Windstar
Private Ephesus Shore Excursions for Windstar Guests
For guests sailing with Windstar, a private Ephesus shore excursion keeps the day at yacht scale: your own licensed guide and vehicle, a pace set by your party, and room on a long call for Şirince or the Virgin Mary house.
Windstar guests picked a ship where the crew knows their name, and the shore day should match. We run Ephesus as an entirely private visit: one licensed local guide, one comfortable vehicle, your party alone. No assembly on the pier, no flag to follow, no shopping stop.
Kuşadası rewards Windstar in particular: the yachts tend to stay long here, often from early morning into the evening, and Ephesus is only a 20 minute drive away. That kind of day fits the ancient city, a village lunch and the House of the Virgin Mary without ever feeling hurried, and still hands you back hours to enjoy the town.
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
Up to 8 guests from your own party. We never combine strangers into a tour and call it private.
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.
Tickets bought before you arrive
Your guide pre-purchases every entrance ticket, so you walk straight past the queues. At peak season that can save up to two hours, time you spend inside Ephesus rather than waiting outside.
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 Windstar gets as standard, on every private tour.
- Private licensed guideYour own licensed local guide, never a shared 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 long call, well spent
A long day in port deserves more than a half-day plan.
Ephesus in the quiet morning, a real lunch in Şirince, the Virgin Mary house in the afternoon, and still time for the old town. Private, unhurried, yours.
Who this is for
This page is for Windstar guests who chose small-ship sailing on purpose: couples and small groups of friends who want depth over headcount, a table in a hillside village over a buffet, and a guide who converses rather than recites. The pace is yours, and where it helps we walk Ephesus gently downhill from the Upper Gate.
If you are celebrating something on board, tell us; a private day ashore is easy to shape around it.
Ships we serve
Ship-specific pages are added only after we confirm a Kuşadası call and can write genuinely original, ship-specific content. If you are sailing with Windstar, message us with your exact ship and date and we will plan around it.
Private Ephesus tours for your call
Private Ephesus & Temple of ArtemisThe classic private half-day, leaving the rest of a long call free.View tour
Ephesus & House of the Virgin MaryThe fuller day, adding the hillside shrine above the ancient city.View tour
Grand Private Ephesus Tour, Five StopsEvery major site in one unhurried day, built for long calls.View tour
Common questions
Yacht-scale ashore: quiet corners, at your pace.
Tours of Ephesus is an independent local operator and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Windstar.