Kusadasi to Ephesus

You can take a 25 to 30-minute bus—Flixbus being one of the bus companies— the 14 miles from Kusadasi to Selcuk for $3-$7.

Then you can take a “Dolmus,” a shared-taxi van that takes several passengers, from Selcuk’s bus station two miles to the Ephesus entrance for about $3 ( 100 Turkish Lira) per person. ( Regular taxi cabs are exhorbitant and some drivers will try to gouge you for the two-mile ride for $30-$40 if they can get it ).

The admission price to Ephesus is now €40.

We went with copied pages from a guidebook. Just stopping in front of an interesting building to read the guide book pages seemed to always be followed by the appearance of a tour group and the narration of the tour guides. . Between our notes and the ubiquitous tour guides— we found we did not need an audio guide. There are some audio tours purportedly available online for free if you Google up “Ephesus Audioguide.”
If you have not been to Pompeii’s Villa of the Mysteries— the “Terrace Houses” are well worth the €15 supplemental ticket. You’ll see Roman mosaic floors, dozens of frescoed-walls among the well-preserved ruins of ancient Roman villas. We were in the Terrace Houses for about an hour.
The other sites— Temple of Artemis. House of the Virgin Mary and the Cave of 7 Sleepers were unimpressive.
Be sure to get an early morning start because it can quickly get really, really hot during certain months.— even in May. Take a couple water bottles, a hat and sunscreen.
Selcuk, by the way, is a charming town with an awesome archaeological museum and remarkable ruins of its own all around town,
Have a great trip!

I was on a cruise ship and someone organized a private tour hitting all the places you mentioned but from Izmir and because we had a life of people, they put us in two vans and was able to get the cost to $20 USD (tour only - not including admission tickets, which we also got at a discount because we are on a tour). The tour guide was knowledgable and got us back on the ship on time, she mentioned that most tours start in Kusadasi and it is much closer. One thing you could consider is see if you do a group tour with others? One thing though we did stop in a carpet shop and a porcelain shop for them to sell us stuff, and also Turkish delights. But I guess it is common for yours, and we did get rest stops, Turkish tea and sweet bread out of it for listening to their sales pitch.

We actually chatted with a carpet shop owner in Selcuk and really had a lot to talk about. By the end of our chat. the owner offered to pick us up at our hotel the next morning and drive us to Ephesus. That is how truly gracious & hospitable the Turks can be!

I just had my Fodor's guide open to the Ephesus page, it says that the audio guide is excellent and comes with a map.

We took a private tour last year because my wife is mobility challenged and she rides a folding personal scooter. She somehow got the strength to walk it and I rode her scooter down the marble streets. We also stopped for lunch and visited where Mary was supposed to have lived after Jesus died.

We have been to Ephesus before, but the private guide had so much more information to share.

And no matter how you go, you will somehow end up at a rug dealership where they will charm you into buying a handmade rug. They ship the rugs to your home and install it for you. And you will have a friend for life--calling you every 2 months trying to trade you into a more expensive rug.

Never bought a Turkish Carpet!

Thanks, Kenko. How long does it take to get to Ephesus via the public transportation means you mentioned? (BTW -- In Sorrento in May, our excursion included a stop at a woodworks store, selling beautiful $1,000+ tables. The pitch was kinda interesting, but swarms of desperate salespeople got old real fast.)

Cruise excursion there is really pricey. Going with a reputable third party guided tour company might be the answer. Most of the ones I've researched meet at the port at 9am -- the ship's gangway is listed at 8:30 next May. Might be too close.

Buses from Kusadasi to Selcuk bus station take about 30 minutes. A shared taxi-van (“Dolmus”) from Selcuk’s bus station to Ephesus then takes less than 10 minutes.

I would imagine any group tour bus is going to take at least 30 minutes to reach Ephesus from Kusadasi.

Thanks for the info, Seininya. I've found a great group tour deal for $69 per person via Ephesus Shuttle, including admission tickets. It seems to have a great reputation.

JhilleryATX, we have a tour booked for next May with Ephesus Shuttle. After reading numerous very satisfied reviews, we chose them. They were very nice working with when they made a mistake on our reservation and made it for 2025 instead of 2026. I like how all admissions are included in the price.

And no matter how you go, you will somehow end up at a rug dealership
where they will charm you into buying a handmade rug. They ship the
rugs to your home and install it for you. And you will have a friend
for life--calling you every 2 months trying to trade you into a more
expensive rug.

David, apparently we have a common friend.

Gelato girl, I did my due diligence checking on numerous tour companies; wholeheartedly agree with you on Ephesus Shuttle. They're excellent at timely communication and details. Made a reservation to go on a small group tour next June. It's half the cost of the ship's excursion. And we'll be back hours before the ship leaves.

JhilleryATX, yes they are very quick to answer any emails, and clear in what is included. Our small group tour will be in May. It would have been fun to be on the same one with a fellow forum user. Enjoy your cruise and excursions.

I wanted to add that the House of Virgin Mary is a huge time waster in your plan. It simply isn't worth the time that could be spent at Ephesus.

Carol now retired, just curious — why do you think the House of Virgin Mary is a time waster? Are the terraces and Cave of the 7 Sleepers worth it?

The house of the Virgin Mary is primarily just a chapel on the hillside with souvenir stands and cafes. It might be meaningful to those who worship the Virgin Mary, but there really isn’t any significant evidence that she ever lived there.

I did not go to the Cave of the seven Sleepers. Ephesus, including the Terrace Houses, is really the star. If you have more than one day, then Priene, Miletus, and Didymas are also interesting.

I would echo Carol’s response on House of the Virgin Mary - I paid extra to go to the house and it’s a small house. Nothing much to see, what was interesting was our tour guide’s explanation on it.

We also saw Temple of Artemis which just happened to be some columns - as some of the remaining columns were moved to Hagia Sofia. So it was just some columns.

I would agree that more time could be spent at Esphesus versus House of the Virgin Mary.