ALL INCLUSIVE Private Ephesus, Terrace Houses tour with LUNCH

Recommended by 99% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Kusadasi, Turkey

Great choice

10+ bookings last month.

5 to 6 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.9

· justinachow ·

Oct 2025

The tour had covered all entrance fee, really no hidden cost. Ephesus is a very historical place, Terrace house must go to see. Lunch was fantastic . The tour also brought you to see leather jackets show, carpet production. If you are not interested in those places, they will send you back to the ship port. No hard feeling.

· NELL_P ·

Oct 2025

Excellent knowledgeable guide with great information. Terrace Homes definitely worth viewing. Very strenuous walking for people with mobility challenges. Lunch was delicious and delightful under the trees. The carpet presentation was low-key and appropriate to our interest. Lots of good information was given. We would recommend this tour.

Explore our promoted experiences

Private Ephesus Miletus Dydima Tour from Port Kusadasi

Kusadasi, Turkish Riviera

5.0

(3)

Private Ephesus Miletus Dydima Tour from Port Kusadasi

from $200

Price varies by group size

Kusadasi, Turkish Riviera

5.0

(2)

Ephesus Tour & Golf with PGA standard

from $95

Private Guided Ephesus Tour From Kusadasi Cruise Port

Kusadasi, Turkish Riviera

4.5

(4)

Private Guided Ephesus Tour From Kusadasi Cruise Port

from $75

Viator earns higher commissions on experiences featured here

Overview

Escape the crowded tour buses and make the most of your time in port with this private guided tour of Ephesus, including pick-up at the cruise port and lunch. Enjoy a comprehensive tour of the ancient city of Ephesus, including access to the Terrace Houses, and a visit to the remains of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Visit an artisan village, shop for local crafts, and also take the optional tour through Basilica of St John (own expense).

Kusadasi shore excursion to the ancient city of Ephesus
Visit the Terrace Houses and the Temple of Artemis
All entrance fees, lunch, and port pickup and drop-off included
Private tour is operated with just your party and a guide/driver

What's Included

ENTRANCE FEES ( Our guide will have pre-paid tickets to skip the lines )
Turkish LUNCH
Personal Tour guide for your family and friends
Port pickup and drop-off
Transport by private air-conditioned minivan
GUARANTEED On Time Return to PORT

Drinks
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

When you compare our rates with others, please check includes and excludes carefully Our rates include ENTRANCE FEES Most of the other travel agents do not include entrance fees to their rates There is not any HIDDEN COSTS in our rates Pick up from Kusadasi Cruise Terminal for cruise guests and listed Hotels. Suggested pick up time will be given on your confirmation message. During this guided tour of Ephesus, Terrace Houses, and Temple of Artemis with lunch, enjoy A/C transportation The Basilica of St. John can be added into the program at an additional cost.

Itinerary

Kuşadası Port Türkiye

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Ephesus Ancient City

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Ephesus Terrace Houses

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

The Temple of Artemis

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Kusadasi

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Infant seats available
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions

Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
When you compare our rates with others, please check includes and excludes carefully
Most of the other travel agents do not include entrance fees to their rates
There is not any HIDDEN COSTS in our rates
Private Tour and NO HIDDEN COSTS . Entrance Fees are included in our Private Tour.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

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)

Reviews

4.9

based on 204 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Ephesus Visit

ann_c, Nov 2025

The sights of Ephesus and the terrace houses are a wonder. To be able to walk the streets where Roman’s did more than two thousand years ago is something special The history of the area is brought to life before your eyes I do wish our tour included more stories and detailed description of the history. Of Ephesus. I felt rushed and as though we skipped parts of the site. The lunch stop was disappointing.

Superb trip to Ephesus.

Ronald_L, Oct 2025

This tour was well planned and took you to places other tours don’t. Our guide Aleyna was very knowledgeable and easy to organise the order of the tour.

Our guide and driver were...

Jeffrey_E, Oct 2025

Our guide and driver were outstanding as per usual of out Viator experiences. We will continue using Viator when the circumstances, suitability and price consideration is factored in vs. the typical cruise ship packages.

