Private Ephesus, House of Virgin Mary, St John Basilica & Lunch
Description
Private Ephesus, The House of Virgin Mary, St John Basilica, Artemission temple with Lunch Private : Full Day tour of Ephesus, St. John Basilica Temple of Artemis, The House of Virgin Mary . Private Licenced tour guide, A/C transportation, parking fees and lunch are included in the price. Terrace houses can be added into the program , If requested , Bible Oriented Guide can be organised without any extra. Entrance fees are not included in this program. Our guide will have pre-paid tickets to the sites.Total entrance fees can be paid to our guide at the end of the tour in cash.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your tour guide will be ready at your hotel lobby in Kusadasi or at Kusadasi Cruise terminal at pre-arranged time. Our professional licenced tour guide will meet you at Kusadasi port with your name sign. After greetings, drive to The House of Virgin Mary for around 25 minutes.
Our first stop is The House of Virgin Mary is one of the pilgrimage center of Christians where Virgin Mary passed her recently time and died. Pope Paul VI visited the shrine in 1967, and ‘unofficially’ confirmed its authenticity. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI has visited this shrine After House of Virgin Mary.
We drive to Ephesus, famous in antiquity for its Temple of Artemis during the years of the Roman Empire, the Greek port of Ephesus became the greatest city in Asia Minor. You will start your Ephesus excursion at the upper Magnesia Gate, and work your way down through the city, ending near the ancient Harbor. Along the way you will see the Forum, the Odeon, the Library of Celsus, the Thermal Baths of Scolastika and the Great Theater, built in the Greek era and reconstructed in the Roman period. It has played host to programs as varied as Paul and his sermons to the Ephesians, to concerts by Sting, in part due to its remarkable acoustics. You will walk along the Arcadian Way, where once Mark Antony and Cleopatra rode in procession. You will hear stories of Alexander the Great, the Virgin Mary, and many other famous visitors who walked the same marble streets that you are walking.
You can visit Terrace Houses in Ephesus if you want to add into your program
Your private Ephesus excursion includes lunch at a nearby local restaurant. Delicious homemade Turkish lunch will be served. Either in Selcuk Köftecisi or in Bizim Ev Hanımeli Restaurant
After Lunch, we will visit The Basilica of St. John it is believed that the evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the region around Ephesus and buried in the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill.
Then Continue to visit Temple of Artemis which is one of the seven wonders of Ancient time. Returning back to your hotel / Cruise terminal in Kusadasi and the end of our tour.
Pass Through Caravanserail and Arrival to Kusadasi port and drop off . Hotel guests will be dropped off to their hotel. The end of our services
Drop-off at Kusadasi Cruise Port.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
The meeting time at Kusadasi port varies for each ship. Generally, the meeting time is 45-60 minutes after your ship arrives. The Kusadasi Port meeting time will be sent via email. Private Ephesus, The House of Virgin Mary, St John Basilica, Artemission temple with Lunch Pick up from Listed Hotel ( You have to stay in one of the listed hotels) and Kusadasi Cruise Terminal for cruise guests. Suggested pick up time will be given on your confirmation message.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- Full Day tour of Ephesus, St. John Basilica Temple of Artemis, The House of Virgin Mary . Private Licenced tour guide, A/C transportation, parking fees and lunch are included in the price.
Reviews(12)
Our private tour of Santorini was one of the absolute highlights of our trip! From the moment we met Christos, we felt like family. He was warm, welcoming, entertaining, and incredibly knowledgeable about Santorini, its history, culture, and beautiful villages. Christos gave us an amazing private tour that allowed us to see so much of the island. We enjoyed it so much that we extended our tour by an additional hour, and we are so glad we did! The extra time allowed us to explore even more of this spectacular destination and truly experience everything Santorini has to offer. One of our favorite stops was Santos Winery, where we relaxed with delicious local wines and a wonderful charcuterie board while taking in the breathtaking views of the caldera and sparkling water below. It was an unforgettable experience. Christos made this tour incredibly special, and his passion for Santorini was evident throughout the day. We cannot wait to return! We highly recommend booking a private tour when visiting Santorini. The extra cost is absolutely worth it—you get a much more personalized experience, your group stays together, and you can customize the day to your interests. Thank you to Kivotos of Aegean Travel for arranging such a fantastic experience and to Christos of Marryposa Royal Services for creating memories that will last a lifetime. Highly recommended!
