Private Gallipoli Day Tour from Istanbul

I've used RSL twice now in the past year to arrange private tours for groups of university students and faculty. Both times the participants were very pleased with the knowledgeable tour guides and the great organization by Olimpia. The most recent group I sent with RSL found the Gallipoli Simulation Experience to be awesome in terms of providing a solid background to one of the lesser known (for Americans at least) campaigns of World War I. I would never have thought of having my group attend the simulation if it had not been suggested by Olimpia. This shows that RSL is on top of things and really knows how to tailor a tour to your needs

We put ourselves in the hands of RSL from arrival to departure.at Ataturk airport, after arranging the trip from Canada, with very patient assistance from Olimpia. My sister and I are "a bit beyond retirement age", and were somewhat apprehensive. We needn't have been! Transfers, hotels, tours -- all were well beyond our expectations. Many thanks to the RSL team. This trip was very important to us, and you have created wonderful memories for us.

From the booking processes via email with quick responses, the phone calls that were made whilst we were there to change the date of tour due to travel delays, all was done with ease. They are very understanding and just want you to have the most memorable day in which we did. It was amazing tour ever, the guides were incredible,friendly, very slow and caring and very very knowledgable, we did the private tour and had the bus to ourselves, we slept were given breakfast and watched videos relating to Gallipoli, anything you wanted they accommodated. Big thank you to George our driver and Hussain our guide. Yes it is a long drive but defiantly worth it.

We were a family group of 5 adults who wanted to tour Gallipoli together but were finding it difficult to co-ordinate due to differing itineraries. After some research we opted for the RSL private day tour from Istanbul.

I have to say the communication from Olimpia was outstanding throughout the process and added to my confidence that this was the right company to do this with.

We were picked up promptly at 7.30 am as arranged and Hasan made us feel like valued customers from the outset. His knowledge of the Gallipoli landings and battles was outstanding and we learned so much from him. The (some digitally enhanced) photographs from the time of the events shown on a screen in the minivan throughout the tour added a lot too.

My husband's grandfather was a New Zealander who had served at Gallipoli with the Australian army so we had a vested interest in both the Australian and New Zealand sites. Hasan did a fantastic job of balancing our areas of interest and allowing us to determine how long we spent at each site. He would give us an overview of events in the area stopped at, answer any questions then leave us to take in the site on our own so we felt we were on our own personal pilgrimage and not being hovered over to move along. While we were off on our own Hasan was busy reading his books to try to identify where he thought it most likely my husband's grandfather had walked and fought based on the information we were able to supply him with. He then read the relevant passages out to us and showed us where they referred to as we looked at the hillside. We were humbled by his endeavours to add as much to our personal journey as he possibly could and as a Turkish man he gave an incredibly balanced view of events as seen by all sides with both humour and empathy in healthy doses. He added so much to our experience and this is where our real value for money came from.

I must also mention our drive to and from Gallipoli which was 4 and a half to 5 hours each way (including stops) but felt much less due to our fantastic driver - best driver in Turkey! - and comfortable minivan with wifi, air conditioning and movies related to Gallipoli to break up the journey. With only 5 of us there was plenty of room to spread out.

The breakfast was plentiful but rather basic and lunch mezes were fantastic while the mains were average (my fish got a better review than the others chicken and meatballs) but all were perfectly adequate.

Olimpia made sure she greeted us and farewelled us and our tour at Gallipoli went over time due to the lack of pressure from Hasan to move us along, we simply did not realise the time.

I cannot recommend this private tour highly enough. The additional expense pp over the standard day tour was well worth it to us as we had longer at each stop due to our smaller number to move around and it was personalised to us even as we went along and Hasan learnt more about our family perspective on events.

RSL fully delivered and more what it promised in the tour description.

