Oceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises shore excursions from Kuşadası (Ephesus)
For Oceania guests calling at Kuşadası, or at İzmir, we run three private Ephesus days, each one a day Oceania guests booked with us in 2026: a morning back by 12:30, a full day with lunch in Selçuk and Şirince back by 15:45, and a day from İzmir cruise port. In 2027 Sirena, Nautica, Allura and Sonata call at Kuşadası.
In 2026 Oceania guests booked three quite different days with us, and those three days are the three programmes on this page: the Ephesus Morning, the full day with Şirince and the day from İzmir cruise port, each with its 2027 price and the Oceania calls it fits.
Ephesus is a 20-25 minute drive from where your ship berths in Kuşadası. Every tour is private: your own licensed guide, your own vehicle, your party alone, and no shopping stops unless you want them.
Three Oceania days, three programmes
Kuşadası · Half day, about 4 hours, no lunch
Ephesus Morning: Upper Gate to Lower Gate, Experience Museum and Artemis
Meet 08:30, Ephesus from the Upper Gate down to the Lower Gate, the Experience Museum and the Temple of Artemis, back at 12:30. No lunch.
USD 132 per person for 2 to 4 guests, 2027
See the Ephesus MorningKuşadası · Full day, about 7 hours 15 minutes, lunch included
Full Day: Ephesus, Terrace Houses, Virgin Mary, Artemis and Şirince, lunch included
Meet 08:30, Ephesus with the optional Terrace Houses, the Temple of Artemis, lunch in Selçuk, then the House of the Virgin Mary and Şirince, back at 15:45.
USD 169 per person for 2 to 4 guests, 2027
See the full day with Şirinceİzmir · About 6 hours 45 minutes, no lunch
Ephesus, House of the Virgin Mary and Artemis from İzmir cruise port
For sailings that dock at İzmir: met at the terminal at 08:00, the House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis, back about 14:45.
Price on request
See the day from İzmir
Oceania days we have run in 2026
Short morning for a couple, a full day with lunch and Şirince, and a 15-person group collected from İzmir: three different Oceania days, each planned around the ship’s own times.
The İzmir day is the one we would point to first. The group wrote to us about Ephesus, and the port on their ship documents read İzmir. We noticed it and built the day from the start around İzmir: a meeting point at the İzmir cruise terminal, the order they asked for and a return timed to the ship. We check your ship’s port and hours ourselves, and plan from whichever port your ticket shows.
Tuesday, 25 August 2026
Oceania Sirena, in port 08:00 to 18:00, at Kuşadası
An Australian couple. Ephesus Upper to Lower Gate, the Experience Museum and the Temple of Artemis, no lunch, 08:30 to 12:30.
Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Oceania Allura, in port 08:00 to 17:00, at Kuşadası
A couple. Ephesus with the Terrace Houses, the Temple of Artemis, lunch in Selçuk, the House of the Virgin Mary and Şirince, lunch and drinks included, 08:30 to 15:45.
Thursday, 24 September 2026
Oceania Nautica, at Kuşadası
Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary and the Temple of Artemis.
Monday, 28 September 2026
Oceania Allura, in port 07:00 to 16:00, at İzmir
A Brazilian group of 15 with a Portuguese-speaking guide. The House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus Upper to Lower Gate and the Temple of Artemis, no lunch, 08:00 to 14:45.
Oceania at Kuşadası in 2027
7 Oceania calls at Kuşadası between April and October 2027, each one checked on Oceania’s own voyage pages, with the day that fits its hours. Sailing from İzmir instead? See Ephesus from İzmir cruise port.
- Tuesday, 18 May 2027
Oceania Sirena
In port 07:00 to 17:00, Istanbul to Rome (SIR270515). We meet at 08:30; the Full Day with Şirince is back about 15:45.
Fits the Full Day with Şirince or the Ephesus Morning.
We ran the Ephesus Morning for Oceania Sirena guests in 2026.
- Friday, 4 June 2027
Oceania Sirena
In port 09:00 to 19:00, Istanbul to Venice (SIR270602). We meet at 09:30; the Full Day with Şirince is back about 16:45.
Fits the Full Day with Şirince or the Ephesus Morning.
We ran the Ephesus Morning for Oceania Sirena guests in 2026.
- Monday, 14 June 2027
Oceania Nautica
In port 07:00 to 16:00, Dubai to Istanbul (NAU270526). We meet at 08:30; the Ephesus Morning is back about 12:30.
Fits the Ephesus Morning; the ship sails before 17:00, too early for the full day.
