Viking Vesta in Kuşadası: a winter call or a spring call?
Viking Vesta keeps a tidy rhythm in Kuşadası. The port schedule as of early October 2026 lists ten calls for her over the next 12 months, and most of them come exactly six days apart: Sunday 6, Saturday 12 and Friday 18 December, then Monday 11, Sunday 17, Saturday 23 and Friday 29 January 2027. After a long pause she returns on Monday 22 and Sunday 28 March, and the last listed call is Saturday 15 May 2027.
That calendar splits her year in two, and the advice is different for each half. One thing is the same on every date: the port times have not been announced yet. When they are, they appear on the Viking Vesta page next to each call.
Viking Vesta entered service in 2025 and carries about 998 guests in 499 staterooms, according to Viking.
If your Vesta call is in December, January or March
Nine of the ten calls sit between 1 December and 31 March. Our quad, buggy and horse safaris are closed for winter in exactly that period, so every one of these dates is the winter closure and there is no safari that day, whatever the ship's hours turn out to be. That includes Monday 22 and Sunday 28 March, even though they come close to the start of our season.
Please do not book through the planner for a winter date on the assumption that it will run. Safaris run again from April.
If your call is in May
Only one call falls outside that window: Saturday 15 May 2027. That is the date where a safari can work, once we know when the ship arrives and leaves.
It stands on its own, almost seven weeks after her last March visit. If you are choosing between Vesta sailings and a ride in Kuşadası matters to you, this is the one to look at.
How to test a spring date when times appear
Our rides start at 11:00 and 16:00 only, and we need you back at the port at least 60 minutes before the ship departs. That turns into two simple windows:
| Session | Ship must be in port by | Ship must leave no earlier than |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 | 10:10 | 15:15 |
| 16:00 | 15:10 | 20:15 |
Before you settle on a session, compare it with the all-aboard time in Viking's daily programme as well. It is usually earlier than the departure time, and it is the one that counts on the day. If the hours look tight, or the ship seems to stay overnight, send us a WhatsApp message and we will go through it together.
A spring morning ride, step by step
Say your May call turns out to suit the morning session. The day would run like this:
You leave the ship and walk to the Kervansaray meeting point (The Big Ottoman Palace), about 50 m from the cruise port exit (map). We meet you there at 10:10. A drive of about 15 minutes takes you to the trails behind Pamucak beach. The ride starts at 11:00 and lasts about two hours on pine-forest tracks, with a 30-minute stop at Pamucak beach in the middle. You are back at the port between 13:45 and 14:15.
The afternoon version follows the same route: meet at 15:10, ride at 16:00, back at the port between 18:45 and 19:15.
Choosing quad, buggy or horse
The quad safari and the buggy safari both come with single or double vehicles, so you can drive alone or share. Neither needs a driving licence; drivers must be 16 or over, everyone gets a helmet, goggles and a safety briefing, and the group follows a guide in convoy. Children under about 2 cannot join. The horse safari is for beginners from age 8 (younger riders with an experienced companion), in a small group with a riding guide; swimming at the beach on that tour depends on the season.
Booking a spring date
Once the times for your May date are published, open the cruise day planner, pick Viking Vesta and your date, and it will show which session fits and fill in the reservation form for you. If your trip includes a night in Kuşadası before or after the May sailing, that day is not tied to the ship's hours, and we can collect you from your hotel.
Times are added as they are confirmed, so the full list of Viking Vesta calls is the place to check your date.