House of the Virgin Mary (Meryem Ana Evi)

It was an excellent and wonderful experience, especially because of the assigned guide. Gonca or Rosita is a person who loves her work, she did her best, she explained everything to us, she made us feel happy, all 10 out of 10, thank you very much.

We loved it! Our guide Aysegul is a professional archeologist and a historian. Aysegul was extremely knowledgable not only about Ephesus, but about the whole Anatolia region and the antique world. We highly recommend visiting the terrace houses in Ephesus and the local museum (see the bust of Marcus Aurelius!). Thanks again, we hope to come back soon!

Excellent!! Incredible! A must if you in the area at all . Tour guide ( Riza) and driver (Burak) were amazing !!!

Excellent n very well explained by tour guide. He was very knowledgeable n gave us a full history lesson about Ephesus n house of Mary. Me n my husband We were the only two people on the trip n still he explained all n stayed with us all through the trip. It’s very highly recommended if u go to turkey u can’t miss that

Awesome! A++ experience! Our guide, Gonca, was extremely knowledgeable, very accomodating, and personable. We would request her again. The tour was well organized and with Gonca's explanations we were very satisfied with the entire day. Our family is still talking about it a year later!

Gufte was an awesome guide! She took us on a really great tour and I learned so much. We got a lot of free time to wander around and also spent some time with her learning about all of the amazing history. We had such a good time that she convinced me to join her and the group the next day to go to Pamukkale! I’m so grateful for her time and how she made it so much fun.

Excellent tour. Our tour guide was great!!! The lunch we had at the carpet factory was awesome. If you interested in buying a Turkish rag make sure you know the size of the rug you want. The rugs are unbelievable but can be pricey but you are getting a quality rug that will last for generations. Having a private tour is the way to go. Ephesus is a must see. Viator did not disappoint.

Everything was great: approx. 14 people in the group. The tour guide let the group dictate the speed and any additional sites that we wanted to see if any...he was awesome. I forget his name sorry.

Our private guide (Begum) was absolutely excellent. She new all the facts plus more. She was friendly and funny and her English was excellent too. The tour was well-paced and we saw everything we wanted. The tour was completely flexible and we were able to stay as long or as little at each location depending on what we wanted. The lunch was great too. Highly recommend!

It was an awesome day. Turned into a full day tour as visitors from cruise took over the town!!! It was amazing to stand in wonder an reflect in St Johns basilica and the absolute calm in the house if Mary. Definitely recommend OJ, our guide for the day. She was so informative and supportive to me especially with my walking difficulties. Really patient and looking out. Thank you for a wonderful day OJ.

This was the highlight of my trip to Turkey. I am very happy with the whole experience. There was great communication from the beginning. My driver in Istanbul, Osque, picked me up on time at my hostel and was very professional. The process to catch the flight was easy and my tour guide, Riza, and driver in Izmir, Okan, were there waiting with a sign on time. Riza was an excellent guide. He was very knowledgeable and easy to get along with. He asked my opinion on which extra stops I’d like to make. The lunch recommendation was spot on. I would let Riza lead the way on selecting the food. It was delicious. Seeing Ephesus was an amazing experience beyond what I thought it would be. And being in a small, private tour is much easier to be flexible and ask questions. Definitely worth the expense.

Well, we certainly lucked out with our guide, “Tanner.” If you could design an ideal travel guide, he’s it. Tanner is extremely well traveled, well spoken, funny, patient, charming, and knew the answer to every one of our group’s thousand weird questions. He’s also very good looking—that didn’t hurt! Tanner assessed pretty intuitively our tour expectations. We got to the Virgin Mary house as soon as it opened. Lovely and meaningful for our friends. On to Ephesus—one of my favorite places in the world. Tanner knew everything about even the most obscure historical questions like, How big were the underground pipes? What did the Ephesians use for.. um.. T.P.? Who were their slaves? Etc. Finally, we went to a Turkish carpet cooperative where we had, not kidding, THE best meal I had during a 10-day trip. Saw how silk thread is made and a demonstration (astonishing) of the intricate, ancient art of rug knotting. A beautiful traditional rug showing with zero obligations. Our friends bought nothing, but we are thrilled to have made a purchase, with excellent bargaining help from our guide. All customs were explained to us by Tanner. I love Viator. Obviously we cannot say enough about a Tanner and this excellent tour.... you will be thrilled.