Ephesus Travel Forum

A friend will be in Istanbul soon, and she wants to see Ephesus, but she will be by herself. What is the safest way for her to go there? What is the most reliable and possibly the best price?

Thank you....

While in Istanbul I advice her to ask the hotel clerck to help her. The hotel clerck will show her the nearest bus agency to Ephesus. She can visit www.turkeytravelplanner.com also for more information. Varan, Ulusoy, Kamil Koc are good bus companies. If she takes the night bus to Selcuk from Istanbul, she will be there in the morning at 10 o'clock. Selcuk is a small willage only 10 kms to Ephesus. At the end of the Istanbul bus route lays Kusadasi which is 25 kms to Selcuk. Kusadasi is avery important international naval port.(See my Kusadai page)

Definately use the bus companies already stated by Sirvictor.Lots of places to stay in Selcuk on the way up to the castle on the left.
Bus should be around 55Ytl one way,you will arrive around breakfast time,so time to pick a place in Selcuk,then get local dolmus going to Kusadasi and get off outside Ephesus,regular service or walk only 3km not 10.
Good map of things to see in Selcuk and Ephesus at the tourist information in Selcuk.

...and from a female foreigner who have done this trip alone:
do as the turkish men above me says :)

I took a bus leaving 23ish and came to Selcuk 8ish in the morning.
Pst, Efesus is only 2 km away from Selcuk sentrum :o) Even walkable if not to hot.
There are dolmuses going from Selcuk bus station every 15 min (or it was in beginning of aug when I was there). Very good bakery at the bus station too.

I took Metro bus and they have only 3 seats per row. Good wide seast :o)
Metro is also one of the better/more reliable bus compaines. Prices between those better companies isn't that big.

As a female booking bus seats in Turkey I was not allowed to sit wherever I wanted in the bus - if they had already sold one of the double seats to a male I was not allowed to book the free seat (normal practise in Turkey? here in Norway it is not).
Even the staff at this shabby bus I once had to take from Izmir overnight to Istanbul (didn't want to wait for hours in Izmir for a better company) took very good care of foreign female travelling alone :)

Hey Ruffen,i might live in Turkey but i'm 100% English,no offence taken :)

ups.... Glad you took it as a compliment :)

During long distance tours the bus company never let a man to sit by a woman traveling alone. If there is an another woman who wishes to travel they sell the ticked. Otherwise the bus departs with an empty seat. This is not an islamic rule but curtesy. No one want to hurt or irritate a single travelling woman. It is a respect.

On the other hand during short distance tours ( by dolmusch or minibus) they dont mind if you are a woman or man. You sit the empty place.

It is a very good curtesy you have in Turkey Sirvictor!
First time ever on a long distance bus alone the bus got quite full. When newcommers tried to sit down by me, the "stewardess" (male) came and put them in another seat. When he had to use my seat he put a respectable (older) man beside me. No other female travelled alone on that bus.

Dolmus, sit?? Lucky if you get your body into some of them and stand :))