Kusadasi Port Day With a Teen, Kusadasi, Turkey

We would start every port day of our Holland America Mediterranean Cruise by stepping out onto our balcony to take a first look at the picturesque port town that would be our destination for the day. When we arrived in Kusadasi, Turkey, our reaction wasn’t, ooooh! so much as, hmmm. 

Kusadasi is a resort town comprised of cinder block buildings hugging the side of a tall hill that slopes up from the port. It’s not pretty, but don’t be put off. 

Kusadasi is an easy place to spend a day with tens and teens because you can easily mix some serious sightseeing with kid-friendly activities like going to the beach and eating and shopping in the Old Town Bazaar, a winding pedestrian zone just across from the cruise ship port.

If you’re in Kusadasi, you have to take a day trip to nearby Ephesus, an ancient city that was an important and bustling Roman trading port in its heyday.

The ruins here were like nothing I’d seen anywhere else. We were walking through the unearthed remains of an entire city, with city gates, two amphitheaters, Greek and Roman temples, houses, shops, public baths, the library of Celsus and more. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).