Momddtravel2

Greetings,

I am writing to see if anyone has any recommendations for a private tour in Ephesus. We will be arriving on a cruise ship in July of 2014 (so plenty of time!) ... I would like a biblical emphasis on the tour - any suggestions are welcomes! There will be 3 of us.

ira

Hi Mom,

We were quite pleased with our daylong tour with http://www.kusadasi.biz/travel/ephesus-tours.html

The two of us had a guide and driver.

>I would like a biblical emphasis on the tour.<

Explain please.

amer_can

We very much liked out "hello Ephesus" tour.. More inclusi8ve than the one the ship offered and included lunch. 2 other couples from the ship were with us. You might want to check out Cruise Critic Roll Call for your ship..Someone may be setting up something or start your own..

Momddtravel2

Thank you!
Yes, I should spend some time on cruise critic...

Ira - I am interested in Paul & John - and the time each of them spent in Ephesus -& the Mother Mary http://www.sacred-destinations.com/t...-of-the-virgin http://www.ephesus.us/ephesus/stjohn.htm

ira

Hi Mom,

> I am interested in Paul & John ....<

The firm I suggested includes that.

nejat

My suggestion is
House of Virgin Mary
Ephesus Where Apostele Paul Preached and TheChurch of 3rd Council.
Basilicaof St John.
Nejat (Guide)

Momddtravel2

With the issues going on in Turkey, are there any concerns about traveling to Ephesus? My husband has expressed some concerns I haven't really been able to find anything specifically on Ephesus...

FHurdle

On our most recent Ephesus tour we were forced against our will to visit either a carpet shop or a leatherworking shop. The tour guide was very nice (and good) but said we had to go because it subsidized the trip. This was with Meander Travel.

Whatever tour company you use, be sure to get in writing that you will not be required to make any shopping stops.

samanta

I just want to share my experience in Ephesus trip. The first of all our guide was killing good with hes knowlidge about history and he was so interesting to listen ! I would say not so many guides would have big knowlidge in biblical tours, but our guide was just excellent ! we were getting in caves were usually tourists are not allowed to get in, for that guides need special licence. our group were delighted about our trip and knowlidge we got from our visit . I do not want to get commercial but read about the guide and company on tripadvisor link
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attract...ean_Coast.html
btw the transport was new and very comfortable and you can check there website for biblical tours.
have a nice trip to Turkey
susan and Andrew

nfldbeothuk

We booked with Ephesus Plus Tours for a full day, and specified we wanted to see the Virgin Mary house, St. John Basilica, ancient Ephesus including the Terrace Houses, and Temple of Artemis. Our guide was Leyla Basar, and she was excellent, friendly and informative. As well as being well-informed about Ephesus (we got "added on" to the end of an archaeologist's private tour in the Terrace Houses because he was one of her professors and recognized her--yay!), she also explained the Selcuk fortress and took us down the hill after the Basilica to see the 13th c. Isa Bey mosque. From conversation with her, apparently licensed guides have to pass a fairly stringent exam, so I would expect all the professional tour companies to have knowledgeable staff.
The carpet factory was part of our lunch hour (the restaurant is attached, basically, and they told us this when we booked), so we watched the silkworm/spinning process (which was interesting because we hadn't seen it before) then just said we weren't interested in buying, and left.
So while not cheap, it was one of the highlights of our cruise.

nfldbeothuk

Oh, and I forgot to say that she also spoke about the protests--they have not been an issue in that area. Everyone we spoke to was friendly, and Kusadasi seemed very modern to us.

CarrieAnn40

http://tinyurl.com/prr96eo Fodor's trip report by ShellD - scroll down to July 10th for her report of a trip to Ephesus whilst on a cruise. The day is in two parts so the second part is a few posts below the first one and there are lots of photos.

Shell's whole trip report is a really good read, btw