Ephesus Trip from Istanbul

Posted By : Lindsey_S
Absolutely have to recommend this!

We had a fabulous time on this tour with Fatima, our friendly and knowledgeable guide. I'm happy with how many locations we were able to squeeze in to make this day packed of interesting and education sites as well as some engaging conversations with Fatima herself. And a tasty lunch, to boot.

A driver picked us up from the hotel and was extremely prompt (2 minutes early) and the vehicle was very comfortable and clean. No issues at all and gave us immediate confidence that the entire tour was well planned so we could start relaxing already on our way to the airport. We had the private tour with just the two of us and so we had a van to ourselves and our guide for the day, which was also clean and comfortable. The driver was very friendly and courteous and he and Fatima always kept us happy and on schedule.

Overall I'm very pleased we selected this tour and that we were able to have such a wonderful experience in the convenience of a single day trip. I have recommended this tour already to friends who have been thinking about visiting Istanbul. So if you're thinking of doing a trip to Ephesus, too, this is definitely a safe option for ensuring you have an great experience.
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Posted On : 2023-12-11 10:26:48

Posted By : YessicaI_M
I took the Ephesus tour with Gul M. and loved it. She is very passionate and knowledgeable. She explained everything in detailed and chose everything carefully. She even accommodated and made changes to our tour as we wanted to do something additional. She is great and will recommend her highly.
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Posted On : 2023-11-29 13:08:16

Posted By : Dyann_A
We loved seeing the ancient ruins and our favorite place was St John’s basilica and burial place. The museum was interesting and our side events of seeing rug making and pottery making was exceptional. Our guide, Gul was very knowledgeable and took such good care of us!
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Posted On : 2023-09-22 15:05:17

Posted By : Patrick_T
This was an excellent tour. Fatima is fantastic. She is the best tour guide I ever had. She doesn't pressure you to buy anything , she arrange the schedule according to your interests, and she speaks good English. She is very knowledgeable on different cultures, the history and culture of Ephesus and Turkey in general. THE van was clean and new and the AC worked well especially on a hot humid day. She brought me to this nice private and quiet restaurant and tried delicious Turkish food. The driver was on time during the pick up and drop off. I recommend this tour with Iglesias tour Turkey especially with Fatima as the guide.
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Posted On : 2023-08-24 09:33:48

Posted By : Emily_Y
Had a great day seeing Ephesus with our tour guide Fatima! My family and I wanted to visit Ephesus and she showed us an amazing day. We absolutely loved the tour and appreciated having her as our tour guide. Ismail helped us with coordinating the airport flights and pickup. Super communicative and helpful! Thank you to the our wonderful driver Yildirim as well!
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Posted On : 2023-08-19 09:22:21

Posted By : Janev_Australia
We booked this tour for late July 2023. We woke up at 3.45am to be picked up by a driver and taken to the airport. We then caught a Turkish Air flight to Izmir.. where we were up picked up by another driver who drove for hour to Ephesus, picking up our guide Fatima on the way.

We then started on our tour of Ephesus. It is a very large and absolutely magnificent site. We were taken by the library, the theatre and the complexity of the life of the city.

Fatima is an excellent tour guide She knew a lot about the history of the site and also gave us some space to wander a bit by ourselves to absorb the magnificence of the site. We also visited the Basilica of St John.

We then went for lunch. At first glance the lunch stop looked a bit disappointing.. like a truck stop for mass tours. However the food was very fresh and totally delicious. The only negative was that we really don't think we should be paying extra for drinks (non alcoholic) on a private and quite expensive tour.

After lunch we visited the superb museum of Ephesus. That was another highlight. During the day we were taken to a pottery shop.. after we agreed , and saw some beautiful pottery being made. As we had time before our flight back to Istanbul, Fatima offered us a couple of options and we chose a visit to the seaside town of Kusadasi.. which was a pleasant way to spend an hour or so. The driver then collected us and took us back to the airport. We got back to our hotel at 10.30 pm.. exhausted but happy.

The tour was excellent. It was a big day but it ran very smoothly. Apparently the tour needs to leave Istanbul very early in the morning because of airline constraints and also the summer heat at Ephesus can become overwhelming.. Fatima did a great job at guiding and the three drivers were excellent. We recommend this tour as an excellent way to get to see Ephesus while staying a short time in Istanbul
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Posted On : 2023-07-24 12:50:08

Posted By : Wade C
What an experience. We booked a private tour, and I was impressed by how prepared and communicative the organizers were. They helped us pick the ideal date for our trip (i.e., helping us avoid dates with higher-than-average cruise ship tourists), and worked with us to find the best flights to/from Istanbul. They arranged transportation to and from the airport, making the whole process seamless.

Where things really got good: the tour itself. Our tour guide was Fatma, and just as others have said, she was informed, kind, and knew how to make each point of our trip interesting. We could tell that she modified her tour type based on her audience's interests; we are history and architecture buffs, and she made sure to connect dots for us that only history nerds would care about. Because we were on a private tour, Fatma helped us get a good sense of the day's activities and re-calibrate how long we spent at each location according to our interests and curiosities. If we end up in Turkey again, Fatma and her team will be hearing from us. What a delight she was, and we cannot recommend her enough.

Please note that you will be given the opportunity to see local artisans in the rug-weaving and ceramics industries. They'll show you the ins and outs of their crafts (e.g., with the weavers, we saw how silk was processed from cocoons, dyed and bundled, and how the famous Turkish double-knot technique worked). The artisans will, of course, give a sales pitch – they're trying to make a living like anyone else. You are never pressured into making a purchase; just go in there treating it like a museum experience, ask the questions that interest you, and enjoy local artisans taking time out of their day to teach you things you are unlikely to learn elsewhere.

Thank you Fatma & Iglesias Tour Group!
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Posted On : 2023-04-05 01:54:28

Posted By : asif_s
Fatima does a great job!!!!
Very interesting and educational!
The pick up sand drop offs were excellent!
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Posted On : 2022-12-15 01:38:37

Posted By : Vincent_S
Fatima was our tour guide. She’s knowledgeable, interesting and brought the story of Ephesus to life. We truly enjoyed this tour with Fatima.
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Posted On : 2022-11-17 05:38:54

Posted By : Vong_D
The tour operator arranged everything in great detail. Everything was on time and flowed smoothly. Once we got close to Ephesus our guide Fatima joined us. She is very knowledgeable about the history of the area. She also was able to give us insight on Turkish culture and traditions. We were able to decide how much time we wanted to spend at each location. The lunch place that was included on the tour with traditional Turkish dishes was really good. Definitely would recommend this tour.
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Posted On : 2022-11-03 06:13:04