Are you ready to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure to commemorate the 109th anniversary of the ANZACs landing on the shores of Gallipoli? This special 12-day tour is your chance to pay your respects to the ANZAC troops at a moving ANZAC Cove dawn service, learn the history of the brave allied soldiers and experience the highlights of Turkey.
Your tour begins in tantalising Istanbul, where you’ll discover the highlights of a city steeped in history, from the incredibly stunning Blue Mosque to the peaceful Sultanahmet Square. Journey to the Gallipoli Peninsula, where you’ll tour solemn battlefields, explore the Kabatepe War Museum and reflect on the sacrifices made among the memorials of Lone Pine cemetery.
Next, a guided tour through the ancient ruins of Troy to marvel at a replica of the impressive Trojan Horse. Listen to tales of ancient battles, Greek Gods and Helen of Troy, said to be the most beautiful woman in Greece. In the evening, head to ANZAC Cove to unroll your sleeping bag (available for rent at checkout) to sleep under the stars, ready for an incredible commemorative dawn service experience the following day.
Your adventure continues to Ephesus and Pergamon, to admire the ancient Red Basilica, learn how traditional fruit wine is made and visit a carpet weaving centre to share one of Turkey’s oldest arts. Explore Pamukkale’s stunning 'cotton castle' terraced pools and relax in the mineral-rich waters, before browsing beautiful Turkish textile stores before returning to Istanbul.
Your package includes everything you need, from return international flights and comfortable accommodation to an English-speaking tour leader, 14 delicious meals, including daily breakfast and more!
Want more? Choose itinerary 2 to include a Cappadocia extension. Arrive Early or Stay Behind packages in Istanbul are also available.
Please note: Extra charges may apply. See the Important Info section and checkout cart for fees and details.
Today you'll depart for Istanbul, Turkey.
Please note: Some customers may depart on Day 2 and arrive on Day 2.
Meals included: In-Flight
Upon arrival in Istanbul, you'll be met by your English-speaking tour leader and transferred to your hotel. If it is too early to check-in, your luggage can be stored at the hotel while you explore this magnificent city.
Overnight: La Quinta Hotel or Similar
Meals included: None
Today, enjoy a guided tour of Istanbul, a city that has witnessed the rise and fall of several empires over the millennia.
See sights such as the Topkapi Palace, Sultan Ahmed Imperial Mosque and the Hippodrome, as well as the wonderfully fragrant Spice Bazaar. The Topkapi Palace, the great palace of Ottoman sultans from the 15th to 19th centuries, houses an exquisite collection of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain. There are also robes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the Imperial Treasury, miniatures, the Holy Mantle and enshrining relics of the Prophet Mohammed. Between 1609 and 1616, the impressive Sultan Ahmed Imperial Mosque is known popularly as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles that adorn the walls of its interior. Today the Hippodrome area is officially known as Sultan Ahmed Square, and is carefully maintained by the Turkish authorities. The course of the old racetrack has been indicated with paving, although the actual track is some 2 metres below the present surface. The surviving monuments of the Spina, the two obelisks and the Serpentine Column, now sit within a landscaped garden.
The Spice Bazaar, or Egyptian Bazaar, is one of the oldest markets in the city. Located in Eminonu, it’s the second-largest covered shopping complex in Istanbul after the Grand Bazaar. The air here is filled with the intoxicating aromas of cinnamon, caraway, saffron, mint, thyme, and every other conceivable herb and spice. After the city tour, there is an option to enjoy a Bosphorus boat cruise (not included). Admire magnificent views of the Bosphorus Strait, which connects Asia to Europe. With the shores rising to heights up to 200 meters and lined with palaces, ruins, villages, and gardens, this is one of the most beautiful stretches of scenery in Turkey.
This evening there will be a conference about the ANZAC Dawn Service and Turkey (approximately 1 hour). A welcome cocktail, coffee, tea and snacks are included. Here you will meet your fellow ANZAC Day Gallipoli tour members and the tour staff.
Overnight: La Quinta Hotel or Similar
Meals included: Breakfast
Depart for Gallipoli early this morning and watch the latest documentaries about the Gallipoli campaign along the way. You'll also enjoy some free time for lunch on the coast of Kabatepe.
Continue your tour of the Gallipoli Peninsula where you can visit the Kabatepe War Museum, ANZAC Cove, Lone Pine, Australia’s Memorial and Cemetery, Quinn’s Post, Turkish 57th Regiment Cemetery, The Nek, Chunuk Bair and the New Zealand Memorial and Cemetery.
After the tour, your approximately 300 kilometres travel day will take you to Çanakkale where you'll check into the hotel and spend the rest of the evening at leisure.
