Testimonials

Lester Martin (19/04/2016)

Booked this tour on line through Burak OCAL prior to boarding a cruise of the Mediterranean. Booking was seamless and correspondence between Burak and myself prior to the tour was prompt on each occasion. Met by Burak and our guide Bugra CAN on wharf in Kusadasi after disembarking our cruise ship and escorted to tour vehicle for the day. Tour guide Bugra quickly became our friend with his passionate interpretation of the history of Ephesus and Turkey in general. The private tour of the Ephesus ruins with Bugra was fantastic and most informative. Also had a Turkish lunch with Bugra after the tour. Tour lasted approximately 5.5 hours and was one of the best tours we have been on.


Alfredo Ocz (07/11/2015)

Our cruise ship arrived at a time different from the original schedule. ShoreEx was there to accomodate the new time - although the communication could have been better. (While not everyone on a cruise ship has e-mail access, a significant number do.) The tour through Ephesus was fascinating. The site continues to evolve and it appears that there is something "new" every month or so.


Nazir Damji (22/10/2015)

We really enjoyed the tor and the driver/guide was excellent. He took us to an off the track restaurant for lunch, local food, it was excellent.


Scott Nichols (18/10/2015)

First, let me tell you that Burak Ocal was wonderful before we even left the States - answering my emails and questions promptly and patiently. There were six of us on this private tour and it could not have been more perfect. Burak met us at the port - we had no problem locating him, even tho I was somewhat worried because our ship was later than we had originally planned. His brother Levent was our guide, tho Burak accompanied us on the tour. Levent is a fantastic guide. Once he figured out that we were all history buffs, he gave us a lot of information and interesting facts about Ephesus. The site itself is just amazing. One of the best historical/archeological sights we have ever visited. Better than Pompeii! If you have the chance, don't miss it. And this tour company is the best. We were so pleased with the entire experience. Levent did say they could stop at a leather factory - but it was totally up to us. We said yes, we would like to stop. And yes, out of the 6 of us, 4 bought jackets. They are beautifully crafted leather goods and I for one absolutely LOVE the one I got. Expensive - yes. Worth every penny. Like nothing I will see where I live! If you aren't interested in leather goods simply decline to make this stop. If you are thinking of a tour to Ephesus you cannot go wrong with Burak Ocal. The price was much cheaper than the ship's excursion, we had our own private van and guide, and the information that was given was thorough, fascinating and understandable. Levent's English is very very good. Overall - 5 stars all the way around.


Claudia Weger (15/10/2015)

Excellent tour guide - very knowledgeable, very personable, and we felt that the tour greatly added to our appreciation of our visit to Ephesus. One caution - you will be brought to a carpet store (education centre), other groups with other tours were brought to a leather goods store.(our travel partners ended up purchasing a $4000 rug they hadn't really been looking for - an impulse purchase they might be happy with.....)


Elizabeth M. (05/10/2015)

We arrived on the dock to meet our tour guide 15 minutes early and there was Burak and the guide Ahu waiting for us, so we got off to an early start. I must confess that we had done Pompeii last year and we were severely underwhelmed ad questioned why we had signed up for a similar tour here. But we hoped...We were not disappointed. We had a wonderful day with Ahu. She was so knowledgeable, kind and fun. We were not hurried as she knew exactly what to do when. She found us the best photo opportunities, I would highly recommend this tour company, they are very professional. Oh, and we loved Ephesus and can't wait to go to Turkey, again. The right tour guide is soooo important.


George L. (01/10/2015)

The highlight of our tours during our cruise was this personal tour of Ephesus and other sites, in which we had excellent, very professional, and personal attention by a very knowledgeable tour guide. Our tour guide was Mr. Levent Ocal, and he was very courteous, professional, and attentive. In short, a wonderful guide that showed us trough this magnificent tour, and all the sites we wanted to see. We loved everything about this tour, including the sites we visited full of great history, the very well explained tour, even the lunch we had, in which we were able to taste great local food. I will emphasize that since the moment we booked our tour with Mr. Barack Ocal, and his company Shore Excursions Kusadasi, we had the feeling that we were going to have excellent service from this company. They were very prompt in returning our emails answering our questions in detail regarding the tours, etc. In our arrival at port, we were greeted by Mr. Ocal himself, that introduced us to his brother, our tour guide for the day. We will certainly recommend this company to anyone that wants a personalized tour through beautiful Ephesus and its surroundings. Kudos to their great service !


