ANZAC Day Turkey 2023 / Option 4

Duration: 05 Days / 04 Nights

Highlights: Gallipoli, Dawn Service, Troy, Pergamum, Ephesus

Departure Date : 24 April 2023

Note: This travel package is flexible prior to 24th & post 28th of April, if you intend to arrive anywhere outside the below dates we can accommodate your travel needs be it hotels, transport, day tours, airport transfers or simply any assistance you might need during your stay.

24th April 2023,  – Istanbul – Gallipoli Peninsula

It is important that you inform us one week prior to the start of your package if you intend to forfeit your bus trip and intend getting to Eceabat on your own from another destination. We ask that people who have already stated this in previous emails still contact us one week prior to confirm their plans.

Pick-up in Istanbul : 06:00 : Meet your bus group in front of the Hagia Sofia Mosque (pink mosque), opposite the Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet, Istanbul. Look for our representative holding the TJs TOURS sign. Bus times are essential. The buses can wait for no-one.

Please be on your bus at least 10 minutes prior to stated times for immediate departure.

The offsiders will mark your attendance for boarding purposes.

07:00 Depart for Eceabat from Istanbul.

There will be a comfort stop half way at a station/cafeteria, where you can buy lunch.

13:00 Enter the town of Eceabat where we will grab our Gallipoli goodies bag.

Lunch in Eceabat.

After lunch showings of Gallipoli documentary, “The Fatal Shore” & the movie “Gallipoli”.

19:00 Join the convoy of TJs TOURS buses for departure to the Dawn Service site where we will grab a space in the large crowd and wait, listening to the pre dawn program. 

25th April 2023, ANZAC Day Services

05:30 Dawn Service commences as the sun breaks the skyline behind the Turkish Sphinx.

07:30 While waiting for your bus to transfer you to the next service you can eat breakfast on the grass with the group or feel free to tell your leader that you want to go exploring; take your breakfast pack & walk the ridges & old trenches to the next service. Australian &/or New Zealand National services. (Service times for these have yet to be released)

Late afternoon buses depart for Eceabat, where you will check into your accommodation, have a shower & a well-deserved sleep.

19:30 Screening of the Gallipoli movie.

26th April 2023, Gallipoli Peninsula

08:30 – 10:30 Breakfast awaits.

09:30 Documentary: The Fatal Shore

12:00 Restaurant lunch to start off the tour.

Departure for Gallipoli battlefield tour of the ANZAC area. 5 hour tour visiting:

• Gallipoli – Kabatepe War Museum & Simulation Centre
• Beach Cemetery (John Simpson’s grave).
• ANZAC Cove.
• Ari Burnu – first ANZAC landing place.
• Lone Pine – main Australian memorial.
• Johnson’s Jolly – walk in the original ANZAC & Turkish trenches & view the tunnels.
• Turkish memorial.
• The Nek – main scene depicted in the movie Gallipoli.
• Chunuk Bair – main memorial for the New Zealand soldiers.

27th April 2023, Troy & Pergamum Tour

After breakfast at hotel, check-out & drive to Troy. The Greek poet Homer wrote about the ancient city Troy in The Iliad. Troy is one of the world’s most important archaeological sites because of its place in literature & what it tells us about a critical early period in the development of European civilization. The large replica of the Trojan horse at the front of the ruins, is part of the myth of the Trojan War. After the city of Troy we will proceed to Pergamum. The site of ancient Pergamum is set on a steep hilltop, the capital of Pergamum kingdom after the death of Alexander the Great was a cultural center having a large library rivaling that of Alexandria in Egypt. After the tour, we will drive apx. 2 hrs to reach Kusadasi. Transfer to hotel upon arrival. Overnight in Kusadasi.

28th April 2023, Ephesus Tour

Check out from hotel & driving south to visit the Ancient City of Ephesus which is among one of the best preserved Greco-Roman Cities in the world enabling one to genuinely ‘soak in’ the atmosphere of Roman times. Enter through the Magnesia Gate & begin a slow, downhill walk with your guide into the ruins of this Roman provincial capital. After lunch, we depart to visit the House of Virgin Mary where she is said to be brought here by St. John & have spent the last of her days. The tour also includes a visit to the remains of Artemis Temple which was one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.

Transfer to Izmir Airport for Istanbul flight.

Optional: You can choose to stay in the region or continue on south to the Turkish Coast. Or you may cross over to Greece from Kusadasi to Samos with a ferry.

OPTION 4 : 5 days : £ 445 GBP

Included in option 4 :

• Pick up from hotel lobby & drop off back to hotel (except free days)
• ANZAC Day services
• Gallipoli, ANZAC Day, Troy, Pergamum & Ephesus day tours
• Professional English speaking guide(s) licensed by the Ministry of Tourism
• Entrance fees to sites & museums during guided tours
• Lunch on full day tours
• Transport with A/C vehicles with driver, fuel, road tolls & parking fees
• All local taxes

Accommodation : 2 nights in Gallipoli, 1 night Kusadasi,

Room; PP in double room including, breakfast, bathroom, free internet, satellite tv, air-con

Land Transfers :

• All transfers & transport from Day 1 to Day 6 as mentioned in the travel itinerary
• A/C comfortable coaches with reclining seats & luggage compartments

Land Transfers :

• All transfers & transport from Day 1 to Day 6 as mentioned in the travel itinerary
• A/C comfortable coaches with reclining seats & luggage compartments

Excluded in option 4 :

• International airfare
• Turkish Visa fee (if required)
• Overseas travel insurance
• Drinks & meals which are not listed in the itinerary
• All personal expenses
• Izmir Istanbul, economy class airfare