Gallipoli and ANZAC Day

Hello Ryan and welcome to the Forum!

I did the ANZAC Day Dawn Service trip way back in 1992 - well before it was a popular pilgrimage and when the numbers of attendees could be counted in the hundreds and not the thousands. Back then, I travelled independently and stayed at Canakkale across the Dardenelles. I decided to visit the Galliopli battlefields two days before the service, so I was able to visit all the sites without swarms of people. After crossing the Dardenelles using the public ferry between Canakkale and the peninsula, I met a taxi driver who gave a private tour (after a bit of haggling).

At the end of the tour, I organised with this same driver to meet me on the morning of the service. So at about 3am on April 25, I crossed the Dardenelles by public ferry, and sure enough, there was the taxi driver waiting, who then promptly drove me to the site of the service.

Back in 1992, this whole experience cost me (including a few nights accommodation, taxi driver and ferries) no more than about AUD$50.00. Perhaps you should see what the costs of tours are like from Canakkale - it is far closer than Istanbul and you will find it strange - some of the Turks there speak with Australian accents - and they have never visited Australia!

Perhaps someone with later experience can comment, as the large crowds now may mean an 'all nighter' at the site nowadays. Reply to this

Thanks for this information Munur, it is great to get an update on prices. The prices you quote of US$150-200 is much better than the US$370 that Ryan was quoted.

When I travelled to Turkey in 1992, I spent about US$600 for 7 weeks of travel, so it was much cheaper in those days. Reply to this

Thanks to everyone who took the time to post in this thread. All advise was much appreciated.

I have just returned from Turkey and guess what...you can EASILY travel through Turkey independently and also take in ANZAC Day events too. It was only a short trip for us, 2 weeks, it was a special trip just for ANZAC Day commemorations at ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli.

This is how easy it was to see ANZAC Day at Gallipoli WITHOUT being on an expensive tour:

TL= Turkish Lira (at the time of travel TL2 = €1), all costs noted are per traveller.

We took a “TAKSi” from Sultanahmet (TL2.50 (TL7.50 in total), about 5 minutes) to Yenikapi.

We booked a ferry from Istanbul to Bandirma (TL30, about 2.5 hours). Whilst we did book to ensure we could make the trip, a booking in the end was not essential. Here were still plenty of tickets available when the ferry departed.

It was also possible to book a direct bus from Istanbul to Eceabat but we thought the ferry experience would be good (which it was!). A direct bus would have been cheaper and a little quicker at TL40.

We took a shuttle from the Bandirma ferry port to the “Otogar” (central bus station) (TL1, 5 minutes).

At the Otogar there were several bus companies which offered travel to Çanakkale. Basically it seemed that a bus left every 30mins or so. (TL20, 2 hours).

We then walked from the Otogar in Çanakkale to the ferry port (10 minutes) and took a ferry from Çanakkale to Eceabat – the gateway town to all ANZAC sites. No need to book just hop on – a ferry leaves every 30 minutes or so. (TL2, 45mins).

The only hitch we had was the final leg of Eceabat to ANZAC Cove. During ANZAC commemorations, the roads to and from ANZAC Cove are only open to authorised transport. Shuttles that would usually run to the site were not running due to the traffic congestion (which is absolutely crazy...200+ tour buses plus plus plus). We struck up a conversation with a local taxi driver and negotiated for him to take us and then collect us the next day. He suggested that we arrive at the north entrance to ANZAC Cove (the less used entrance) so we travelled via a small town called Bigali and there was no traffic at all. We even stopped at Bigali and went to a house where Ataturk once lived (which is now a museum) and went to a pub for a drink. We arrived at 4:30pm the day before the dawn service. Traffic would no doubt have been far worse later in the night. Driving to ANZAC Cove on the usual road through Kabatepe was murder (according to our friends who went that way on their tour), it was traffic to the hilt! The taxi cost us (both ways) TL200 but we were 5 people so TL40 each was a steal!

The return trip from Eceabat to Istanbul was a long, long bus ride (especially not having slept the night before) of 6 hours. Cost was TL40. We booked this well in advance which proved ideal. In saying that, other travellers we met did not have a ticket and still managed to get back to Istanbul the same night as us, albeit many hours later.

Turkey buses are pretty good. We went with Kamil Koç and Metro and both served drinks and snacks! The buses were modern and very comfortable.

So to conclude, my friend spent TL450 (about €225) for a “3 day” tour from Istanbul to Gallipoli. For that he got:

• a 2 hour guided walking tour in Istanbul,
• a tee-shirt, hoodie and beanie,
• bus travel to Gallipoli which I assume included dinner as the didn’t get to ANZAC Cove until after midnight,
• Commemorations at ANZAC Cove and Lone Pine,
• Return bus travel,
• 1 night hostel accommodation in Istanbul which I assume included breakfast and dinner.

To compare......Factoring in accommodation and food (that was part of my mates tour package), I would have spent no more than TL200 (about €100). Add to that the tour clothing, I think I made a great saving by NOT joining a tour.

I hope this might help others who are considering doing something similar! If anyone would like further info or has any questions, I will be happy to help out!

Independent travel is the way to go!!

Cheers, Ryan Reply to this

Yeah Thanks Shane...cheaper AND in my opinion more fun and better experiences too! There's something cool about doing it yourself and not just sitting on a bus. Reply to this