Please note: Normally on 23rd April; ANZAC Cove is open for visitors but this year ANZAC Cove and Beach Cemetery are closed between the 22nd of April to the 25th of April at noon. This means the ceremony’s finish time is closed to visitors. Instead, you'll find Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and other places that are open and accessible for a guided tour.
Overnight: Troia Tusan Hotel or similar
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
Today, you'll visit the ancient city of Troy on the other side of the Dardanelles, after an approximately 1.5-hour ferry ride. The once-lost is one of the most famous in antiquity so your guide will explain the mythology surrounding Troy, the Trojan Horse (of which a replica can be seen on site) and the tale of Helen of Troy, a woman said to have been the most beautiful in the world.
This evening you'll meet at the hotel for a buffet dinner before heading to ANZAC Cove in the late evening in preparation for the dawn service.
Don’t forget your warm clothes, sleeping bags, wet weather gear, torches, hat, sunscreen and good walking shoes. Sleeping bags can be provided at an extra cost of $60 AUD per person (pre-booking required). Please add this to your order at checkout if you would like to hire a sleeping bag for the night.
If you do not wish to sleep outside at the ANZAC Commemorative Site overnight, there is optional hotel accommodation in Çanakkale which is available at checkout for an extra cost of $95 AUD per person twin share or $160 AUD solo traveller (pre-booking required). Transfers to and from the ANZAC Commemorative Site will be available for customers who purchase the accommodation in Çanakkale.
Please note: The governments of Australia and New Zealand have announced that the Gallipoli Peninsula will be closed on 24th April 2025 for safety and security purposes while cemeteries and memorials cannot be visited as in previous years. The new opening time will be decided at a later date and confirmed prior to your arrival in Turkey. All guests need to be registered for attendance passes prior to arrival although further instruction regarding this pass will be provided closer to departure.
Overnight: Anzac Cove Commemorative Site or Troia Tusan Hotel or similar (Additional cost)
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
Today you will attend the dawn service at ANZAC Cove.
This afternoon, after attending the ANZAC services, you will travel back to the hotel in Çanakkale. The night is then yours to relax before dinner is served at the hotel.
Overnight: Troia Tusan Hotel or similar
Meals included: Dinner
Today, drive to Pergamon to see the Asklepion healing temples, Zeus’s Altar and the Red Basilica. Located near Bergama, Pergamon was a once-great Hellenistic/Roman city, ruled for several centuries by a powerful local dynasty. The city’s foremost attraction is the Red Basilica, a huge edifice on the river not far from the Acropolis. It was originally built as a temple to the Egyptian god Osiris and later converted to a basilica by early Christians.
After a guided Bergama and Pergamon tour, your approximately 420 kilometre travel day will take you towards Kusadasi, where you'll check into the hotel in time for dinner.
Overnight: Cassa De Soll or similar
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
This morning you'll depart to Ephesus for a guided tour, once the commercial centre of the ancient world, this city is a highlight of any visit to Turkey. Ephesus, whose wealth and patronage supported its splendid architectural program, was dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Her enormous temple is considered one of the Seven Wonders and dates in its latest form from the third century B.C. This guided tour will focus the Curetes Street, the famous Roman baths, Celsus Library, the Grand Theatre and the House of the Virgin Mary.
You'll then make way to Sirince and on the way, stop at a place that continues to perform one of the oldest arts of Turkey; a carpet weaving centre. Take in Sirince’s construction style which today belongs to Anatolian Greeks, although you'll find that the houses on the slope are all original with their white paint. Sirince Village also has a fantastic reputation for making some of the best wines in Turkey, especially fruit wines.
Overnight: Cassa De Soll Hotel or similar
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
Today, you will visit a famous leather-making centre before making way for Pamukkale on an approximately 200 kilometre travel day. You'll visit the 'Cotton Castle' calcium terraces of Pamukkale and the ancient ruins of Hierapolis. While admiring the stunning terraced pools, you also have the option of laying in the mineral-rich waters. This region is also very well-known for textile products so you'll enjoy some time at leisure to browse the stores.
Afterwards, you'll check into your hotel in time for dinner and the remainder of the evening is yours to explore the small village or relax around the swimming pool.
Overnight: Pam Thermal Hotel or similar
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
Today, be transferred to the airport for your internal flight back to Istanbul. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to the hotel and can spend the remainder of the day at leisure.
Overnight: La Quinta Hotel or similar
Meals included: Breakfast
Today marks the end of your amazing Turkey holiday experience. After breakfast, check out from the hotel before 11:00 and make your own way to the airport for your return flight back to Australia (or New Zealand).
Meals included: Breakfast; In-Flight
Please note some guests may arrive +1 day.
Today you'll depart for Istanbul, Turkey.
Please note: Some customers may depart on Day 2 and arrive on Day 2.
