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Private Ephesus Day Tour From Istanbul by Plane

Recommended by 100% of travelers
Istanbul, Turkey
  • 12 to 14 hours (approx.)
  • Pickup offered
  • Group discounts
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Overview

Visitors will travel to Ephesus from Istanbul by plane before embarking on an exploration of the awe-inspiring historical and cultural sites of Ephesus. The city contains more than thirty buildings and structures linked together by streets that bear the marks of chariot wheels. Ephesus is filled with ancient historical significance.
  • Private transportation included.
  • Hotel pick-up and drop-off included.
  • Lunch is provided.

What's Included

  • PRIVATE TOUR, ensures a more personalized and exclusive experience tailored to your preferences
  • PROFESSIONAL, LICENSED LOCAL TOUR GUIDE, Authorized by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture
  • LUNCH IN THE COUNTRYSIDE, Enjoy a peaceful meal with authentic flavors in a serene rural setting.
  • PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION, travel with separate driver in an air-conditioned, non-smoking van.
  • PARKING FEES, all parking fees are included in the tour price, for your convenience
  • HOTEL PICK-UP & DROP-OFF, convenient service as detailed in the itinerary.
  • TO SKIP TICKET LINES, ask your guide to arrange tickets; pay the fee in cash to your guide.
  • DOMESTIC FLIGHT TICKETS, round way ticket from/to Istanbul
  • Gratuities for the guide and the driver
  • Personal Expenses
  • Entrance Fees to the Museums and any Sites
  • Beverages During Lunch
  • Entrance fee - House of Virgin Mary
    €10.00 per person
  • Entrance fee - Ephesus
    €40.00 per person

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

MEETING POINT: İstanbul Airport or Sabiha Gökçen Airport and hotel lobbies for hotel guests. ---------------------------------- EXLUSIVE PRIVATE TOUR FOR YOUR PARTY ONLY - NO SHARING WITH OTHER GROUPS! ---------------------------------- Enjoy a personalized journey tailored to your party. Want to make it even more enjoyable? Invite friends to join and explore together on your terms with flexibility and comfort. ---------------------------------- ADVANTAGES OF PRIVATE TOURS OVER GROUP OR BUS TOURS ---------------------------------- A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPURTUNITY: Your visit to site may be a unique experience. A private tour allows you to make the most of it with a personalized itinerary. ---------------------------------- FLEXIBLE AND PERSONALIZED SCHEDULE: Unlike group tours, this tourv give you full control over what to see, when to start, and when to conclude. You set the pace, ensuring a tour tailored to your interests. ---------------------------------- DEDICATED ATTENTION: In this tour, the guide focuses entirely on you and your group, ensuring you don’t miss any fascinating details or key highlights. ---------------------------------- NO WAITING OR DELAYS: You won’t have to wait for large groups to gather or stop for unforeseen situations. this tour keep the experience seamless and efficient. ---------------------------------- EXCLUSIVE COMFORT: Enjoy your own Van and expert local tour guide without the need to share with groups. ---------------------------------- HASSLE-FREE EXPERIENCE: Your guide will handle tickets and entry arrangements (if any), saving you time and effort while you focus on enjoying the ruins and museums. ---------------------------------- OPTIMAL LEARNING AND INTERACTION: this tour provide better opportunities to ask questions, hear the guide clearly, and engage deeply with the history and culture of the site.

Operating hours
.5:00 am

Itinerary

1

Istanbul

45 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

2

Izmir

10 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

3

The House of the Virgin Mary

45 minutesAdmission Ticket Not Included

4

Sirince Koyu

1 hour Admission Ticket Free

5

Ephesus Ancient City

2 hours Admission Ticket Not Included

6

The Temple of Artemis

30 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

7

Izmir

30 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

8

Istanbul

30 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Near public transportation
  • Infant seats available
  • Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
  • After booking your tour, please contact our team to confirm and arrange your pick-up location by reproviding your meeting point informations. This information will help us to prevent any delays and to make sure you have stress free experience from the beginning. If you encounter any difficulties finding a suitable time option, we will gladly assist you to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience.
  • This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Lisa_V
This was a great experience! My sister and I did this trip and since it was just us, our guide customized the information provided to our interests. Highly recommend to anyone! Shout out to our guide Bilal and driver Murat for providing a wonderful experience.

Reviews

5.0
based on 26 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Great Experience

Lisa_V, Apr 2026
This was a great experience! My sister and I did this trip and since it was just us, our guide customized the information provided to our interests. Highly recommend to anyone! Shout out to our guide Bilal and driver Murat for providing a wonderful experience.

