Short answer: from 1 April 2027 the entrance fee for Ephesus is 45 EUR per person, up from 40 EUR in 2026. The Terrace Houses cost 16 EUR extra, St John's Basilica 7 EUR, the Ephesus Archaeological Museum 11 EUR. The Temple of Artemis remains free in 2027, as it was in 2026. The House of the Virgin Mary is not run by the Ministry and is priced in Turkish lira, currently 800 TL. A full cruise-day combination of Ephesus, the Terrace Houses and St John's comes to 68 EUR per person, about 79 USD. Children aged 8 and under enter free with proof of age.
These figures come from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's 2027 tariff sheet, published through TÜRSAB, the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies. We are a TÜRSAB member (licence 2290) and buy these tickets every day of the season, so this page will be updated the day anything changes.
The 2027 entrance fees at a glance
| Site | 2026 fee | 2027 fee | Change | About in USD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ephesus Ancient City (Digital Experience Museum included) | 40 EUR | 45 EUR | +5 EUR | 52 USD |
| Terrace Houses (separate ticket inside Ephesus) | 15 EUR | 16 EUR | +1 EUR | 19 USD |
| St John's Basilica (Ayasuluk Hill, Selçuk) | 6 EUR | 7 EUR | +1 EUR | 8 USD |
| Ephesus Archaeological Museum (Selçuk) | 10 EUR | 11 EUR | +1 EUR | 13 USD |
| House of the Virgin Mary | 800 TL | 800 TL until further notice | no change announced | about 15 EUR / 17 USD |
| Temple of Artemis | free | free, unchanged for 2027 | none | free |
USD figures are rounded at the rate in force at the time of writing (1 EUR = 1.1567 USD) and are there for orientation only; the gate charges in Turkish lira at the official daily rate. The Ministry sheet dates the new fees 1 April 2027; until then the 2026 fees apply.
What the Ephesus ticket includes
The 45 EUR Ephesus ticket covers the whole open-air site from the Upper Gate to the Lower Gate: Curetes Street, the Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre, the agoras, the Odeon and everything in between. Since 2025 it also includes the Ephesus Experience Museum at the Lower Gate, the immersive projection halls that show the city as it stood. The Ministry sheet lists the site as "Ephesus Archaeological Site with Digital Museum", so there is no second ticket for the museum. For foreign visitors the electronic audio guide is included in the price as well.
Two things are not included. The Terrace Houses, the roofed complex of Roman villas on the slope above Curetes Street, have their own turnstile and their own 16 EUR ticket. And the Ephesus Archaeological Museum in Selçuk town, where the original statues of Artemis and the finds from the Terrace Houses are kept, is a separate building with a separate 11 EUR ticket.
The 45 EUR ticket buys the whole open-air site. What it does not buy is the hour you reach it in.
Site by site
Ephesus Ancient City, 45 EUR
The main ticket. Plan on three hours inside for a proper visit, two if you walk straight through. On a private tour from Kuşadası port you enter at the Upper Gate and walk downhill, so the ticket is scanned once and the vehicle collects you at the bottom. Details of the site and the walking route are on our Ephesus Ancient City page.
Terrace Houses, 16 EUR
Worth it for most first-time visitors and for anyone visiting in summer, because the complex is roofed and cool. Frescoes, mosaics and marble-panelled rooms of the wealthiest families of the city, seen from glass walkways. Allow 30 to 40 minutes. Our guides keep Terrace Houses tickets ready so you can decide on the spot; only those who go in pay.
St John's Basilica, 7 EUR
On Ayasuluk Hill in Selçuk, ten minutes from Ephesus, over the traditional tomb of St John the Apostle. A 30-minute stop with a view across to the Temple of Artemis and the Selçuk castle. The Basilica of St John page explains what survives.
