We are going to Ephesus on Celebrity Cruise in July. Want feedback- should we do the tour of the monuments and ruins or go to the countryside and city of Sirince to get a flavor of the locals, do wine tasting, etc?
Wondering if anyone has done both and can offer me opinion.

I did both in the same day, but how much time do you have?

We are in port from 8 until midnight. It just seems like going into the countryside after 5 p.m. doesn't make sense.

If you get an early start there's no reason you can't do both and you will not head out to the country at 5pm. Ephesus should not take more than 3-4 hours of your day, then you can head out the the country by one-ish. While at Ephesus don't miss the Terrace Houses. There's an extra charge but it's well worth it.

Ephesus will be unspeakably H-O-T in July. We were last there in early springtime, and the temp was over 90F. We "did" it in about two hours, then hopped in the car to do the countryside surrounding Eph...where it was still excessvely hot until later in the day..the hotel pool in Kushadesu (Kusadasi) was most welcome. You can also get in the Terrace Houses. Just be aware....don't leave hats or sunscreen on the ship.

Stu t.

Thank you everyone for your help. The shore excursions seem a bit mixed and we only have the one day and wish I could do everything. Thanks for the tip on the 'hot'. I actually lived in Turkey when I was very young and remember the heat. I'm hoping we can check the timeson the excursions and be able to do a little of this and a little of that... one excursion actually has us eating with a local family in their house. It sounds so devine to us.

Although Ephesus will be hot, it is one of the most impressive places we've ever been to. Many of the ruins are really well preserved. We went on an excursion from a cruise and were extremely glad we did. I would have been disappointed to miss it.

You can do it on your own just hire a card and driver, simply hire a cab at docks and\or there are lots of other agency's that offer tours 1/2 or full day for about 2/3rds of what ships offer. Go to Cruise Critic site click on your line and then cruise and you should see lots of feedback on tours, drivers etc.

I agree with P_M, visit the terraced houses at Ephesus.

I used Ekol Travel to make arrangements when I was there, they did a good job. You can arrange a private tour with them and avoid travelling in a large group on a Celebrity organzied shore excursion.

i knew I had come to the right place. Great suggestions. We are never opposed to our own excursions. Did that in Italy 3 years ago and made everyone around us jealous.

I've done those as a local guy. It's amazing, Sirince wine testing was beautiful