Ephesus and Kuşadası: shore excursions, groups and tour stages

Ephesus was the capital of the Roman province of Asia and is walked along its original streets, downhill, on marble and almost without shade. That is why, whichever way the route runs, it is scheduled early: in the morning it is a pleasant visit and at midday in summer it is an ordeal. The points that set the pace:

• Ephesus, two to three hours. Entry is through the upper gate and the route descends: the Odeon and the agora, Curetes Street lined with columns and temples, the Library of Celsus with its two-storey façade and the Great Theatre, the largest-capacity space in the complex. The terrace houses are a separate ticket and add time; if they are of interest, it should be said at quotation.
• The House of the Virgin Mary. On the slope of Bülbüldağı, about seven kilometres from Selçuk and five or six from the upper gate of the site, with its own entrance. It usually goes before Ephesus, because the vehicle descends from there to the upper gate.
• Selçuk. The Basilica of St John and the site of the Temple of Artemis, a few minutes from the ruins; the basilica is the visit religious groups ask for.
• Şirince. The hill village next to Selçuk, as a lunch or afternoon stop on an itinerary stage, depending on the programme.

House of the Virgin, Ephesus and Selçuk with lunch take the day; Ephesus and the House of the Virgin alone, a long morning. It is the module we reuse in cruise calls and itineraries.

Kuşadası is a regular call for Eastern Mediterranean cruises and the port is in the town centre. From the quay, Ephesus is about 20 kilometres away, 25 to 30 minutes by road, which puts it within reach of a shore excursion with a margin.

One fact rules here that is in no guidebook: the all-aboard time. A cruise excursion is designed backwards from that time, with a margin, and that is why it does not admit the same itinerary as an itinerary visit. In practice:

• The module for a call is Ephesus plus the House of the Virgin Mary, with a licensed guide and a vehicle waiting at the port; Selçuk fits if the call is long.
• Pamukkale, with three hours of road each way, does not fit a one-day call.
• Pickup and return at the quay; the return time is fixed in the quote from the all-aboard time.

Cruise calls and private visits from Kuşadası or İzmir are handled case by case, with the ship date, the number of passengers and the all-aboard time, through the agents area.

In an itinerary, Ephesus always sits next to Pamukkale, about three hours by road, and the intermediate night is spent in Pamukkale, not in Selçuk or Kuşadası. This is how it sits in the published programmes (cards under Programmes that pass through here):

• Three-day module. The Ephesus and Pamukkale programme by air from Istanbul covers both sites in three days and two nights, with a licensed guide, and is the way to add the Aegean to an Istanbul stay.
• East to west. In the 10-day road itinerary the arrival is from Pamukkale, Ephesus and the House of the Virgin are visited and the night is in İzmir or Kuşadası before continuing to Bursa.
• With an outbound flight. In the 15-day grand journey the night is in Kuşadası, Ephesus is visited in the morning and in the afternoon the group flies from the Aegean to Şanlıurfa.
• Biblical programme. Ephesus is the first of the Seven Churches of Revelation and, with Smyrna, opens the nine-day programme that continues through Pergamon, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

The logic of the combination is in how Ephesus and Pamukkale combine in one route, and the trip length at which the Aegean starts to make sense, in how many days a Turkey itinerary needs.

For an agency building its own programme in the Aegean, we quote separately:

• Licensed guide by full or half day, in Spanish or English, for Ephesus, the House of the Virgin and Selçuk, with a vehicle with driver assigned by number of passengers.
• Transfers between İzmir airport (ADB), Selçuk, Kuşadası and the port, arrival and departure.
• Entrance tickets for Ephesus, the terrace houses and the House of the Virgin Mary, stand-alone or included in the programme. The amount of each ticket is set by the site and can change; in the published itineraries, each product page states whether the itinerary tickets are included or offered as a separate package.
• Hotels in Kuşadası, Selçuk or İzmir in the category the agency specifies.

All are quoted net. The description of each service is on ground services in Turkey.

If the stage is not done by road from Istanbul, the natural gateway to Ephesus is İzmir Adnan Menderes airport (ADB), about 18 km south of the city, large and with a domestic and international network. From there:

• Selçuk and Ephesus: about 75 km, around one hour.
• Kuşadası: about 85 km, also around one hour.
• Pamukkale: about three hours by road from Selçuk, the stretch that fixes the itinerary's intermediate night.

Choosing İzmir or Denizli as the airport decides where the route starts and, for a group, which visit comes before hotel check-in: entering through İzmir, Ephesus goes in the morning, transfer inland, night in Pamukkale and travertines at dawn. It is a decision taken when building the itinerary, not when buying the ticket.

Domestic routes, the weight-based baggage allowance and what happens when a flight changes schedule are in the guide to domestic flights in Turkey.

We book in the category the agency specifies (3-star, 4-star, 5-star, boutique or luxury) and propose the names in the quote, with the dates. The zone is chosen by format:

• Kuşadası is the usual base for itineraries and groups: a coastal town with larger-capacity hotels, half an hour from Ephesus and with the port in the centre.
• Selçuk sits at the foot of the site, with small hotels; it works for private programmes that want to enter Ephesus at opening time.
• İzmir suits when the night precedes an early flight from ADB or when the programme includes the city.

Sleeping in any of the three to visit Pamukkale the next day means leaving before dawn or reaching the travertines with the rest of the groups; that is why, in an itinerary, the intermediate night goes in Pamukkale.

The Aegean is the region of Turkey with the most marked season. Spring and autumn are the comfortable months: Ephesus is an outdoor visit, without shade and on marble that reflects the heat, and in July and August at midday it is genuinely uncomfortable, so the start time is moved well forward. From November to March the problem is the opposite: the ruins close early and the coast empties of services.

Hours and closures we check on the Ministry museum portal when fixing each file:

• Ephesus opens every day. On the summer timetable the lower gate is open from 08:00 to 19:00 and the upper gate from 08:00 to 18:00; in winter the hours are shorter. At the large sites the ticket office closes before the grounds, so the real last entry is well before the announced closing time.
• First day of each bayram: Ministry museums and sites open at 13:00. An itinerary that schedules Ephesus at nine in the morning that day stays at the gate.

A day chaining Pamukkale and Ephesus, which fits comfortably in June, does not fit in December. The bayram dates for the travel year and the full closures table are in the Turkey operating calendar.

Groups. One licensed guide per coach, entry through the upper gate and pickup at the lower gate so the route is not walked twice. Closed groups and series are quoted within 72 business hours; the format is on groups in Turkey. For religious groups, Ephesus and Smyrna open the themed Seven Churches programme, described on themed tours of Turkey.

Cruises. An excursion designed backwards from the all-aboard time, with the vehicle at the quay and a licensed guide, case by case.

MICE and incentives. Ephesus works as a cultural day inside an incentive based in İzmir or on the coast: transfer for the whole group, guided visit in the morning and lunch in Şirince or Kuşadası. What we coordinate is on MICE and incentives in Turkey.

Luxury and private. Entry at opening time, licensed guide and vehicle only for the passengers, terrace houses included in the visit and a hotel in Selçuk or Kuşadası according to the pace the client sets. The approach is on luxury travel in Turkey for advisors.