Ephesus Tours

[txcrusr]

I would like to have some feedback on Ephesus Tours, one of a number of tour operators catering to cruise passengers arriving in Kusadasi. If you have used this company, please would you indicate your satisfaction (or not!) with them. I have seen recommendations on this list for a couple of other operators, but haven't heard anything recent about Ephesus Tours.

 

Thanks,

Wanda.

[travelbugs]

We worked with Denizhan Pekoz ( of Ephesus Tours) last May. We were also given an english speaking guide named Huliah (Julia). Julia was amazing (we had a very "macho" guy with us and she was right back at him with humor-very quick). She also works as a guide elsewhere including Nepal. She's fluent, honest,very knowledable, punctual and has moxy! She had no problem keeping street vendors away from us. We also have nothing but accolades for Ephesus Tours. We began emailing back and forth right away (no dumb question went unanswered). The van was large (8 in our party and still room left over). The driver spoke no english but was very pleasant. For those that were too tired to see a site, he had no problem leaving the van run for the air conditioner. Would we use them again? ABSOLUTLEY!!!!! Hope this helped, Happy Cruising-Travelbugs

[txcrusr]

Thanks travelbugs. This is good to hear. Ephesus Tours website is really informative and well organized, but I was surprised not to find any reviews either on CC or TripAdvisor. There are so many positive comments on **** and Ekol Travel that I was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with Ephesus Tours. If you have used this company, please speak up! I'm getting ready to book a tour for next May.

 

Thanks,

Wanda.

[travelbugs]

I was also a bit skeptical at first. Like you, we had read many reviews about them on various websites but nothing on CC. I think perhaps we found a gem that CCrs haven't discovered yet! They also did follow up emails with us to make sure we made it back safely and if there was anything they could do to enhance their tours for others! Take care, Travelbugs

[ama22]

Ephesus Tours is one of the ones I've been thinking about to tour the ruins. The other two are Meander Tours and ****. Does anyone know about either of these?

 

Mary Lou

[Compass Rose Monica]

We worked with Denizhan Pekoz ( of Ephesus Tours) last May. We were also given an english speaking guide named Huliah (Julia). Julia was amazing (we had a very "macho" guy with us and she was right back at him with humor-very quick). She also works as a guide elsewhere including Nepal. She's fluent, honest,very knowledable, punctual and has moxy! She had no problem keeping street vendors away from us. We also have nothing but accolades for Ephesus Tours. We began emailing back and forth right away (no dumb question went unanswered). The van was large (8 in our party and still room left over). The driver spoke no english but was very pleasant. For those that were too tired to see a site, he had no problem leaving the van run for the air conditioner. Would we use them again? ABSOLUTLEY!!!!! Hope this helped, Happy Cruising-Travelbugs

 

Hey Travelbugs,

 

What was the price per person for this tour? Would love to hear the details of the tour - what you saw, where you ate, etc.

 

Thanks!

 

Monica

[travelbugs]

Monica, I have to get ready for work but this is what we were sent when we inquired. And of course they will work with what ever you ask (except Pammukkale-I wanted to do one of these AND Pammukkale, Denizhan laughed at me. After looking at a map I found out why! Take care, have a great day!

 

KUSADASI - No:1

Halfday (4hours) Tour of Ephesus - Ancient Ephesus- Meet with your guide in front of the Kusadasi port passenger Terminal. After a short walk and visit to Caravanserail. Drive to the country. See the Temple of Artemis, one of the wonders of the ancient world. Then a visit to Ephesus is a visit to one of the best preserved ancient cities in the world. Ancient historians believed that Ephesus was founded by the Amazons, but now, it is believed to have been the Hittite city of Apasa. With your guide, you will see the Odeion, where the advisory council held its meetings and the Baths, as well as many other columns, monuments and ruins, including the Celsus Library. En-route to Kusadasi enjoy the scenery or shopping opportunity.

