29 Oct 2018
My wife and I booked the Best of Ephesus tour for September 24 through Tours by Locals. Elif was very responsive and helpful in finalizing our tour plans, and Hasan was our tour guide. Hasan met us at the port terminal at 8:30 as arranged and led us on a short walk to our van with private driver. The van was very clean and comfortable. We first visited Mary's House and then traveled to Ephesus. We included the Terrace Houses in the tour, which was a good decision. The excavations of the Terrace Houses are impressive, as is all of Ephesus. Hasan was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and his English and familiarity with the U.S. was excellent. He shared insights into life in current Turkey, which we appreciated. Hasan respected my desire to avoid any carpet-making demonstration. He took us to a local Turkish restaurant for lunch, where we sampled typical Turkish foods-all good. After lunch, we visited the Temple of Artemis, which is unimpressive after the ruins of Ephesus, Athens, and Corinth. The tour lasted about 7 hours. We paid a little less for our private tour with Hasan than we would have for a group tour with our cruise ship, so it was a far superior value. You must see Ephesus, and you cannot go wrong booking a tour with Ephesus Port Tours.