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Windstar Star Legend Shore Excursions from Kuşadası Port

Star Legend calls at Kuşadası 10 times in 2027, from 14 April to 13 October, arriving at 08:00, 09:00 or 10:00, depending on the call, and staying until 23:00 (23:59 on 1, 19 and 25 September). Ephesus is a 20-25 minute drive from the cruise port, so a party is inside the ancient city soon after we meet.

We guided Windstar guests on three 2026 calls here, on Wind Star, Wind Spirit and Star Legend. The two programmes below are built on the Windstar days we guided in 2026: the half day on the Wind Spirit day, the full day on the Wind Star biblical day. Each is a private day with your own licensed guide and vehicle, priced per person with every 2027 entrance fee included. The other Windstar ships are on our Windstar Ephesus tours page.

Star Legend shore excursions from Kuşadası, in one paragraph

Tours of Ephesus, a Kuşadası operator running private Ephesus days since 1999, plans private shore days for Windstar Star Legend guests with a licensed guide and a private vehicle. Star Legend has 10 confirmed Kuşadası calls in 2027, from 14 April 2027 to 13 October 2027, from 08:00, 09:00 or 10:00, depending on the call, until 23:00 (23:59 on 1, 19 and 25 September), and Ephesus is 20-25 minutes from the port. The half day costs USD 174 per person for 2-4 guests (USD 149 for 5-8) and the full biblical day USD 186 per person (USD 161 for 5-8), with all entrance fees included, the Terrace Houses optional at 16 EUR per person, and the tour paid at the end.

Written by
Volkan Yırtımcı, Founder, Tours of Ephesus
Last reviewed
October 2026

Star Legend’s dates and hours come from Windstar’s own voyage pages. The two programmes are built on the Windstar days we guided in 2026.

Two programmes

Two private Star Legend days at Ephesus.

Both are built on the Windstar days we guided in 2026: the half day on the Wind Spirit day, the full day on the Wind Star biblical day. Prices are per person, with every 2027 entrance fee included.

Half day · No lunch

The half day, with the afternoon still free

Built on the Wind Spirit day we guided in 2026. You walk Ephesus downhill from the Upper Gate to the Lower Gate, then see the Temple of Artemis, the Basilica of St. John and the House of the Virgin Mary. There is no lunch stop, so you are back at the port around 14:45 on a 09:00 arrival with the rest of the call ahead.

  1. 01Ephesus Ancient City, Upper Gate to Lower Gate, downhill
  2. 02Temple of Artemis
  3. 03Basilica of St. John
  4. 04House of the Virgin Mary

OptionalThe Terrace Houses are optional on this day: 16 EUR per person at the gate in 2027, added inside the Ephesus visit if you want them, decided before or on the day. The visit climbs six levels of steel walkway and has no step-free alternative. See where the Terrace Houses sit on our Ephesus map.

Meet, 09:00 arrival
09:15
Back at the port
about 14:45
Per person, 2-4 guests
USD 174
Per person, 5-8 guests
USD 149

Everything in the standard private day is included; the full list is below.

Read more about the private Ephesus, Virgin Mary and St. John tour.

Full day · Biblical Ephesus

The full day, the biblical route

Built on the Wind Star biblical day we guided in 2026. Your guide reads Acts 19 in the Great Theatre, where the silversmiths rioted against Paul, then the day goes up to the House of the Virgin Mary, sits down to a traditional Turkish lunch at a family-run restaurant near Selçuk, and ends at the Basilica of St. John and the Temple of Artemis. You reach the port around 16:15 on a 09:00 arrival.

  1. 01Ephesus Ancient City, Upper Gate to Lower Gate, Acts 19 told in the Great Theatre
  2. 02House of the Virgin Mary
  3. 03Traditional Turkish lunch at a family-run restaurant near Selçuk
  4. 04Basilica of St. John
  5. 05Temple of Artemis

OptionalThe Terrace Houses are optional on this day: 16 EUR per person at the gate in 2027, added inside the Ephesus visit if you want them, decided before or on the day. The visit climbs six levels of steel walkway and has no step-free alternative. See where the Terrace Houses sit on our Ephesus map.