Excellent knowledgeable...

NELL_P, Oct 2025

Wonderful day

justinachow, Oct 2025

Must do tour

Tara_B, Oct 2025

Our guide Aleyna was fantastic, and so knowledgeable. She kept us informed on all the sites we visited. We also had great Turkish lunch.

Highly Recommend

Andrew_B, Oct 2025

Cem did a fantastic job, I would highly recommend him. Both knowledgeable and friendly, he did a really great job showing my family around Ephesus with the added regional knowledge of the Kusadasi area that I enjoy.

The best tour of Ephesus with lunch and terrace houses included.

Karen_W, Sep 2025

This was a tour that should not be missed. Our tour guide Melih was very knowledgeable about the history of Ephesus throughout the centuries. The terrace houses opulence was amazing. The advanced technology of the Romans was fascinating. Our lunch was delicious. It was a great day!

The whole tour of Ephesus...

Virginia_B, Sep 2025

The whole tour of Ephesus was great!! Amazing ruins and stories to tell. Tour guide Maria was right on point. The rug factory visit turned out to be a little too good. $$$

We toured with Nejdet and had a great day.

John_H, Sep 2025

We toured the ancient city of Ephesus and the Terrace Houses with Nejdet and had a great day. Nejdet was very knowledgeable, friendly, and funny. He was flexible and attentive to our needs. We learned so much about Turkiye. We also had a delicious authentic Turkish lunch and then learned how rugs were made. I know some people have said they were pressured to buy, but they didn't pressure us at all. We didn't end up buying.

Book it. You’ll be thankful.

Kendall_H, Sep 2025

Wonderful experience. Private tour with three friends and myself. We had a nice, comfortable van to ourselves. Our guide, Emray was fantastic. Taught us many things that we never knew before. Ephesus was breathtaking and he made great choices for us to dodge the crowds. The Terrace Houses are NOT to be missed. A highlight! We thankfully chose to skip House of Virgin Mary because we had zero interest. Lunch was really good. Very tasty. Had to go to the obligatory rug shop. Demonstration of rug creation was great. Sales pitch that followed was less so, and a little higher pressure than I would prefer, but we made it out unscathed. BOOK THIS TOUR if you’re visiting Ephesus. You’ll be glad you did.

Ephesus

Rosanne_C, Sep 2025

Our guide was fabulous Pilar Sezer. She was kind, flexible and knowledgeable. We saw so much in a very small period of time. Lunch was very good and the rug and people were not pushy but kind as well. This is the way to see Ephesus!

Perfect day in Ephesus

Caitlin_S, Sep 2025

Great experience! Aleyna was a fantastic guide and everything went very smoothly. Take plenty of water and an umbrella for shade, and coins or small bills to use the restroom before entering Ephesus.

Book this private tour to the Ancient City of Ephesus and the Terrace Houses! You won't regret it.

Theresa_A, Aug 2025

Our family of four (two teenagers - 16, 18) thoroughly enjoyed our private tour to the Ancient City of Ephesus on August 6, 2025. Ephesus and the Terrace Houses are incredible! We are very happy we booked a private tour with Curio Travel instead of a group tour. Our tour guide, Cenk, met us as we exited the port. He walked us out to the street where our driver (in a very comfortable, airconditioned van) met us. Our driver (forgot his name) was friendly and professional. He drove safely throughout the day and got us back to the port with time to leisurely walk back to our cruise ship. Cenk was friendly, professional, and full of knowledge and pride for his country. His telling of the history of this archeological site helped us visualize life of the ancient people that inhabited this place. It was very hot and humid, so he did his best to look for shade as we visited the sites. He kept all of us engaged throughout the tour, which in the heat with teenagers was a little challenging. He welcomed our questions and took family photos of us when requested. After Ephesus, we had lunch at Agouro Restaurant, which is a restaurant Cenk recommended. Our meal was fresh, delicious, and plentiful! It was one of our favorite meals on our port stops. After lunch we visited a place where we watched women weave Turkish rugs. We were fascinated by the intricate designs and the manual labor that goes into these beautiful rugs. We were not interested in purchasing anything, and the host was gracious when we declined. We are glad we went to watch the women do their craft and have a cultural experience, but we wish we skipped this part and headed back to the port to walk around and shop. By the time we got back to the port we were tired and headed straight to the ship. I highly recommend this tour, and if you can request Cenk, you won't be disappointed. If you go during the heat, you may want to purchase an umbrella and/or a fan (they sell them as you enter), bring plenty of water, and wear comfortable walking shoes.

