Ephesus Day Trip from Istanbul Private Tour with Flights

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (7 reviews)

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1/12

Duration14h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Set your own pace through five ancient sites without waiting for a group to move on

A private day tour from Istanbul to Ephesus with round-trip flights, hotel pickup and skip-the-line entry to the Temple of Artemis, Ephesus ruins, Terrace Houses, House of the Virgin Mary, and St. John's Basilica. You choose the departure time, spend as long as you want at each site, and a professional English-speaking guide stays with you the entire day. Turkish lunch and soft drinks are included, along with private vehicle transport in Izmir.

14h

Step-by-step itinerary

Ephesus day trip from Istanbul

Pick up from Istanbul hotel
Transfer to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen airport
Flight from Istanbul to Izmir
Meet tour guide at Izmir airport
Drive to Ephesus
Explore Ephesus ancient city
Lunch at local handicrafts center
Visit Ephesus Terrace Houses
Visit House of Virgin Mary
Drive to St. John’s Basilica
Visit Artemis Temple
Drive to Izmir airport
Flight from Izmir to Istanbul
Meet representative and transfer to hotel

The Experience

The day starts with early morning pickup from your Istanbul hotel and transfer to Sabiha Gokcen airport for the morning flight to Izmir. After landing, your guide meets you at the airport with a name sign and drives 45 minutes to Ephesus. You walk the marble streets lined with public buildings — the State Agora, Odeon, Temple of Domitian, Curetes Street, Trajan Fountain, Baths of Scholastica, Hadrian Temple, Celcus Library, and the Grand Theatre, which was built in the 3rd century B.C. and later expanded by the Romans to hold 24,000 spectators.

After Ephesus, lunch is served in the garden of a local handicrafts center where you can watch traditional carpet weaving. The afternoon takes you to the Terrace Houses on the slopes of Pion Mountain — six residential units built on three man-made terraces and decorated with wall frescoes and floor mosaics that belonged to wealthy citizens. Then you visit the House of the Virgin Mary, located 5 miles away on the Aladag Mountains, believed to be where Mary lived from 37 A.D. until her death in 48 A.D., and declared a place of pilgrimage by the Archbishop of Izmir in 1892. St. John's Basilica follows, built where the evangelist spent his final years, and the Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — rounds out the sites before the drive back to Izmir airport.

Your guide holds pre-paid skip-the-line tickets to all five sites, so you move straight through without queuing at the doors. The return flight departs Izmir after the Temple of Artemis visit, landing in Istanbul after 1 hour 20 minutes, where a representative meets you and transfers you back to your hotel. Luggage allowance is 15 kg checked and 8 kg carry-on; a vegetarian lunch option is available if you request it at booking.

What’s included

Round-trip flights between Istanbul and Izmir.
hotel pickup in Istanbul and return transfer after landing.
private vehicle transport throughout the day in Izmir.
professional English-speaking guide from arrival to departure.
skip-the-line entrance tickets to the Temple of Artemis, Ephesus, Terrace Houses, House of the Virgin Mary, and St. John's Basilica.
traditional Turkish lunch and soft drinks (cola, fanta, sprite, soda water, water).

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availableNot for heart conditions

Operated by Private & Small Group Ephesus & Istanbul & Turkey Tours

Is this one for you?At 14 hours door-to-door, this tour fills a full day and leaves no room for other Istanbul activities — book it when Ephesus is your priority and you want to see five major sites without splitting the visit across two days or joining a shared group.