First off the communication for pick up and details of what to expect were superb. We were met at the port and walked a couple of minutes outside of the port to our awaiting Mercedes van. It was very clean and stocked with water for our day. Our guide and driver headed straight for the House of Mary to beat the crowds and the mega buses. Thank goodness for that as we had no line at all! Aleyna gave us so much rich history of not only the land but also about Mary’s house and John the beloved disciple who brought her there. From there we went into ancient Ephesus through the upper gate. I totally suggest this as if you enter through the lower gate you miss all the history of the government area and latrines! She pointed out the perfect picture points and took them of us too. She already had our tickets so that we skipped the long lines for the city of Ephesus area as well. We paid her for that at the end as well as basilica of St John entrance fees. She explained different options for the day and any additional fees when we had entered the van. After an incredible lunch at Agora cafe we traveled to our last stop, the basilica of St John. Aleyna also gives biblical tours so we got a mix of both as we told her we were Christians and were very interested in what she could tell us. She almost felt like our daughter by days end and got her info for our friends who are traveling as well. Her English was perfect as she explained thousands of years of history and culture to us!!! There is no way we could have experienced Ephesus and enjoyed it without Aleyna’s expertise.
We had one day docked in Kusadasi on our cruise ship, and we wanted to see just about everything in Ephesus. This tour was the one of the very few on Viator that allowed total flexibility in scheduling the day's activities, without paying an exorbitant price. We spent the morning in Ephesus, including the Terrace Houses, with a stop at Mary's Church; then had a very good, included lunch; and in the afternoon visited the Ephesus Museum, the Basilica of St. John, and the site of the Temple of Artemis. The tour began with pickup from the cruise terminal at 8am, concluding with a drop-off at 3:30. The tour guide, Cenkis, was thoroughly knowledgeable of the history of Ephesus and the wider region. Though a Muslim himself, he also had a deep knowledge of the Christian history that took place in the area. He was a joy to spend the day with. Our driver, Ali, was professional and courteous; and the vehicle itself was quite comfortable and conducive to touring. All in all, this was a great way to see as much of Ephesus as possible in a day, and is highly recommended.
Olgu was a great tour guide, with lots of interesting information. We really enjoyed going away from the usual tourist trips. Lunch was included and was really good. The only downside was that it rained the whole day.
Melih. very knowledgeable. Went out of his way to relate culture and history as it related to what we were seeing. Tour was worth price- could have explained a bit better entrances weren’t covered but still was worth it. Was just the 2 of us, and we got to see way easier and more than could have in bigger group
Private tour arranged started with on time pickup from the cruise port! We were greeted by Oslo who was so friendly and we made way in an ultra clean private van, with great air conditioning and driver. We made it to all the major stops in Ephesus including a great lunch and saw even more than cruiseship excursions and returned to the ship well before everyone else! Recommended A+++++. Will definitely book again with this company next cruise to Ephesus!
Ceren was our tour guide and Mehmet was our driver. Pick-up was seamless and on time. The van was very comfortable and clean. Ceren was very knowledgeable about the history of Turkey and all the sites we visited. She was excellent about shaping our itinerary to spend time on the things she thought would be of the most interest to us. Surprisingly, lunch was wonderful! Ceren and Mehmet made our visit and time in Kusadasi wonderful and we highly recommend them for your cruise stop. Folks on our cruise were jealous of our private excursion and the money we saved over expensive, crowded bus tours.
We had a wonderful time visiting Mary’s house and the Ancient ruins of Ephesus. Our guide was terrific and very knowledgeable!
What an amazing tour and what an amazing person. Will to go out of his way. Would highly recommend Johcan was very knowledgeable and very will to share his knowledge
What an amazing day! Highly recommend this tour! ILGU is a fantastic guide. Her deep knowledge of ancient history and enthusiasm in sharing it with us made for an incredible experience. Thank you for the best day in Turkey a family can ask for!
