Curio Travel or Ekol Travel

[papuchon]

On Celebrity Equinox arriving 7/30/2025 in Ephesus. We are a family of 6 and want a 5 hours tour with the visit of the House of the Virgin Mary. We do not want a Celebrity excursion. I read posts about Curio and Ekol. Who would you recommend for a private tour?

[zqvol]

I don’t know anything about Curio, but we used EKOL, both at Ephesus and Istanbul. On both occasions we were met by our guide and traveled in a private van for just two of us, though I think in Istanbul we were in a Mercedes. They have set tours but will,take you where you want to go. Ephesus and the House of the Virgin are easy in 5 hours with time left over for a Turkish lunch and a stop at the Temple of Artemis.  Price was very reasonable. 
 

BTW make sure that they know not to stop at the rug factory. They will,skip it if you tell them there is no interest. 

Edited September 1 by zqvol

[papuchon]

Thank you so much

[electro]

On 9/1/2024 at 12:44 PM, zqvol said:

I don’t know anything about Curio, but we used EKOL, both at Ephesus and Istanbul. On both occasions we were met by our guide and traveled in a private van for just two of us, though I think in Istanbul we were in a Mercedes. They have set tours but will,take you where you want to go. Ephesus and the House of the Virgin are easy in 5 hours with time left over for a Turkish lunch and a stop at the Temple of Artemis.  Price was very reasonable. 
 

BTW make sure that they know not to stop at the rug factory. They will,skip it if you tell them there is no interest. 

Did you have any issues contacting EKOL? I had an question about the length of one of their tours in Istanbul. I have sent a msg on their website and also emailed them. It has been over a week and I haven't had a response from either.

[zqvol]

23 minutes ago, electro said:

Did you have any issues contacting EKOL? I had a question about the length of one of their tours in Istanbul. I have sent a msg on their website and also emailed them. It has been over a week and I haven't had a response from either.

 I honestly don’t remember it’s been a while. 

[hoopslover]

I have just sent an inquiry to Curio about several of their tours to Ephesus and in Istanbul for next year and I received a response within 5 minutes.  I used their WhatsApp number and they were very helpful with suggestions for our large group.  Now if I can get all of us to agree on something I will book with them.