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A cruise ship moored below a pastel hillside town on the Mediterranean coast

Country guide

Cruise ports in Turkey

2 ports we cover in Turkey, across the Greek Isles & Aegean. Each guide covers how ships berth, how far the town is and what a group can do with the day.

  • Greek Isles & Aegean
  • 2 port guides

Practical basics

Drawn from the individual port guides below. Currency, language and berthing can differ between ports in the same country, so the detail that matters is on each port's own page.

Plan a group cruise calling at Turkey

How Turkey's ports compare

The two Turkish ports serve completely different purposes. Kusadasi is a resort town that exists on itineraries because Ephesus is 20 km inland. Istanbul is one of the great cities of the world, and since Galataport opened in 2021 the ship berths in the middle of it.

Ephesus is the reason to accept Kusadasi. It was among the largest cities of the Roman empire and is one of the most complete classical sites anywhere — the Library of Celsus, a theatre seating 25,000, and the terrace houses with mosaics and frescoes still in place. It is unshaded marble underfoot and best visited as early in the day as the schedule allows.

Istanbul needs longer, which is why calls there are frequently overnight. Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi and the Grand Bazaar are two tram stops from the berth, and the mosques have dress codes — shoulders and knees covered, heads covered for women, shoes off.

Turkey uses the lira rather than the euro, and is on UTC+3 year-round with no daylight saving. On an itinerary that also calls in Greece, that means the clock changes between ports.

Every Turkey cruise port

Regions Turkey sits in

Other countries with cruise ports

Taking a group to Turkey

Five cabins or more held together as one block, quoted once, with each household booking and paying separately. Tell us roughly when and how many.

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