Bodrum to Ephesus

[aimee0715]

We will be on Resilient Lady docking in Bodrum on May 31 from 8AM to 8PM.  I would like to go to Ephesus.  I would prefer to do it on our own rather than through the cruise line but I know that it is a significant distance to Ephesus from Bodrum and that makes me nervous.  Virgin offers a 10 hour excursion for $155 per person.  However, it includes some things I'm not interested in like the purported House of the Virgin Mary, folkloric dance, and carpet weaving. My question is has anyone done a private excursion from Bodrum to Ephesus and if so, do you have a recommendation?  I don't mind going in a group with other travelers, I just want to be sure that we are able to see the terrace houses and get the whole Ephesus experience and  not miss the ship.  

[edinburgher]

Distance is likely to be a good 2 hours each way, hence the length of the shorex.  And yes, the pros and cons of shorex v DIY or small private tour are already obvious to you.

 

Does the shorex description specifically mention the terrace houses?  I would be a little surprised if it did as we paid a separate entry fee at the entrance to the  terrace houses. It would be more usual to enter only  the main site, but if the description mentions the terrace houses then it should be part of the site visit.

 

Otherwise you would need to find a private tour operator then try to find others to share the cost with you. Have you checked your Roll Call?  That is where you would try to find others to share, or perhaps someone has already organised a private tour and is looking for pax like you to join them. 

 

May be more difficult to find a tour, and others to share, given the long distance as not everyone would want  so much driving in one day, and not everyone would want to venture as far on a private tour due to concerns about returning on time, preferring to have a shorex where the ship is guaranteed to wait for any late returns.

Edited April 4, 2023 by edinburgher

[aimee0715]

6 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Distance is likely to be a good 2 hours each way, hence the length of the shorex.  And yes, the pros and cons of shorex v DIY or small private tour are already obvious to you.

 

Does the shorex description specifically mention the terrace houses?  I would be a little surprised if it did as we paid a separate entry fee at the entrance to the  terrace houses. It would be more usual to enter only  the main site, but if the description mentions the terrace houses then it should be part of the site visit.

 

Otherwise you would need to find a private tour operator then try to find others to share the cost with you. Have you checked your Roll Call?  That is where you would try to find others to share, or perhaps someone has already organised a private tour and is looking for pax like you to join them. 

 

May be more difficult to find a tour, and others to share, given the long distance as not everyone would want  so much driving in one day, and not everyone would want to venture as far on a private tour due to concerns about returning on time, preferring to have a shorex where the ship is guaranteed to wait for any late returns.

I'm fairly certain Virgin's excursion does not include the terrace houses which is one of the reasons I don't want to take their excursion.  We're doing a back to back on Resilient Lady and the roll calls for both are dead, unfortunately.  I'll probably just book a private excursion.  

[edinburgher]

Wishing you luck with that.  The terrace houses have fabulous wall decorations as these houses belonged to the most well off citizens.

[aimee0715]

9 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Wishing you luck with that.  The terrace houses have fabulous wall decorations as these houses belonged to the most well off citizens.

 

So after looking around at private excursions, I just booked the ship excursion. I just don't want to risk missing the ship in Turkey.  It's my hope that we will have enough free time at Ephesus to see the terrace houses on our own.  

[MeHeartCruising]

1 hour ago, aimee0715 said:

 

So after looking around at private excursions, I just booked the ship excursion. I just don't want to risk missing the ship in Turkey.  It's my hope that we will have enough free time at Ephesus to see the terrace houses on our own.  

 

I really wouldn't count on that happening unless they specifically mention free time to explore on your own.  I have been there twice on ship excursions, and the guide kept us quite contained.  We were let free for maybe 10-15 minutes at the Library of Celsus to get pictures and a few minutes at the amphitheater for the same.  Other than that, they were walking thru the site at a pretty good pace, stopping now and then to narrate things.  You'd really want 45-60 minutes in the Terrace Houses, I would think.  Maybe a little more.  You'd likely have to see if your guide will cut you free on your own to meet up back at the bus at a certain time, which means you'd miss their narration of parts of the site while gone.  They probably aren't going to like that, but maybe they will let you do it.  And, of course, you'll need to buy Terrace House tickets on your own.

