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Izmir Shore Excursion: Explore Ephesus and Virgin Mary House
4.6
19 Ratings
Izmir
When you’re in port in Izmir, don’t miss exploring the ancient ruins of Ephesus, the best-preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean. This Turkey shore excursion also includes a visit to the House of the Virgin Mary, where Mary spent her final days.
When you’re in port in Izmir, don’t miss exploring the ancient ruins of Ephesus, the best-preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean. This Turkey shore excursion also includes a visit to the House of the Virgin Mary, where Mary spent her final days.
Duration:
6 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Izmir - Your Izmir shore excursion starts as you make your way from the Izmir cruise port to Ephesus, stopping along the way at St Johns Basilica, built in honor of the saint, who wrote his gospel atop Ayasuluk Hill where the basilica is located. See the 4th-century tomb where his remains are said to be housed.
- Ancient City of Ephesus -…
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Izmir - Your Izmir shore excursion starts as you make your way from the Izmir cruise port to Ephesus, stopping along the way at St Johns Basilica, built in honor of the saint, who wrote his gospel atop Ayasuluk Hill where the basilica is located. See the 4th-century tomb where his remains are said to be housed.
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Ancient City of Ephesus - Continue to the ancient city of Ephesus, an important center for early Christianity. In the Book of Revelation, Ephesus was one of the seven churches addressed by Christ in a vision. It is here that you will find the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Your guide will also show you the Great Theatre, the Library of Celsus and many other temples during your Ephesus tour.
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Meryemana (The Virgin Mary’s House) - Enjoy a lunch of authentic Turkish cuisine, and then visit the House of the Virgin Mary, where she spent the last days of her life. Authenticated by Pope Paul VI in 1967, St Mary’s house is a place of pilgrimage for many believers.
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The Odeion - Ancient Theatre
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The Temple of Artemis - Temple of Artemis
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Efes Antik Kenti Tiyatrosu - Ancient Grand Theatre
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Selcuk - Selcuk
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Izmir - Worry-free Shore Excursion:
We will ensure your timely return to the Izmir port for this activity. In the rare event your ship has departed, we will arrange for transportation to the next port-of-call. If your ship is delayed and you are unable to attend this activity, your money will be refunded. See our terms and conditions for full details.
What's Included
- Cruise port pickup and drop-off included
- Expert local guide provided
- Lunch is included in the tour
- Comfortable in-vehicle air conditioning
- Worry-Free Shore Excursion Guarantee
- Cruise port pickup and drop-off included
- Expert local guide provided
- Lunch is included in the tour
- Comfortable in-vehicle air conditioning
- Worry-Free Shore Excursion Guarantee
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Gratuities
Additional Information
- In the event of any museum closures, an alternative similar museum will be visited
- At time of booking, Cruise Ship passengers must provide the following details under Special Requirements: Ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- Not recommended for children aged 4 and under
- Children 18 years and under must be accompanied by an adult
- In the event of any museum closures, an alternative similar museum will be visited
- At time of booking, Cruise Ship passengers must provide the following details under Special Requirements: Ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- Not recommended for children aged 4 and under
- Children 18 years and under must be accompanied by an adult
Location
Izmir
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.6
(19 Ratings)
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Grandtour01880221543
May 12, 2024
Exceptional Tour Guide - A wonderful tour of Ephesus and St Mary's house. Elif is an excellent tour guide who has in-depth knowledge of the history, culture and social life of Ephesus. Also my wife had an ankle ligament issue - hence Elif was very patient and took extra time not to rush the tour. We felt very comfortable and endeared by her honesty, integrity and friendliness. Thank you.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
U2853menatashaa
Feb 11, 2024
Amazing Ephesus tour! - I could not recommend this tour enough! We have an amazing day from start to finish. Our tour guide Zafer was phenomenal and really made sure our day was full of history and Turkish experiences. We got picked up from our hotel and ended up having a private tour just ourselves and Zafer. if you are looking for a tour which is great value for money and filled with amazing experiences including visiting Ephesus, Virgin Mary’s house, learning about the production of local Turkish carpets, authentic Turkish lunch and much more you should book this now. I will definitely use this company again and contact Zafer Bozoglu at +30 542 2676081 for any other future tours!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cano
Apr 21, 2015
The Tour guide spoke good English... - <p>The Tour guide spoke good English , was at the port on time and very professional . Would highly recommend it . The only thing is the a/c on the bus was not working well .</p>
Review provided by Viator
Dlyubich
Sep 18, 2014
