Customer reviews page:72

As I was looking for tours in Ephesus, I read the Trip Advisor reviews and Ephesus Tours was right up there. My mom needed a wheelchair and we were able to secure one. The one we had got a flat tire and our guide made arrangements to get us another one...great service! Banu not only was knowledgeable and helpful, she was also warm and professional. From the sights to the lunch, to helping my brother secure a great deal on carpet, to recommending places to shop at, to getting us to the boat in time....many thanks to our driver too! Would highly recommend!

My friend & I arranged for an Ephesus private tour with Osman Tourism as part of our cruise. We were met at debarkation by our guide, Selda Akyigit. She was very personable and knowledgeable and we thoroughly enjoyed our day. We saw Ephesus and the Terrace Houses first and got there as it was opening. That was great for two reasons - avoided the heat of the day and the crowds. We then went to the House of the Virgin Mary, St Johns Basilica, Artemis' Temple and then lunch with a tour of a rug facility. The presentation was informative and there was no pressure to buy. Beautiful rugs. We ended with a quick tour of the museum and then back to the ship. Selda was organized, timely and I would recommend anyone using this group.

We booked with Ephesus Tours online, and our guide, Gonca, met us at the terminal exit. Gonca is friendly, funny, and very smart, and she was wonderful to our family. She was also much more knowledgable about the actual history of Ephesus than our cruise ship tour guide from a few years ago. (No, there's NOT a secret tunnel between the library and a brothel, though this makes such a good story, Gonca explained, that many guides persist in telling it!) Don't miss the Terrace Houses in Ephesus. You'll watch archeologists busy at work revealing the magnificent mosaics and frescoes. Gonca and our wonderful driver took our party of nine to the House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus and the Terrace Houses, the Temple of Artemis, and then to a delicious free luncheon at a beautifully set outdoor table under a canopy, where we stayed perfectly dry despite a sudden rain. Our price for this fully-day tour was half of what Celebrity Cruises charged for the exact same excursion (except theirs was on a bus with a huge group vs. our personalized private experience). We had a magical day with Gonca and Ephesus Tours. One word of caution: on both the cruise ship tours and our private tour, the free lunch does come with a kind of price - you get an amazing carpet demonstration, complete with handling the silkworms, seeing how the thread is wound and dyed, then watching the weavers at their looms. It's absolutely fascinating, but of course, they would very much like for you to buy a carpet. We enjoyed choosing something special for our home, but if you DON'T want to buy, be sure you are ready to withstand a skilled and persuasive sales presentation!

On a cruise ship that was in Kusadasi for the day. My friend and I met our tour guide soon as we disembarked. I highly recommended this tour versus a excursion from the cruise ship. We spent 8 hours taking in all the history of the amazing city of Ephesus. Selda, our guide for the day was outstanding! She was very knowledgeable and a delight. We never felt rushed and she knew how to time visits to all the sights perfectly and how long to spend at each one. I can not say enough about what a great day we had. Definitely the highlight of our cruise ports.

Selda and her driver met us (2 couples) at our cruise ship in their Mercedes mini-van. For nine hours we were entertained, educated and befriended by this brilliant young lady. Ancient Ephesus came alive with Selda painting the historical and cultural back drop. The streets, temples, library and commercial buildings were stunning. What a privilege to watch workmen carefully piecing together an ancient mosaic in a magnificent terrace home. To know that St. Paul spoke in the huge ampitheater where we quietly contemplated, was humbling and thrilling at the same time.This ancient seaport complete with welcoming waterfront now is five miles from the sea. We were much less impressed by the alleged home/church of the Virgina Mary. Not much there and it seemed contrived somehow.Selda was born and raised in the Ephesus area and when we went to the carpet-making center she was warmly greeted by her many friends. Our lunch at tables on the center's large, grassy lawn was marvelous. Four courses of local food and some Turkish beer prepared us to observe the art of Turkish carpet making. The impressive demonstrations were only topped by learning that women from across the country-side came to the center to learn carpet weaving from master weavers, so they could weave carpets in their own homes as a cottage industry. And such beautiful carpets they are! After a stop at a ceramics factory and showroom we settled into our host's vehicle for a pleasant drive back to the ship. Selda shared several stories with us about her culture and her personal life that brought the entire day together for us. When we arrived at the ship we were all good friends who hated to end this perfect day with our perfect guide.

We completely enjoyed the day from start to finish. We were greeted by Selda and taken to our private, clean, comfortable, AC Van. We were treated like royalty and family at the same time. We were taken to the Ruins, Terrace Houses, the Virgin Mary's house, to ceramic, carpet factories, a leather outlet, lunch and more. All the while Selda gave us the history and interesting information in her personal and cheerful manner.

