Viking Vesta and Ephesus: weekend Kusadasi calls by private car

Published 4 October 2026

Viking Vesta passengers are likely to see Ephesus at a weekend. Of the ten Kusadasi calls in the published schedule (checked in October 2026), three are on Saturdays and three on Sundays; the rest are Fridays and Mondays. No call falls between Tuesday and Thursday. Arrival and departure times have not been announced yet for any of the ten. Vesta’s season also runs from deep winter into late spring, and the port gets busier as it goes.

From an empty port to a four-ship Saturday

December and January: seven calls, almost always alone

Vesta calls on 6, 12 and 18 December 2026 and on 11, 17, 23 and 29 January 2027. Only on Sunday 17 January is another ship listed, Seven Seas Navigator. Expect calm gates at Ephesus, but entrance tickets are not included in the transfer, so buy Ephesus and Terrace Houses tickets in advance on our museum tickets page.

March: two calls, one busy

Monday 22 March 2027 is a quiet day. Sunday 28 March is not: Celestyal Journey and Celebrity Infinity are both in port with Vesta, three ships in total.

May: the busiest day of the run

Saturday 15 May 2027 has four ships in port: Vesta, Celestyal Discovery, MSC Explora 2 and Ritz-Carlton Ilma. On a day like that, many groups head to Ephesus at about the same time in the morning. With a private car you decide the order.

Scenarios while the times are unknown

• If your ship stays about 5 hours: Ephesus only, or Ephesus with a quick photo stop at the Temple of Artemis. Nothing else.
• If it stays about 7 hours: Ephesus plus one of the House of the Virgin Mary or the Temple of Artemis.
• If it stays about 9.5 hours: Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, the Temple of Artemis and Sirince can all fit.

Build every version backwards from the ship: the car should have you at the quay a full hour or more ahead of departure, and the all-aboard time printed in the daily programme may be earlier than that.

Sample day for the busy May call (hypothetical 07:30 to 16:30)

These hours are an assumption made for the example. The idea is to move against the flow:

1. 08:00 Meet your driver at the cruise port exit. On a four-ship day, allow extra time to get off the ship.
2. 08:45 Start at the House of the Virgin Mary, up on the mountain, while most groups are at the Ephesus gates. About 45 minutes.
3. 09:50 Drive down to the upper gate of Ephesus and walk downhill through the site, roughly 2 to 2.5 hours. The car waits at the lower gate.
4. 12:35 Temple of Artemis, about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. 13:15 Sirince for roughly an hour.
6. about 15:00 Back at the port, comfortably more than 60 minutes before a 16:30 departure.

On a winter call the same order is not needed. With the port nearly empty, simply start at Ephesus and keep an eye on closing times.

What to expect at each stop

Ephesus. On the UNESCO list since 2015. Highlights include the Library of Celsus façade and the Great Theatre. The Terrace Houses, under a roof and with their own ticket, add about 45 to 60 minutes and are a good refuge on a rainy January Saturday.

House of the Virgin Mary. A modest stone house in the woods on Nightingale Mountain. In winter it feels noticeably cooler than the ruins; bring a layer. Outside you will find water taps and a wall covered in visitors’ notes.

Temple of Artemis. Set your expectations: one re-erected column in a low field at the edge of Selcuk. It stood for one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and that story is what you come for.

Sirince. Old stone and timber houses on the hills above Selcuk, the restored Church of St John the Baptist, and small shops for fruit wine and olive oil. Midday can be busy, especially on a multi-ship day like 15 May.

Walking and weather, Vesta edition

• May is milder than high summer, but Ephesus has very little shade at any time of year: hat and water for the spring calls.
• In December and January, wet marble is the hazard: wear shoes with grip.
• The Ephesus route is roughly 1.5 to 2 km on uneven stone, and Sirince’s lanes are steep. If anyone has limited mobility, say so when booking.

Booking for a Vesta call

Use the Kusadasi–Ephesus private transfer page to book. You get a private car with driver for your group only, up to 8 passengers, meeting you at the cruise port exit and waiting until you finish. Tell us your extra stops when you book and we confirm the plan with you before the day. Entrance tickets are not included. Cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before; pay by cash or card. The Kusadasi cruise ship schedule shows which other ships are in on your date.

Planning the visit? See our Ephesus walking guide and when to visit Ephesus.