Creten Holidays who were the local agent for this tour were very very unreliable. They sent us a message giving us the name of the ferry to take from Pythagoras port, which worked out well.. then they said to look for Meander travel when we get to Kusadasi port in Turkey.. there was no one from Meander travel to meet us, we did not know what to do next and all the other tour groups were collecting their people and heading off to their respective coaches to commence the drive to Ephesus. We were left standing and after I initiated two calls to Creten Holidays, I was told that Meander travel had cancelled our tour as they did not have enough people and we are to join another group.. Creten Holidays never informed us of this until I rang in desperation thinking we will just be left at the port.. then we had to ask the lady at the information booth and find the other group and run to their coach.. very very disappointed in Creten Holidays.

Ship was easy to find, there was a long line waiting for passport control. Cretan Holidays sent me an email with all the important information, what ship to get on, that I have to give up my passport at Kusadasi port (you get it back when you return), and to meet meander travel agency. Our guide Hakan was really great, very informative, he really knows a lot about Ephesus. There is NO trip to a carpet or jewellery shop. 😊 Afterwards you get free time in Kusadasi to visit the bazar, karawansery or the castle.

We had a good day excursion to Ephesus. Our guide “George” was very informative and a delight. The only negative was the return ferry left two hours later than we were told and the passport control was completely disorganised on the Turkish side.

I want to start by saying, TAKE PLENTY OF WATER!, there are shops just outside before you go in, the prices are hiked, but it’s worth every penny if you haven’t brought any water with you. right that’s out of the way. If like me you like watching and researching about the Roman, Greek era’s, then this is a must visit if in Turkey. The first thing you notice straight away is how busy this place is, they’re were hundreds of people. Word of advice, at all times know where your guide is, so you don’t become detached from your group. Take a hat and sunglasses with you as there is a lack of shade and it gets really hot in the open. Make sure you wear suitable footwear as the marble floors are slippery. My eldest is 15 and youngest is 11, this was boring too them, but I devised a plan so they could tether to my Wi-fi and keep busy, yes I know genius!. The only reason I gave this a 3 rating is that it was a lot busier than I thought, so we were constantly clambering over and around people to see things, other than that a must for history buffs.

While Cretan Holidays was a bit of a communication shambles, their partner Meander tours on the Turkey side was exceptional! The guide Hakan, was a retired archeologist and simply a font of knowledge. He managed a large group extremely well within a very busy tourist attraction. He made the past come alive. If you are using Cretan holidays from Samos, be sure to make them clear in the communication of which boat (name helps) and where to catch it. They have no representation to help you at the docks in Samos. We took the Venus from the right hand side of the pier looking out to sea from the waterfront. (A blue and white boat) Our thanks to a previous review to alert us to Cretan Holidays lack of communication!

After booking the tour and receiving my ticket, I expected to find an email telling me where to go. With two days left until the tour I emailed them, asking where we were supposed to meet for the tour. They responded with an incorrect location; they sent me a second email giving me an incorrect location again. Finally, they told me to meet at Pythagorio port, which it says on the ticket. I asked them where specifically to meet in the port, since it is quite big. They simply said "pythagorio port." I asked for the name of the ship we were taking, and they said "meet at pythagorio port". I sent them a longer email, explaining that once I got to the port, I would need to know where specifically to go, such as a specific boat or a tourism office. I got no response. Luckily, there was only one ship leaving to Turkey, so I got on that one. I was worried, because there was no one from Cretan Holidays to give me a ferry ticket; all I had was the ticket for this tour. No one checked my tickets, so I got on. Waiting for us in Turkey were several tour groups, none of which were Cretan Holidays. I asked several of the companies, but no one had heard of them. Finally I asked Meander Tours, and they said that they were Cretan Holidays; they had our names on their list. Despite this, they required printed copies of our tickets, instead of the screenshots we had. We had to go find an internet cafe and pay for wifi so that we could email our tickets to the guide. The tour itself was great, and we got a lot for what we paid for, I wouldn't change a thing. But telling us where to get the boat, telling us that they were called Meander travel and that we were supposed to find them in Turkey, and telling us we needed to have printed tickets should have been done without the stress of us figuring this all out on our own.

I booked and paid for two trips with Cretan Holidays 6 months ago and specially booked international flights and local accommodation to do these. 3 days out from the booked activities they have cancelled both trips. Devastated. This company sell things they do not deliver - this sort of false advertising in many other countries is criminal conduct. But apparently Cretan Holidays think nothing of it. Use anyone else apart from this company!

A Turquia tem lugares fantásticos. Vale muuuito conhecer, destaco: Castelo de Algodão, Istambul, Capadocia (onde realizei o sonho de andar de balão)

Quede maravillada por como se encuentra cuidado, hay esculturas, templos, columnas... su restauración es tan impecable que los detalles son increíble, un lugar para no perder detalles. Recomendable!!!