Customer reviews page:61

We found this tour company through TripAdvisor and before leaving for Europe they were very accommodating to our fluctuating group number (18 down to 16 and then back up to 18). Upon arriving in the port from our Royal Caribbean cruise, we were greeted by our tour guide with an air conditioned bus with plenty of room for our whole group. Our guide was Selda Akyigit who was wonderful! She was extremely knowledgeable about the sights, spoke great English and really did her best to make sure everyone was able to get the experience they wanted. Selda did a great job of altering the typical order based on the crowds and the heat, so we visited Ephesus first before heading to Mary's House and making several stops to see some sights and then ultimately ending with lunch.Lunch was included in the tour price (as were all of the sights) and consisted of a traditional Turkish meal and was delicious! After lunch we remained on site and were taken for a demonstration of how they make Turkish rugs. It was amazing to see how much work and time went into making these carpets (totally making the price seem more worth it!). The demonstration ended with a sales pitch, however they were understanding when we said we were not making a purchase today. (Although two couples in the group did)The tour began at approximately 7:30 and we were told it would be approximately 6 hours. We did not arrive back to port until after 3:30, so it made for a very long day.Overall, an excellent day! We would not hesitate to recommend this company, and we highly recommend Selda as a guide.

On the whole Ephesus is a fantastic place to visit but my tour was disappointing due to a rushed timeline and missing attraction. By email I was promised a full day tour of Ephesus including the Terrace Houses, Temple of Artemis and House of Virgin Mary with kusadasitours. On the day, I found that I had been booked me into another company's half day tour. Their trip, while being informative, was extremely rushed and also did not include House of Virgin Mary. Plus I was asked for more money than quoted, although to be fair, the tour guide had no idea what I had been quoted as it was another company. Loved Ephesus itself, its well worth any visit! The terrace houses are interesting and so its good to confirm that portion of the tour is included.

We organised a private tour with the About Ephesus Tours team to visit Ancient Ephesus from the port of Izmir. Our guide was knowledgeable and helpful giving us information as we four friends drove along in the comfort of a new Mercedes van. We toured the site at our own pace not confined to a large group. Later, yes we did stop at a rug factory on the way back. This was good as we intended to purchase a rug in Turkey. I am sure you can ask to miss this if your are not interested.

Private Tours are the very Best Way to Tour. Tijen was waiting right when we got off the ship. She spoke perfect English and answered all the questions that we had. She told us much of the information about Mother Mary's Home and the Ruins before we got to them...so that we could enjoy the experience without all the noise. After witnessing the Cruise Ship Bus Madness I was very glad we choose Ephesus Tours. This was my favorite Tour of the Trip! Thank you for Ephesus Tours, Tijen and our driver.

This tour was booked as a private tour from a cruise ship arrival for 18 people. Our contact was Levent Solmaz, who was subsequently our tour guide. From the onset, he was very responsive to our email requests and was on time for our pick up from the cruise ship.The day we spent with him was fabulous! Our tour included a tour of Ephesus, which was incredible, and it included the recently opened Terrace Houses! Levent is very knowledable and an excellent guide. He was flexible and our excursion included a privately catered turkish style lunch - which I must say was very good and enjoyed by all. I would highly recommend him to anyone who is interested!Kudasi/Turkey was on of the highlites of our trip and I attibute it to the tour Levent provided - thanks Levent - we had a great time! (Dave from Nevada)

After checking on-line reviews, we selected "About Ephesus" for our tour of Ephesus. Our guide, Ali Camurcu, was ready and waiting at Izmir Port with a luxury air conditioned vehicle. Our party of 4 had seats facing each other, and we were all delighted with the comfort and size of the vehicle/van; we also had a separate driver.Ali lost no time in sitting with us, inviting questions, and giving us details of the tour, and what we would see that day. He was interesting, informative, and extremely knowledgeable, we were made to feel at ease straight away. Upon arrival at Ephesus, Ali stayed with us as our Guide, explaining all the various areas as we reached them, along with lots of interesting details and information. We were amazed at how much information he volunteered, as we continued to all the places we visited that day. We also visited the Virgin Mary's House, which we thought was well worth seeing, and then had a traditional Turkish lunch in a very pleasant garden which we all enjoyed. Ali sat with us and shared the meal, after which we had a short visit to the Art Gallery to see how they made the carpets, right from the cocoons being placed in a vat and the silken threads being teased from them onto rollers to spin into silken thread. We were also shown two local ladies working on a carpet, and asked if one of us would like to try it. One loop in that carpet was woven by my friend, and she was thrilled about that. We did not find the visit an intrusion, but rather an experience that we all enjoyed, and it was not very long. We had booked a half day tour, but it was 4.15pm when we returned to our cruise ship (NCL Jade), we were all tired, but felt that the day had been well worth it, Ephesus was fantastic, (and we had seen all of it), the food good, the carpet factory well worth seeing and the drive in the vehicle sent for us a relaxing and enjoyable experience. A day well spent. We would definitely use "About Ephesus" again should we return and have no hesitation in recommending the company to future visitors.Regards to Ali and many thanks for a super day.Maureen, Dave and friends.

We booked a private tour with EPHESUS TOURS...rather than through the cruise line which is much more expensive. The tour was outstanding. Our Turkish guide, Ugur Yavuzturk, is a native of Ephesus who speaks English like a native born American. He was outgoing, friendly, interested in his guests, and extremely knowledgeable of the history of Ephesus. We enjoyed his company as well as his excellent service. Were we to return, we would ask for Ugur, again!

We were two couples from Oklahoma wanted to see Ephesus with someone who enjoyed showing us the many wonders of this amazing place. We were met at the pier by our driver and the most charming young guide, Gulcan, she was a delight. We were so impressed with Gulcan, she was extremely knowledgeable of the history of each of the sites we visited and of her country. After visiting The House of Mary, we drove to the historic ruins at the city of Ephesus. We saw all the things on our wish list, plus things we did even know about. We left the ruins and went to a carpet factory and saw firsthand how the carpets are hand tied. Then we had lunch, in a lovely garden setting, featuring traditional Turkish dishes, delicious! On our way back to Kusadasi we stopped in a pottery shop and saw how the ceramic items are handmade. We were very pleased with everything the tour included. We had such a wonderful experience, and would highly recommend Ephesus Tours. A private tour is so much better and less expensive than any group tour the cruise ships offer.

I had selected Ephesus Tours based on the reviews in trip advisor and the professionalism of their website. I don't think I could have made a better choice. Booking in advance was painless and all questions and emails were answered promptly.Arzu, our guide, picked us up at our hotel and was absolutely delightful. She was kowledgeable about the history of the sites and also enlighted us about modern Turkish culture. She was extremely amenable even when our group wanted to linger a little longer at certain sites or shops, truly a personalized experience. We ate lunch at a peaceful little coop and had ample time to enjoy the food and company and even got to try Raki.Although it is debatable among our group of friends which site was the highlight of our visit, mine was the Virgin Mary's house, or Meryamana.

overall we were happy with the booking. guide ...selnek?, was personable and very knowledgeable. very nice vehicle and the cost was reasonable. only dislike was that we were told we had to go to the rug factory tour despite our reluctance to do so.....interesting watching the rug making process however they then take you into a room and hard sell you. I don't like that and it soured that segment of the day for us. the lunch at the rug factory is good and you eat in a garden setting. I would give a five star but for the hard sell.......use this company...they are very professional however if you don't want the rug factory let them know before you book....I think the free lunch the factory provides is a major determining factor why they go there.....