Ganja is a fantastic tour guide.

Douglas_C, Aug 2025

Ganja was a terrific tour guide. Her knowledge about everything we saw really added to the experience.

Fantastic small group tour- a must!

Sharon_L, Aug 2025

Tour was one of the best of my 2 month trip. Our guide Nejdet was informative, friendly and just a nice guy who guided us through the crowds and to shady spots and best photo spots. Van was excellent condition with great aircon. There was no push to see carpets etc unless we wanted. The lunch was relaxing and tasty. Cannot fault the tour. Best way to see sites. Highly recommend

Excellent private tour with Selda.

Terry_R, Aug 2025

Excellent tour with Selda! She is very knowledgable and spoke fluent English. We loved Ephesus! Visiting the historic site was amazing, the lunch was delicious and we enjoyed the pottery stop (purchased some beautiful and unique items - no pressure). We also enjoyed the short carpet demo (our daughter purchased a rug - a little more pressure sales but we were interested. If not interested, I don't think you'll be pressured). It is a very high quality rug shop. Our tour driver was excellent and van was comfortable. Private tours are the way to go, and we highly recommend Selda as a guide!

Fantastic Ephesus Tour – Highly Recommended!

Philip_B, Aug 2025

Our family took this tour during our cruise, and it was one of the best experiences of the trip. Pickup at the port was super easy, right as we walked out, someone was waiting with our name. We met our guide, Ozzy, and our driver, and headed straight to Ephesus. We started at the top of the site and walked our way down. Ozzy did a great job balancing between keeping us moving while giving us plenty of time to explore and take pictures. He was amazing, his knowledge of the area was impressive, and he shared it in a way that was both informative and engaging. The site itself is fascinating, it’s hard to believe it was once one of the largest cities in the ancient world. After Ephesus, we were given a choice of places to eat, and we chose the rug-weaving center. We got to see how the rugs are made, and although there was a sales pitch, it wasn’t pushy. The rugs were stunning, and we were happy to learn about them. Lunch there was excellent, plentiful and delicious, one of the best meals of our whole trip. Before heading back to the port, we also stopped at a pottery studio for a demonstration. Again, there was an opportunity to shop, but no pressure. The pieces were beautiful. Overall, this was one of the best tours of our cruise. We would absolutely recommend the company and especially Ozzy.

Awesome walking tour of Ephesus and the Terrace Houses

BarbaraLewis, Jul 2025

Nejdet was a wonderful tour guide. He was knowledgeable and took us through Ephesus, explained everything about the history of the ruins. The Terrace Houses and Library were our favorite parts of the walking tour. Afterwards we had a delicious Turkish lunch at a rug weaving place where we saw a demonstration of two kinds of rugs being woven.

Excellent tour and worth every penny!

Stanley_R, Jul 2025

Excellent tour with a great driver and perfect English-speaking former air force member as a guide. The meeting went flawlessly and the tour couldn't have been better. The guide was very personable and the luncheon and rug-making demonstration couldn't have been more educational. Our group included 9 family members, from 77 year old grandparents to a 12 year old and 5 year old. Everyone agreed this was the best tour we had on our 2 week long cruise.

Great half day trip!

Todd_W, Jul 2025

Oz was a great host! Super easy to find him at the port and the minibus was quick to collect the whole group. Oz was very accommodating and kept our best interest in mind the whole trip. He was super informative and well educated about Ephesus. A+ trip and highly recommend!

