Turksih Visa needed?

[Rdwhite1999]

Can anyone advise me if we need a Turkish visa to exit the ship in Kusadasi/Ephesus? While talking to my TA today they advised me that if we were planning to leave the ship to tour on our own that in addition to our passport we would need a Turkish visa. However, if you take one of the ship excursions you are covered under their blanket visa for the ship. Has anyone been recently that can confirm or deny this?

[Toronto Maple Leaf Fan]

We just returned from the Splendor of the Seas and we did a private tour in Ephesus. We did not need a visa or anything special. We just left the ship with our seapass and photo I.D. We used our driver's licenses as photo I.D. and our youngest child used his passport.

 

You will love Ephesus and I highly recomend a private tour vs. a ship excursion because you are not herded around in large groups. Ephesus is extremely busy. We ate at a local establishment which added to the experience.

 

Kim

[ddoc]

The ship gets the visas. Thedy taked your passports. You do need to pick a form and they collect it from you when you return to the ship.

We used Levent Solmaz--both in Ephesus and in Istanbul. What a great job he did.

[Rdwhite1999]

Thanks Kim for your reply. Can you please advise which tour company you used in Epheses?

[Albert Ross]

Can anyone advise me if we need a Turkish visa to exit the ship in Kusadasi/Ephesus? While talking to my TA today they advised me that if we were planning to leave the ship to tour on our own that in addition to our passport we would need a Turkish visa. However, if you take one of the ship excursions you are covered under their blanket visa for the ship. Has anyone been recently that can confirm or deny this?

Sorry - your T/A doesn't know what they are talking about I'm afraid.

 

"- Cruiseship passengers cruising in and out of Turkey and not exceeding 24 hours at each shore do not require a tourist visa.

 

http://www.turkishembassy.com/II/K/visa_requ.htm"

[Hlitner]

Unless Turkey has recently changed their Visa rules (unlikely) you do not need a visa unless you are spending overnight in Turkey. And, even when you do need a visa, there is no need to buy them in advance. Turkey sells their visas (its like a postage stamp) and entry points (including ports) and its just a matter of giving them the money (no hassles).

 

Hank

[trvlfan]

....

We used Levent Solmaz--both in Ephesus and in Istanbul. What a great job he did.

 

ddoc: Hi! We have also booked Levant for a tour in Istanbul, as well as Ephesus - based on CC recommendations - glad he is doing so well. Can you answer a few questions though (we have never used a private tour guide).

1- Do you tip Levant - and if so how much?

2- In Istanbul, I believe there will be a driver as well, do we tip just him - and again how much? Or do we tip Levant - and he distributes to the driver?

3- Our tours are all day, so obviously we will be stopping for lunch. Do we pay for his/their lunch?

4- Does he meet you right at the pier by the ship in Kasadusi? Is there a separate driver there as well? We are sailing on Regent's Voyager Oct. 4th.

 

And finally, what specific sights did you really enjoy the most during your tours of Ephesus and Istanbul? I know we can ask him to customize it - not sure if we should do that in advance, or just request it upon arrival....

 

And on the visa question: If we purchase the visa stamp at the airport when we arrive, can we pay in US$ or is it Euro$ - the Turkish Consulate webiste said $20 - but didn't specify.

[sea-explorer]

Sorry - your T/A doesn't know what they are talking about I'm afraid.

 

"- Cruiseship passengers cruising in and out of Turkey and not exceeding 24 hours at each shore do not require a tourist visa.

 

http://www.turkishembassy.com/II/K/visa_requ.htm"

 

Albert Ross has this exactly right. We were in Turkey this week & had two ports of call. The cruise line will give you a landing card when you leave the ship which will be your proof that you are travelling on a cruise ship & a visa is not required.

 

trvlfan, I'll have a go at answering some of your questions as we too were booked with Levent. I must admit though to feeling a little bruised at the moment. I booked last Sept/October to ensure the services of the guide we wanted from recommendations here on CC. However, prior to leaving I was informed that Levent would be able to be with us on Tuesday for Ephesus, but because of family matters involving his mother, he would need to organize another guide for us in Istanbul on the Wednesday. Things happen & I did of course give him the benefit of the doubt..until he let it slip when on our tour that he would be escorting a group of 12 to Ephesus on the day he had previously agreed to be our guide. There were also one or two little issues that left me feeling uncomfortable too, so I suppose I'm feeling a little 'raw' at the moment. I just feel as I was 'dumped' and all the previous careful planning had been somewhat wasted.

 

As for tips, you will be expected to tip the drivers for Ephesus and Istanbul seperately. I wouldn't presume to say how much.

 

We didn't stop for lunch at Ephesus, but our guide left us to have lunch alone in Istanbul.

 

Yes, he will meet you right at the port gates. He will have a seperate driver with him.

[Toronto Maple Leaf Fan]

In Ephesus we tried to book Levent but he was busy so he gave us his associate Ali. Ali is a retired English teacher and we enjoyed his company. We stopped for lunch at a local eatery and Ali ordered our food for us. At the end of the day, both Ali and the driver expected a tip.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Kim

 

We were at no time ever given any papers when we left the ship to be returned. We just needed our seapass card and photo I.D.

[Krazy4Kruisin']

ddoc: Hi! We have also booked Levant for a tour in Istanbul, as well as Ephesus - based on CC recommendations - glad he is doing so well. Can you answer a few questions though (we have never used a private tour guide).

1- Do you tip Levant - and if so how much?