Our family of four had one day in Ephesus port and organised a tour with Ephesus tours. Arranging the tour via email was easy and our lovely guide Selda met us as we disembarked from our ship. She was interesting and informative and was great with our nine month and two year old. Our driver was great too and we felt very safe and comfortable in the minivan which was fitted with age appropriate car seats. We really enjoyed the various places we were taken to, particularly the Ephesus ruins, and had a great lunch. The tour was very reasonably priced, much cheaper than a similar tour we did of Athens which did not include entry fees as Ephesus tours did. We left the itenerary up to our guide, most of which was good, but would suggest skipping the jewellery factory shop. There was nothing interesting or particularly Turkish to see there. Thanks to Ephesus tours and particularly to Selda who made our visit to Ephesus interesting, comfortable and enjoyable for all four of us. Not an easy task with two young children!

We recently visited the ancient ruins of Ephesus, plus the Terrace Houses. We booked a private driver and tour guide through Ephesus Tours. Highly recommended. Our driver Hakam, though not bi-lingual, was very polite. Our English-speaking tour guide, Emre, was engaging, funny, and very knowledgeable. We were traveling with our 80+yr mom who needed to walk very slowly and stop often. Emre was very patient and sensitive to her limitations. The vehicle was spacious and very clean. After the tour of Ephesus, we had a nice outdoor Turkish lunch at a rug weaving school/factory. Though they would have loved to sell us a rug, there was no pressure or awkwardness when we politely declined. If you're going to Ephesus, you need a tour guide because there is virtually no signage. Bring an umbrella for the hot sun, and good walking shoes as the path is very uneven and 1+mile along ancient cobblestones. The fresh-squeezed orange juice at the end of the tour is fantastic.

My son just graduated from college and we took a 2 week trip of Greece and Turkey. We spent a few days on the Greek island of Samos as it is only a 90 minute ferry ride from Samos Town and it is a 2 hour ferry ride from Pythagoria.We heard that the "ruins" at Ephesus were well preserved and they are fantastic. I contacted a number of tour providers and liked that fact that Ephesus Tours used PayPal for a small $20 deposit as opposed to providing credit card information over the phone. They are also highly rated on TripAdvisor. Total cost for the tour was $75 USD per person. This included the tour, transport from the Port and back and lunch.The ferry from Samos brings you to the port in Turkey. There is a $20 per person visa upon arrival.Our guide Gonca Kizilhan met us as we exited Customs. Gonca had a comfortable bus for us and a driver. She is quite delightful. She is very knowledgeable and friendly. It was interesting to hear about her life, where her family came from in Turkey, her parents and siblings. A good introduction to life there. Her English is fine.She was able to personalize the trip as there were just 2 of us. We skipped the Virgin Mary's house as we are not religious and I understood that there is little to see there. We were dropped off right at the entrance, but after our ferry ride we took the opportunity to grab a snack at one of the many places at the entrance. As it was early in the season, the crowds were small. Gonca took us on the walking tour and if you haven't seen Ephesus, you are in for a treat! Gonca stopped at many spots and gave us the important information. It's quite a thrill to see.After the Ephesus tour we did a quick stop at the Temple of Artemis (an important site, but not much to see there). Then we went on to lunch at a beautiful place. The food was terrific and it was nice to relax and chat some more with Gonca. At the same location there is a rug store. I was concerned about getting a "hard sell" from the owner. However this was a great experience. We got to see the whole rug life cycle from silkworms, their cocoons, the weaving process and the final product. I never before understood how this worked before. And yes we were taken to a room where we were shown many carpets. These were gorgeous. The owner and staff were very friendly. They must have shown us 50 carpets of varying types (wool, silk etc) and sizes. We did not buy anything, but they were very friendly.After that we were taken back to the port for our ferry ride back to Samos.One note: At least at this time of year the ferry to Ephesus leaves from Samos Town every day except Fridays. This surprised us as we stayed in Samos Town where we thought the ferry left every day. We had to scramble to get to Pythagoria by cab which cost 20 euros each way.

I decided to add a day in Ephesus on to the front end of a Turkey tour that had already been planned by a friend. Booking at About Ephesus was easy and fast; after I short exchange I had exactly the tour I wanted. Arriving solo in Izmir I was greeted by a courteous driver with a Mercedes who drove me to Kusadasi where I spent the night. My tour guide, Gonca Kizilhan, met me at my hotel promptly at 8 a.m. the next morning for my day-long tour. It was an incredible experience. Gonca is knowledgeable, energetic and enthusiastic. We moved easily through the relatively light (or so she said) crowd at Ancient Ephesus and spent plenty of time in the best areas including the Terrace Houses, Celsus Library and the Great Theatre. In fact at our first stop, Mary's house, I was the only tourist around; I am chalking this up to good planning on the part of Gonca and About Ephesus. Gonca allowed me to take in the sights at my own pace, including an impromptu short drive to Sirinice in the afternoon where we walked around the small town and I tasted excellent fruit wine. Even as a frequent an avid traveler, I can honestly say this was one of the best experiences I have had while traveling; thanks goes to Gonca and About Ephesus.