Perhaps the companies that "kidnap" their guests will take notice when people stop booking with them.

 

We did book the Terrace Houses and also the tour offering the traditional Turkish lunch. Has anyone done this tour? I am hoping for a good experience and hope I didn't make a mistake with the inclusion of the Turkish lunch. Thanks for any input!

[dougo in oz]

We used Ephesus Shuttle in Istanbul and Kusadaci and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them or use them again ... here's what we did -

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=39464202&posted=1#post39464202

[glittergal1]

We used Ephesus Deluxe last Easter they were fantastic they did us a 3 day tour for our cruise , Izmir (Ephesus) and the 2 days we were in Istanbul It was not an advertised tour they did it for us , we did not need to pay anything upfront , we payed half after our Izmir stop and the rest after both of our Istanbul tours .

we felt like royalty the vehicles were fantastic (As were the drivers) and the guide friendly and informative and yes we did have a shopping stop , after Ephesus we went for lunch at a craft centre (lunch included) it was a well needed break and watching the carpet weaving was fine while we relaxed after lunch and they were not pushy with the selling ,

We did Ephesus, including the terraced houses which were amazing , Virgin Mary's house and John the Baptists resting place .

[sunsetbeachgal]

We used Ephesus Deluxe last Easter they were fantastic they did us a 3 day tour for our cruise , Izmir (Ephesus) and the 2 days we were in Istanbul It was not an advertised tour they did it for us , we did not need to pay anything upfront , we payed half after our Izmir stop and the rest after both of our Istanbul tours .

we felt like royalty the vehicles were fantastic (As were the drivers) and the guide friendly and informative and yes we did have a shopping stop , after Ephesus we went for lunch at a craft centre (lunch included) it was a well needed break and watching the carpet weaving was fine while we relaxed after lunch and they were not pushy with the selling ,

We did Ephesus, including the terraced houses which were amazing , Virgin Mary's house and John the Baptists resting place .

 

 

Another VERY positive review for Ephesus Deluxe...this is the second time we have used them in three years and again it was a highlight of our cruise! :)

[BandBinPA]

We just got back from an Oceania cruise and the port of Kusadasi was one of our ports-of-call. We booked Ertunga Ecir (ertungacir.com) with no deposit needed. He was very quick to respond to e-maisl and met us at the port. His knowledge of Ephesus was phenomenal. Make sure you include the Terrace Houses in your visit to Ephesus. From there to a great Turkish lunch, no pressure to see a carpet demo. Then off to the Baslica of St. John. Beautiful historic site with great views of the valley below. Ertunga, again very informative about the area. Last stop was a view from Ataturk Hill overlooking Kusadasi and the cruise ship port. A very memorable day with Ertunga. He was an excellent guide for this port-of-call.

[Azulann]

BanbinPA,

thank you for you post.

I too have reserved a private tour of Selcuk and Sirence with Ertunga for our stop in Kusadasi in November. We have already been to Ephesus.

He has been very prompt in his emails, and yes he does not require a deposit.

Looking forward to a great day.

[billie2011]

We have just returned from a 90day cruise around Europe, and would highly recommend the company " Private Tours in Turkey"....very good service, professional and with highly knowledgeable tour guides.

They have top quality vans and no pressure to visit shops, carpets etc only if you request.

We had Taner in Kusadasi and would not hesitate to use them again whilst in Turkey....We also used them in Istanbul with Lale....amazing and lovely person who grew up in Istanbul with a huge amount of local knowledge.

No problems with booking process, did not want any deposits and were back on ship in plenty of time.

[DDuck58]

I have made a reservation with the above company and they require a deposit. Most other companies do not take any money up front, but they do have good reports from CC and TA. I am thinking of changing it. Anyone booked these and paid deposits?

 

We recently toured Ephesus, St. John's Basilica, Isa Bey Mosque and booked through Mesut Yilmaz. Although he was busy, he connected us with his associate Deniz Taskin. At no point did he want to have any money up front. We had a lovely tour with an excellent knowledgeable guide, our own air-conditioned van and lots of time to explore the areas we wanted to explore.

[Mltoot]

We arranged a private tour through Ephesus Tours (Aboutephesus.com)for four of us from the Celebrity Constellation for October 22, 2013. All email arrangements were acknowledged quickly and information provided ahead was excellent and complete. We made a $20 deposit through PayPal and there was no problem with that. The driver and guide met us as planned, just off the cruise ship and we had a wonderful all day tour which included all the places we had requested. We visited the Temple of Artemis, the city of Ephesus including the Terrace Houses, the House of Mary, Sirince Village and had a delicious included traditional lunch in a nice outdoor area. We also visited a carpet shop during our lunch stop. We were escorted into the showroom and greeted. We told the man that none of the four of us was remotely interested in purchasing a carpet. He said to please look around as much or as little as we wished and feel free to leave. There was absolutely no pressure here.

Our guide, Mrs. Selda Akyigit Tutkun, was excellent. She spoke English very well, was very informative, answered our questions well and made sure that we had the time we needed at each site. Our driver was also excellent. Because we had a separate guide, he could concentrate on navigating his way safely through the tangle of Athens streets. We also had a very comfortable vehicle for the six of us.

This tour was so more complete and less expensive than the ship's tour. We also had a guide and driver for just the four of us. No big bus large group ship tour here. We highly recommend Ephesus Tours and their all day tour.

[hulaboy]

My wife and I booked a car and driver through Pratik car rental,$130 for the day.

Our guide Mehmet Olgun was very pleasant and new the area well. He has no prearranged tours, you can go anywhere you like. We were picked up at the port as soon as we disembarked. We stopped at a gas station to fill the cooler with beer and water. Ephesus was our next stop, we were dropped off at the top of the site and walked down hill through the ruins, Mehmet was waiting for us at the bottom. I had read of a beach near the ruins called Pamucak Beach, a half hour drive from Ephesus and you are swimming in the surf on a beautiful sandy beach.Next we drove the mountain road through the country side on our way back to Izmir where we visited the Kizlaragasi Han Bazaar , we shopped for spices and Turkish Delight candy.email Mehmet info@pratikcarretal.com .

Have a great trip.

Edited November 16, 2013 by hulaboy

[Rosasharn]

It's an agency that works out of several Mediterranean ports and they have just expanded to include Turkey. I have taken tours with them twice (in Alexandria and in Cairo). They really took time to listen to what I wanted and matched me up with a great guide. And.....when I said no shopping, that's what I got (and that's rare in Egypt!).

 

here's the website: http://turkeyportsofcall.com/

 

Hi Cruisemom,

Many thanks for all the great info you've posted! Just wondered if you used this company for Ephesus - and if you had a good experience. I am thinking of using them for our upcoming cruise (port of Izmir) - like you, I don't want any shopping stops - the more Ephesus the better.