From Izmir: PRIVATE Best of Ephesus Tour (Skip-the-Line)
Description
Experience an unforgettable day in one of the world’s oldest cities during this PRİVATE tour of Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary from Izmir hotels or Izmir airport. After getting picked up from the hotel or airport., head for the famous House of the Virgin Mary, where the biblical figure is believed to have last lived. Next it’s off to the ancient city of Ephesus, a former Greco-Roman empire and the most well-preserved ancient city in the world. Wander around the Temple of Domitian, the Temple of Hadrian, the Agora and the Odeon, among other popular sites. Explore the Terrace Houses and the Arcadian. After Ephesus, you will visit the temple of artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. -Wander the historic city of Ephesus -See to Library of Celsus and Grand theatre -Explore the House of the Virgin Mary -Hear live commentary from your guide -Travel in comfort by air-conditioned vehicle -Includes private transportation from Izmir
Tour Options
Itinerary
House of Virgin Mary is the place where Mary may have spent her last days. Indeed, she may have come in the area together with Saint John. This place was offically declared a shrine of the Roman Catholic Church in 1986, and since then it has become a popular place of pilgrimage. Pope Paul VI visited shrine in 1967. The visit to the House (church) takes about 45 minutes and after our visit; there will be a 5 min drive to Ephesus.
Ephesus is an exceptional testimony to the cultural traditions of the Hellenistic, Roman Imperial and early Christian periods. Ephesus is an important site for Christianity; being one of the seven Churches of Revelation. Apostle Paul probably spent two and half years in Ephesus during his third missionary journey. In two hours, you will be exploring the city by walking on the marble streets, accompanied by our English speaking tour guide. In our tour, we will be seeing Odeon, State Agora, Prytaneion, Memmius Monument, Domatian Temple, Hercules Gate, Curetes Street, Hadrian Temple, Latriens. The visits to Private House (So-called brothel, ‘Terrace Houses’) is an optional visit for an extra 25 ₺/person and your guide should be informed before hand. After Terrace Houses, we will carry on with our exploration with Celsus Library, Marble Road, Commercial Agora, Great Theather, Arcadiane (Harbour Road).
Terrace Housesin Ephesus on the Curetes street belonged to prominent people of the city. They are dated back to 1C AD and some were inhabited up to 7C AD. They were luxirious private houses with mosaic floors, fountains and central heating.After the Terrace Houses, we will continue our tour withCelsus Library,Marble Road,Commercial Agora,GreatTheather, andArcadine (Harbour Road).
We will carry on with Temple of Artemis; which is one of the Seven Wonders of antiquity. In our visit, you will have a chance to take good photographs of Church of St. John and Mosque of Isa Bey from the best angle.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(21)
Ersan was a wonderful guide and tailored our day perfectly. He was knowledgeable and funny and brought Ephesus “to life” for us. We were thrilled.
We arrived from the cruise port and were fortunate to have Gul as our tour guide—she was fantastic! The skip-the-line access was a huge plus, especially with the long queues. Gul was incredibly knowledgeable and guided us through all the key highlights with great insight. We were a private group with older adults, and she was exceptionally patient and accommodating throughout the tour. I highly recommend this experience and our wonderful guide, Gul!
Gul was a fantastic guide who took us to some beautiful, historic and amazing places. Her knowledge of Ephesus and the history of the region was a pleasure to listen to. We would 100% recommend her and her tours!
We had a great tour with Isik, the best tour guide ever. Our family were well taken care of. Ephesus was amazing, must to see! The food at lunch was also great!
Our tour was amazing. Our tour guide Isik knows a lot of history, not only about Efeso but about Turkey history. Highly recommended.
Our tour guide, Mel, brought us around and give detail explanation on the places we visited. We are very happy with all the arrangement. We would recommend Mel as she caters whatever we requested. Thank you Mel!
We (2 couples - 4pax) were treated like VIPs from the moment we landed in Selcuk, we boarded a luxurious spacious Mercedes Benz van & were taken directly to Momma Mary's home & thereafter, to Ephesus to visit the Greek / Roman ruins with guided tour by the fluent English speaking guide Mel. Her explanation on every sight we saw was very detailed & clear that made us understand deeply the significance of every place we visited. Lunch was arranged at an outdoor countryside area under a large tree & we were served authentic home made grilled chicken which were marinated & cooked to perfection along with lentil soup & hot from the oven freshly made bread. Thereafter Mel took us to her local village called Serince a typical Turkish village where we saw beautiful houses in the sounds of the Muslim Adzan or call for prayers from the local mosque. This was a unique experience to blend with the locals. The next day we were off to Hierapolis to view to ruins of the Greek collumns & theartre....along the way we had a magnificent local Turkish lunch. Highly recommended.....get Mel if u want a thorough English speaking guide & good food.
The tour was very interesting. Our guide Mel was very friendly & knowledgeable providing us the history and lots of information of Ephesus & Hieropolis. She went above & beyond to ensure that we got what we requested. Overall it was a very fun tour
We got a private tour for our family. Guray was our tour guide. Very knowledgeable and amazing experience. Do not miss out! Worth every cent!
Gul was an awesome tour guide! We did a private tour of Ephesus and the Virgin Mary House with a pickup from our hotel in Şirince. Gul was very knowledgeable about both locations and loved the cats as much as we do which was lovely! It was nice to have a private guide so we could hear everything very well as she was talking directly to us. It’s nice to be able to ask as many questions as you would like without interrupting a group. I highly recommend this tour, it is definitely worth it!
