Private Ephesus and Pergamon Shore Excursion

We booked a full day private tour to Pergamon with Istanbul Guided Tours. Our tour guide was Tijen Oral and our driver was Fatih. We both had a great time in the beautiful city of Pergamon (now called Bergama). We arrived in Kusadasi by cruise ship, so we had to travel about 200 km (one way). At the best of times, it's at least a 2.5 hr drive, potentially longer if you run into traffic through the large city of Izmir. We knew this so the almost 3 hr drive each way was not a surprise to us. If you do not wish to spend the majority of your day in a vehicle, do not book this tour from Kusadasi. The better choice would be to book it from Izmir if you can. That said, we thought the long drive was worth it. They also planned appropriate rest stops to give us a chance to stretch our legs and have bathroom breaks. The stops were at Gas Stations, so if you need a sandwich, coffee or snacks, the stops have plenty of selection. They were the cleanest Gas Station bathrooms I'd ever used! Much cleaner than any in N America. We got to see the Asklepion and Acropolis of Pergamon. The theatre was impressive, it's not something that can be fully captured in a photo. Tijen had interesting commentary about the philosophers of the ancient city and the role they played in society. After visiting the ancient sites, Tijen took us to a local eatery where we tried Kofta (meatball) and Ayran (yogurt drink). It was worth the stop to try local cuisine. Overall, if you're interested in ancient history, we recommend this trip regardless if you are arriving in Izmir or Kusadasi. Just know that it is a considerable drive from Kusadasi.

Tolga is an excellent guide, kind, and he explained every detail of Ephesus to us

A must do day featuring ancient Ephesus, the Terrace Houses, Virgin Mary House, and a great lunch. What a day! Our guide, Tijen Oral, met us at the cruise terminal, and expertly guided us for the next several hours. Her communication before we met was outstanding and her knowledge shared during the day helped to make the experience all the better. Highly recommend

Let us start by saying that our guide Huseyin was amazing. He was extremely knowledgeable and personable. He made sure that all of us were comfortable and that we saw everything we wanted to see.Ephesus was everything we hoped for and he made this one of the best stops on our trip. We would definitely use him again.

We had a fantastic tour with Tijen, she created a perfect bespoke tour for us to fit our schedule and has deep knowledge of the religious and archeological aspects of Ephesus which we really enjoyed. She also provided us with some really helpful tips for our visit to Pamukkale and Goreme, thank you Tijen !