2-Day ANZAC Day Tour from Istanbul to Gallipoli – Dawn Service

Highlights of the 2-Day ANZAC Day Tour from Istanbul to Gallipoli – Dawn Service

This 2-day ANZAC Day tour from Istanbul brings you to Gallipoli for the Dawn Service and the Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair ceremonies on 25 April. It is a once-a-year departure built around the commemorations of the 1915 Gallipoli campaign, combining return coach transport from Istanbul, an expert English-speaking guide, entry to the ceremonies and a night of hotel accommodation in Istanbul after the event. For Australian and New Zealand travellers in particular, it is one of the most meaningful ways to honour the ANZAC legacy on the ground where it was born.

The journey starts at midday on 24 April from the Ottoman Legacy Hotel in Istanbul. A drive of roughly four and a half to five hours, with a refreshment stop, brings you to Eceabat on the Dardanelles in the late afternoon, and in the evening you transfer to the ANZAC Commemorative Site at Anzac Cove. There is no hotel on this night: like generations of pilgrims before you, you spend it outdoors at the site, wrapped up against the cold, waiting for first light. The ANZAC Day Dawn Service is held at North Beach in the early morning, the Australian National Ceremony follows at the Lone Pine Memorial, and the New Zealand National Ceremony takes place at the Chunuk Bair Memorial before the group heads back.

The coach leaves Gallipoli in the afternoon and reaches Istanbul in the evening, where you check in to your hotel for a well-earned rest, with breakfast the next morning. Because the programme involves a long day of walking, waiting and an outdoor overnight, the activity level is moderate; bring warm layers, a sleeping bag (one can be rented on request), a torch, waterproofs, sunscreen, snacks, water and a power bank. This Gallipoli tour from Istanbul is offered as a group or private ANZAC Day tour for history lovers seeking an emotional, authentic commemoration.