The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection in Kusadasi: Ephesus at a Yacht’s Pace

A yacht voyage brings you to Kusadasi with a few hundred fellow guests, and the day ashore can keep that feeling. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has four calls here in the coming year, each long enough for Ephesus and the two sacred sites around it at an easy pace.

What makes an Ephesus day from a yacht different?

Mostly scale and pace. Evrima is built for 298 guests and Ilma for 448, so the day ashore can follow a small party’s own rhythm. A private guide suits that rhythm well: one car, one guide, your own party, and a route that slows down wherever something holds you and moves on where it does not.

We build the day around three places that belong together. Ephesus itself, walked downhill from the Upper Gate through the marble city; the Temple of Artemis, a Wonder of the ancient world now reduced to a single column in a field outside Selcuk; and the House of the Virgin Mary, a small stone house among the pines on the hill above, where tradition holds that Mary spent her last years. With a long lunch between them, the day keeps the tempo of the yacht.

Which yachts call at Kusadasi, and when?

CruiseMapper’s Kusadasi schedule is the source for these dates and hours, checked 28 September 2026. The line’s own Ephesus port page lists voyages that match all four calls: Evrima sailing from Athens (Lavrion) to Athens (Piraeus) by way of Santorini, Mykonos and Chania, and Ilma on round trips from Athens (Piraeus) that also call at Mykonos and Patmos (the line’s Ephesus port page).

The Points Guy’s guide to the line mentions an Athens (Piraeus) round trip with an overnight call at Kusadasi. None of the four calls above is an overnight, but if your voyage stays the night, tell us: a second day ashore opens up Sirince, a slower hour in the Ephesus Museum, or simply an evening in Kusadasi’s old town.

What fits between 08:00 and 19:00?

Everything named above, without hurrying, as long as the day starts early. Ephesus opens at 08:00, the hour the yachts are due, and the planning runs backward from the all-aboard time printed in your yacht’s daily program. A typical Ilma or Evrima day then looks like this:

1. Ashore and away. Your guide meets you where you come ashore, and the road to the Upper Gate takes 20–30 minutes, up to 45 on the port’s busiest days.
2. Ephesus, top to bottom. About 1.5 km downhill past the Odeon, Curetes Street and the Library of Celsus to the Great Theater: 2–3 hours, plus about 45 minutes if you add the Terrace Houses.
3. The Temple of Artemis. A short, quiet stop at the lone column, with St. John’s Basilica and Ayasuluk Fortress on the hill behind it.
4. Lunch. A long table in Selcuk or, on a village day, up in the hills at Sirince.
5. The House of the Virgin Mary. Shoulders and knees covered, so bring a light scarf; the setting among the pines is part of the visit.
6. Back to the yacht on a schedule set from your all-aboard time. On Evrima’s 20:00 call there is room for the old town of Kusadasi as well.

Our Full Day Ephesus tour (7–8 hours) is that day almost exactly, with Isa Bey Mosque as well. The Ephesus and Village Life tour (6–7 hours) trades the House of the Virgin Mary for Sirince, its stone lanes, fruit wines and a village lunch. The Create Your Own Ephesus tour starts from a blank page: tell us the yacht, the date and what you love, and we send a written plan to refine together by email before you sail.

Where do the yachts come ashore in Kusadasi?

Kusadasi’s cruise terminal, Ege Port, sits on the seafront in the middle of town, at Mahmut Esat Bozkurt Caddesi No. 20, with two finger piers and eight berths whose length limits run from 253 m to 387 m. Evrima (190 m) and Ilma (241 m) are shorter than every one of those limits, so size is no obstacle at any berth.

The line does not publish which berth its yachts use here, or whether they tie up at the pier at all, so we confirm the landing point with you before the day. At the pier, every guest leaves through the terminal exit where the pier meets the town, and that is where our guide stands, holding a card with your name; the aerial photo on our shore excursion page marks the spot.

Should you book ashore through the yacht or with a local guide?

Read the yacht’s own program first; it is well thought out. The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection sorts its shore excursions into three kinds: Select Group Excursions, Pre-Designed Private Excursions curated by its destination experts, and Custom Private Excursions built from scratch (see the line’s shore excursions page). It does not publish named excursions for this port. Booking through the yacht keeps the whole voyage with one team, and the line counts peace of mind among the benefits of doing so.

A local agency adds something different: a licensed guide who lives here, a route shaped with you before the voyage, and the freedom to change it on the day. Ephesus tickets cost EUR 40 per adult in 2026, plus EUR 15 for the Terrace Houses, and nothing for children aged 7 and under. We purchase them ahead for you at that gate price, without any mark-up, and they are paid apart from the tour, so you walk past the ticket queue; the security check is the same for everyone. Your guide can lead the day in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Italian or German.