Day Trip to Ephesus from/to Istanbul with FLIGHT and LUNCH

We had a great time. The tour guide was wonderful and she really knew her stuff. However, didn’t really need to go to carpet factory and be pressured to make purchase. Time better spent elsewhere

Ephesus is worth a visit for its historical significance. The day visit from Istanbul was well planned and seamless. The price covered round trip airfare from Istanbul to Izmir, round trip pick up from the hotel to the airport. The tour provider communicated with clear instructions and was responsive. My pickup from the hotel was early and the driver arrived on time. Our tour guide, Ogun was on time to pick us up from the airport in Izmir and the drive to Ephesus was pleasant. I enjoyed the visit to the ruins but less so the House of Mary. The later seems overrated.

This experience was booked on the basis that it starts at 06:00. The day before the experience (after cancellation is possible) I received a text stating that the pick up time was 04:30. This took me to the domestic terminal by 05:30 for a 7am flight. So before booking consider whether you’re ok with a much earlier time than stated. We were met at Izmir and had a short wait while other people in the experience arrived. The 50 minute drive to Ephesus was uneventful. There are obviously a lot of things outside the control of the operator; queues and crowd sizes. The itinerary was followed; the ‘house’ of the Virgin Mary (long queue) the main Ephesus site (no queue, but some areas were very busy) the temple of Artemis, lunch, carpet making demonstration. Return to airport at 16:30 for 17:55 return flight. Upon return to Istanbul - delay with taxi back. So, overall as described. A tiring day, mostly due to the lack of notice as to how early the start would be.

Amazing experience with Funda. She was very knowledgeable and helped us go back in time and see life in Ephesus.

To see Ephesus is amazing as the site is pretty well preserved and they are working to restore more. This tour requires very early pickup in Istanbul. It is very well organized and we had a guide for just the two of us. Her name was Isik and she was very good. The amount of time we spent at the ruins was about 2 hours or maybe a bit longer. That is the highlight of the trip. There are other filler stops such as the Virgin Mary shrine and a local carpet store. It is along day for the amount of time at Ephesus. If you have time constraints then this is good trip to get you to Ephesus and back. I rated this 4/5 mostly because of the ratio of time at Ephesus vs the duration of the tour.

All aspects of a complicated day went seamlessly. Our guide was lively and well-informed and we had a fun day.

While the day was a bit rushed by necessity, and the cruise traffic and torrents of tourists in early May were nearly overwhelming -- still the site is remarkable enough to overlook all that -- add in an impressive 18 minute a visual presentation at the visitor center, two other area locations like the amazing remnants of the St. John Basilica and the Artemis site , and I would still do it again despite the cost -- the company was reliable and thorough with all of the logistics and I was impressed. Recommend.

The tour operator was very knowledgeable about the main tour stops. She explained the history of the house of Mary, the temple of Artemis, and ancient Ephesus. She was very friendly and pleasant. If we had kept to only the originally planned itinerary, it would have been great. Unfortunately, the other stops added outside the itinerary were not very appropriate to the historical tone of the tour. Our guide took us to two extra stops, a rug factory and a couture fashion house. Our tour guide didn’t fully explain what those activities would be like. The rug factory was all hand made and the examples and education in how to make rugs were cool. They were beautiful local rugs. However, there was extreme pressure to purchase a rug and poor attitude when we declined. Next there was a formal fancy fashion show of non-local expensive designer clothing. She did ask us if we wanted to go but didn’t fully explain what it would be like. The show felt very random and inappropriate. There was pressure to buy and it had nothing to do with local history. The history stops were great but the overall tour needs some adjustment. If there was going to be extra time outside of the tour, we should have spent the time on local interests or local cultural activities that didn’t pressure you to buy. Learning about the local history was great and the tour guide as excellent on that aspect of the tour.

Our guide, Medi, was informative and pleasant, though she certainly has a challenging task convincing guests to undertake the grueling 16-hour trek from Istanbul to Izmir. The Itinerary: Be prepared for an early start; my day began with a 4:00 AM wake-up call. The first stop at the House of the Virgin Mary felt like the weakest link—it seemed more like a tourist trap than a historical site, and I personally found it unimpressive. Ephesus: The ancient city itself was the highlight. While it was frustrating to find that an additional admission fee for the tour's centerpiece was bizarre, the history and ongoing restoration are genuinely exciting to witness. Our group opted out of the digital film, which allowed for a more undesired free time before our return flight. The "Sales Pitch": Prospective travelers should be aware of the "forced" shopping stops for rugs and leather. Given the sleep deprivation from such a long day, I found the high-pressure sales environment more frustrating than inviting. A Note on the Istanbul Airport: As an African American traveling with Asian counterparts, I was appalled by the behavior of several airport employees in Istanbul. The smirking and visible insensitivity toward my fellow travelers were unprofessional and offensive. In an international hub, diversity training should be mandatory.

Ephesus was a huge surprise and wasn't what I had expected. I thought after seeing Pompei it would be a let down. It wasn't! Our guide knew much about all the stops we made. Since we came from Istanbul, still suffering jet lag from our US flight, the detailed planning with early AM hotel pickup was awesome. The lunch was outstanding and food was tasty. The stop at the rug factory was informative, but a little high pressure to buy something. But, if you are in the market for a Turkish rug it's very cost effective. A person in our group got them down from $3600 USD to $1900 USD with free shipping to the US. She felt the same type rug in the US would be $7,000 USD.