[aimee0715]

2 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

I really wouldn't count on that happening unless they specifically mention free time to explore on your own.  I have been there twice on ship excursions, and the guide kept us quite contained.  We were let free for maybe 10-15 minutes at the Library of Celsus to get pictures and a few minutes at the amphitheater for the same.  Other than that, they were walking thru the site at a pretty good pace, stopping now and then to narrate things.  You'd really want 45-60 minutes in the Terrace Houses, I would think.  Maybe a little more.  You'd likely have to see if your guide will cut you free on your own to meet up back at the bus at a certain time, which means you'd miss their narration of parts of the site while gone.  They probably aren't going to like that, but maybe they will let you do it.  And, of course, you'll need to buy Terrace House tickets on your own.

I was a history major with a minor in Classical Studies.  It makes me sad to go somewhere amazing like Ephesus and have to waste time at a made up 'historical' site like the House of the Virgin Mary when there are more impressive things to see. I did find a private excursion but it was going to be several hundred dollars more than the ship excursion--probably $7-800 all in.   I will just have to plan to go again at some point.  I'll be sure that we stop in Kusadasi next time so I'll be less nervous about not going with the cruise line.  

[MeHeartCruising]

1 hour ago, aimee0715 said:

I was a history major with a minor in Classical Studies.  It makes me sad to go somewhere amazing like Ephesus and have to waste time at a made up 'historical' site like the House of the Virgin Mary when there are more impressive things to see. I did find a private excursion but it was going to be several hundred dollars more than the ship excursion--probably $7-800 all in.   I will just have to plan to go again at some point.  I'll be sure that we stop in Kusadasi next time so I'll be less nervous about not going with the cruise line.  

Well, hopefully you can figure a way into the Terrace Houses.  I will say that, even if not visiting them, the rest of Ephesus is still well worth the visit.  I was fortunate to be on back-to-back cruises which both visited Kusadasi.  I went on two different ship excursions that visited Ephesus.  One spent more time there and included the Terrace Houses.  The other was a quicker stop at Ephesus and then going on to Magnesia, Miletus, and Didyma.  They were both great days.  
 

I wish you well and I’m sure you will have a great time. 

[edinburgher]

I just booked the ship excursion. I just don't want to risk missing the ship in Turkey. 

 

I think you are doing the right thing for peace of mind, worth quite a bit IMHO.

 

I think your difficulty is actually with the Virgin style of cruising, which, (just recently,having watched a tv docuseries about Virgin Cruises) I believe has more focus on " fun" activities and ports which are different from the mainstream lines, but if I am wrong about that, I am sure others will correct that.

 

If you have an interest in  historical sights/sites which can be found in many countries  across the Med, and Europe in general,maybe for your next cruise you could consider switching cruselines for an itinerary which more suits your interests?

Edited April 6, 2023 by edinburgher

[aimee0715]

On 4/6/2023 at 8:58 AM, edinburgher said:

I just booked the ship excursion. I just don't want to risk missing the ship in Turkey. 

 

I think you are doing the right thing for peace of mind, worth quite a bit IMHO.

 

I think your difficulty is actually with the Virgin style of cruising, which, (just recently,having watched a tv docuseries about Virgin Cruises) I believe has more focus on " fun" activities and ports which are different from the mainstream lines, but if I am wrong about that, I am sure others will correct that.

 

If you have an interest in  historical sights/sites which can be found in many countries  across the Med, and Europe in general,maybe for your next cruise you could consider switching cruselines for an itinerary which more suits your interests?

Oh yes, I would have preferred to do this itinerary with Azamara but I had $8,000 of credit with Virgin Voyages left over from the pandemic that I needed to spend.  We were booked on the inaugural voyage of Scarlet Lady which would have sailed on April 1 of 2020 and was a really expensive $4,000 for 4 nights.  I was excited for the opportunity to be on the first sailing of a new cruiseline.  Anyway, they doubled our money in cruise credit if we didn't ask for a refund.  I've turned that 4 night cruise into two back to back cruises one going to Croatia and one going to the Greek Isles.  It's true that their excursions are different.  

[edinburgher]

Not a bad swap despite the initial disappointment of the cancelled cruise back in the dark days of 2020.  Can see why you were tempted. 

 

With many cruiselines calling into Kusadasi, you may get there sometime soon albeit on a different line..