Customer reviews page:75

The Ephesus and St. Mary's House Day Trip from Izmir was a marvelous and memorable one. My friend and I were picked up at our hotel in Izmir right on time and were actually the only ones in a luxury van for the whole day. Our tour guide was an excellent and very knowledgeable tour guide. He's very well versed in English and is a very experienced person. His knowledge of history and archeology of the region is superb. He went into great details about the history of Ephesus and St. Mary's House. He is a very courteous, patient and a friendly warm person. We visited a museum in Ephesus, went by St. John's church, and visited a local ceramic factory where they make nice art of ceramic plates and vases. We had a traditional delicious Turkish-style lunch at a carpet outlet. We were given a good history about Turkish carpets and how they are made. Overall, it was a very enriching, educational and cultural tour that we highly recommend to all tourists visiting Turkey. The money that we paid was minimal compared to the value of the whole tour. Thumbs up Ephesus Tours

We were on a Mediterranean cruise and stopped in Kusadasi, Turkey for only one day...we were so glad to have booked a private tour guide ahead of time to experience not only Ephesus but the entire area.We were in very good hands with Ertunga Ecir who greeted us right as we exited the cruise ship, had a private driver, and customized our day to our taste. He did a wonderful job of explaining the significance of Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis, took us to a very reasonably priced/authentic place for lunch, and then escorted us through a market in a local mountain town, Celcuk...what a lovely adventure in total comfort...Ertunga is a delight...very warm and friendly and easy to understand...he loves what he does and where he lives and helps others understand the area and want to return. He'll answer ANY question and accommodate any request...one of our travel mates was looking for a specific kind of tea kettle and he found a perfect place for her to shop and helped her pick the perfect one...amazing!We will visit Turkey again due to this wonderful experience....

Didn't know what to expect in Turkey - but we were really impressed with the professionalism and fun we had with Mine and the driver. They were there at the port terminal when we got off and we had a whirlwind day experiencing Ephesus. Mine was a wonderful tour guide and we couldn't believe our eyes at the site. Lunch in a locals restaurant was great fun. Sitting on low seats with pillows and a wool covered roof - great food and warm fire made for a memorable lunch. Price was great and compared to what our fellow cruise passengers said about the cruise sponsored excursions. we knew we had made a great decision to go with Ephesus Tours.

We were a group booked together. The tour guide was Mehmet and he gave us an excellent tour, answered questions and kept us entertained on the trip from the port to Ephesus. Would definitely recommend.

We wanted to acknowledge a marvelous tour guide on our travels in Ephesus. We used About Ephesus tours (having gotten the idea from Trip Advisor reviews) and our guide was a young woman named Elgin Gilmaz. She was extremely knowledgeable, able to speak about many different aspects of Ephesus and Turkey in general, pleasant, and able to vary the tour according to our wishes without difficulty. In addition to the popular sites, she took us to some very interesting factories where were able to watch the craftsmen and buy if we liked. However, there was no pressure to purchase. We wold love to return to Turkey and if we could have Elgin show us around the country, we definitely would! The driver she was with was also excellent but unfortunately at this time, I cannot recall his name. We found Turkey a fascinating country and will include it again in our travels.

We had a one-day stop in Ephesus during our Royal Caribbean cruise. Two weeks prior to the cruise my husband booked this one-day private tour for half the price of a ship tour. Our tour was great. Our guide, Emre Dasdemir, was a very pleasant young man well-spoken in English and very knowledgeable of the ruins. The tour included a quaint lunch at a small rural independently run school for young girls learning the trade of Turkish rug weaving. The owner demonstrated the whole process of Turkish rug making from the start -soaking the cocoons in warm water to soften the silk for removal and spinning, to making organic dyes to color the yarns, to the young girls sitting at large wooden frames weaving one strand at a time. It was a step back in time, a few centuries back. From there we were taken to a beautiful large showroom (as nice as anything you'd see in a major U.S. city) with rolls upon rolls of lovely Turkish carpets. It was a great experience. We were served Turkish tea while a team of 4 unrolled carpet after carpet for our viewing pleasure. I had not done my homework prior to the trip, and had no idea what an authentic Turkish carpet would cost in the states. Prior to the trip I had assumed I would buy a Turkish rug, but had assumed I would buy it in a busy market where I could compare prices and quality. I assumed wrong. The tour and stop at the school was before the stop at the market, and the market was several miles away. Once we left the school, there would be no return. There was no pressure at all to buy, we could have left at anytime, but.... I now have two authentic rugs proudly in my home....and still have no idea if it was a good price or not. Down the road I won't remember the emptiness of the wallet, I'll only treasure the memories and the beauty of the rugs. Despite being unprepared to purchase on the spot, it was a GREAT experience, and the store owner was really neat. Lots of photos of EVERYTHING, which is priceless as well. No regrets.

