Most requestedPrivate Ephesus Tour with House of the Virgin Mary & Temple of Artemis
Ephesus · Virgin Mary · Temple of Artemis
- Approx. 4 hours
- Private · sized to your party
- Starbucks at Kuşadası cruise plaza
From$111/ person
View tourCruise excursion · All-inclusive
Private All-Inclusive Ephesus Tour with Turkish Lunch
One rate, one day, nothing else to think about: Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, the Temple of Artemis and a traditional Turkish lunch, everything inside the price.
- 5-6 hours, lunch included
- Starbucks at Kuşadası cruise plaza
No upfront paymentPay in cash or by card at the end of your tour.Risk-free booking · TÜRSAB #2290
TÜRSAB #2290Pay after your tourTripadvisor 4.7Google 4.9Guaranteed return to shipQR-coded skip-the-line tickets
Why cruise guests choose us
Why Cruise Guests Recommend Us
We are not the cheapest Ephesus tour, we are the calmest and most reliable one. Everything below is standard on every private tour, never an upsell.
- Pay after the tourNo deposit, no prepayment. You settle up at the end, in cash or by card.
- Private tour onlyYour party only, from two guests to a group of 44. We do not match parties, so the only people with you are the ones you arrived with.
- No compulsory shoppingNo carpet or jewellery stops. Your hours ashore stay at Ephesus.
- Licensed local guidesMinistry-licensed guides who live here, not a script read from a card.
- Easy port meeting pointMeet at the Starbucks in the port plaza, a two-minute walk from the gangway.
- Return-to-ship priorityThe day is timed to your ship, with a comfortable buffer before all aboard.
The short answer
The Private All-Inclusive Ephesus Tour is a 5-6 hour shore excursion from Kusadasi Cruise Port covering Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary and the Temple of Artemis, with the entrance fees and a traditional Turkish lunch inside the single per-person rate (USD 126 to 186 by group size, 2027). Nothing is paid before the tour and on-time return to your ship is guaranteed.
Overview
About this tour
This is our three-site classic, Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary and the Temple of Artemis, stretched to a calmer five-to-six-hour rhythm and completed with a traditional Turkish lunch at a family-run restaurant. All-inclusive here means genuinely inclusive: every entrance fee, held by your guide as skip-the-line QR-coded tickets, and a lunch of meze, grills, salads and seasonal dishes at a restaurant we have worked with for years, not a coach-park buffet. The unhurried timetable changes how the sites feel: Ephesus is walked downhill at your pace with time for the details group tours skip, and the House of the Virgin Mary gets stillness rather than a schedule.
Who this tour is for
Guests who dislike surprise extras and day-of decisions: everything is arranged and everything is paid in a single known rate, settled at the end. It suits travelers who want the full Ephesus experience without watching the clock, the extra hour over the standard tour goes into slower walking, longer stops and a proper sit-down meal, and families or groups who would rather share a Turkish table than hunt for food near the port.
Itinerary
Step by step
Times depend on your ship's arrival or your preferred start. Tell us in the booking form and we time everything around it.
- 01
Meet at Starbucks, Kuşadası port plaza
Your guide waits with a small named sign, at the time you choose.
- 02
Ephesus Ancient City, at leisure
Twenty minutes from the port, entered by the upper gate, walked downhill for a leisurely two hours or more.
- 03
Traditional Turkish lunch
Meze, grills, salads and seasonal dishes at a family-run restaurant near the site.
- 04
House of the Virgin Mary
Up Mount Koressos in the early afternoon, when the shrine is quieter.
- 05
Temple of Artemis
A stop at the Seven Wonders site on the descent.
- 06
Return to Kuşadası port
Back with a comfortable margin before departure.
The handoff, illustrated
How we meet you
Skip the exit-gate scramble. Walk through the shopping plaza, find your guide by name at Starbucks, then step into the private vehicle waiting outside.
Look for the sign with your name
Your guide carries a small printed card with your booking name. No squinting at a wall of signs at the exit gate, no asking strangers. You spot it the moment you arrive.