Meet, 09:00 arrival
09:15
Back at the port
about 16:15
Per person, 2-4 guests
USD 186
Per person, 5-8 guests
USD 161

Everything in the standard private day is included; the full list is below.

Read more about the private biblical Ephesus tour.

For a Star Legend party of two to four, the private Ephesus half day costs USD 174 per person and the full biblical day USD 186 per person; for five to eight guests they cost USD 149 and USD 161. Parties of nine or more get a price on request. Ephesus is 45 EUR per person from 1 April 2027, and every 2027 entrance fee on the route is inside the price. The Terrace Houses are the one optional extra, at 16 EUR per person.

Why a late-evening departure from Kuşadası suits a full day

Star Legend stays at Kuşadası from 08:00, 09:00 or 10:00, depending on the call, until 23:00 (23:59 on 1, 19 and 25 September). The meeting time follows her arrival hour: we meet 15 minutes after she berths, as we did on her call in October 2026, and from there the half day lasts about 5.5 hours and the full day about 7. The drive takes 20-25 minutes, so you reach the Upper Gate of Ephesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, soon after we meet.

  • If she berths at 08:00: we meet at 08:15, the half day is back at the port about 13:45 and the full day about 15:15.
  • If she berths at 09:00: we meet at 09:15, the half day is back at the port about 14:45 and the full day about 16:15.
  • If she berths at 10:00: we meet at 10:15, the half day is back at the port about 15:45 and the full day about 17:15.

The full day returns you to the port around 16:15 on a 09:00 arrival, with the evening still ahead before Star Legend sails, so lunch near Selçuk can run long and you see the Basilica of St. John without watching the clock. If you would rather have the afternoon on board or in Kuşadası town, the half day has you back around 14:45 on a 09:00 arrival. We plan every day to have you at the port at least ninety minutes before all-aboard.

2027 calls

Star Legend’s 10 Kuşadası calls, voyage by voyage.

Star Legend reaches Kuşadası on her voyages between Piraeus, the port of Athens, and Istanbul, in April and May and again in September and October 2027. Find your sailing by the date it leaves port to see your day in Kuşadası.

Windstar also sells longer sailings that contain two of the shorter legs, so a guest on one reaches Kuşadası twice. The 16-day Star Collector: Eternal Greece voyage PIRIST16D runs Piraeus to Istanbul from 31 August to 16 September and calls at Kuşadası on 1 September (arriving 10:00) and 13 September (arriving 09:00). The 16-day Star Collector: Eternal Greece voyage ISTPIR16D runs Istanbul to Piraeus from 16 September to 2 October and calls at Kuşadası on 19 September (arriving 08:00) and 25 September (arriving 10:00). The 16-day Star Collector: Eternal Greece voyage PIRIST16D runs Piraeus to Istanbul from 24 September to 10 October and calls at Kuşadası on 25 September (arriving 10:00) and 7 October (arriving 09:00). A guest on one of these has two days here: Ephesus can be the half day on one call and the full day on the other, or Ephesus on one call and Kuşadası town or the ship on the other. Each call is its own private day, booked and paid for separately.

  1. 14 April 2027Wed

    09:00 to 23:00 · meet 09:15 · Aegean Sea Odyssey via the Corinth Canal

  2. 20 April 2027Tue

    08:00 to 23:00 · meet 08:15 · Aegean Sea Odyssey via the Corinth Canal

  3. 30 April 2027Fri

    09:00 to 23:00 · meet 09:15 · Aegean Sea Odyssey via the Corinth Canal

  4. 6 May 2027Thu

    08:00 to 23:00 · meet 08:15 · Aegean Sea Odyssey via the Corinth Canal

  5. 1 September 2027Wed

    10:00 to 23:59 · meet 10:15 · Star Collector: Eternal Greece

  6. 13 September 2027Mon

    09:00 to 23:00 · meet 09:15 · James Beard Foundation: Aegean Sea Odyssey via the Corinth Canal

  7. 19 September 2027Sun

    08:00 to 23:59 · meet 08:15 · Star Collector: Eternal Greece

  8. 25 September 2027Sat

    10:00 to 23:59 · meet 10:15 · Star Collector: Eternal Greece

  9. 7 October 2027Thu

    09:00 to 23:00 · meet 09:15 · Aegean Sea Odyssey via the Corinth Canal

  10. 13 October 2027Wed

    08:00 to 23:00 · meet 08:15 · Aegean Sea Odyssey via the Corinth Canal

Source: Windstar Cruises tour-details pages (windstarcruises.com), read 2026-10-21; CruiseMapper Kuşadası port schedule cross-checked. Where the two differ, Windstar is used. Schedules change by sailing; we reconfirm your call when you book. See the first Star Legend voyage on windstarcruises.com.

