イスタンブールからエフェソスへの日帰り旅行（フライトとランチ付き）

The trip was organized in a very well structured and coordinated manner. From the start to the end everything was perfectly executed. The pickups, domestic flights, tours all were great. Ozz the tour guide also did his best in explaining the history behind the trip and taking care of the all twelve members of the group in every way. Very much impressed.

The good: The tour of Ephesus itself was phenomenal. My dad is a history junkie so this was particularly fascinating for him. A couple of suggestions: if you’re visiting during hot summer days, bring an umbrella/cooling towels. The guide mentioned there are multiple ambulances called for people suffering from heat stroke. I feel that if it is that common, this should be mentioned. Nothing regarding this was mentioned before heading out for the trip. I’d suggest if you’re traveling with any elderly people with heart conditions to be extremely mindful of these weather conditions. The bad: There was some miscommunication about how the entry tickets would be purchased. The tour company suggests you bring CASH to pay THEM for ticket entries. I specifically stated that I would prefer to pay with card for the tickets at the ticket kiosks instead. (They mark up the entry tickets) All was agreed upon but at the end I was sent a link to pay via credit card instead. Just created another headache and unexpected upcharge. The ugly: I’m writing this section because I wish so badly someone warned me about this part of the tour. We were taken to this weaving center around 2pm. Mind you, we’d been walking around in the hot sun for hours. I’d suggest lunch be served before this. The Heirloom Weaving Center has extremely aggressive salesmen. While I appreciate how they supposedly support their local women in obtaining certificates in weaving, I did not like how aggressive they were with asking for my credit card and following me around until I paid. They wouldn’t accept AMEX even though they could’ve. In their contract it states that if paid in AMEX, they’d legally have to charge in Turkish Lira. They clearly wanted to only charge in USD so told me to use visa instead. It was not until after paying and reading their contract (contract is given after paying) that I learned that their items are Nonrefundable. It’s absurd that for a large company like this to charge exorbitant prices and to now allow any returns. I’m kicking myself for not just backing out. It was an extremely high pressure environment especially when they take you to other rooms with only men surrounding you. Additionally I have just now learned that selling these rugs provides commissions to the tour guides and drivers. I felt having a trusted tour guide would’ve shielded us from being fleeced, but was quite the contrary of how things are run. Unfortunate end to this tour.

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.