I thought I would write in and tell you about our recent experience at Ephesus with a company called ‘Ephesus Tours’ We were on an Eastern Mediterranean cruise aboard Queen Victoria which was due to arrive in Kusadasi on Wednesday 13 th October at 13.00pm and was only there until 18.30 I had read everything I could about Ephesus and tour companies mentioned in the forums and after three emails with immediate responses to each I agreed to take the Ephesus Tour & Terrace Houses with Ephesus Tours at a price for my wife and I of $88. On the cruise we met up with and became friends with a Canadian couple, David & Heather and they asked if it would be possible to join us on our Ephesus Tour. We were informed by email earlier that the Tour guide from ES would meet us at 13.15 once the ship had docked. We docked early and left the ship at 13.10 and the guide was already there and waiting for us. He introduced himself as Erme and after discussion it was agreed our private tour for two could now be for four. He escorted us to a modern air-conditioned minibus with very comfortable leather seats and introduced us to our driver. Once we were on the way he gave us a complimentary white cap for the sun with Ephesus Travel logo on and also a box of Turkish Delight to share, I thought this was an extra nice touch and was not expected. After chatting with Erme during the drive to Ephesus it became apparent that he was very knowledgeable, enjoyed his work immensely and had a great sense of humour. On arrival at Ephesus he invited us to use the toilet as we would be inside for a couple of hours and there were no toilet facilities. We found Ephesus awe inspiring and easily the best part of our cruise. Erme was extremely entertaining and also thoughtful in as much as giving us some private time to look at things ourselves as well as pointing out the best places for photographs and giving us ample time to take as many shots as we liked. He also told us about himself and how he had his own company Kusadasi Tours which he had sold to spend more time with his wife and in fact that he had proposed to her in the ‘Grand Arena’ at Ephesus He took us through Ephesus and the Terrace Houses and I cannot recommend him highly enough. This was by far the best tour my wife and I have ever had. The standard visit to a carpet factory/Leather Store was never mentioned and we were taken back to Kusadasi port after about three and a half hours. If you are ever in the area and wish to take an Ephesus Tour I guarantee that if you use Ephesus Tours you will not be disappointed and if you get Erme as your guide you have an added bonus David & Helena Wilson Durham UK

We just got back from a cruise that stopped in Turkey. We booked a private tour with About Ephesus Tours. It was great! Had a private van and tour guide. It was nice to be able to talk with the tour guide and find out more about life in Turkey.This is the way to go!

We were on a cruise that stopped for one day in Ephesus. Rather than do an expensive, touristy group tour, we chose "About Ephesus" for a private tour and were so glad we did. We were met right at the boat by Gonca Kizilhan, our private guide for the day. She was great - young, knew everything about Ephesus and spoke English well. We had our own minivan just for the two of us (plus Gonca and a driver).We toured the ruins, Sirince village and a carpet factory. It was awesome having a personal tour guide because you could go at your own pace. The ruins were cool - not amazing - but you have to visit if you're in Ephesus. Sirince was a cute town and there were no tourists when we were there. The best part was stopping at a local coffee house and driking sage tea that Gonca ordered for us (since my husband and I had bad colds). We had lunch at the carpet place, which was surpisingly authentic and good. The carpet display was also surprisingly impressive. Note to future travelers: If you have the slightest interest in buying a carpet, make sure you think about it before your trip to Turkey. We weren't planning on buying one, but the sales pitch is so good (more sage tea) that you suddenly realize you're buying one -- we, unfortunately, didn't have any idea what dimensions or color would work, so it wasn't the smartest purchase.All in all, About Ephesus (tours@ephesusbreeze.com) was great and Gonca was a perfect guide.

I contacted Osman Tourism (About Ephesus) about giving our party of four a private tour of ancient city of Ephesus including the Terrace Houses, the House of the Virgin Mary, St John's Basilica, and the Museum of Ephesus. When we arrived on our Holland America cruise ship, our guide and driver were waiting with a large air conditioned Mercedes van to pick us up. Murat spoke excellent English and gave us a wonderful tour of the above attractions. Lunch was included with a Turkish carpet demonstration. We loved the entire day with the excellent commentary provided along the way by our guide. I would recommend highly this agency to anyone planning a tour to Ephesus!