We spent 3 days visiting the memorials and cemeteries of the Gallipoli peninsula as part of a private family tour. I highly recommend RSL Tours. Our guide Yusuf and driver Cuneyt made sure to personalize the tour so we could visit family graves. Nothing was too much trouble. Having flown for 24+ hours we paid for private transport from Istanbul straight to Eceabat; it was not cheap but definitely money well spent as we didn't want to negotiate coach transfers while jetlagged. The included meals at the top of Grand Eceabat Hotel were delicious and sampled a variety of Turkish dishes. Everything was so easy to book by email with Olimpia & Gavin; thanks again for the good memories we will keep for a lifetime

We were a group of 7 from Melbourne with a private tour and would rate this tour first class. We first started arranging the tour from Melbourne several months prior via email with Olimpia. Her communication from the start to the conclusion of our tour day was excellent. We were also most fortunate to have Hasan as our guide at Gallipoli. Hasan spoke excellent English and he was able to communicate his research and knowledge of the area in a manner that was most informative and respectful. We came away with an appreciation and better understanding of the circumstances surrounding the landing and the battles at each of the memorial sites. We were able to engage in each place for as long as we wanted and all questions were thoughtfully answered. The bus trip though long, was enjoyable as we had free wifi and we enjoyed watching the Gallipoli movie with Mel Gibson. The breakfast and lunch were adequate. We would highly recommend RSL tours

In September 2014 we wanted to go to Gallipoli and selected a private tour with RSL. Our guide picked us up at 6.30am from our hotel in Istanbul. It's a long drive to Gallipoli and you will be grateful for any stops along the way.

I was visiting the sites where my Great Uncle served in the 10th Australian Light Horse. Do your research before you go and determine which battle sites you want to visit. I wanted to see Lone Pine, Courtney's Post and Walkers Ridge. Our guide did ask us before we left Australia the details of my relative, which regiment they were in and where they served. He did his research and also recommended some books for me to read. It was a great day with our guide and we visited all the sites I wanted to see. He was very knowledgable. Make sure you see the Turkish Memorial and the new museum. You need to allocate some additional time for the new museum which gives you the perspective of the Turkish experience.

Just be aware that on the return trip they do take a short cut back to Istanbul. Our guide did warn us before hand and left us with the driver who spoke no English. We travelled the back roads through little villages, slowing down for chickens, tractors and really rough roads. In hindsight it was a great experience seeing the countryside.

I really recommend RSL Tours to anyone who wants to visit Gallipoli on a one day tour.

We came down to our hotel lobby at 7.30am, right on time, to find Murat waiting there for us. He and driver Junaid took us on the long drive from Istanbul to Eceabat. Murat pointed out places of interest along the way and talked of Turkish life in general. About half way we were introduced to an "authentic Turkish breakfast" which tasted great and left us full. It was the last day of Ramadan and traffic was very heavy with many people heading off for the Ramadan holiday. As we got closer to Eceabat traffic came to a halt. Apparently there was a 10km queue for the ferry at Eceabat to go to the Asian side. Junaid was able to put his local knowledge to good effect taking us down back roads and across farm fields to get to our rendezvous with Yusef who became our guide and George, our new driver. This is normally the point where lunch is taken but we were still full from breakfast so we went straight to Galipoli. Yusef was a fantastic guide with an extensive knowledge of all of the battlefields and all of the history. He was able to explain what happened at each battlefield and why. What each side was trying to do and what actually happened. His commentary was balanced and respectful of all the brave soldiers who fought here.

The tour of the battlefields took between 4 and 5 hours and left us quite weary having visited so many sites and absorbed so much information.

We did take a lunch break toward the end of the tour where Yusef and George introduced us to Gozlemes filled with meat, potato or spinach and cheese. George also insisted that we try the Turkish meatballs. Needless to say we didn't eat any dinner that night. Some people might be put off by the lunch venue, but don't be. It is a rural cafe, so not fancy, but the food is great. At the completion of the tour Yusef left us and Murat rejoined us for the drive back to Istanbul with George. They had us back at our hotel by about 10.30 pm, weary but well satisfied with our experiences for the day.