Meals included: In-Flight
Upon arrival in Istanbul, you'll be met by your English-speaking tour leader and transferred to your hotel. If it is too early to check-in, your luggage can be stored at the hotel while you explore this magnificent city.
Overnight: La Quinta Hotel or Similar
Meals included: None
Today, enjoy a guided tour of Istanbul, a city that has witnessed the rise and fall of several empires over the millennia.
See sights such as the Topkapi Palace, Sultan Ahmed Imperial Mosque and the Hippodrome, as well as the wonderfully fragrant Spice Bazaar. The Topkapi Palace, the great palace of Ottoman sultans from the 15th to 19th centuries, houses an exquisite collection of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain. There are also robes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the Imperial Treasury, miniatures, the Holy Mantle and enshrining relics of the Prophet Mohammed. Between 1609 and 1616, the impressive Sultan Ahmed Imperial Mosque is known popularly as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles that adorn the walls of its interior. Today the Hippodrome area is officially known as Sultan Ahmed Square, and is carefully maintained by the Turkish authorities. The course of the old racetrack has been indicated with paving, although the actual track is some 2 metres below the present surface. The surviving monuments of the Spina, the two obelisks and the Serpentine Column, now sit within a landscaped garden.
The Spice Bazaar, or Egyptian Bazaar, is one of the oldest markets in the city. Located in Eminonu, it’s the second-largest covered shopping complex in Istanbul after the Grand Bazaar. The air here is filled with the intoxicating aromas of cinnamon, caraway, saffron, mint, thyme, and every other conceivable herb and spice. After the city tour, there is an option to enjoy a Bosphorus boat cruise (not included). Admire magnificent views of the Bosphorus Strait, which connects Asia to Europe. With the shores rising to heights up to 200 meters and lined with palaces, ruins, villages, and gardens, this is one of the most beautiful stretches of scenery in Turkey.
This evening there will be a conference about the ANZAC Dawn Service and Turkey (approximately 1 hour). A welcome cocktail, coffee, tea and snacks are included. Here you will meet your fellow ANZAC Day Gallipoli tour members and the tour staff.
Overnight: La Quinta Hotel or Similar
Meals included: Breakfast
Depart for Gallipoli early this morning and watch the latest documentaries about the Gallipoli campaign along the way. You'll also enjoy some free time for lunch on the coast of Kabatepe.
Continue your tour of the Gallipoli Peninsula where you can visit the Kabatepe War Museum, ANZAC Cove, Lone Pine, Australia’s Memorial and Cemetery, Quinn’s Post, Turkish 57th Regiment Cemetery, The Nek, Chunuk Bair and the New Zealand Memorial and Cemetery.
After the tour, your approximately 300 kilometres travel day will take you to Çanakkale where you'll check into the hotel and spend the rest of the evening at leisure.
Please note: Normally on 23rd April; ANZAC Cove is open for visitors but this year ANZAC Cove and Beach Cemetery are closed between the 22nd of April to the 25th of April at noon. This means the ceremony’s finish time is closed to visitors. Instead, you'll find Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and other places that are open and accessible for a guided tour.
Overnight: Troia Tusan Hotel or similar
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
Today, you'll visit the ancient city of Troy on the other side of the Dardanelles, after an approximately 1.5-hour ferry ride. The once-lost is one of the most famous in antiquity so your guide will explain the mythology surrounding Troy, the Trojan Horse (of which a replica can be seen on site) and the tale of Helen of Troy, a woman said to have been the most beautiful in the world.
This evening you'll meet at the hotel for a buffet dinner before heading to ANZAC Cove in the late evening in preparation for the dawn service.
Don’t forget your warm clothes, sleeping bags, wet weather gear, torches, hat, sunscreen and good walking shoes. Sleeping bags can be provided at an extra cost of $60 AUD per person (pre-booking required). Please add this to your order at checkout if you would like to hire a sleeping bag for the night.
If you do not wish to sleep outside at the ANZAC Commemorative Site overnight, there is optional hotel accommodation in Çanakkale which is available at checkout for an extra cost of $95 AUD per person twin share or $160 AUD solo traveller (pre-booking required). Transfers to and from the ANZAC Commemorative Site will be available for customers who purchase the accommodation in Çanakkale.
Please note: The governments of Australia and New Zealand have announced that the Gallipoli Peninsula will be closed on 24th April 2025 for safety and security purposes while cemeteries and memorials cannot be visited as in previous years. The new opening time will be decided at a later date and confirmed prior to your arrival in Turkey. All guests need to be registered for attendance passes prior to arrival although further instruction regarding this pass will be provided closer to departure.
Overnight: Anzac Cove Commemorative Site or Troia Tusan Hotel or similar (Additional cost)
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
Today you will attend the dawn service at ANZAC Cove.
