Ephesus and Virgin Mary House Tour
About this activity
Highlights
- Explore ancient Ephesus ruins
- Marvel at the Temple of Artemis
- Visit the House of Virgin Mary
- Enjoy a traditional Turkish lunch
- Learn from expert local guides
Full description
Included / Excluded
- Guided tour of Ephesus Ruins
- Visit to the Temple of Artemis
- Lunch at a local restaurant
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Itinerary
According to your pick up time, meet your guide and start your full day tour.
If you booked the option with tickets, you don’t pay for the tickets. Located 6km to the north of the ruins of Ephesus, a church was built from the 6C AD to the top of the foundations of a house from 1C AD and it is declared by the church to be the final house where Mary spent her last days. Also, it is believed that the Assumption took place there on the 15th of August.
If you booked the option with tickets, you don’t pay for the tickets. An Archeological treasure, The best preserved classical city in Eastern Mediterranean. During the 1C AD Ephesus was the second largest city on the planet after Rome with more than 250,000 citizens. It was in the center of the known world and played the role of a gateway between the East and the West. With its giant harbor it was also the center of trading in antiquity. It was not only a rich commercial city but also the honeymoon place of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra. It is also home to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, Temple of Artemis. Ephesus is also so well preserved that, walking on the ancient streets among the beautiful monuments such as the third largest library of the ancient world or the largest roman theatre on the Asia continent, gives you the feeling of a time traveler
Pass by: Lunch. The tour guide will suggest a restaurant; if everyone agrees, lunch is added to the program.
was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its ancient cult dedicated to Artemis was very famous in antiquity and made Ephesus a much-visited pilgrimage place. There were a total of 127 ionic columns with a height of 19m. The temple is also considered to be the earliest bank of the ancient world
At the end of the tour we drive you back to you.
Important information
Know before you book
- Tour operates in English; check availability for other languages.
- Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
- Photography is allowed; please be respectful of local customs.
Know before you go
- Wear comfortable walking shoes for uneven terrain.
- Bring a hat and sunscreen to protect against the sun.
- Carry a bottle of water to stay hydrated.
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Accessibility
- Infant Seats Available
- Stroller Accessible
- Easy Public Transport
Good to know
- We GUARANTEE your timely return to the port
- The tour offers Group and Private Tour options, with or without tickets.
- Group Tour Option: This option usually has 8–10 participants. But, even if your group has 10+ people, you can still book. Groups are formed as passengers of the same ship.
- Private Tour Option: The tour wİll be provided only for your party with personal tour guide. Stay in the sites as much you wish, if there is any other site you want to visit, depending on time availability, it can be added to the program.
- The tour specialy designed for the cruise guests. Pick up and drop off only available from Kusadasi Port. The tour starting time will adjust according to your cruise dock and onboard times. We GUARANTEE your timely return to the Port.
- Your tour guide may suggest visiting places with handmade items, but it’s completely optional for the guests.
- Free entry for kids 8yr and below (take passport for children if any)
Traveler reviews
Disappointing Tour of Ephesus, House of Mary
Everyone is going to the same locations (House of Mary, Ephesus) so expect to wait to get to each site, then wait in line to go into a venue. The venues themselves are crowded and our guide had to try to maneuver around other tour groups at each of the stopping points. There were 3 cruise ships in port, so the port pickup was rather crowded and confusing. Our tour guide's English pronunciation was sometimes lacking - he was often hard to understand, although he was trying hard to be informative. The House of Mary is an impressive visit, but has to be very short due to crowds - especially if you wish to offer a prayer. Also, the tour vehicle, a Mercedes Sprinter van, could have been cleaner. The most disappointing part was having the "optional" lunch and carpet weaving "demonstration". The food was OK, nothing great. There was a minimal carpet demo, just a strong sales push by the owner. Lots of tours stop at the same location, so must be well known. Left us feeling uncomfortable and somewhat mislead. Given the choice, we should have opted out of these last two items. We paid the tour guide for the lunch after we had departed back for the cruise ship port (we paid for a bottle of water at the lunch stop), so we wonder if he paid them and we reimbursed him or if he pocketed the money.
Highly recommended
Yonet and Mimit are very professional and friendly. We learnt a lot of historical information of Turkey from Yonet and it really made our day! We also enjoyed the traditional Turkish lunch!
A most pleasant day
Yonet is very knowledgeable, personable and professional. It was a pleasure to spend the day with him. Tour itself is fascinating and an easy walk. Excellent lunch too!
Half day Ephesus
Very good day. Yonet was friendly and knowledgeable- he didn't try to sell us anything and didn't talk too much (some guides never stop talking and it's extremely annoying). The lunch was the best I've had yet. We were able to explore a little on our own without being pressured to leave. Would recommend!
Integrity?
Your guide took my husbands phone and wrote a 5 star review for himself without our knowledge. The tour was fine, but not 5 stars. He didn’t give that much info and I had to ask questions to get anything out of him a lot of the time. We were only 2 on the bus which was nice but I felt like he didn’t give us all that he should have because of it.