Is This Too Much For One Day?

[namaste1223]

We're planning an Eastern Mediterranean cruise which includes a stop in Izmir/Ephesus, 8am-6pm. We're considering booking a private tour. Would it be too much to try to fit in Mary's House, St. John's Basilica and the Ephesus ruins including the terrace houses in this amount of time? We'd like to plan to return to port at least by 4:00 or so to allow for any unforseen delays. Are we being too ambitious? If all goes well and we're back by 4:00 or so, is there a shopping area near the port where we can stop for a few minutes after being dropped off before boarding the ship? Thank you for any advice!

[cruisemom42]

Izmir is not as close to Ephesus as Kusadasi (as I also mentioned on your post on the Greece forum). I'm not sure you'll have time to fit all those sites in. Have you talked to a private tour operators to see what's possible?

[Clay Clayton]

We did this exact tour in 2008 using Nejat Incedogan and were VERY pleased. So much so that we booked him to tour us in Istanbul a day later! Like you I was concerned about the time factor and wanted to be sure to get back to the ship so I overruled Nejat's suggestion for lunch and instead we ate a quick bite at Mary's House. We got back with time to spare and I regretted not believing Nejat, this was especially true after we did go to his recommended place for lunch in Istanbul - it was an incredible meal.

 

The last email address I have for him is **********@yahoo.com. He is on LinkedIn also.

 

Please be advised that Nejat uses crutches which I was first concerned about when I read about him on CC and TripAdvisor, but they don't hold him back and in fact I think make for a better visit. In Ephesis, he had us gather under a shade tree before we started into the ruins and told us aobut what we would be seeing. He then pointed to another shady spot and said, take your time and meet me "there". Once we were all there, he told us about what we would be seeing in the next section and said, when you are done here, meet me "there". This was his general mode of operation. I enjoyed it so much more, particularly when I saw the hordes of folks follwing a guide with a flag or umbrella and only those close to the guide could hear what they were describing.

 

If you connect with Nejat, tell him Clay - the BIG TALL guy from North Carolina sent you:D

[glittergal1]

We're planning an Eastern Mediterranean cruise which includes a stop in Izmir/Ephesus, 8am-6pm. We're considering booking a private tour. Would it be too much to try to fit in Mary's House, St. John's Basilica and the Ephesus ruins including the terrace houses in this amount of time? We'd like to plan to return to port at least by 4:00 or so to allow for any unforseen delays. Are we being too ambitious? If all goes well and we're back by 4:00 or so, is there a shopping area near the port where we can stop for a few minutes after being dropped off before boarding the ship? Thank you for any advice!

 

I have booked a 7 hour tour with Ephesus duluxe visiting all the sights

[MVPinBoynton]

We also used Nejat in 2007. We had a truly wonderful experience and saw all the things you want to see. You can see photos from our tour with Nejat in our review on our website www.thepreismans.com. Since we have 3 Med cruise reviews on our website, be sure to go to the one in 2007 when we were on the Grand Princess.

[namaste1223]

Thank you all for your replies! I will definitely check out your suggestions. I already looked at the Ephesus Deluxe website. The Full Day Ephesus tour sounds like it's just what we're looking for! I will also look into a tour with Nejat Incedogan.

I have some further questions if you don't mind:

Was a stop included for shopping at a rug, leather or pottery factory on these tours? I really don't want to waste time. If there is a stop, has anyone ever declined? I've been reading about Ekol Tours and their insistence on a "rug stop."

Is there a shopping area near the port where we could browse after we're dropped off from touring if we have time?

Finally, is there usually heavy traffic on the way back to port? Assuming a start time 1 hour after docking (just to make sure in case of delays), would a return time projected to be 2 hours before departure be cutting it too close?

Thank you all so much for your expertise. The extensive reading and researching I've been doing is one thing, but there's nothing like advice from people who have actually been there!

[namaste1223]

We also used Nejat in 2007. We had a truly wonderful experience and saw all the things you want to see. You can see photos from our tour with Nejat in our review on our website www.thepreismans.com. Since we have 3 Med cruise reviews on our website, be sure to go to the one in 2007 when we were on the Grand Princess.

 

Wow! I have just spent about an hour on your website! What a wonderful job you've done documenting your many trips! You've given me some inspiration... Some day, maybe when I retire, I'll be able to do the same kind of thing. It must be nice to be able to go back and relive all those fond memories and to have them right at your fingertips! Thank you for sharing!

[MVPinBoynton]

It must be nice to be able to go back and relive all those fond memories and to have them right at your fingertips! Thank you for sharing!

 

You have no idea! We refer back to the reviews regularly and it is so nice to be able to relive our vacations. It always amazes me how quickly we forget the wonderful things we have done.