Windstar cruise ship Star Legend, white with a teal stripe and her name on the bow, leaving the port of Barcelona in the early evening
Star Legend, one of Windstar’s small ships, leaving Barcelona at sunset. In 2027 she calls at Kuşadası for Ephesus on 10 days between April and October, from 08:00, 09:00 or 10:00, depending on the call, until 23:00 (23:59 on 1, 19 and 25 September).

Star Legend leaving Barcelona, photo by A Guy Named Nyal via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized and optimized for web use.

What is included in every private day

The price covers everything on the route except the optional Terrace Houses (16 EUR per person at the gate). Both days include the same seven things. What a luxury day adds on top of them is in luxury vs standard private Ephesus tours.

  • A licensed private guideYours alone for the day.
  • An air-conditioned private vehicleWith a separate professional driver, so your guide guides.
  • Skip-the-line entry ticketsPre-purchased and pre-paid, carried as QR codes. How the gate actually works.
  • Bottled waterIn the vehicle throughout the day.
  • ParkingAt every site on the route.
  • Road tollsThe whole route, no roadside surprises.
  • TaxesIncluded. The only extra is the optional Terrace Houses, 16 EUR per person at the gate.

How we get you back to your ship on time

Every day we run is planned backwards from your ship’s schedule, and it ends with you at the port at least ninety minutes before all-aboard. The margin is deliberate and comfortable: Ephesus is a 20-25 minute drive from the berth, and behind the margin sit four separate confirmations of the ship’s schedule, the official port list the evening before, the ship’s live position from first light, our own contacts inside the port through the morning, and your guide reading the times posted at the gangway itself.

How the whole system works, layer by layer, is written up in full in how we track your cruise ship.

Meeting point

We meet in the Starbucks garden in the port plaza, two minutes from the ship on flat ground, with no steps between the gangway and the table. Your guide will already be there, holding a printed sign with the name you give us at booking, so there is no searching a crowded gate for a face you have never met. If you would like a coffee before the drive, there is time; the day begins when you are ready.

The walk from the gangway to the table, step by step, is in our Kuşadası cruise port guide.

Tours of Ephesus guide Fulya Tamer waiting with a printed name sign on the Starbucks terrace at Kuşadası cruise port
The Starbucks gardenOur guide Fulya Tamer with a printed name sign on the Starbucks terrace, two minutes from the gangway at Kuşadası port.
Pay after your tour

Payment

Visa and Mastercard are welcome, and the price is the same by card, so pay however suits you. Whichever you choose, it is one payment at the end of the tour: no deposit, and nothing paid before the day itself. Cash is a choice, not a requirement. If your plans change, cancellation is free up to 48 hours before the tour.

Frequently asked

Star Legend at Kuşadası: your questions

Ask anything else on WhatsApp, +90 532 324 2489, and we answer the same day.

Most Star Legend voyages that call here stop at Kuşadası once, from 08:00, 09:00 or 10:00, depending on the call, until 23:00 (23:59 on 1, 19 and 25 September). The 16-day Star Collector: Eternal Greece voyage PIRIST16D runs Piraeus to Istanbul from 31 August to 16 September and calls at Kuşadası on 1 September (arriving 10:00) and 13 September (arriving 09:00). The 16-day Star Collector: Eternal Greece voyage ISTPIR16D runs Istanbul to Piraeus from 16 September to 2 October and calls at Kuşadası on 19 September (arriving 08:00) and 25 September (arriving 10:00). The 16-day Star Collector: Eternal Greece voyage PIRIST16D runs Piraeus to Istanbul from 24 September to 10 October and calls at Kuşadası on 25 September (arriving 10:00) and 7 October (arriving 09:00). The 10 confirmed 2027 calls are 14, 20 and 30 April; 6 May; 1, 13, 19 and 25 September; 7 and 13 October. Every date comes from Windstar's own itinerary pages; send us your sailing date and we match it to your call when you book.

