Ephesus and St. Mary's House Day Trip from Izmir

The tour was good but the ride back home, the driver just couldn’t be bothered to take us back to the hotel. Kept making up any excuse to drop us off at a place that was convenient for him

Knowledgeable guide, beautiful site. Ephesus is amazing. The other sites were only ok, I think it would be better to have more time at Ephesus.

I rather liked the tour guide and enjoyed his presentation. But we picked him up in Slecuk, so it was a silent drive down from Izmir, and we skipped The Basilica of St John. Also I find it an insult to my intelligence when in response to other reviews, it has been mentioned that customers like those long shopping stops. There were only 4 of us and after the carpet shop stop, all four had indicated we want to go home , but after all sightseeing was done, we were basically kidnapped to a leather shop for a mandatory " fashion show", followed by aggressive salesmen. I prefer if tour companies just be upfront about these stops and how they are subsidized. Maybe some people rather pay extra, but dont be subjected to pushy salesmen with their amusing "just for you" offers.

The tour guide was fantastic and knew everything about the place. She was very helpful and kept us involved. The dinner included was great and traditional turkish cuisine. The only problem was at the end there was another booking and it felt rushed. I would if liked it to be more of a full day rather than getting back to hotel at 1430

100% recommend if you’re looking for a tour with the most knowledgable (and fun!) guide! I really can’t spell my guide’s name (so sorry!) from Neon Tours but she was the most professional guide I have ever had. Her personality really made this tour enjoyable, as she set a great tone and atmosphere for the group. Her English was fantastic and she knew so much about Ephesus. I feel like I learnt a semester’s worth of history thanks to her! The pace of the tour was perfect, and our lunch stop was very tasty. The guide and driver took the necessary precautions very seriously to ensure everyone remained safe and healthy.

The tour itself was good, learned a lot of history. But the tour guide made 2 long stops to the rug /carpet making company and the ceramics. The rug company have very aggressive sales people. It was really a waste of our time and very tiresome.

1. what happened: all picked up by 8:45, St John around 9:50, guided tour till 10:30, to St. Mary by10:45, guide's explanation till 11:00, then you visit the church as directed by the guide till around 11:30, move to Ephesus by 11:45, guided tour till 1:20, move to restaurant, lunch till 2:15, then you spend about 45 minute, in a carpet shop next the restaurant, Then we were about to move to another shop, so I mentioned whether we are stopping by at Artemis temple, the guide said no, I said it is so close, ready to insist that we must stop as I remember the itinerary was indicating Artemis, by then the guide says reluctantly say yes, so we stop by the temple for about 15 minutes. Then move to another shop, spent another 45 minutes, then it is 4:30 pm, time to head back to Izmir. 2. Was it good to see them: Absolutely all of them except the shops, you fly thousand of KM to see them!! 3. Were the guide and driver good: Very friendly, professional and knowledgeable. 4. Lunch: salads, deep fried cheese roll, eggplant, then fried chicken with rice, you pay for the drink where the restaurant would make money, and I guess that the tour company might not pay for the food at all just for brining tourist to the carpet shop. Anyhow, it was ok food nothing special. 5. Problem:The programme was very disappointing. Ok, I saw carpet shop and china shop spending 2 hours, but did I go to Izmir to see the shops? Were they specifically Turkish? The tour should have been, St.John, St, Mary and Artemis in the morning, then Ephesus for all afternoon, or all morning at Ephesus then the rest after lunch. Before we started Ephesus around 11:45, I was thinking if we are going to have lunch, how are we going to see it all? Not surprisingly, the guide was rushing us through it and not so much time to appreciate, it was like explanation, take photo, let's move. I was not quite sure why, but later realised because there were two shops to stop by. With all respect to the guide and tour company, shame on you. You surely know tourists come to Izmir for Ephesus, not for shops, and though there might be some financial arrangement, you are not doing favour to yourself in a long run, you company is out forever from my list. 6. Recommendation: Good to have guided tour, but check the programme for the day in the morning, unless you like shops, insist to spend more time at Ephesus and no shops. Sit and appreciate it, not photo and move. Or select a tour with no shops.

Our tour guide Cigdem Dikentas Vidinel was very knowledgeable of the Greco-Roman history of Ephesus and was able to answer all our questions. She was patient, attentive and pleasant. It was a joy touring Ephesus, lunch and carpet co-operative with her.

It is considered one of the great discovery of the Roman glory time coupled with the Virgin Mary hidding location after Jesus crucification. It is a must visit back in critical time in history

The driver was late more than 30 minutes for pick up without notice. The tour guide took us to the Turkish rugs and ceramic shops which is not included in the program. I did not expect we have to spend more that 2 hours in there. I will not recommend anyone to join this tour.