This afternoon, after attending the ANZAC services, you will travel back to the hotel in Çanakkale. The night is then yours to relax before dinner is served at the hotel.
Overnight: Troia Tusan Hotel or similar
Meals included: Dinner
Today, drive to Pergamon to see the Asklepion healing temples, Zeus’s Altar and the Red Basilica. Located near Bergama, Pergamon was a once-great Hellenistic/Roman city, ruled for several centuries by a powerful local dynasty. The city’s foremost attraction is the Red Basilica, a huge edifice on the river not far from the Acropolis. It was originally built as a temple to the Egyptian god Osiris and later converted to a basilica by early Christians.
After a guided Bergama and Pergamon tour, your approximately 420 kilometre travel day will take you towards Kusadasi, where you'll check into the hotel in time for dinner.
Overnight: Cassa De Soll or similar
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
This morning you'll depart to Ephesus for a guided tour, once the commercial centre of the ancient world, this city is a highlight of any visit to Turkey. Ephesus, whose wealth and patronage supported its splendid architectural program, was dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Her enormous temple is considered one of the Seven Wonders and dates in its latest form from the third century B.C. This guided tour will focus the Curetes Street, the famous Roman baths, Celsus Library, the Grand Theatre and the House of the Virgin Mary.
You'll then make way to Sirince and on the way, stop at a place that continues to perform one of the oldest arts of Turkey; a carpet weaving centre. Take in Sirince’s construction style which today belongs to Anatolian Greeks, although you'll find that the houses on the slope are all original with their white paint. Sirince Village also has a fantastic reputation for making some of the best wines in Turkey, especially fruit wines.
Overnight: Cassa De Soll Hotel or similar
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
Today, you will visit a famous leather-making centre before making way for Pamukkale on an approximately 200 kilometre travel day. You'll visit the 'Cotton Castle' calcium terraces of Pamukkale and the ancient ruins of Hierapolis. While admiring the stunning terraced pools, you also have the option of laying in the mineral-rich waters. This region is also very well-known for textile products so you'll enjoy some time at leisure to browse the stores.
Afterwards, you'll check into your hotel in time for dinner and the remainder of the evening is yours to explore the small village or relax around the swimming pool.
Overnight: Pam Thermal Hotel or similar
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
After breakfast, you'll continue your journey to Konya. Here you'll visit the Mevlana Museum and witness the striking green-tiled mausoleum of Mevlana that will take you to the peaceful world of the Sufi sect, also known as the Whirling Dervishes.
You'll continue the journey to Cappadocia on an approximately 620 kilometre travel day where you can take in the mesmerising cone-shaped rock formations and distinctive fairy chimneys. Upon arrival, you'll check into your unique cave hotel for the night.
Overnight: El Puente Cave Hotel or Similar
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
Today you will get to know the Cappadocia region, a jaw-dropping volcanic area known for its unique geological formations, as well as its history of ceramics and carpet weaving. The beautiful horse country of Katpatuka, as the Persians called it, is an enchanting and mysterious strip of land. The tour begins with an Ozkonak Underground City visit to see how the ancient city was built in Idis Mountain where volcanic granite-made tuff layers are dense and the galleries are connected by tunnels. You will then visit Goreme Open Air Museum, at the heart of Cappadocia, which is famous for its 10th-century frescoes depicting the life of Jesus Christ and monks.
The next stop is Cavusin, an abandoned village with old cave Greek houses. After Cavusin you will travel to a restaurant in Avanos to have lunch (not included).
After lunch at leisure, you will visit a pottery workshop before continuing on to Pasabagi where you will see the famous three-headed ‘fairy chimneys’. After Pasabagi you will visit another workshop to see Cappadocian handwoven carpets and kilims. Your next stop is Devrent Valley, also called Imagination Valley, where you can see natural rock formations which look like animals. The last stop is the Three Beauties, three beautiful fairy chimneys with hats, which are the symbol of Cappadocia.
Optional Activity - Hot Air Balloon Ride - To be booked on tour
Early in the morning, why not take the opportunity to join an amazing optional experience? See the idyllic views and beautiful sunrise over splendid fairy-tale valleys in a hot air balloon.
Please note: Pricing will vary depending on seasonality and availability.
Overnight: El Puente Cave Hotel or Similar
Meals included: Breakfast; Dinner
After breakfast, depart to Kayseri airport for the domestic flight to Istanbul. Upon arrival be transferred to your hotel.
Overnight: La Quinta Hotel or Similar
Meals included: Breakfast
Today marks the end of your amazing Turkey holiday experience. After breakfast, check out from the hotel and make your own way to the airport for your return flight back to Australia (or New Zealand).
Meals included: Breakfast; In-Flight
Please note that some customers may arrive +1 day.
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