Ephesus Day Trip from Istanbul
Istanbul
If you are in Istanbul and would like to visit Ephesus we can arrange a day trip to Ephesus from Istanbul with direct flights to Izmir from ...
€299 | Rating 4.9 / 5 [10 ratings]
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Bucket list experience:
Ephesus
Credit Shutterstock.com/Birol Aydin
Last updated: 24 January, 2023
With its cobbled streets, spectacular surviving villa interiors and painstakingly restored facades, Turkey’s best-known ancient site stunningly evokes Roman-era life in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. It’s rare to experience a city quite so rich in architectural detailing, not least inscriptions, statuary and restored facades.
Wandering Ephesus’ main street, past a wealth of buildings including bathhouses, temples and the exceptional Library of Celsus, is an unmissable experience for anybody with the least fascination for the past.
Price from: £7
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around
Getting there & doing it
The southern gate, the recommended entrance, delivers visitors to the top of the original ‘main drag’. Guides and audio guides are available for hire, though those who prefer to wander at leisure will have little trouble finding their way through the well-signed site’s straightforward topography, especially with the hand-out maps.
The site is served by taxis while some of the pansiyons at Selcuk, the nearest accommodation base, shuttle their guests to Ephesus. By foot, it’s about a half-hour walk from Selcuk.
There are restaurants outside the entrance turnstiles, but nothing on the site. Bring snacks and water.
When to do it
The site is open all year round, seven days a week. Ideally be there for opening time – which is the best time to avoid the heat and the crowds.
September and June are the best months to go. The site offers little shade and in July and August, when the weather is hot, even at 8am. The site is always crowded in high summer – often with cruise groups who flood the ancient streets.
Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity
Ancient Ephesus Tour from/to Istanbul
Istanbul
This is a customized full-day small-group tour with an expert local guide. Visit Ancient Ephesus; The best-preserved classical city in the E...
$308 | Rating 4.84 / 5 [26 ratings]
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Ephesus Trip from Istanbul
Selçuk
This full-day excursion covers the most exciting sites of the region, including the BASILICA OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, it is believed that...
$372 | Rating 4.93 / 5 [109 ratings]
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Private Day Trip from Istanbul to Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary
Istanbul
A Private Day Trip to 'must' to visit places: Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary. Enjoy this excellent tour and receive a Red Carpet Treatment...
$489 | Rating 4.88 / 5 [17 ratings]
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Our writer’s recommended tour operators to book with
Peter Sommer Travels
Monmouth, Wales, United Kingdom (UK)
Highly-regarded, multi-award-winning cultural tour and upscale gulet cruise expert operating a fleet of boats in Turkey, Croatia, Greece. There’s a range of expert-led themed tours available including foodie, archaeology, hiking and special family tours for small groups or private land-based tours or gulet charters.
Somewhere Wonderful
Turquoise Coast, Turkey
Delightful small-group tours around Turkey, both by gulet and on land, personally led by two top Turkey specialists – leading Turkish travel writer Jeremy Seal, and Turkish archaeologist Yunus Ozdemir.
Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first
Nisanyan Hotel
Sirince, Aegean Region, Turkey[8.1 miles]
A unique and beautiful hotel, rich in character and in a memorable hilltop setting, which also offers a perfect base for visitors to nearby Ephesus.
Official star rating:
Other worthwhile experiences near this experience if you have time or interest..
Experience
Sirince
Aegean Region, Turkey[8 miles]
A beautiful town of exceptional Ottoman merchants’ houses and cobbled lanes, set amidst vineyards in the hills above Ephesus. If you can, visit first thing in the morning or at the end of the day, to avoid the busloads of tourists.
Best for ages: 18+ | Free
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Leading European travel writer Dana Facaros, with a passionate interest in archaeological sites, round-ups the best ruins and remnants of arguably the world’s greatest empire.
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