Kusadasi, Aegean Turkey

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Kusadasi is a major Aegean resort town and cruise ship port. Being so close to the renowned ruins of Ephesus (map), it gets more than its share of Turkish and foreign visitors.

Once a sleepy farming village, Kusadasi was transformed by the Turkish tourism boom of the 1980s. It's now a busy resort with a beach along the waterfront boulevard in town and several other beaches north and south of the town. They tend to be crowded in the summer.

Scores of hotels provide for the sun-seekers.

The prime beach—rather narrow, and backed by city—is Ladies Beach (Kadinlar Plaji). Some visitors make the 15-minute, 8-km drive to nearby Pamucak Beach, which is wide, long and uncrowded, nearer to Ephesus, but with fewer services.

You can use it as a base for visiting sights in the region such as Ephesus; Priene, Miletus and Didyma; Euromos; Pamukkale and Aphrodisias. Guided tours are available to all these places, or you can see them by yourself. More...

When a cruise ship is in port, Kusadasi's transient population soars and the market teems with hagglers. If you're arriving on a cruise ship and would like a good, reasonably-priced shore excursion like those mentioned above, contact Anker Travel, a trusted local tour operator, travel agency and TurkeyTravelPlanner.com partner.

Click here for full information on ferries to Greece and the Greek Islands.

In the evening, Kusadasi's nightlife scene is lively, from the British- and Irish-themed bars to the cool jazz haunts.

Here's how to travel to and from Kusadasi.

Here's a tip: pronounce the town's name "koo-SHAH-dah-suh" if you want to sound like you know what you're doing. That's the correct Turkish pronunciation. (The clueless pronounce it "KOOS-uh-DASS-see.") It means "Bird Island:" kus = bird, ada(si) = island.