Private Ephesus, Temple of Artemis & Sirince Village Tour
Ephesus · Temple of Artemis · Şirince
- Approx. 5.5 hours, lunch included
- Private · sized to your party
- Starbucks at Kuşadası cruise plaza
From$119/ person
View tourCruise excursion
Private Ephesus & Sirince Village Tour
History in the morning, a hillside village after: two hours in Ephesus, then an unhurried stretch in Sirince and a sit-down lunch in Selçuk included.
- Approx. 5 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 Ephesus & Sirince Village Tour is a 5-hour shore excursion from Kusadasi Cruise Port: about two hours in Ephesus Ancient City, then an unhurried hour or more in Sirince, an old Greek hill village 30 minutes from the port. USD 118 to 163 per person by group size with entrance fees and a sit-down lunch in Selcuk included (2027 rates), no pre-payment, on-time return guaranteed.
Overview
About this tour
This tour pairs two hours in Ephesus with something the standard itineraries never leave room for: an unhurried stretch in Sirince, a pretty old Greek village folded into vineyards and peach orchards half an hour from the port. One is marble and monumental; the other is stone lanes, small courtyards, and local women selling lace, olive oil and fruit wine from their doorsteps. Sirince rewards time, and time is what shared tours cannot give it: with a private guide and driver you arrive when the light is good, wander the lanes without a regrouping deadline, and come back down to a sit-down lunch at a family-run restaurant in Selçuk, included in the rate.
Who this tour is for
Guests who want more from the day than ruins, and especially repeat visitors who saw Ephesus on an earlier cruise and now want the region's living side with a lighter revisit of the city. It also suits mixed parties where one half loves ancient history and the other would happily spend the whole day browsing craft shops and tasting wine: both halves get their hours.
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 sign carrying your name, at the time you choose.
- 02
Ephesus Ancient City, walked downhill
A 20-25 minute drive, then roughly two hours walking downhill from the upper gate.
- 03
Scenic drive to Sirince
A 15-minute climb into the hills from the lower gate of Ephesus.
- 04
Sirince village, then lunch in Selcuk
A generous hour or more to wander, taste and shop at your own pace, and a sit-down lunch at a family-run restaurant in Selçuk included in the rate.
- 05
Return to Kuşadası port
Sirince is only 30 minutes from the port, so the margin before your ship is comfortable.
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.
14 August 2026: our guide İbrahim Pancar with two Silver Nova guests in Şirince, the village hour that closes this private tour. 
18 July 2026: our guide Fulya Tamer with her guests at the Yedi Bilgeler wine house, a stop a private tour can add on request. 
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. 
Lunch in a garden near the ruins on a private tour, our guide Nafia Demircan at the table. 
From the viewing platform above the Library of Celsus, hat in hand. 
Between the pillars of the Hercules Gate on Curetes Street. 
28 July 2026: Celebrity Infinity guests on a private tour at the Celsus facade, hours before the road up to Şirince.
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
- Traditional lunch at a family-run restaurant in Selçuk
- Parking fees and local taxes
- Guaranteed on-time return to your ship
Not included
- Terrace Houses entrance (optional add-on)
- 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 | $163 | 6-seat A/C van |
| 5–8 guests | $141 | 12-seat A/C minibus |
| 9–12 guests | $133 | 16-seat A/C minibus |
| 13–20 guests | $125 | 31-seat A/C midibus |
| 21–29 guests | $118 | 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: $94 to $130 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
Direct means local: the team confirming your booking is the team on the ground in Kusadasi, so guide and vehicle are confirmed the same day, no deposit is taken, and any change of plan is one message away. At the port your guide waits with a named sign at Starbucks inside the shopping plaza: fixed, calm, easy.
No. Sirince sits just 30 minutes from the port, so the furthest point of the day is also the last and easiest to adjust. We plan backwards from your all-aboard time with a safety margin, and on-time return is guaranteed.
The complete day: private licensed guide, air-conditioned vehicle, separate driver, parking, taxes, a sit-down lunch in Selçuk and the Ephesus entrance fee. Budget offers are usually transport-only or exclude entrance fees; ask what is in the price before comparing numbers.
Typically an hour to an hour and a half, and it is yours, with no group regrouping times. Guests who fall for the village can extend the stop; your guide will simply confirm the timing still protects your return margin.
No. Your reservation is confirmed with no pre-payment; 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.
The village is on a slope with cobbled lanes, but the main street is short and the best cafés and shops are near the entrance where the vehicle stops. Ephesus is walked downhill via the upper gate. Tell us your needs and the guide will shape both visits around them.
Yes. A traditional lunch at a family-run restaurant in Selçuk is part of the rate. Tell us about vegetarian, gluten-free or allergy needs when booking and the table will be ready on the day.
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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Ready to book Ephesus + Şirince Village?
From $118/person · Approx. 5 hours, lunch included · No deposit, pay at the end of the tour.
From$118