KUSADASI - No:2

Fullday (8hours) Tour of Ephesus - Christian Ephesus- Meet with your guide in front of the Kusadasi port passenger Terminal. After a short walk and visit to Caravanserail. Drive to the country. Your first stop on this fascinating tour is at the House of the Virgin Mary. Then, you will continue on to visit ancient Ephesus, one of the most magnificent and best-preserved ancient sites in the world. See the Odeion, the Market Basilica, Curetes Street, Bath, Celsus Library, Marble Street and the Great Theatre with a seating capacity of 25,000 people. After lunch visit the Basilica of St John and see the Temple of Artemis, one of the wonders of the ancient world. En-route to Kusadasi enjoy the scenery or shopping opportunity.

KUSADASI - No:3

Fullday (8hours) Priene, Miletus and Didyma - Ancient Sites- Meet with your guide in front of the Kusadasi port passenger Terminal. Following the departure from the pier, the first stop will be Priene. The ancient harbor city of Priene probably changed its location when the silt of the Meander River threatened to bury it. Now it is nearly 16km away from the sea. The original place of the city has never been found but it was probably a peninsula with two harbors. Priene was laid out on a Hippodamian system of grid plan at the foot of a spectacular cliff on mount Mycale and contained many famous examples of Hellenistic art and architecture. All the streets intersect at right angles. Next visit Miletus, an ancient city located near the present Akköy at the mouth of the Buyuk Menderes (meander) River. Miletus owed its importance to its position on the trade routes. It was one of the largest cities in Anatolia. Highly prosperous, it founded many colonies and was the home of the ancient philosophers Anaximander, Anaximenes and Thales, the town planner Hippodamus and architect Isidorus. Having a prominent position, Miletus became the most important port in this area and it was the most active member of the twelve cities of the Ionian Confederation. From the 7th century B.C. the city has been controlled in turn by the Persians, Roman and Seljuk Turks. The last visit in the tour will be Didyma. The world Didyma meant "twins" and it was associated by some as being the meeting place of Zeus and Leto to have their twins Apollo and Artemis. Didyma was famed as a prophecy center dedicated to Apollo, which served a similar purpose as the Delphi of Anatolia. It was not a city but a sanctuary linked to Miletus by Milesians with a 12 mile sacred road.

KUSADASI - No:4

Fullday (8hours) Ephesus & Villages - Meet with your guide in front of the Kusadasi port passenger Terminal. Depart the pier for the 30 minute drive to the magnificent site of Ephesus. Ephesus is the best preserved of the Greek/Roman cities in Anatolia and while you are visiting the ancient ruins of this magnificent site and your guide will bring them alive. You will see the beautiful Celsus Library, restored and reconstructed according to its original form by the architect Friedmund Hueber in the 1970's. The most spectacular building of Ephesus is the Grand Theater, built during the Hellenistic age to hold 24,000 spectators. It is there that St. Paul preached. Opposite the Temple of Hadrian are the Hill Houses, homes of Ephesus' wealthy citizens. The city was also the hometown of great philosopher Heraclitus. After a visit to Ephesus Antique Site, you will arrive at Sirince Village. This old Orthodox Village, 30 km from Kusadasi, was once "Cirkince"(ugly). Indeed its inhabitants gave this name on the purpose as they did not want to be bothered by foreigners nor to share the beauty of their village. Still after years, visitors understood that the village was not ugly and called it "Sirince" (pretty). Today the village is a perfect synthesis of Turkish-Greek culture as of the 1920's; after the Turkish Independence War, people exchange between Greek and Turks has occurred and all those typical Greek houses, though they kept their original outside characteristics, have received the local layout inside. At Sirince Village you will have chance of seeing the local life at a village and purchasing some small local souvenirs and handicrafts. The village is also famous for its local grape and other fruit wines. During the lunch, mingle with the local people of the village as you will be a guest in their house for a simple lunch of local specialties. Have a cup of traditional Turkish coffee at the main coffee house of the village. Depending on the number of guests, a gypsy woman telling fortune by looking at the coffee grains remaining in the cup, may be available. Your last stop will be the visit to the Archaeological Museum of Ephesus established in 1929. It displays very interesting and valuable finds from Ephesus.

