Exploring Kuşadası in Türkiye

We stayed at the lovely Ramada Resort by Wyndham Kusadasi & Golf in September 2025. It is from here we were able to visit the city of Kuşadası a few times during our week on holiday.

Kusudasi is a cruise port used predominantly as a gateway for visiting Ephesus. If you, like me, haven’t heard of this before, it’s actually one of the seven wonders of the ancient world! Whilst a fascinating piece of history, we chose not to visit with our 2 year old. We’ll save the trip for when we are older and don’t have to use all our energy on chasing a toddler around!

So what is there to do here? Well, if you find yourself planning a trip, here is what to expect from Kusadasi.

The view of Kusadasi from closeby Ramada Resort

Lots of shopping

There are so many shops in Kusudasi you can easily spend a day here shopping. Not one for the cheap tat, we didn’t actually enter most of them. A lot of the shops sell the usual magnets, bracelets and souvenirs so you can definitely take home your tourist momentos or stock up on Turkish Delight. We grabbed a magnet to add to the fridge collection. There is also a large combination of fake designer gear which just isn’t our thing at all but I know a lot of tourists love this stuff.

I’m a sucker for earrings buying a pair (or three) everywhere I go and Turkiye was no exception. Located within a little outdoor shopping mall along the sea front I came across a tiny stall selling beautiful handmade glass jewellery.

I walked away with three pairs opting for bees, strawberries and Pokeballs. Admittedly had they of been cheaper I’d have bought more since I loved so many of them!

Our daughter wanted a bracelet but being just 2 I knew if she got her hands on half of these she’d snap them instantly. So i grabbed her the next best thing… A hair bobble that she thinks is a bracelet! Easily pleased.

I saw some unique clothing stores during our visit and loads of items i would have happily loved to wear. Unfortunately everything was so expensive. I can only assume prices were hiked due to it being a cruise ship hub. £25 for the same trousers I can buy at my local market back home for £17? No thanks!

Overall, I’d describe Kusudasi as a shoppers paradise if you love your markets. There are tons to explore.

Pretty streets

Sometimes all you want from a place is beautiful things to admire. I really loved how nicely decorated the streets were here lined with lanterns and foliage.

It was the perfect backdrop for photos but also it brightened up the place. I feel like every city should do this! I always find I remember a place more if it is pretty and it sticks in your mind even if it has nothing but beauty to offer.

Whilst there was only shops, bars and restaurants around, the decor made it feel a lot prettier.

I liked the quirky fish statue along the front where you can see fishing boats too.

There were a number of statues and sculptures dotted about including many religious monuments too. Most of the time we had no idea what we were looking at.

Views and sunsets

Kusadasi is surrounded by hills and in the distance you can even see Greek islands! Not far from Samos you can even take a boat here for the day. We love Greece and we definitely considered this but the pickup time being 7am felt far too early for our toddler sleeping until 8am most days. We definitely didn’t want to find out what becomes of her if she goes without breakfast either! Haha.

I loved the beautiful views from Kusadasi as you walk along the seafront.

There are Kusadasi signs and photo opportunities everywhere here with a beautiful backdrop.

We walked all the way along to Kusadasi castle as we could see it in the distance. Whilst we didn’t enter we did enjoy the walk and it looks like you can get a boat trip from here too for only 5 euros. It would make for a nice adventure if Hilda wasn’t asleep.

Our hotel was located quite high up so we actually walked down in to Kusadasi. From above, the view was lovely and if you want to walk up to this viewpoint it is only around 20 minutes. There is a little park and a restaurant/bar for drinks. Again, another sign for a photo op!

We came here one evening and unexpectedly caught the sunset from above.

We didn’t go in but there is a cafe that overlooks the city with amazing views. It was called Arya Gazi Beğendi Kafe.

We were lucky enough to catch the sunset from Kusadasi too which was even more beautiful across the shore. I loved the colours and can only imagine how amazing it must be to enjoy the sunset from the cruise ships every night.

Playgrounds

There is an impressive number of children’s playgrounds dotted about Kusdasi. It’s such a relief if you do have kids and something you likely take no notice of if you don’t!

This was a welcome relief after walking the streets of Herceg Novi on our honeymoon and not finding a single playground to occupy our kid!

Bars and restaurants

This place is swarming with bars and restaurants. In fact, besides shops it is about the only thing we saw here. I’m sure there is loads of lovely places to eat but as we were all inclusive we didn’t venture out too much. We love to try out the local spots normally but not so much with a toddler these days.

So during a rare nap of hers we luckily got chance to grab a drink. We stopped at Buddha Coffee and enjoyed some very tasty cocktails.

These were totally worth the cost but UK prices which once again surprised us for Turkiye. We always forget how expensive it is. I wrote about this last time I visited Turkiye here.

When we left the bar we noticed a lot of places were doing buy one get one free on cocktails. We definitely got swindled but paid for the ambience and a more relaxed setting. Not to mention the 3 free bowls of popcorn he brought out for us to demolish!

A few days later we returned to Kusadasi and dropped by The Mayflower trying out the buy one get one free cocktails. It’s safe to say you definitely get what you pay for as these weren’t half as good as the last.

Another place we were desperate to stop at was Cafe Roma. We saw this on our walk in and we were enticed in by one thing and one thing only. A child’s playground!!

They didn’t even sell alcohol we just can’t resist an opportunity to rest and not have to chase our 2 year old around whilst enjoying a drink.

This cafe highlighted how much I wish all establishments had one of these. Especially in the UK! It was an absolute godsend for us here.

The Oreo milkshake was just a bonus!

Food

We were spoilt for choice with food places here but in the end we were enticed by a restaurant on the sea front that looked comfy and shady. It was called 1453 Osmanli Kusadasi.

The place was extremely welcoming and judging by the amount of babies in high chairs they certainly welcomed children. We sat on comfortable sofas and ordered ourselves a couple of cocktails whilst scouring the large menu. In the end we settled for a mixed platter for my husband and daughter to share whilst I opted for a simple hamburger.

The food here was absolutely delicious and well presented too. I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone. The cocktails were also the best we’d had all trip!

To top it off, the waiters kept Hilda occupied by entertaining her everytime they walked by. They even threw rose petals over her head at one point!

We had such a great time eating here and i’m glad we chose this for our one meal outside of the resort. We made a good choice.

Overall there wasn’t much to see in Kusadasi. There is no reason we’d ever return except to use it as a base to visit the places I mentioned earlier. Would I recommend it for a day trip? Absolutely! Would I want to stay here for a week? No. We booked our hotel for the facilities and have had the most fun relaxing there. Being able to pop down to Kusadasi to see a little of Turkiye has just been a bonus for us.

I will be blogging about our time in the Ramada soon so stay tuned for a very long review i’m sure! If you are visiting Kusadasi whilst on a cruise or holiday i’m sure you will embrace the Turkish culture here and have plenty of day trips to choose from should you wish to venture further afield.