Great history lessons, fully customizable

Natalie_K, Jul 2025

What a great way to learn all about the amazing history of this place. We had a fantastic guide Caran who gave us so much background on the culture of Turkey as we drove to Ephasus (which is about a 45-min drive). She was really eager to make everyone happy! The day was unbearably hot (100+ degrees F) and there was a bit of a language barrier as we tried to figure out if we wanted to take the "short" or "long" route inside the ruins. The short is about 45min - 1 hour and the long is about 1.5 hours, for reference. Another very important thing to note - there are no bathrooms inside past the ticket gate. And if you have to exit to use the bathroom, you can't re-enter without buying another ticket. After we went to a very nice Greek restaurant and they brought us all kinds of food (you don't order, they just brought the same thing for everyone). Everything was very good though! But if you have picky eaters or dietary restrictions, you may want to coordinate with the tour to go to a different place where you can order from a menu. We did this tour from a cruise ship, and the port is FULL of shops if you want to save some time at the end to browse. But everything on the tour is fully customizable according to what you want to do!

Great

AMY_P, Jul 2025

Super nice and accommodating! Very knowledgeable and considerate, especially with our kids. Would use them again!

Our family of 10 had a...

Christy_H, Jul 2025

Our family of 10 had a wonderful experience with Pinar Sezer as our guide. She was knowledgeable and friendly. We saw the Ephesus ruins, the Temple of Artemis and ate lunch at a wonderful local farm (farm to table food) that gave an overview on weaving carpets. We were in Turkey when it was over 100 degrees, so the air conditioning on the bus was a relief. Thank you!

Cem is the best tour guide!

Tamara_L, Jul 2025

Cem is the real deal. He’s what I look for in an experience in a city. A local who is smart, well spoken and gives us a glimpse into what life is like in a place. That is why we travel to get a glimpse into this world for a while. We felt incredibly well cared for from meeting us walking out of the port with a sign, to the new Mercedes van with great AC on this 120 degree day to the amazing local food that was delicious to all the good shopping stops. He listened and knew how to treat us. Ephesus was incredible. My third time here but my favorite experience because of this tour!

Easy to find our...

Matt_G, Jul 2025

Easy to find our representative at the cruise terminal who connected us with our guide who walked us out of the chaotic terminal area where our van picked us up shortly after. Our guide was very charismatic and knowledgeable. The day went exactly as planned. If this is something you are considering I would not hesitate to book it! Well worth the cost.

Worth it. Book it.

Missy_B, Jul 2025

Ancient city of Ephesus was worth visiting. And it was great learning about the terrace houses. Our tour guide Simon did a fabulous job, held our attention including all our teenagers! Lunch place was a wonderful experience for our family especially most of us were vegetarians and they had so many options. Wonderful family owned place by avery sweet family. This tour was worth every penny for our group of 13! Appreciated the tv screen in the Van which really helped us with our kids with their geography. They contacted me with info as soon as I reserved. I have really loved the ease of Viator app this trip particularly. I was nervous about Viator use internationally but it was good. This tour company is 5 star

Ekim was a wonderful...

Christopher_W, Jul 2025

Ekim was a wonderful guide with a thorough knowledge of Ephesus. He arranged a great tour for us with no standing in lines and all the tickets arranged in advance. The pickup at the port was super easy and the ride was in a very luxurious Mercedes van. We stopped for a very tasty lunch at a carpet making store. (I’m not interested in carpets, but it was interesting to see how they are made by hand.) Overall, it was a fun, educational, and memorable experience.

Was amazing. Alex was so...

Carol_J, Jul 2025

Was amazing. Alex was so so full of information. The van was beautiful, timely, and gracious. Has been the best part of our entire vacation

Best Ephesus tour—outstanding value!

Robert_L, Jul 2025

We are senior couple cruising on Royal Caribbean docked in Kusadasi for first time. Our private tour to old Ephesus was fantastic! Our guide was wonderful very kind and helpful. Lunch was superb as good as onboard ship. Can’t go wrong with Viator!!

Likely to Sell Out