Fulya Tamer, waiting on the Starbucks terrace at Kuşadası port.
The walk, illustrated
Upper Gate in, Lower Gate out
Your private vehicle drops you at the top of Ephesus Ancient City and collects you at the bottom. About 1.5 kilometres of downhill walking, no climbing back.
Guest photos
Shared with us by our guests.
Photographs our guests sent back after their tours, published with their permission. Un-staged and un-retouched: this is what the day actually looks like.
30 October 2026: three guests off Enchanted Princess with our guide Zafer Korkmaz, on the right, at the Library of Celsus. Booked at the last minute, their private day from Kuşadası cruise port ran from the Starbucks at 09:30: Ephesus from the Upper Gate down to the Lower Gate from 10:00, the Temple of Artemis at 12:00, lunch in Selçuk, the House of the Virgin Mary at 13:45 and back at the ship around 15:00. 
30 October 2026: our guide Zafer Korkmaz, on the left, with two of his three Enchanted Princess guests at the bronze statue of the Virgin Mary, the last stop of their private day from Kuşadası cruise port before the ship at around 15:00. 
3 October 2026: five guests off Royal Caribbean Odyssey of the Seas at the House of the Virgin Mary with their guide Burçak Akdemir, fourth from left, on a private Ephesus, Virgin Mary and Artemis tour from Kuşadası cruise port guided in English. 
3 October 2026: our guide Burçak Akdemir takes a selfie with the Odyssey of the Seas guests at the spring below the House of the Virgin Mary, on a private Ephesus, Virgin Mary and Artemis tour from Kuşadası cruise port guided in English. 
2 October 2026: our guide Mehmet Tunalı takes a selfie with two guests off the Ritz-Carlton Evrima at the Library of Celsus, on a private biblical full-day tour from Kuşadası cruise port that took in the House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus from the Upper Gate to the Lower Gate, a traditional Turkish lunch, the Temple of Artemis and the Basilica of St John. 
9 September 2026: a birthday group of eight, ashore from Celebrity Xcel, at the Library of Celsus on a private day led by guide Celal Ceylan. 
13 August 2026: six guests off Celebrity Xcel at the facade under their sun umbrellas; on the all-inclusive private tour a traditional lunch follows this walk. 
18 July 2026: our guide Ebru Özkan and the private tour group at the top of Curetes Street, the Library of Celsus at the far end. 
Beside Arete, virtue personified, in her niche on the library. 
Look up: the carved coffers most visitors never notice. 
27 July 2026: four guests off the MSC Divina in front of the Celsus facade, on a private tour from the port. 
28 July 2026: our guide Serdar Atalan with the day's group at the Library of Celsus, well before lunch.
Our guides
24 licensed guides, 6 languages
- English 17
- Spanish 8
- Portuguese 3
- Russian 2
- Italian 1
- French 1
- Celal CeylanSpanish · EnglishLicence no. 11794
- Cihan YaşkayaRussianLicence no. 6313
- İbrahim PancarEnglishLicence no. 12874
- Nedret GüngörSpanish · Italian · PortugueseLicence no. 8861
- Mehmet TunalıEnglish · RussianLicence no. 6489
- Hakan CebeciSpanish · EnglishLicence no. 4049
What's included
- Licensed professional tour guide exclusively for your party
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with separate professional driver
- Traditional Turkish lunch at a family-run restaurant
- All entrance fees, held as skip-the-line QR-coded tickets
- Parking fees and local taxes
- Guaranteed on-time return to your ship
Not included
- Drinks at lunch
- Terrace Houses entrance (can be added on the day, approx. 30 extra minutes)
- Tips for guide and driver (optional)
Price by group size
Smaller groups, lower per-person price
Every vehicle below belongs to your group alone. You are never joined by another party, and the per-person rate falls as your own group grows. These are the 2027 rates. Children under 9 free; 9 and over pay the full rate.
| Group size | Per person | Private vehicle |
|---|---|---|
| 2–4 guests | $186 | 6-seat A/C van |
| 5–8 guests | $161 | 12-seat A/C minibus |
| 9–12 guests | $144 | 16-seat A/C minibus |
| 13–20 guests | $131 | 31-seat A/C midibus |
| 21–29 guests | $126 | 35-seat A/C coach |
| 30-44 guests | Special rate on request | |
Touring on or before 31 December 2026? Your day is charged at the 2026 rate: $101 to $149 per person by group size.
