Ephesus is three hours from Istanbul by air and ground transfer combined. The domestic flight - Istanbul to Izmir (Adnan Menderes Airport, ADB) - takes approximately one hour with Pegasus or Turkish Airlines. From Izmir, a train to Selçuk runs approximately hourly and takes about an hour (€2--3); a taxi from the airport costs approximately €50--60 direct to Selçuk and saves the change at Izmir Basmane station.
The total transfer time is comparable to London to Edinburgh by rail, or New York to Boston. For a runner who has trained for a marathon and wants to use the week after it, this is a straightforward investment in seeing one of the best-preserved Roman cities in the world.
November in Ephesus and the Aegean coast: The summer tourist season is finished. Ephesus in November receives a fraction of its August visitors - the site, which holds 100,000 people on a peak summer day, is manageable and quiet. Temperatures in the Izmir--Selçuk--Kusadasi region: 14--19°C by day, around 10°C at night. Some restaurants in Kusadasi close for winter; those that remain are well-documented. The weather is the most pleasant of any season for walking archaeological sites.
Night One: Selçuk
Selçuk is the market town immediately adjacent to the Ephesus site. Its main square is a five-minute walk from the entrance to the ruins and the town's archaeological museum. The town itself is small, walkable, and entirely free of the artificial resort atmosphere that sits over Kusadasi.
The Temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis site is a ten-minute walk from Selçuk town centre. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: the largest temple in the Greek world when completed around 550 BC, larger than the Parthenon in Athens. What survives is a single reconstructed column (of an original 127) standing in a partially excavated marsh, with storks nesting at the top. This is not a ruin to visit for grandeur - it is a ruin to visit for the cognitive adjustment of understanding what the Seven Wonders designation actually meant in a world where this was among them.
Entry approximately 100 TL; included in the Museum Pass Turkey.
Selçuk Ephesus Museum
The Selçuk Ephesus Museum on Uğur Mumcu Caddesi contains the best single collection of artefacts from Ephesus: the two cult statues of Artemis (multi-breasted, first century AD), the marble Latrines frieze, and the complete display from the Terrace Houses. Entry approximately 100 TL; included in the Museum Pass Turkey.
Ephesus
The entrance to Ephesus is approximately 2km from Selçuk town centre. Taxis from the main square cost around 100 TL; most Selçuk hotels offer a morning shuttle.
Ephesus is a Roman city at approximately 15% excavated. The main circuit from the upper entrance to the lower entrance covers about 3km on marble paving and compacted earth paths; the gradient runs downhill overall from north to south. Allow three to four hours minimum.
Key structures: the Library of Celsus (built 117 AD, seating 12,000 scrolls, the best-preserved Roman library facade in the world), the Great Theatre (seating 25,000, still used for concerts), the Temple of Hadrian on Curetes Street, and the Latrine building (a communal Roman toilet, unsettling in its social implication).
The Terrace Houses (Slope Houses) are separately ticketed (approximately 200 TL, included in Museum Pass). Seven Roman domestic residences preserved under a protective steel structure, with original mosaic floors, wall frescoes, and plumbing visible through walkways above. This is the most detailed surviving interior view of Roman domestic life anywhere in the world. Do not skip them.
Museum Pass Turkey covers both Ephesus tickets and the Selçuk museum: approximately 1,500 TL for a 15-day pass, available at the first entry point. If you plan to visit more than two archaeological sites in Turkey, this is the correct economic decision.
Night Two: Sirince or Kusadasi
Sirince: a hill village 8km east of Selçuk (dolmuş from Selçuk bus station, approximately 20 minutes). A Greek Orthodox village until the 1923 population exchange, now a small settlement of stone houses and wine shops. The local wine - fruit wines made from mulberry, strawberry, and grape - is what it is; the village architecture and the view over the olive orchards are worth the trip. Busier on weekends; November weekdays are quiet.
Kusadasi: a resort town 18km southwest of Selçuk. The old town contains a Genoese castle on a small island connected by causeway and a covered bazaar district. In November, the cruise ship crowds that define Kusadasi in summer are absent; the Thursday market on the Güzelçamlı road is the most local experience the town offers. Stay here if you want a seafront room and a restaurant strip; stay in Selçuk if you want proximity to the ruins.
Getting Back
Dolmuş from Selçuk to Izmir Otogar (bus terminal) or taxi to Izmir ADB airport. Allow 90 minutes for the taxi to the airport; 60 minutes for the bus connection via Selçuk to Izmir. From Izmir ADB, domestic flights to Istanbul IST (Atatürk side, now freight) or Istanbul SAW (Sabiha Gökçen, Asian shore) take approximately one hour. Turkish Airlines and Pegasus both serve the route; multiple daily departures.