2- In Istanbul, I believe there will be a driver as well, do we tip just him - and again how much? Or do we tip Levant - and he distributes to the driver?

3- Our tours are all day, so obviously we will be stopping for lunch. Do we pay for his/their lunch?

4- Does he meet you right at the pier by the ship in Kasadusi? Is there a separate driver there as well? We are sailing on Regent's Voyager Oct. 4th.

 

And finally, what specific sights did you really enjoy the most during your tours of Ephesus and Istanbul? I know we can ask him to customize it - not sure if we should do that in advance, or just request it upon arrival....

 

And on the visa question: If we purchase the visa stamp at the airport when we arrive, can we pay in US$ or is it Euro$ - the Turkish Consulate webiste said $20 - but didn't specify.

 

I'll try to answer most of your questions, as we also used Levent while in Ephesus.

1. There were 4 of us in our tour group, us and our 2 friends. We did not tip him extra. He owns his own tour company and it was pretty expensive to begin with. He does have to pay for the bus and the driver, but that cost is fixed, no matter if there are two or twelve in the bus.

2. We did tip the driver a little. Levant suggested $20 per couple.

3. We stopped at a great little restaurant, where Levant knows the owners. We offered to pay for his lunch, but he wouldn't allow it. For all we know, he gets his lunch free in exchange for bringing all his guests there.

4. He did meet us outside the ship. We had to walk a couple hundred yards to see him, but he held up a sign with our name on it. And in his email, he told me he would be the handsome Turk. ;)

5. We loved the ruins in Ephesus. Also the Terrace Houses, which are at the same location. It was great to actually hear what he had to say about everything, as opposed to the large groups touring from the ships where you strained to see and hear anything. We also went to a leather shop and a rug place, were we bought a beautiful silk rug. That was totally unexpected, as we had no intention of buying it, but my DH fell in love with it. And yes, you can ask him to customize it when you see him. We didn't want to see Mary's shrine.

Levent has a weird sense of humor, as you will see. If you are a prudish person, you might not appreciate his jokes. And he loves to feed all the cats along the way. He brought cat food and everytime he saw one, he left some food and water for it. He was educated in Florida, as a music major.

6. Not sure what you mean about a Visa stamp. As long as you don't spend the night in Turkey, and arrive/leave by ship the same day, you will not need a Visa. The cruise line takes care of it with a blanket visa for everyone.

 

Hope this helps.

[franu]

If you overnight on the ship, as we did in Istanbul, you do not need a visa.

Fran

[Rdwhite1999]

Thanks to everyone for their reply. I have tried to contact Levent twice by e-mails and he has not replied. Does he normally take a while to reply? I have read such wonderful comments about his tours here but now I am a little concerned since I cannot get a reply from him. Does someone have another e-mail address for him other than the one from his web site?

[Krazy4Kruisin']

Thanks to everyone for their reply. I have tried to contact Levent twice by e-mails and he has not replied. Does he normally take a while to reply? I have read such wonderful comments about his tours here but now I am a little concerned since I cannot get a reply from him. Does someone have another e-mail address for him other than the one from his web site?

 

He may be in another city doing a tour. When I initially contacted him, it also took a while for a response. When he did respond, he told me he was with a group in a different city from his hometown.

[hajekfam]

We used Kagan Kosagan for our tour guide in Kusadasi. He was wonderful - spoke perfect English and was very knowledgeable. He actually worked on the excavation of Ephesus. He tailored the tour to our preferences.

[trvlfan]

sparky1664, Kim (hockey fan!),Krazy4Kruisin': Thank you all for your informative answers. I see from his initial email to us (and yes, it took over a week for him to get back to us), that it appears he is not "guiding" us in Istanbul.

 

Sparky:I have heard him use the "sick mother" excuse from someone else as well :rolleyes:- I guess, it is his euphemism that he can make more money with a more recent and lucrative booking - but doesn't want to admit that. If there were other small issues we should be aware of, I would really like to be prepared. Like you, I plan way in advance, and very carefully, so even if it is bad news, I prefer to be forewarned, so as not to be disappointed and have something ruin the day. If you would rather not post publicly, could you email me at jr71@aol.com.

 

Once again, thanks all for the excellent feedback and tips!

Judy

[sea-explorer]

trvlfan I will send you an email, but just to clarify, we did have an excellent day with Levent at Ephesus, saw & did exactly what we wanted in the time we had available. Our replacement guide in Istanbul was a lovely lady, very enthusiastic & keen to share with us as much knowledge as possible.

 

Our first problem came when the Istanbul guide was late. Unfortunately my husband's 'phone was lost at the airport so we were unable to communicate. We wandered around the port entrances and car parks for 30-40 minutes thinking we would have to begin to make our own arrangements. The other uncomfortable issue was a misunderstanding over payment. Levent had asked that I settle in full with his colleague at the end of the two days, so of course I didn't take the cash off the ship with me in Ephesus. However, when we did eventually meet up with the guide in Istanbul, the first thing she mentionned was that we had left without paying. It was mentionned twice more, so as soon as we had finished at the blue mosque (our first place visited), we popped into a hotel where I could pay her. There was also some discrepency over the prices, the first I adjusted, but in the end I let the second one go.

[trvlfan]

trvlfan I will send you an email, but just to clarify, we did have an excellent day with Levent at Ephesus, saw & did exactly what we wanted in the time we had available. .

 

Sparky: Thank you for sharing -the good and not so good - it is useful to all of us to be prepared for the unexpected!

[sea-explorer]

You are very welcome.

 

Enjoy your cruise. :)