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, House of the Virgin Mary, Temple of Artemis & Sirince Village Tour
The fullest way to spend a day in the Kusadasi and Ephesus region without ever feeling rushed: four very different experiences in about six hours, a sit-down lunch in Selçuk included.
- Approx. 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
This 6-hour private shore excursion from Kusadasi Cruise Port combines Ephesus Ancient City, the House of the Virgin Mary, the Temple of Artemis and Sirince village, with a traditional sit-down lunch in Selçuk included. USD 128 to 176 per person by group size with entrance fees in the rate (2027), no pre-payment, and guaranteed on-time return to your ship.
Overview
About this tour
In about six hours you walk Ephesus with your own licensed guide, visit the House of the Virgin Mary in the pine forest above the city, stop at the Temple of Artemis, and finish somewhere the big tours rarely give you time for: Sirince, a pretty old Greek village in the hills, with its narrow lanes, family-run shops and famous fruit wines. Most visitors see Ephesus and drive straight back. This itinerary adds the two experiences guests consistently tell us they remember most: the stillness of the House of the Virgin Mary, and an hour of unplanned time in Sirince, tasting wine in a small café, buying olive oil from the woman who pressed it, walking lanes that feel a century away from the cruise port.
Who this tour is for
Cruise guests with a longer port call, and anyone who wants more from the day than ruins alone. The Sirince stop changes the rhythm: after a morning of ancient history, you slow down in a living village. Couples, families and groups of friends all find this the most complete single day we offer in the Ephesus area.
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
The morning belongs to Ephesus: about two hours through the upper gate, walking downhill.
- 03
House of the Virgin Mary
The hillside stone house on Mount Koressos where Mary is believed to have spent her final years.
- 04
Temple of Artemis
A short stop at the Seven Wonders site.
- 05
Sirince village, then lunch in Selcuk
A scenic drive into the hills, time to wander, taste and shop at your own pace, and a sit-down lunch in Selcuk included in the rate.
- 06
Return to Kuşadası port
Thirty minutes back, comfortably ahead of 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.
20 October 2026: our guide Ebru Özkan with seven Holland America Oosterdam guests from Andorra, Ebru in the centre, at the House of the Virgin Mary on a private tour from Kuşadası cruise port guided in Spanish. 
14 August 2026: our guide İbrahim Pancar with two Silver Nova guests in Şirince, the last stop of the full 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 with the private tour group at the Temple of Artemis, the lone column and Ayasuluk Castle behind. 
Beside a carved sarcophagus and the story cut into it, with a licensed guide. 
Lunch in a garden near the ruins on a private tour, our guide Nafia Demircan at the table. 
Looking back over the agora from the upper path. 
28 July 2026: Celebrity Infinity guests at the library, one of four stops on a long private day.
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 | $176 | 6-seat A/C van |
| 5–8 guests | $154 | 12-seat A/C minibus |
| 9–12 guests | $143 | 16-seat A/C minibus |
| 13–20 guests | $135 | 31-seat A/C midibus |
| 21–29 guests | $128 | 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: $102 to $141 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
You book with the local team that actually runs the tour: same-day confirmation of your guide and vehicle, no deposit, no reseller between you and the people responsible for your day. Our meeting system at the port, a named sign at Starbucks inside the plaza away from the exit-gate crowd, was designed around cruise guests, because that is who we host every day.
Yes. We build the day backwards from your all-aboard time with a safety margin, and on-time return is guaranteed. Sirince is only 30 minutes from the port, so the last stop of the day is also the easiest to adjust.
Everything that runs the day: guide, private vehicle, driver, parking, taxes, a sit-down lunch in Selçuk and every entrance fee on the route. Many agents advertise cheaper tours that exclude entrance fees; when you compare, check the includes line first. Only optional Terrace Houses tickets and tips are extra.
Yes. A traditional lunch in Selçuk is part of the rate: small family-run restaurants with village cooking, arranged by your guide on the day. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are ready with notice.
If your ship gives you six hours or more, yes. It is consistently the stop guests mention in reviews: a working village rather than a monument, and the only part of the day that feels like local life. If your port call is short, our 4-hour version covers the three main sites.
No. Reservations are confirmed without a deposit and you pay at the end of the tour. If your ship cannot dock, you owe nothing.
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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