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
Private Ephesus, Temple of Artemis & Basilica of St. John Tour
Two worlds in four hours: the pagan city that worshipped Artemis, and the great church built over the tomb of the apostle who outlived it.
- Approx. 4 hours
- 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
This 4-hour private shore excursion from Kusadasi Cruise Port pairs Ephesus Ancient City with the Temple of Artemis and the Basilica of St. John, Emperor Justinian's 6th-century church over the apostle's tomb. USD 99 to 161 per person by group size with entrance fees included (2027 rates), no pre-payment, and guaranteed on-time return to your ship.
Overview
About this tour
This itinerary pairs Ephesus with the Basilica of St. John, raised in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian on the hill where St. John the Evangelist is believed to be buried, with the Temple of Artemis lying conveniently between the two. Few visitors realise how tightly these three sites are woven together, and a private licensed guide is what makes the thread visible: marble from the Temple of Artemis was reused in Justinian's basilica, and the apostle buried on the hill preached in the theatre you stand in an hour earlier. At the basilica, spacious, quiet and rarely busy, you get views across Selcuk to the Artemis site and the castle above.
Who this tour is for
Travelers drawn to early Christian history, guests who have already visited the House of the Virgin Mary on a previous call, and anyone who prefers a hilltop basilica with sweeping views over Selcuk to a mountain drive. Because all three sites sit within a few minutes of each other, the four hours feel generous rather than crowded: a good fit for standard cruise port calls.
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 holds a small sign with your name, at the time you choose.
- 02
Ephesus Ancient City, walked downhill
After the 20-25 minute drive to the upper gate you spend about two hours walking downhill through Ephesus.
- 03
Temple of Artemis
A short drive for a brief stop rich in context.
- 04
Basilica of St. John
Up the hill above Selcuk, where the pace relaxes and the views open up over the Ephesus plain.
- 05
Return to Kuşadası port
Back comfortably before your deadline.
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.
18 July 2026: our guide Ebru Özkan with the private tour group at the Temple of Artemis, the lone column and Ayasuluk Castle behind. 
Winter light on the Celsus facade, the quiet season’s own reward. 
Sophia, wisdom, still keeping her niche after eighteen centuries. 
Our guide Selçuk Uras reading the colonnaded street with his guest, column by column, on a private tour. 
27 July 2026: our guide Ebru Ergün Tek with her private tour group off MSC Divina where Curetes Street ends and the library comes into full view. 
28 July 2026: four guests off Celebrity Infinity below the library on a private tour, with our guide Serdar Atalan.
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
- 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
- Meals
- 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 | $161 | 6-seat A/C van |
| 5–8 guests | $136 | 12-seat A/C minibus |
| 9–12 guests | $124 | 16-seat A/C minibus |
| 13–20 guests | $111 | 31-seat A/C midibus |
| 21–29 guests | $99 | 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: $79 to $129 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
Booking direct means the people who confirm your tour are the people who run it: same-day confirmation of guide and vehicle, no deposit taken, and no reseller margin built into the rate. Our port meeting system, a named sign at Starbucks inside the shopping plaza, takes the uncertainty out of the first five minutes of your day.
Both run about four hours and cover Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis; the difference is the third site. Choose this one if St. John, Byzantine history or an open hilltop with views appeals to you; choose the Virgin Mary tour if the pilgrimage house on Mount Koressos matters more. Guests with five hours can combine all four sites on our longer itinerary.
Yes. All three sites lie within a 25-minute drive of Kusadasi cruise port, we build the day backwards from your all-aboard time with a safety margin, and on-time return is guaranteed.
Everything that runs the day: private licensed guide, air-conditioned vehicle, separate driver, parking, taxes and every entrance fee on the route. Agents quoting less almost always leave the entrance fees out; ask them the same question before comparing.
No. Your booking is confirmed without a deposit; you pay at the end of the tour in cash (USD, EUR, GBP, TL) or by Visa/Mastercard. If your ship cannot dock, you owe nothing.
No, it is the gentlest site of the day. The grounds are broad and terraced with even paths, and there is shade near the tomb area. Ephesus itself is walked downhill from the upper gate, which keeps the effort moderate.
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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