DIY Port Activities in Kusadasi

[Cruisehiker]

Visited on NCL Epic in Nov 23 and Celebrity Infinity in Feb 2024.  We’ve been to Ephesus before and it was fabulous. The cheap way to get there is on a regular dolmus (minibus) from the bus station to the pleasant town of Selcuk that passes by the ruins. Selcuk itself has a great market if you have time to visit. There were also many taxis available on disembarkation, and boards advertised a fare of 60 euros - not sure if this included waiting time, or can be bargained over. There’s also a tour desk and fellow passengers took one from them to both Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary for 40 euros a head and were very impressed.  tIt’s also easy to hire a guide at the entrance to Ephesus.

 

Kusadasi itself is a pleasant if nondescript resort town that is perfectly safe to wander around the main areas. To the left as you leave the ship there’s a pleasant promenade with nice views of the ship, cafes across the street and shops at the Marina. To the right you go through some shops and again hit a pleasant promenade, often featuring fishermen. There’s a nice walk out on a peninsula to the Castle. This has nice gardens and again good views of the ship. If you by pass the peninsula it’s another half a mile or so (uphill and then down, and by a busy road) to the main town strand called Ladies Beach which has a nice pleasant promenade lined with cafes and restaurants. Many dolmuses run backwards and forwards from there to town (and past the cruise ship), usually with a fare of 10 lira. The centre of Kusadasi is small but has some nice cafes and shops.

[Hlitner]

Bravo for a fellow DIY person 🙂  A few years ago, we decided to take the Dolmus from town to Ephesus (it was our third visit to the ruins).  Much to our shock, the closest we could get was a bus stop along the main road, which was about a mile from the ruins.  So, DW and walked and walked and walked (and it was hot) and finally reached the lower part of the ruins.  We were younger and tougher so we took a deep breath and walked another 40 miles (a big exaggeration) to the normal upper entrance!  

 

On that visit we had so much fun tagging along on the back of various tour groups (mostly from cruise ships) and hearing all the completely made-up and likely false comments from multiple tour guides.  Different guides would have different stories and descriptions of the same things.  On our next visit we arranged, through Ekol Tours, to have our own personal guide who, at our request, was a real pro with several degrees (the last we heard he went back to work in Russia).  That guide was personal friends with the curator of Ephesus and we had lots of fun learning about some of what they truly know (not as much as you would expect) as opposed to the guesses made by many.  DW and I have visited those ruins, 4 times, and would happily return for a 5th visit.  

 

By the way, the real story of the Virgin Mary House (not far from Ephesus) was interesting.  Yes, most scholars do believe that Mary lived in the area for some time.  And they believe that she likely would have lived somewhere in the neighborhood that now has the Virgin Mary House.  But there is little reason to believe that she actually lived at that location/structure (which was just a ruined foundation when found).  But it is a good story and served the Catholic Church's desire to keep a foothold in the area.  One can choose to believe or not, but there is no real proof to support the claim.  Lots of interesting history (and related stories) about this part of Turkey.  Our own guide was skeptical that Mary had ever lived at the Virgin Mary House, but no denying it's a major tourist attraction and generates revenue.  

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

12 hours ago, Hlitner said:

On that visit we had so much fun tagging along on the back of various tour groups (mostly from cruise ships) and hearing all the completely made-up and likely false comments from multiple tour guides.  Different guides would have different stories and descriptions of the same things.

 

And people say I exaggerate when I tell them guides don't always tell the truth (or, to be kinder, provide the most updated info) about sites visited. This is especially true for folks who pay big bucks for transportation to/from/around a city and don't spring for a licensed guide but rather depend on the driver for information.

 

I realize it doesn't matter to everyone, but I'd rather hear the real stories about places, not made-up ones that amuse the tourists (and probably also the legit guides).

 

On my first visit to Ephesus I was told some whoppers!

[Hlitner]

1 minute ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

And people say I exaggerate when I tell them guides don't always tell the truth (or, to be kinder, provide the most updated info) about sites visited. This is especially true for folks who pay big bucks for transportation to/from/around a city and don't spring for a licensed guide but rather depend on the driver for information.

 

I realize it doesn't matter to everyone, but I'd rather hear the real stories about places, not made-up ones that amuse the tourists (and probably also the legit guides).

 

On my first visit to Ephesus I was told some whoppers!

To me, the most honest thing in Kusadasi is the store with the sign "Real Fake Watches."  We make no secret of our dislike of cruise line excursions and part of our dislike has to do with the guides (as well as the large group size).  But when you book any cruise line excursion it is simply luck of the draw whether you get a decent/professional guide or somebody who is just a cattle herder who is good at talking about nonsense.  We do think folks can usually (not always) do much better booking a private tour, especially if they are able to have some say in who will be the guide.

 

In recent years we have also grown to like the very common "audio tours" that can be rented at many museums and other venues or sometimes just downloaded from their website.  We figure the odds are better that audio tours have been somewhat vetted and our generally accurate (although sometimes a bit wordy).

 

Hank