For Cruise Guests : Highlights of Ephesus Private Tour / Kusadasi Tours

Our guide Kaya was fantastic and super knowledgeable !! He picked up our party of three at the port’s entrance ( it’s a long walk from the ship!) and we went immediately to the Virgin Mary’s last home because he figured that the ship’s buses would go to Ephesus first and he was correct! Our driver charmed the security to let us drive closer to the entrance because one of our party uses a cane! That saved a lot of walking! Kaya gave us loads of historical info while we waited to get into the home. Once in we were overwhelmed with emotion knowing that the Virgin Mary lived there! Our next stop was Ephesus and our driver dropped us off at the top of the ruin area picking us up at the bottom. Kaya was so understanding with our member who was on a cane as the visit to the ruins is very challenging walking on marble stones on a dramatic decline! His knowledge of history and the site was totally mind-blowing! At our next and final stop- the Church of St. John and his burial site- our cane lady was able to stay with the van and driver while Kaya toured the site with the rest of our crew. We highly recommend this private tour. Make sure that you request Kaya as your guide!

What a fantastic day. We were met at the port by Uzay, our guide for the day, and taken to meet our transport - a very nice Mercedes minivan. Within just a few minutes, we were departing for Ephesus - well ahead of the masses taking the cruise ship tours. En route, Uzay explained the possible places we could visit and made sure that he was covering everything we had an interest to see. The site at Ephesus is spectacular in so many ways, but the knowledge that Uzay shared with us added so much to the experience. Getting an early start ahead of the masses, meant we were able to maximize our day and actually take some time to enjoy the amazingly well preserved (and restored) ruins. Highly recommend this private tour for the best way to experience Ephesus.

Hasan meet us at the port, took us to Mary's house, the ruins of Ephesus, the terrace houses and the temple of Artemis, all the while explaining the history and mythological origins of the sites. Afterwards we stopped at a government subsidized textile school and attached farm to table family restaurant (built to feed the students) for a delicious lunch. We couldn't have been happier with our visit to Kusadasi with Hasan. He speaks excellent English, is very polite and thoughtful and very knowledgeable about the area, where he was born and raised. Thanks Hasan!!