From One Ancient City to Another: How To Visit Ephesus From Istanbul
We took a last minute trip from Istanbul to the ancient city of Ephesus in the April of 2019. Despite planning the trip only a few days in advance, it was easily one of the highlights of my two months in Turkey. Ephesus was one of the largest and most important cities of the Roman Empire, second only to Rome during its heyday during the reign of Augustus. Once located on the sea, the harbor silted up and the city now lays 3 miles inland! Many of the city’s ruins are still intact, showing the wealth and prosperity Ephesus once held.
Getting there
I think the best and most convenient way to get to Ephesus is by flying.
We purchased flights from Istanbul to Izmir from Pegasus Airlines a few days before our departure for approximately $115/per person, round trip. It is a one hour flight that is operated several times a day. (If you purchase tickets sufficiently far in advance, you are looking at about $50/per person round trip).
From Izmir, it is an easy one-hour drive to Ephesus. We chose to rent a car through Holiday Autos, and paid $63 USD total to pick up the car at the Izmir airport Friday morning and drop the car off at the airport Sunday evening. The roads are easy and modern.
It IS possible to rent a car and drive from Istanbul to Ephesus — Google Maps says it is a 5.5 hour drive, however the two caveats are 1) you will have to drive in Istanbul, which has old, narrow streets, and 2) Istanbul traffic can be nightmarish, easily adding another 1-2 hours to your drive.
There are also bus services that run from Istanbul to the city of Selçuk, right outside of Ephesus. The drive time is approximately 9-12 hours, but only cost $25ish/per person.
How to see Ephesus
2) Entrance to Ephesus Archaeological site is 60 Turkish Lira (currenly ~$10-12 USD) per person. Entrance to the Terrance Houses (which are located inside the Ephesus Archaeological site) is another 30 lira (~$5-6) per person (the other sites are located elswhere in Selçuk and must be driven to).
3) Although mostly flat, Ephesus is a lot of walking and not wheelchair accessible. There is also very little shade and no vendors inside the site, so if visiting in the summer 1) go early, 2) wear a hat, 3) bring water
4) Get a guide! I cannot stress enough getting a tour guide to visit Ephesus! It is a huge, sprawling site. Even with a map or an audio set, you will surely be lost and/or confused.
Because Garan and I were not interested in seeing additional sites like The House of Mary or St. John’s Basilica, we were looking for a tour guide that would hit the history of Ephesus hard and fast (we also wanted to see the Terrace Houses, which I highly recommend), and were pleased to come across just the right tour company, aptly named: No Frills Ephesus Tours
For 110 euros + entry fees, Garan and I booked a private 3-hour tour of Ephesus, and the Terrace Houses.
We flew from Istanbul to Izmir early Friday morning, arriving at 9am. From there we got our rental car and proceeded to Ephesus, meeting our guide at the South Entrance — (marked on the map) at 11am. The South Entrance is the more desirable starting point, because then you will mostly walk downhill during the tour.
We were very happy with our guide, who spoke perfect English, and was clearly knowledgeable about the complex history of Ephesus. It was also nice to have a private tour, as we did see some groups with more than 20 people.
Having a guide was great because she pointed out small things like these Greek letters written above, ΙΧΘΥΣ. The letters were combined to create an early, secret sign for Christians (called an ichthys), as the city transitioned from Paganism to Christianity. Essentially, it is 1,800 year old graffiti.
We also learned this foot carved into marble wasn’t an advertisement for a cobbler… but was in fact pointing you in the direction of a hidden brothel.
Highlights
The true highlight of Ephesus is the Library of Celsus, built in 125 AD. Thought to have been the third largest library in the world at the time, it housed more than 12,000 scrolls.
As I wrote earlier, we were also interested in visiting “The Terrace Houses” which are located inside of the main Ephesus Archaeological site. These houses are built into the hillside, and were once home to the wealthiest residents of Ephesus. Currently the houses are inside a high-tech structure while extensive excavations and renovations take place.
When we visited Ephesus, no other tour groups were visiting The Terrace Houses, so we had the entire place to ourselves… and all I can say is WOW! For the extra few dollars, it was absolutely fascinating to see the remarkable colors and details these houses had more than 2,000 years ago.
In addition to elaborate artwork, there was also evidence of normal, everyday life — like grocery lists and children’s sketches on the walls.
By the time we finished our tour, about three hours after we started, the crowds had begun to thin out and we had a lot more of Ephesus to ourselves. We visited in early April, but I have seen photos where there appears to be thousands of tourists, which I imagine would change the experience a bit.
Our tour ended near the theater putting us close to the North Gate. There is an option to take a shuttle back to the South Gate parking area, but we chose to walk and it took us about 15 minutes.
We grabbed some köfte (Turkish meatballs) and pomegranate/orange juice at Tuğra Cafe Bistro on our way back to our car — the food was surprisingly good for a roadside stand! (See my post on The 17 Best Things to Eat in Istanbul for more of my favorite Turkish foods)
If we didn’t already have plans, we were told that the Ephesus Museum is worth the time and money (15 lira or $3) because a lot of the statues and more delicate artifacts of Ephesus have been re-homed there. For more reading on Ephesus, I recommend visiting this website.
Instead, we were planning to spend the rest of our Friday wine tasting near the sleepy village of Urla, before spending Saturday at the Alaçatı Herb Festival! A post on the rest of our weekend, coming soon! 🙂 Feel free to leave me any questions or comments below.
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This was such a great post!!! I love reading about all the ancient history. You are so lucky to be able to experience this wonderful place.
Thanks, Pipi! It was truly a fantastic experience!
Nice Job Buggy.! What a neat place. It looks like a something we would love to see as well. Good job.
John
You can have little trips to Sirince Village or other popular touristic destinations like Kusadas? while visiting Ephesus.
Hello! Love your post so much. It will be grateful if you can share us which private tour guide you were appointed to in Ephesus? Thank you.