This excursion was amazing. Visiting... - <p>This excursion was amazing. Visiting Ephesus wouldn't have been the same without our tour guide. She was able to give us so many insider bits that would have been overlooked otherwise. The lunch at the rug making school was incredible. Simply the best meal of our entire trip. The only negative would be after we watched the women work they took us into a room to sell us a rug. Showed us one for $450. My husband and I were really interested in purchasing one so one man took us to a back room showed us the one I was interested in and turned out to be $5000. Clearly out of our budget and not wanting to negotiate due to the simple fact that the rug was completely worth the money just out of our budget. So we tried to leave. The man kept trying to negotiate with us and wouldn't let us leave. Then he started getting hostile asking me why I was being so difficult etc. this put a slight damper on the whole experience, but as we were 1 of 3 other couples in the group it only happened to us so I'd assume this isn't common. Everything we saw made us want to go back. I'd definitely recommend this trip.</p>
Review provided by Viator
Laura_a
Feb 5, 2014
The itinery was as advertised and... - <p>The itinery was as advertised and there were only 4 of us on the tour. Our guide did an excellent job of explaining the sites. She was also informative about certain customs and nuances of Turkey and spoke very good English. Our lunch was also very good at our stopping place at Turkeman carpets ; however it was quite expensive because my wife Anne purshased handmade silk carpet !! Oh well, you can't take it with you!! All said, it was a greatly satisfying experience and we would definitely recommend it to anyone...Tom/Anne Winn</p>
Review provided by Viator
Russell
Aug 13, 2013
The best excursion we have done in a... - <p>The best excursion we have done in a long time. The guide was amazing, food was great, and all of the spots visited were worth seeing...although I don't know how we were able to do so much in just one day!!! We arrived in port and 2 people did not show so we waited an extra 20 mins for them. Our guide felt very bad that we had to leave and then later received a call from them...she made the right choice. This left us with a virtually private tour of 7 people for a much lower price then Carnival. The next port we scheduled a Carnival excursion and it was cancelled due to low interest...the "only" had 12 or 14 people according to the Carnival Excursions desk...I think I will be booking all excursions with Viator from now on.</p>
Review provided by Viator
Rita
Apr 30, 2013
This was a trip of a lifetime. Our... - <p>This was a trip of a lifetime. Our guide had a way of presenting historical, archeological and social information in a wonderful weave so that we could understand the times and places visited. She answered any questions we posed. The traditional Turkish meal served at noon between sites was excellent. We are still there in our minds.</p>
Review provided by Viator
Luis
May 14, 2014
The Tour was excellent. The House of... - <p>The Tour was excellent. The House of the Virgin Mary was impressive and Ephesus' ruins are really majestic. The guide was excellent in both places and very respectul of the first place, as she was not Catholic.<br/>
Forcing the tourists to go to the rugs' factory is of very poor taste. Even though it is called "voluntary" you are forced to go, hear the explanation and resist the factory's employees pressure to buy a rug.</p>
Review provided by Viator
Debra
May 9, 2014
This tour was rushed, we had to pick... - <p>This tour was rushed, we had to pick up someone from the airport after being picked up at the cruise port. The House of the Virgin Mary was amazing to walk through. Bring coins to make a donation to get candles to light also bring a pen and paper to write your prayer request and place on the wall. We then headed to Ephesus which was huge with a lot of history! If you have difficulty walking this is not the tour for you! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable was very rushed and would often walk off without us! We then spent about 20 min at the burial site of John the Baptist then off to lunch at Carpet Factory. The lunch was very good, drinks not included, then spent probably an hour learning about how handmade carpets are made then taken in for the sales pitch and given free drinks then. Be prepared for the sales pitch and beautiful carpets that keep on coming. Leaving to go back to the cruise ship halfway there we dropped off our guide then dropped one of our people at the airport and continued on.</p>
Review provided by Viator
Michael
May 21, 2013
The tour itself was very good, but... - <p>The tour itself was very good, but everything else was so-so. First of all, it took some time for our tour operator to pick up us from the port. She was not late, but all other tour operators arrived much earlier to greet their guests than she did. Second, this trip supposed to include lunch. We arrived to a farm (outdoor restaurant) where we were greeted by restaurant staff. Then, they started to bring family style dishes that we had to share with the rest of our group. During first 10 minutes or so, they asked what kind of drink we want with our lunch without bring us any menu, or explaining that drinks are not part of our lunch. Most of us asked for beer and wine. We had wine that was served in a small glass, and wine was not up to our taste. At the end of our lunch they requested 5 euro per each wine glass. It was outrages. First of all, they (restaurant staff or tour guide) had to tell us beforehand that wine and beer are not part of free lunch, secondary; they had to serve wine in real wine; show us wine bottle and allow testing of wine to at least one person. We all felt that both restaurant or tour operators ripped us off and our afternoon was somewhat spoiled.</p>
Review provided by Viator
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