Ephesus & Virgin Mary House Day Trip from Izmir

A 90-Minute Drive from Izmir to Three Layers of Ancient History

You're picked up from your Izmir hotel at 7:45 am and driven to Ephesus, where you walk the marble streets of a Roman city, see the Library of Celsus and the Great Theater, visit the House of Virgin Mary on a hillside, and stand at the Temple of Artemis. One of the ancient world's seven wonders, now mostly stone and memory. Entry fees and lunch are included, and you're back by early evening.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time spent at each3 stops

1. House of the Virgin MaryEntry included1h
2. EphesusEntry included2h
3. Temple of Artemis15m

Ephesus and Virgin Mary House tour

• Pick up from Izmir hotel
• Drive to House of Virgin Mary
• Visit House of Virgin Mary and Wishing Wall
• Explore ancient city of Ephesus
• See Library of Celsus and Great Theater
• Visit Temple of Artemis ruins
• Enjoy local lunch in Selcuk
• Return to Izmir hotel

The experience

The pickup was supposed to be 7:45 am, but your hotel's front desk had written down 8:15 on the slip they handed the driver. The kind of small mix-up that happens when you're half-asleep with coffee in hand. It gets sorted in five minutes, and then you're rolling out of Izmir toward Ephesus, a 90-minute drive that takes you from the modern Aegean coast into one of the Roman world's most powerful cities. The road is straightforward, the air-conditioned minibus is comfortable, and by the time you arrive, the morning light is still low enough to make the marble streets readable.

The first stop is the House of Virgin Mary, a small stone structure on a hillside where Mary is believed to have spent her final years with Saint John. Pope Paul VI visited in the 1960s, and Pope John Paul II declared it an official pilgrimage site in the 1980s. The kind of detail that matters if you're Christian, but the place itself is quiet and spare enough that it works for anyone curious about early Christianity and how belief shaped these old stones. There's a wishing wall where people leave notes, and the view down the valley is the kind of thing you notice without trying. After that, you head into Ephesus proper, and the scale changes completely.

Ephesus is not a single monument. It's a whole city laid out in marble and stone, and you walk through it with a guide who points out the Library of Celsus first, because it's the thing everyone photographs. It was the third-largest library in the Roman world, and even in ruins, the facade is precise enough that you can imagine the reading rooms behind it. From there, the tour moves through the Great Theater (where you can picture thousands of people watching plays), past the Temple of Hadrian with its carved lintel, through the Roman baths and the brothel house (marked with a carved foot and a woman's face on the doorstep, practical ancient advertising), and across the upper Agora where merchants once sold goods. The marble streets are worn smooth by two thousand years of footsteps. You're walking where Romans walked, which sounds like a cliché until you actually do it and feel the difference between the worn center of the street and the edges.

After Ephesus, the tour makes a final stop at the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. What you see now is mostly foundation and a single reconstructed column. The temple was burned in 356 BC, rebuilt, destroyed again by the Goths, and eventually abandoned. The story goes that it burned the same night Alexander the Great was born, and an Ephesian joked that Artemis was too busy with the delivery to save her own temple. Standing there, you're looking at absence as much as presence, which somehow makes the history feel more real. Lunch happens in Selcuk, the town next to the ruins, at a local restaurant where you eat what's cooked that day. Nothing fancy, but it's included and it's real. The drive back to Izmir takes another 90 minutes, and you're dropped at your hotel around 6:30 pm, which means the whole day is roughly 11 hours from pickup to return.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and return in Izmir, an air-conditioned minibus for the full journey, entrance fees to the House of Virgin Mary and the Ephesus archaeological site, a guided walk through the ancient city with stops at the Library of Celsus, Great Theater, Temple of Hadrian, and other major structures, a visit to the Temple of Artemis, and lunch at a local restaurant in Selcuk.

Before you book

Lasts 5h–9h, runs every day at 07:30, from US$ 154 per person, with a live guide in English and Spanish, in groups of up to 15 and with free cancellation up to 24 h before.

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 07:30

Book up to12h before

AgesAdult (7 and older) · Child (4 to 6 years) · Infant (under 4): free

GroupUp to 15

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.You can choose from 25 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 13 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Crowded House Tours

Is this one for you?Pick this tour if you want to see Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis in one day without arranging transport, tickets, and timing yourself: the fixed schedule and included pickup handle all three, leaving you to focus on the walk itself.

Traveler reviews

4.93★★★★★★★★★★

195 verified traveler reviews

5 ★185

4 ★8

3 ★1

2 ★0

1 ★1

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (4 to 6 years); Infant (under 4): free.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

How long is the drive from Izmir to Ephesus?

About 90 minutes each way.

What time does the tour start and end?

Pickup is around 7:45 am from your hotel. Return is around 6:30–7:00 pm. The full day is approximately 11 hours.

Is lunch included?

Yes, lunch at a local restaurant in Selcuk is included in the tour price.

What are the main stops on this tour?

House of Virgin Mary, Ephesus ancient site (including the Library of Celsus and Great Theater), and the Temple of Artemis.

Are entrance fees included?

Yes, entry to the House of Virgin Mary and Ephesus are included. The Temple of Artemis is an open-air site with no separate fee.

Is this tour suitable for people with mobility issues?

The tour involves walking on uneven marble streets and hillside terrain at Ephesus. The House of Virgin Mary requires climbing steps. Check with the operator about your specific needs.

What should I bring?

Comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen, a hat, and water. The sites are mostly outdoors and can be hot in summer.

Is there a guide?

Yes, a guide accompanies the group and explains the history at each site.

What's included in the price?

Hotel pickup and return, air-conditioned vehicle, entrance fees to House of Virgin Mary and Ephesus, and lunch.