Highly recommend

Melissa_M, Nov 2024
This was an amazing opportunity for which we are so grateful we had. Our tour guide, Bill, was very organized and ver knowledgeable about the history of Turkey. He listened to our questions and needs and made sure they were fulfilled, from going to the ruins, to learning more about silk rugs, to pottery, food and herbs. This was truly an enriching day and thank Bill for making it happen!

Response from Host, Jun 2025

Hello ; Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and for choosing to travel with us! We're truly grateful you took the time to share your experience. It means the world to us to know that the journey we curated left a meaningful impression on you. Our team is dedicated to delivering unforgettable moments, cultural depth, and personalized touches throughout your tour — and we're thrilled that it made a difference. We hope to welcome you again in the future for another enriching adventure. There's always more to explore, and we'd love to be a part of your next journey. Warm wishes, Umut KURT Managing Partner Visit to Ephesus team

Wonderful Tour!!

Sonia_F, Oct 2024
This tour to Ephesus was an amazing experience. The tour company planned it all!! My husband and I had nothing to worry about. The company took care of our airport transfers, plane tickets, and even lunch. Communication was clear and all via WhatsApp, which was great. Our tour guide, Ibrahim, was fantastic. His knowledge of the culture and history of the area is admirable. He made us feel welcomed from the moment we met him. He answered all of our questions. We had enough time to enjoy every place we visited. We have experienced tours in which everything is rushed, but not this experience. This tour was laid back and enjoyable, with enough time to explore the House of Mary, Ephesus, a cute village…the food. It was a wonderful day!!

Private tour and lunch

Samantha_S, Oct 2024
The trip was so well orchestrated- from the transportation from our Airbnb to the airport to our driver and tour guide - it was both historically informative and gave enough time to make stops and see everything we wanted throughout the day. The highlights were Mary’s house and the tour through the Ephesus ruins- both with entrance fees but well worth it- would recommend a hat. Would highly recommend!

Bilal is amazing!

Tracie_C, Sep 2024
Bilal was an excellent guide. We leaned so much about what makes the Turkish people so friendly and accepting. The history of Turkey goes back over 3,000 years ago and to see relics all over Ephesus was amazing. As an educator, I was especially pleased to see a public carpet weaving school where women are taught the trade of weaving and then given a loom to take home and make carpets they can sell at the school to help out the school and these women. The food served for lunch at this school was a great experience in Turkish food. I would definitely recommend this tour.

Response from Host, Oct 2024

We sincerely appreciate your valuable feedback. We are delighted to hear that you had a wonderful experience during your journey with us. Your feedback acts as a driving force for us to continuously enhance our services and exceed your expectations. We eagerly look forward to welcoming you back in the future.

Delightful and Logistically Well-Planned Day Trip to Historic Ephesus

Ana_G, Sep 2022
My husband and I are history buffs and wanted to make sure we were able to see the ancient city of Ephesus during our week-long stay in Istanbul. Firstly, this day trip was impeccably planned from a logistics point of view. About 3 days before our day trip, trip organizer Umut messaged me letting me know he would send me flight info and tour guide info the day before our trip. Ephesus is only a 1-hour flight from Istanbul (some of the bus tours take 6 or more hours to get to Ephesus from Istanbul) and so this is the best way to do the day trip from a logistics perspective. The day before our, Umut sent us our local guide's contact information, airport transfer pickup/drop off details and also assisted us with checking into our flight. The driver was at our hotel right on time at 6am to take us to the airport and our flight was seamless, with our local guide in Istanbul, Necdet, waiting for us in the arrival terminal at Izmir Airport. Necdet was very friendly, humorous and knowledgable about the ancient city of Ephesus and also the historic site of the Virgin Mary's house. In total we toured the historic sites for about 3 hours and then had lunch with Necdet at a local co-op (serving traditional mezes and kebabs), next to a carpet weaving center where we received a demonstration of how Turkish carpet making has historically been done. Necdet and our driver, Yavuz, were very accommodating whenever we wanted to stop for a coffee, to purchase souvenirs or the like. We were dropped off on time at Izmir Airport and upon return to Istanbul Airport, Umut arranged for the greeter to meet us at the pickup point. All in all, a seamless day trip to a must-see, well-preserved, grand ancient city.

Response from Host, May 2023

We sincerely appreciate your valuable feedback. We are delighted to hear that you had a wonderful experience during your journey with us. Your feedback acts as a driving force for us to continuously enhance our services and exceed your expectations. We eagerly look forward to welcoming you back in the future. Warm regards,

From $466.22

per person

-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.

Book ahead!
On average, this is booked 26 days in advance.

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