Erica Gilman (09/06/2015)

We came on a cruise, so we only had one day. Rather than take the ship tour on a bus with many people we booked this private tour.
We couldn't have been happier. They picked us up promptly, the car was very comfortable and our guide was terrific. He is very knowledgeable, kind and very considerate of our needs. We had some really good discussions and were given great info.


Prof. Kerry Plemmons (23/08/2014)

Burak and Hasan picked me up at the hotel and provided one of the great experiences of my life. The tour was spectacular.
Hasan is a wealth of historical and cultural knowledge and made the stories of the last 2500 years come alive at every stop. Ephesus, the Temple of Artemis and the house of the Virgin Mary are places that all curious people should visit. And when you do, use Shore Excursions and ask for Hasan.


Lawrance Stranghoener (08/07/2014)

We arranged three tours for our party of seven through Burak Ocal of Shore Excursions Kusadasi - in Marmaris, Ephesus, and Istanbul - and were delighted!
Burak provided a high level of service and responsiveness, and arranged for guides at each location who were friendly and knowledgeable - all at a very reasonable price.
Burak clearly cares about his customers and is delightfully easy to work with. Highly recommended!


Stephen Lond (18/05/2014)

We booked the tour with Barac from Shore excursions Kusadasi , we got a reply in a very short time. Upon arrival at the dock ( we were early) and were met by Burac and his guide Aus . Our transport was a very nice Mercedes Van and our driver was most competent. Aus really knew his subject and didn't miss any detail we had a most informative day. Aus couldn't do enough for us , he was terrific right down to knowing where the toilet with no line was...!
Upon completion of our tour , we were met by Burac who made sure we were happy with his services .
So , to all you tourists who are going to Kusadasi , you can book with Burac AT Shore Excursions Kusadasi with confidence . I might mention our 2 person private tour was a whole lot cheaper than the cruise ship tour.


Owen Wilson (01/04/2014)

The guide was really helpful and inclusive! Did well to bridge cultural gaps and shared so much knowledge with us. Thanks for a great experience.


Chester Hayes (24/11/2013)

My wife and two adult daughters took this tour as organized by Mr. Borak. We took this tour instead of the ship arranged excursion and we were quite pleased. We were met just outside where our ship docked and had an excellent english speaking tour guide. We were driven in a private van and the driver was very nice.

We were all impressed with the historical details that our tour guide provided us as we toured the ruins of Ephesus.

Although the cost of the tour was more expensive than that offered by our cruise line, it was well worth it in that we avoided the long waits and crowds that the cruise tours incurred.


Joyce Parent (21/11/2013)

He picked us up right where he said he would meet us. He was very informative and let you spend the time you needed at each place. My sister wanted to eat authentic food and he took us to a nice reasonably priced restaurant where we tried many dishes. The weather was kinda gloomy but we didn't really notice because we had such a good experience. Besides you get the best pictures on those days and we did.My sister bought a beautiful rug which the rug place shipped to her. Our tour guide did such a great job that when we got back to the ship we couldn't stop talking about what a great day we had. I would highly recommend this tour company to anyone, I'm hoping to go back and take another tour again soon,it was money well spent, we were ahead of the tour buses at the Virgin Mary's house so we could get some good pictures. When we went to the marble city that was amazing and he knew so much about the place, much better than going on your own and I think the tour buses just drove by and few stopped to walk around the ruins. Every place we went was such a good experience and we were able to avoid the crowds. It was about the same or a little less than the cruise line but was so much more personal and we went at our own pace but we also so much more than what the cruise line tour offered.


Dawn Mortensen (20/11/2013)

We had the most fabulous tour to Ephesus and surrounding sights. We were given a nice bus for just the 12 of us in our group. Our driver and guide were so helpful and knowledgable. I would recommend this tour company to anyone going to turkey.

They always kept in touch via cell phone to let us know details etc, so we could find them when we got off the cruise ship. The price was a lot better value than taking a cruise tour