Kusadasi

Kusadasi wears two hats. For most of the day it’s a busy Aegean package resort — Ladies Beach, water parks up the northern strip, and a seafront of bars and grills built for a summer week in the sun. Then a cruise ship docks, the Grand Bazaar by the port fills with day-trippers, and the town becomes the gateway most of them use to reach Ephesus, 19km inland. Knowing which Kusadasi you’re booking for is the whole game: a beach week and an Ephesus trip want different bases and a different pace.

If swimming is the point, base yourself around Ladies Beach — the sheltered bay has the best in-town water and a flat walk or quick dolmus to the centre. If you’d rather have the marina, Pigeon Island, the bazaar and Bar Street on foot, stay at the harbour end of the centre instead. The big northern resorts near Long Beach are good value for all-inclusive families with kids and water parks, but you’ll lean on the dolmus or a hotel shuttle to reach town.

The mistake to avoid is paying cruise prices for everything. Ephesus is far better done independently — a dolmus to Selcuk plus a short taxi to the gate, or a half-day tour — than as a shore excursion sold on the ship at £40-£70 a head; go early or late to dodge the midday coach crush. Eat one street back from the harbour and the bazaar, where a lokanta or meze dinner costs a fraction of the seafront menus. And remember the country rule that catches UK travellers out: your GHIC doesn’t work anywhere in Turkey, so sort travel insurance with medical cover before you fly. The structured planning below — neighbourhoods, Izmir airport transfers, real costs in pounds and the Ephesus logistics — picks up from here.