Ephesus Archaeological Museum, 11 EUR
The finds, not the ruins. Small, well laid out, and the only place to see the two Artemis statues and the Terrace Houses treasures. Fits a longer port day; on a four-hour half-day it is usually the stop that gives way.
House of the Virgin Mary, 800 TL
The one site on this list that is not a Ministry of Culture museum. The shrine on Bülbül Mountain is administered separately and charges its entrance in Turkish lira. The current fee is 800 TL per person, which is about 15 EUR at present rates, and no 2027 change has been announced. We will update this line the moment it changes. Practical details are on the House of the Virgin Mary page.
Temple of Artemis, free in 2027
One of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, a single re-erected column in a marshy field on the edge of Selçuk. No ticket, no turnstile, and no change for 2027: the site stays free of charge, as it has been. A 15-minute stop that every one of our programmes includes. See the Temple of Artemis page.
The one Seven Wonders site on the list with no ticket office at all, and none planned for 2027.
What a full day adds up to
| Combination | 2026 | 2027 | About in USD (2027) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ephesus only | 40 EUR | 45 EUR | 52 USD |
| Ephesus + Terrace Houses | 55 EUR | 61 EUR | 71 USD |
| Ephesus + Terrace Houses + St John's | 61 EUR | 68 EUR | 79 USD |
| Ephesus + Terrace Houses + St John's + Museum | 71 EUR | 79 EUR | 91 USD |
| Add the House of the Virgin Mary to any line | + 800 TL | + 800 TL | + about 17 USD |
Per person, adults and children aged 9 and over. The most common cruise-day programme, Ephesus with the Terrace Houses and the House of the Virgin Mary, therefore costs 61 EUR plus 800 TL in tickets before any transport or guiding.
The one gate on this page the Ministry does not set the price of.
Children, students and passes
Children aged 8 and under enter every site in the Ephesus area free of charge. From the age of 9 the full foreign-visitor fee applies; there is no youth or student rate for non-Turkish passports. The gate asks for proof of age, so carry the children's passports or ID cards on the day. A child without a document is charged the adult fee, and that is not a conversation you want at the turnstile with the vehicle waiting.
Müzekart, the discounted annual card, is for Turkish citizens and residents only. The Ministry's product for foreign visitors is the Museum Pass Türkiye, designed for multi-day itineraries across the country. On a single cruise day the three Selçuk tickets together come to 68 EUR, so compare that figure with the pass price before buying one.
How tickets work on a private tour from Kuşadası
On our tours you never queue at a ticket office. Entrance fees for the sites on your programme are included in the per-person rate, the guide holds pre-arranged QR tickets, and you pay for the whole day at the end of the tour, once you are back at the port. If a site is dropped on the day because the ship is late, the entrance fee for that site is not charged. The half-day Ephesus tour and every other programme on this site state which entrances are included; a full breakdown of what a private tour costs and where the money goes is in Ephesus tour cost from Kuşadası.
Visiting independently, you buy at the gate. Fees are set in euros and charged in lira at the official rate of the day; cards are accepted at the ticket offices.
Other 2027 fees near Kuşadası
For guests with a long port day or a second call at Kuşadası, the same tariff sheet gives the 2027 fees for the sites we combine with Ephesus on full-day programmes:
| Site | 2027 fee |
|---|---|
| Miletus (theatre and museum) | 7 EUR |
| Didyma, Temple of Apollo | 7 EUR |
| Priene | 5 EUR |
| Magnesia on the Maeander | 5 EUR |
| Aphrodisias | 13 EUR |
| Hierapolis and Pamukkale travertines | 35 EUR |
The Ephesus, Miletus and Didyma tour covers the first two with Ephesus in one long day. Pamukkale is listed for completeness; it is a three-hour drive each way and does not fit a cruise call.
Sources: Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 2027 museum and archaeological site tariff sheet (Cetvel I, ticket fees), as published by TÜRSAB; House of the Virgin Mary fee as charged at the shrine, September 2026. Last verified: 22 September 2026.