Ephesus Port Tours — Local services in Kuşadası

Unprofessional experience. Giving one star only for the transportation which was spacious but even then, the AC did not work very well.

We trust your guides to tell us correct and important information about the places we visit. Our guide (Serdar) spoke slowly and almost seemed like he was pausing at various times to translate his own script in his head. At Ephesus, he pointed out a few details but mainly was just rattling off dates. In all of our past private tours (in Turkey as well), guides are more engaging and offer interesting information meaningful ways to connect with the history. At one point, he showed us a carved symbol and said it was the caduceus. For once I actually knew what it was and immediately knew that he had made a very common mistake in identifying the rod of Asclepius. This is a pretty basic fact of Greek mythology that has been misinterpreted by Westerners/foreigners. From then onwards, I mentally checked out of the tour. Props to my husband for engaging more with him and talking to him about other historical topics, but he also said this was forced.

It was definitely a hot day, but there’s still a level of professionalism and preparedness that we expect for 170 euros for 2 people. He was grabbing tissues and wiping sweat inside our van while facing us, and at one point lifted his shirt up in front of us to wipe sweat from his armpits.

Lastly, I informed the Ephesus Port Tour organizers that for religious reasons, we do not eat beef. Our guide claimed that he had no knowledge of this, and took us to a restaurant where the speciality was beef. Thankfully there was a VERY small chicken option, but they served both on the same plate. Given that in Turkey, people are very cautious about other religious dietary restrictions (pork), we felt pretty offended that our guide made no attempt to correct this. Further, the restaurant was outdoors in the heat and covered in mosquitoes/other bugs.

This company may have the monopoly of Ephesus tours, but it seems that they have ignored the standards of professionalism and respect. Would highly suggest finding...

A tour worth getting.

We only had a day to spare at Izmir and we were glad to have the day led by Ephesus Tours and particularly our guide, Isik. We were accompanied by our Suleiman, our driver, and the both made us feel at home right from the very first moment.

Isik was knowledgeable and very organised, everything you can ask for in a guide. Apart from explaining every site and historical event clearly, she was also patient to answer all our questions regarding Turkey at large. She was flexible in allocating the time we spent at different areas according to our requirements and thus, the entire tour was conducted at a pace that we were comfortable with.

One pleasant surprise was the lunch we had during the tour, at a quaint and charming place where the carpet showroom was. It was a small restaurant that catered only to private groups and we were seated in the garden on that cool Spring afternoon. In addition to that, the delicious and authentic traditional food served made the lunch by far the best meal we had in Turkey.

On the whole, my wife and I had an amazing time in our visit to Ephesus and it is no doubt down to the wonderful folks of...

My husband and I recently hired Ephesus Port Tours for a personal tour of Ephesus and the surrounding region. Our tour guide, Hakan, was amazing and showed us an absolutely fabulous day. We saw all of the sites listed in the tour description, but he also took us to the countryside where we experienced a fascinating tour of a rural rug factory and learned how Turkish carpets are made. (It was a no-pressure to buy tour and super interesting and enjoyable.) Next to the factory we enjoyed the most amazing and HUGE spread of Turkish food at the factory restaurant for only $10 per person. Hakan was very knowledgeable and friendly and was able to answer our many questions about the ancient city of Ephesus, the biblical connections, etc. This was one of 5 stops we made during a Mediterranean cruise and was, for me, a big highlight of the trip in large part thanks to Hakan and Ephesus Port Tours. I strongly...