 

 

KUSADASI - No:1 Halfday (4hours) : €125 (Total amount to be paid for your party of 6/8 pax)

KUSADASI - No:2 Fullday (8hours) : €200 (Total amount to be paid for your party of 6/8 pax)

[font=Trebuchet MS]KUSADASI - No:3 Fullday (8hours) : €230 (Total amount to be paid for your party of 6/8 pax)[/font]

KUSADASI - No:4 Fullday (8hours) : €210 (Total amount to be paid for your party of 6/8 pax)

 

Rate Covers:

- Safe, experienced, polite driver.

- A/C Brand new van.

- Transportation costs.

- Knowledgeable, informative, experienced English speaking guide.

 

Rate Does Not Cover:

- Entrance and parking fees to the sites.

 

 

As may see from the above rates there is rate diffrence for 6 or 8 people.

There is no prepayment required. The payment of the service will be collected by our guide at the end of the service. There is no cancellation fee at all. We take all the risk.

 

We bring these to your information.

 

Look forward to hearing from you.

 

Best Wishes,

 

Denizhan Pekoz

 

 

 

 

 

Good day, we are a party of six(possibly 8) and were wondering if your company is available for a tour of Kusadasi/Ephesus on Wednesday, May 17th, 2006? If you would please email with any information including your cancellation policy it would be most helpful. Many thanks, Laura

 

[sarahmac]

travelbugs -- thanks for the prompt info. This level of detail is very useful!!

 

Sarah

[Mike&Lynette]

What is Ephesus Tours web address? I have been looking at **** and the prices look really good but I would like to compare what they offer (including rates) to another company.

 

Lynette

[drwong]

Was that Huliya the cat lady? She was fantastic, wasn't she!

 

We worked with Denizhan Pekoz ( of Ephesus Tours) last May. We were also given an english speaking guide named Huliah (Julia). Julia was amazing (we had a very "macho" guy with us and she was right back at him with humor-very quick). She also works as a guide elsewhere including Nepal. She's fluent, honest,very knowledable, punctual and has moxy! She had no problem keeping street vendors away from us.

[Compass Rose Monica]

Thanks for the information on the various tours. Would you email me the web site and email address?

 

Thanks!

 

Monica

[Compass Rose Monica]

I'm actually looking for the infomration on the tour company that Travelbugs used. Will still compare with both companies.

 

Thanks!

 

Monica

[NAS-KARR]

We did EKOL tours in both Istan & Kusa and give them *****(5).

 

We customized our tours and they followed it to a T.

The 2 female guides were also tops..

 

Ciao,

[PTC]

Drwong, yes Julia IS the cat lady and yes she is wonderful! The following sites seem to be encrypted so I will type them out and you can replace all of the stars with "ephesus tours" without quotations or a space between the two words. They can also be googled with no problems.

 

www.************.com

 

Denizhan's email- ************@yahoo.com

 

Travelbugs

 

Not encrypted but the company your trying to post about violated CC board rules.

See this post by Host Karen http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=7001678&postcount=19

[nosnibor]

Thanks for all the info on the various companies. I have read on a another board, that it was a waste of time going to Mary's House by Ephesus. Anyone with any thoughts on that?

[travelbugs]

PTC,

 

I had no idea they were CC code breakers! I'm at my laptop and I cannot even find my post that you quoted from! Was that deleted too(before you quoted it)? Oh well, like I said before, they can be googled. I think anyone that can find their way to this sight can easily find their way Ephesus Tours. Would I use them again, knowing they were CC code breakers? ABSOLUTELY!!! Travelbugs

[Miata6]

Thanks for all the info on the various companies. I have read on a another board, that it was a waste of time going to Mary's House by Ephesus. Anyone with any thoughts on that?

 

It is very tiny and its provenance is questionable. As part of our general Ephesus tour last year, it was OK, but I wouldn't specify it as a destination of an itinerary. All of the local sites pale in comparison to Ephesus, IMO.