Istanbul – Gallipoli – Istanbul
Starts April 23rd and ends April 26th
Day 1
Selam – welcome to Turkey for your ANZAC experience! Make your way to the True Blue Tour Airport office in the arrivals hall at Ataturk Airport and our ground staff will escort you to your arrival transfer for a 30minute ride to your 3 star hotel located in the old town of Sultanahmet in Istanbul.
Today is a free day for you to explore the town formerly known as Constantinople. Why not contact your True Blue Tour office in Sultanahmet to arrange optional Istanbul tour extras available to you at cost price? The team will be able to advice you on the best value authentic places in town – whether you want to bathe in a Turkish bath (hamam), buy a Turkish rug, experience the hubble bubble pipe or make arrangements to explore the local cuisine or nightlife. If you are into clubbing, we are sure you will find something that suits your taste in Taksim Square. But don’t party too hard…you have an early start the next morning. Overnight – Istanbul.
Tonight you have the option of attending the Turkish Cultural Extravaganza – with local cuisine, belly dancers and folk entertainment at a price that can’t be beaten. (If you would like to take this offer please let us know when booking or else contact us on the ground in Istanbul).
Day 2
After an early morning breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel. Expect your luxury coach to arrive from 7am onwards, when you will meet your guide, load your luggage onto the bus and head out of Istanbul. Travel to Tekirdag for a short-break enroute to Ecebeat (port of Gallipoli and closest point to the memorial site) via the scenic Marmara Coast.
Lunch in Ecebeat followed by an afternoon fully guided tour of the Gallipoli Peninsular memorial sites, where you will have time to absorb the pre-dawn service atmosphere as you visit Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair, the Turkish Memorial Sites, the trenches, the battlefields, the ‘Neck’ and the ANZAC Museum, etc.
We depart for ANZAC Cove. Your guide will be with you through the night, helping you to find the best vantage point in the anticipated 20,000 strong crowd. Overnight & Dinner at ANZAC Cove.
Day 3
At first light you will experience the silence of the crowd as you recall with dignity and pride the sacrifice of your forefathers. After the dawn service, you will attend the national services at Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair. An experience you will never forget.
When the services have ended (at approximately 3pm) you will head back to your coach for a relaxed return journey to Istanbul. We will stop for a traditional Turkish dinner ‘kofte’ before returning to Istanbul and back to your hotel. Overnight – Istanbul.
Day 4
After breakfast you will experience the Golden Horn of Istanbul on the farewell Bosphorus cruise. This fully guided tour will take you along some of the most spectacular waterways of Istanbul, where you will experience the awesome feeling of cruising between two continents – Europe and Asia.
This tour officially finishes at the end of the Bosphorus cruise. Though, we encourage you to check your luggage with the hotel concierge and spend the rest of the afternoon visiting the Grand and Spice Bazaar True Blue Tours, or you can take a guided Istanbul Classic Tour or Double Decker Bus Open Air Tour of Istanbul available to you at a low price.
(Please note – Istanbul Classic Tour includes – Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and the Underground Cistern).
Why not spend a few more days on the Blue Cruise?
What you will see and experience
- Istanbul (+ optional Turkish Cultural Extravaganza at low extra cost)
- Gallipoli Peninsula and War Memorials
- Commemorative Dawn Service and National Services
- Marmara Coast
- Ecebeat and Tekirdag
- Bosphorus Cruise
What you will get (what’s included)
- Personal Travel Insurance
- Arrival airport to hotel transfer
- 2 Hotel Breakfasts/2 nights 3 - 4 star hotel accommodation
- Hotel pick up at the start of the tour
- Hotel drop off when you return from Gallipoli
- Hotel pick up and drop for the Bosphorus Cruise
- Extra optional (pre/post tour) accommodation at cost price
- Fully guided tour with the services of an experienced and qualified professional tour guide
- Luxury non-smoking air-conditioned coach
- ANZAC Day Program and map
- On ground support and access to TRUE BLUE TOUR Istanbul offices should you require any further assistance
- One ANZAC Day Breakfast Pack with soft drink
- One ANZAC Day Lunch Pack with soft drink
- One ANZAC Eve Dinner Pack with soft drink
- Only with True Blue Tour – if you have ancestors buried in Gallipoli let us know when you book your trip and we will locate their gravesite for you to visit with your guide.
What you don’t get (what’s not included)
- No accommodation in Gallipoli
- No Entrance fees museums and ruins
- No sleeping bag or woollies to keep you warm on ANZAC Eve
- Personal expenses, drinks and tips
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