Istanbul to Gallipoli: Full Day Tour with Lunch & Transfers

4.86

(559 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

Ever wondered what it actually feels like to stand on the Gallipoli Peninsula after hearing so many stories? I didn’t really know what to expect when our minivan pulled away from Istanbul at dawn — it was still half-dark, the city just waking up, and I was already questioning my decision to get up that early. But there’s something about watching the Sea of Marmara slide past your window for hours that makes you slow down inside. Our guide, Emre, had this gentle way of pointing out little things — wild poppies in the fields, fishermen waving from tiny boats — and suddenly five hours didn’t feel so long.

Lunch in Eceabat was simple but good — warm bread and lentil soup, with tea that tasted smokier than I’m used to. I tried to ask for seconds in Turkish; Emre laughed and helped me out. Then we crossed over to Gallipoli itself. The air felt different there — saltier maybe, or just heavier because of what happened on those beaches. At ANZAC Cove, a group of Aussies stood quietly by the water; someone left a sprig of rosemary on a stone. Emre told us about his grandfather’s stories from Çanakkale and it hit me how fresh all this history still is for people here.

I kept thinking about all those names carved into stone at Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair. The wind picked up as we walked between memorials, carrying this faint scent of pine needles and seaweed. Sometimes nobody spoke for minutes at a time — not out of awkwardness but respect, I think. The day trip from Istanbul to Gallipoli is long (yeah, you’ll get tired), but there’s something grounding about being driven back through dusk with everyone kind of lost in their own thoughts. I still remember that silence more than anything else.