رحلة يوم إلى أفسس للزوار الفرنسيين: كوشاداسي وإزمير وبودروم وساموس

Kuşadası is the easiest base for Ephesus: the ruins are about 20 km away, some 25 minutes by road, so a morning is enough. From İzmir the drive is a little over an hour, from Bodrum about two and a half hours, and from the Greek island of Samos you take the ferry to Kuşadası and are at the gate half an hour after landing. Our private Ephesus excursion from Kuşadası port costs from $300 per person for six to eight hours with your own guide and van, and it suits ferry passengers from Samos as well as cruise guests.

French travellers come to Ephesus from very different directions: a holiday hotel in Kuşadası, a flight into İzmir, a week in Bodrum, or a few days on Samos with a crossing to Turkey. This page takes each starting point in turn, with distances, a realistic plan and the tour that fits, then explains what to see if you only have three hours, what the tickets cost and the practical points for visitors from France.

Choosing your starting point

Entrance tickets are not included in any of these prices; see the tickets section below.

Staying in Kuşadası or Selçuk

This is the simple case. Kuşadası is a holiday town on the coast with the cruise and ferry port in its centre; Selçuk is the small inland town right next to the ruins, with the Basilica of St John and the Ephesus Museum.

With a base here you can choose the hour. Go at 08:00 when the site opens, before the cruise groups arrive, or in the late afternoon when it is cooler. Ephesus closes at 18:00, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (muze.gov.tr), and ticket sales stop before the gates close.

A full day from Kuşadası usually combines the ancient city in the morning, lunch, and the House of the Virgin Mary or the village of Şirince in the afternoon. If you have not booked yet, our page on Kuşadası hotels for Ephesus compares the two towns: Kuşadası for the sea and restaurants, Selçuk for quiet and proximity.

Arriving in İzmir

İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport is the gateway for Ephesus. From France, most travellers fly to Istanbul and take a domestic flight of about an hour and a quarter to İzmir. Flying home from İzmir via Istanbul avoids doubling back.

From the airport, Ephesus is about 65 km, an hour by road, and an excursion can begin as soon as you land. Our Ephesus tour from İzmir Airport does exactly that, with lunch and transfers, from $161 per person.

If you stay in İzmir itself, give the city half a day too. Smyrna, as İzmir was called, was one of the Seven Churches of the Book of Revelation, and its Roman agora survives in the city centre, with well-preserved vaulted basements. İzmir is also the natural base for Pergamon to the north and for Pamukkale inland; see our Pamukkale tour from İzmir and the Pergamon Acropolis page.

From Bodrum

Bodrum is about 175 km south of Ephesus, around two and a half hours each way via Milas and Söke. The excursion is therefore a full day of eight to nine hours, of which five are on the road. It is worth it if Ephesus is your one big excursion of the holiday; start early and choose a private van with air conditioning.

The House of the Virgin Mary fits naturally on the way back. If the drive is too long for you, the ancient sites of Priene, Miletus and Didyma are closer to Bodrum and much less crowded. Our Ephesus tour from Bodrum page gives the full hour-by-hour plan.

From Samos: crossing from Greece for the day

Samos lies just off the Turkish coast, and a ferry crosses between the island and Kuşadası. For French travellers spending a holiday on Samos, it is a way to add Ephesus without flying.

What to know before you plan:

• The crossing. Ferries sail from Vathy and from Pythagorio. The crossing takes roughly an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the port and the boat.
• The timetable is seasonal. In 2026 sailings ran on a seasonal timetable, mainly from spring to autumn, and not every day of the week. Timetables are set by the ferry operators each year, so check the current one before you fix a date, and book the ferry before the tour.
• The time difference. Turkey stays on UTC+3 all year. In summer Greece and Turkey are on the same time; in winter Turkey is one hour ahead. Check which applies to your return sailing.
• Documents. You leave the Schengen area at Samos and enter Turkey at Kuşadası, with passport or identity-card checks on both sides. French citizens can enter Turkey with a national identity card, according to our Turkey visa requirements page; carry the same document both ways.
• The day itself. Our guide meets you at the port exit in Kuşadası with a name sign, the van takes you straight to the Upper Gate, and you are back at the port at least an hour before the return sailing. The plan works like a cruise excursion, timed backwards from the ferry. Our Kuşadası shore excursions page explains how we time port days.

How long you have depends on the sailing times. With a morning arrival and an early-evening return, there is enough time for the ancient city and the House of the Virgin Mary or the Basilica of St John, but usually not for Şirince as well.

Ephesus in three hours: the essentials

If time is short, a guide walks you through the site downhill, from the Upper Gate to the Lower Gate, in about two and a half to three hours:

1. The State Agora and the Odeon, the civic centre where the city council met.
2. Curetes Street, the marble avenue lined with fountains and the Temple of Hadrian.
3. The Terrace Houses, if you add the separate ticket: Roman homes with frescoes and mosaics under a protective roof. Add 40 minutes to an hour.
4. The Library of Celsus, the façade on every postcard, with the monumental gate beside it. Our Library of Celsus page tells its story.
5. The Great Theatre, where, according to Acts 19, the silversmiths of Ephesus rioted against St Paul.
6. Harbour Street and the Lower Gate, where the van collects you.

Tickets and practical points for French travellers

These are the ministry's foreign-visitor prices, as listed in our Turkey museum prices 2027 update:

• Paying. Prices are set in euros and charged in Turkish lira at the day's exchange rate. The House of the Virgin Mary is not a ministry site and charges its own fee at its gate.
• Entry. French citizens can stay in Turkey up to 90 days without a visa, with a passport or a national identity card.
• A French-speaking guide. Licensed guides in French can be arranged on request, subject to availability. Ask early for spring and autumn. Our French-speaking guide in Istanbul page explains how we arrange them.
• Heat and shoes. Summer days in the Ephesus valley are very hot, and the marble is slippery. Hat, water and shoes with grip.
• Lunch. Selçuk and Şirince have simple restaurants with shaded terraces; on a short port day, the guide will suggest a quick stop.

For a longer trip, our Turkey tour packages from France page shows how Ephesus fits into a week with Istanbul and Cappadocia.

Tours that cover this

• Private Ephesus shore excursion from Kuşadası port, for cruise and Samos ferry passengers: from $300 per person.
• Private Ephesus highlights tour from your Kuşadası or Selçuk hotel: from $300 per person.
• Ephesus day tour from İzmir Airport with lunch and transfers: from $161 per person.
• Ephesus tour from Bodrum port with the Virgin Mary House: from $750 per person.

All our tours in the region are on the Ephesus and Kuşadası tours page, and the Ephesus destination guide covers the area as a whole.

Frequently Asked Questions