Day Trip to Ephesus

 

Travelling to Turkiye soon?  Have you thought of visiting the ancient city of Ephesus?  I was lucky enough to do so as a day trip from the city of Izmir.  Here's how I did it.

Ephesus was a major port city in the ancient Greece and Rome, located now in Turkiye. It was once the centre of trade, culture, and Christianity.  It was famous for housing the largest and oldest library in the world with over 10,000 books. The city is still currently under excavation.

Take the Busmane Train to Selcuk

I was based in Izmir for three days.  I decided to go see the famous city of Izmir.  Luckily my hotel room was right across from the train station.  This made the journey easy for me.  I got up early and walked across to the train station. The closest station to me was Basmane.  Its a district in the city of Izmir and also the name of the station. I asked for a one way ticket to Selcuk.  It cost me 60 Lira ($2.40 CDN).  The train ride was 1 hour and 28 mins long.  

Take the Dolmus Bus to Ephesus

I arrived at the Selcuk train station.  I walked onto the street and was looking for a nearby taxi to take to Ephesus.  A local man saw me and asked where I was travelling to.  He told me not to take the taxi as it would cost more.  He instructed me to walk a block over through the shopping plaza and turn left at the main road.  I would keep walking until I see the Dolmus Buses parked on the left.  These Dolmus buses are used all throughout Turkiye as a means of cheap transportation. They usually wait until they have a full passenger bus before leaving for their destination.  

I found the Dolmus bus heading to Ephesus.  I paid 20 Lira (($0.80 CDN) to the driver as I waited inside for two more people to arrive for a full passenger load so we could leave for Ephesus.  Once we had everyone, it left the station and dropped me off at the entrance to Ephesus in 10 mins.  I walked up to the entrance counter and paid 700 Lira ($28.09 CDN).  At this point you could also pay more for a tour guide or go on your own.  I chose to go on my own.  

Enter Ephesus

I walked around the entire city.  You could see where they have excavated new parts of the city.  I would advise that if you want pictures without the crowds, come early.  I got there at 8:40am and only a few people were around.  You need to be quick as the tour buses come all at once at 9am. Kusadasi is a popular port destination for many cruise ships and many day trips are made to Ephesus from Kusadasi which means it gets crowded very quickly.

After taking in all the sites, it was time to go back.  I waited for the Dolmus bus to pick me up from the same spot it dropped me off from and then headed back to the Dolmus station.  From there, I walked through some shops that were open and had breakfast at one of the restaurants.  I ate my delicious menemen (scrambled eggs in tomato) breakfast in the open courtyard and did some people watching.

Back to Izmir

After breakfast, I walked back to the Selcuk train station and went back to Izmir.