Rates are per person and include every entrance fee on the route. Every site in your programme is held by your guide as a skip-the-line QR-coded ticket, bought before you arrive. No hidden costs. What skip-the-line entry actually buys at the gate.
Pay only at the end · Cash or card · No deposit required · Rates reviewed November 2026
Where your hours ashore actually go
What the extra cost actually buys is not a better guide. It is about ninety minutes.
A coach excursion and a private day visit the same ruins. The difference is what happens between the ruins.
| Coach excursion, around 44 guests | Your private day | |
|---|---|---|
| Waiting at the pier for the coach to fill | 15 min | none |
| Comfort stop on the way (there are no toilets inside Ephesus) | 15 to 20 min | about 5 min |
| Head count and regrouping before the gate | 20 min | none |
| Keeping forty walkers together inside the site | 20 to 25 min | none |
| Free time and toilets at the Lower Gate | 20 to 25 min | about 5 min |
| Time spent waiting | 90 to 105 min | about 10 min |
Add the House of the Virgin Mary or the Terrace Houses and the regrouping cycle starts again at each stop, so the gap widens rather than closes.
Two honest notes. A coach day is not all waste: some guests genuinely want the free time at the Lower Gate, and a private tour still stops for coffee and a toilet. And these are our own timings from twenty-five years at this port, not a published study.
The point is simpler than the numbers. On a coach, the waiting is not yours to spend.
Common questions
About this specific tour.
Still unsure? WhatsApp +90 532 324 2489, we usually reply within 10 minutes during port hours.
Why book direct
An all-inclusive day only works if one team is answerable for all of it: sites, timing, restaurant, return. Booking direct gives you that team: same-day confirmation, no deposit, and the restaurant, guide and vehicle coordinated by the people you actually correspond with. Your day starts at a named sign at Starbucks inside the port shopping plaza.
Only if you choose to: drinks with lunch, the optional Terrace Houses ticket, souvenirs and tips. The rate itself already covers guide, vehicle, driver, parking, taxes, every entrance fee and the full lunch, which is exactly the point of this tour.
Yes. Turkish cuisine is naturally generous to vegetarians, much of the meze table is meat-free, and the restaurant prepares vegetarian, gluten-free and most allergy-aware meals with notice. Tell us when you book and it will be ready without discussion on the day.
Yes. Every stop is within 35 minutes of Kusadasi cruise port, the day is built backwards from your all-aboard time with a safety margin, and on-time return to the ship is guaranteed. Lunch length is the natural buffer; the guide adjusts it to your schedule.
Usually about even in money and far better in time. By the time a cheaper quote adds the entrance fees and a restaurant meal for your party, the difference disappears, and you have spent port time arranging it. Compare complete costs, not headline rates.
No. Your reservation is confirmed without pre-payment; you settle at the end of the tour in cash (USD, EUR, GBP, TL) or by Visa/Mastercard. If your ship cannot dock, you owe nothing.
This is our gentlest full itinerary: the schedule is deliberately loose, Ephesus is walked downhill, the mid-day meal breaks the day in two, and the vehicle waits close at every site. Mention any mobility needs when booking and the guide will fine-tune the route.
Yes. We are a fully TÜRSAB-licensed local operator (licence no. 2290), our guides carry official Ministry of Tourism licences, and our vehicles are commercially registered with third-party liability insurance.
Yes. Your guide carries QR-coded tickets for every site in your programme, bought before you arrive, so you walk straight through the gate while the queue is still forming.
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