Choose the half day if you want the afternoon on board or in Kuşadası town: Ephesus from the Upper Gate to the Lower Gate, the Temple of Artemis, the Basilica of St. John and the House of the Virgin Mary, no lunch, back at the port around 14:45 on a 09:00 arrival. It costs USD 174 per person for 2-4 guests or USD 149 for 5-8. Choose the full day for the biblical route, with Acts 19 told in the Great Theatre and a traditional Turkish lunch at a family-run restaurant near Selçuk, back around 16:15 on a 09:00 arrival, at USD 186 per person for 2-4 guests or USD 161 for 5-8. Star Legend stays until 23:00 (23:59 on 1, 19 and 25 September), so both fit every call.

We meet 15 minutes after Star Legend berths, so the meeting time follows her arrival hour. If she berths at 08:00, we meet at 08:15, the half day is back at the port about 13:45 and the full day about 15:15. If she berths at 09:00, we meet at 09:15, the half day is back at the port about 14:45 and the full day about 16:15. If she berths at 10:00, we meet at 10:15, the half day is back at the port about 15:45 and the full day about 17:15. The half day lasts about 5.5 hours and the full day about 7. Your arrival hour is in the calls table on this page; send us your sailing date and we confirm it against Windstar's itinerary.

No, they are optional in both programmes, at 16 EUR per person at the gate in 2027. The Terrace Houses are the covered Roman homes inside Ephesus, visited halfway down Curetes Street, and you can decide before or on the day. The visit climbs six levels of steel walkway and there is no step-free alternative. Every other entrance fee on the route is included in the price.

The day belongs to your party alone. Your guide holds a licence from Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and does not drive; a separate driver handles the air-conditioned vehicle. You pay nothing in advance and no deposit: the price is one payment at the end of the tour, by Visa, Mastercard or cash at the same price. It includes every 2027 entrance fee on the route, with Ephesus at 45 EUR per person from 1 April 2027. Cancellation is free up to 48 hours before the tour.

Ephesus is a 20-25 minute drive from Kuşadası Cruise Port. We meet in the Starbucks garden in the port plaza, two minutes from the ship, and plan every day to have you back at the port at least ninety minutes before all-aboard. With Star Legend in port until 23:00 (23:59 on 1, 19 and 25 September), even the full day returns hours before she sails.

We do not compare our day with the ship's own excursions. We can describe our own day: private to your party, with your own licensed guide, an air-conditioned vehicle and a driver no one else shares, and a pace and route you set. If the ship offers something you want and we do not, book it with the ship. If you want Ephesus private and on your own clock, that is the day we run.

Yes. We guided Windstar guests on three 2026 calls at Kuşadası, on Wind Star, Wind Spirit and Star Legend. The two Star Legend programmes are built on the Windstar days we guided in 2026: the half day on the Wind Spirit day in September and the full day on the Wind Star biblical day in August. We guided one of the three on Star Legend in October 2026, a shorter day timed to her late-morning arrival. Star Legend's first 2027 call is 14 April 2027.

Booking a Star Legend day

Send us your sailing date and the day you want.

Write to booking@toursofephesus.com, message us on WhatsApp, or use the booking form, which arrives with Windstar Star Legend already filled in as your ship. We check your call against Windstar’s published itinerary, hold the day for your party alone, and take no payment until the tour ends.

  • Your sailing date, so we can match your Kuşadası call
  • Half day or full day, and whether you want the Terrace Houses
  • How many guests, and their full names for the welcome sign
  • A WhatsApp number we can reach on the day
WhatsApp +90 532 324 2489

Tours of Ephesus is an independent local operator and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Windstar Cruises.

How booking works

From your ship to Ephesus, in three steps.

  1. Step 1

    Pick a tour, or just message us

    Choose from the tours below or send your ship name and date on WhatsApp. No deposit, no card details.

  2. Step 2

    Meet your guide at the port

    Your licensed guide waits at the Starbucks inside the Kuşadası port plaza, holding a sign with your name.

  3. Step 3

    Pay after your tour

    Cash or card, at the end of the day, once you are happy. Free cancellation up to 48 hours before.

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