Şirince Village from Ephesus: How to Get There, Wine and What to Do

Şirince, the hill village best known for its fruit wines, is about 8 km east of Selçuk and the easiest add-on to a day at Ephesus: dolmuş minibuses leave Selçuk bus station roughly every half hour and take 15 to 20 minutes, and a private car from the Ephesus gates takes about the same. Our Ephesus and Şirince day from Kuşadası port starts at $300 with a guaranteed return to the ship. The village is quiet on weekday mornings and crowded on weekends and big cruise days, which decides when you should go.

Şirince comes up in almost every Ephesus booking we take, usually as a question: is it worth the extra two hours, how do you get there, and is the wine any good? This guide answers with the timings we use, a comparison of ways to get there, and what is actually in the village beyond the wine shops. Our guides drive the road from Selçuk several times a week in season, so the timings below are ones we work with, not estimates from a map.

How to get to Şirince from Ephesus, Selçuk and Kuşadası

From Selçuk, the cheapest way is the dolmuş from the town bus station (otogar). Travel guides including Turkey's For Life report departures about every half hour in daytime and a ride of 15 to 20 minutes. Buses stop at the entrance to the village, from where everything is a short uphill walk on cobbles. Pay the driver in cash.

From the Ephesus ruins there is no direct public transport. Most independent visitors take a taxi back to Selçuk and then the dolmuş, or a taxi straight up the hill. If you finish Ephesus at the Upper Gate, a pre-booked car saves the walk back to the taxi rank at the Lower Gate.

From Kuşadası, it is 30 to 40 minutes by road through Selçuk. Cruise passengers need to watch the clock: the road is narrow at the top, and on busy days parking at the village entrance fills up. We build in a margin for this on every port day.

What to do in Şirince in two hours

Start at the top and walk down. The upper lanes are quieter, with the old stone and plaster houses, most of them two storeys with wooden balconies, that make the village look the way it does in photos. Many are now small hotels and cafés.

The village was Greek-speaking until the population exchange of 1923. Its old name was Çirkince, roughly "ugly", and it was renamed Şirince, "pleasant", in the 1920s. Churches from that time survive. The best known, the Church of St John the Baptist, dates from the early 19th century and has been restored. Opening times vary, so do not plan the visit around going inside.

Lower down, the main street is lined with wine shops offering tastings, stalls selling olive oil, soaps and dried fruit, and cafés with terraces over the valley. On the edge of the village is the Nesin Mathematics Village, a summer school founded by the mathematician Ali Nesin, which surprises people who come only for the wine.

Şirince wine: what to expect

Şirince is famous for fruit wines: blackberry, mulberry, peach, apple, melon and many more, usually sweet and served cold in small tasting glasses. Most shops on the main street let you try two or three before buying. They are an easy souvenir and good with dessert, but they are not the dry Aegean wines that Turkish wine lovers talk about.

If you want proper wine from grapes, ask for local reds and whites from the Aegean region, or go further. Our private wine tasting tour from Kuşadası visits the ancient city of Teos and two established wineries, MMG and Ayda, with a wine-paired lunch, and starts at $300.

A practical note: alcohol is heavy in a suitcase and liquids are limited in hand luggage. If you are flying home, buy on your last day or ask the shop to wrap bottles for checked baggage.

Ephesus first, Şirince second: the timing that works

Ephesus gets hot and crowded by late morning, especially from April to October. The best plan is the ruins early, ideally at opening time, then the Terrace Houses, then lunch in Şirince when the coach groups are still in the ancient city. In winter the order matters less, but the days are short and the village goes quiet by late afternoon.

On a cruise day, add the House of the Virgin Mary or Şirince, not both, unless your ship stays past 18:00. Trying to fit Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, Şirince and a carpet or leather demonstration into one port call is how people end up running to the gangway.

The Ephesus entrance fee is €40 until 31 March 2027 and €45 from 1 April 2027, as we reported in our story on Ephesus ticket prices. Şirince itself is free to enter.

What this means for your trip

If you are staying in Selçuk or Kuşadası for a night or more, take the dolmuş, go in the morning and have breakfast or lunch in the village. It costs very little and you can stay as long as you like.

If you have one port day or one day from Istanbul, a private guide makes the combination work. You see Ephesus properly, arrive in Şirince for lunch, and someone else watches the time. That is the trade-off between a group excursion and a private day, which we compared in detail in our piece on Ephesus private versus group tours.

Avoid Saturdays and Sundays if you can. Families from İzmir come up for breakfast, and the lanes fill by eleven.

Questions travellers are asking

Plan it with us

We run Ephesus days with or without Şirince, from the cruise port, from hotels in Selçuk and Kuşadası, and with flights from Istanbul.

• Ephesus and Şirince village tour from Kuşadası port, with on-time return: from $300.
• Private Ephesus highlights tour with the House of the Virgin Mary: from $300.
• Private wine tasting tour from Kuşadası: from $300.
• Ephesus and Pamukkale 2-day tour from Istanbul with flights and hotel: from $675.

For a full day on the coast, see our guide to things to do in Kuşadası, and for timing inside the ruins, our article on how much time Ephesus needs. Send your ship name or hotel and date on WhatsApp +90 545 307 67 88 and we will plan the day around it.

Sources: Turkey's For Life, Şirince village guide; Road is Calling, Şirince travel guide.