- Sunday, 20 June 2027
Oceania Nautica
In port 10:00 to 17:00, Istanbul to Rome (NAU270616). We meet at 10:30; the Ephesus Morning is back about 14:30.
Fits the Ephesus Morning; the ship berths too late for the full day.
- Friday, 30 July 2027
Oceania Sirena
In port 08:00 to 18:00, Istanbul to Venice (SIR270728). We meet at 08:30; the Full Day with Şirince is back about 15:45.
Fits the Full Day with Şirince or the Ephesus Morning.
We ran the Ephesus Morning for Oceania Sirena guests in 2026.
- Saturday, 16 October 2027
Oceania Allura
In port 08:00 to 17:00, Athens to Rome (ALU271015). We meet at 08:30; the Full Day with Şirince is back about 15:45.
Fits the Full Day with Şirince or the Ephesus Morning.
- Saturday, 23 October 2027
Oceania Sonata
In port 07:00 to 16:00, Istanbul to Trieste (SON271021). We meet at 08:30; the Ephesus Morning is back about 12:30.
Fits the Ephesus Morning; the ship sails before 17:00, too early for the full day.
Cruise schedules can change; we check your ship’s time again before your day.
Source: Oceania Cruises voyage pages (oceaniacruises.com), read 21 October 2026. Where Oceania and CruiseMapper differ, Oceania is used.
Look Closer, Journey Deeper, Travel like an Insider
Why cruise passengers choose us
Five reasons guests book a private day with us instead of the excursion sold on board.
Award-winning, not just experienced
Eight TripAdvisor awards since 2013, from Certificate of Excellence to Travelers’ Choice, voted by real guests rather than marketing teams.
Exclusively your group
Your party only, from two guests to a group of forty. We do not match parties, so the only people with you are the ones you arrived with.
We work around your ship, not the other way
We build the day backwards from your all-aboard time and keep a comfortable buffer, so the return to the ship stays calm rather than a race.
Skip-the-line entry
Your guide carries QR-coded tickets for every site in your programme, bought before you arrive, so you walk straight through the gate. What that means at an Ephesus gate, and what it does not.
Your language, your pace
Guided in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, or Japanese by a licensed expert, never a memorised script.
Recognised by travellers
Eight TripAdvisor awards across a decade.
Certificate of Excellence six times between 2013 and 2019, then Travelers’ Choice in 2021 and 2023. Voted by real guests, not marketing teams.
Certificate of Excellence2013 to 2019The private experience
What every guest sailing with Oceania gets as standard, on every private tour.
- Private licensed guideYour own licensed local guide, never a coach group.
- Private vehicle, matched to your partyA private, air-conditioned vehicle sized to your group.
- Senior-friendly pacingA gentle pace with rests whenever your group needs them.
- Ship-aware return planningThe day is timed to your ship, with a comfortable buffer before all-aboard.
- No forced shoppingNo carpet or jewellery stops. Your hours ashore stay at Ephesus.
- All listed admissions includedClear, transparent pricing with the listed entries covered.
The details are the point
The Terrace Houses, then Şirince after lunch.
The two things Oceania guests ask for most: the frescoed Roman houses inside Ephesus, optional at 16 EUR per person in 2027, and an afternoon in Şirince after a sit-down lunch in Selçuk.
Who this is for
This page is for Oceania guests who chose their line for the destinations and the food, and want the shore day held to the same standard. It suits couples, small groups of friends and larger parties of up to 15, and returning visitors who have seen the highlights and now want the depth: the frescoed houses, the quieter corners, the local table.
If anyone in your party prefers a gentler pace, we enter at the Upper Gate and walk Ephesus downhill, with rests whenever you like.
Oceania guests at Ephesus
Oceania Nautica called at Kuşadası on Thursday 24 September 2026, and this party spent it on a private Ephesus, House of the Virgin Mary and Temple of Artemis day with our guide Mehmet Tunalı, who took the photograph as they rested below the library.
If you are sailing on Nautica, note the name: Oceania Cruises has announced that the ship will be reborn as Oceania Aurelia in late 2027. The private day from the port stays the same whichever name is on the bow.
Private Ephesus tours for your call
- Private Ephesus & Temple of ArtemisThe catalogue tour behind the Ephesus Morning.View tour
- Ephesus, Virgin Mary, Artemis & ŞirinceThe catalogue tour behind the Oceania full day, lunch in Selçuk included.View tour
Ephesus & House of the Virgin MaryA shorter pairing of the ancient city and the hillside shrine.View tour
Common questions
The houses most shore days skip, at your own pace.
Tours of Ephesus is an independent local operator and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Oceania.