We were on a cruise ship which docked at Canakkale and was due to leave at 2pm. As my Greatuncle's name is on the Helles Memorial it was important for us to visit.Also we wanted to be back at the ship by 12.30pm at the latest.Hassan met us at the ship at 7.30am and tailored our tour to meet our needs.We spent time at the Helles Memorial,the Turkish Memorial,the Lancashire Landings Cemetery(our local regiment is the Lancashire Fusiliers in Bury)a museum and various short stops along the way to view the beaches etc.Finally we stopped at Eceabet where we met Olimpia and walked to the beach to see another memorial of the fighters in the trenches which wAs excellent.I had mentioned to Hassan previously that I had seen this on line ,so was very pleased that he showed it to us.Hassan is extremely knowledgable,very pleasant and helpful.And we were back at the ship on time!

My Partner and I recently did a Rome to Turkey Cruise which we were able to take in the Gallipoli tours whilst on shore. We were fortunate enough to find the wonderful Olympia from RSL Tours who was extremely helpful and we feel we have made a new friend. She arranged for us to be picked up in Istanbul and brought back to Ecebat and taken on a day tour with the Fabulous Faruk as our guide. We were picked up on time and the drive back was very pleasant, stopping for a wonderful breakfast that was included. Faruk's knowledge of the Gallipoli area and its history was second to none and made for a very informative and pleasant day. We then taken back to the Grand Hotel at Ecebat for some refreshing drinks and another great catch up with Olympia, before being driven back to Istanbul and our cruise ship, which was just on dark so we got to see the city of Istanbul lit up which was fantastic. I would strongly recommend this tour company to anyone thinking of doing the Gallipoli tours, their friendly, professional and make the whole experience well worth it. Their prices are very reasonable and we were very happy that we waited a few days after the 25th to do the tour as we were able to spend as long as we wanted at each site without all the tour buses that would have been there on the 25th. We are so grateful to have found Olympia and her crew, which was by accident, and am very grateful to them for making it a unforgettable experience. Well done guys.

I have recently (26 & 27 April) used your company for two tours, one of the Gallipoli Battlegrounds (26th) & the other in Istanbul (27th). I must congratulate you on having such professional & knowledgeable guides & drivers in your employ.

Yusuf & Ahmed (on the Gallipoli tour) were the best anyone could hope for, I have no hesitation in recommending the two of them (& your company) to any family & friends that wish to do any tours in & around the area of Gallipoli. Even the fact that our coach broke down outside of Eceabat did not detract from the tour.

In Istanbul, our guide, Ahmed (I hope I have I have his name right) went above & beyond what we would normally expect form someone in that position. I had my 92yr old mother with me & when he explained that the 2nd half of the tour would be difficult for her I did not expect the offer of the hospitality of your office for the duration of the tour. My mother was made to feel right at home by all of your staff. I am eternally grateful.

Our cruise ship docked in Canakkale on April 25, and not wanting to brave the crowds at Gallipoli, we arranged to go to Troy and Assos for the day. Our brilliant guide, Burak, kept us entertained as he taught us the history of the area. He is a passionate teacher and I'd recommend him any day. His English was superb. We like how he took the time to find out about us and gauged his talks to our interests. Rachel, whom we communicated with before and after our tour was great about answering all our questions, especially with our cruise ship and the uncertainty of our disembarking times. She had it all under control. The price of our tour was fair. It included a stop for lunch in an authentic restaurant in Assos. Lovely day.

I have had the most amazingly wonderful and personalised trip to Turkey because of the care and organisation by Oli at the RSL tours office and also because of the experienced and knowledgeable RSL tour guides. I was travelling alone and wanted to visit my relative’s grave in Gallipoli. I also decided to visit some other places in Turkey and after researching the RSL Website I decided to book all of my tours, transfers and accommodation through RSL tours and I am very glad I did. Everything was fantastic. I also believe that it was cheaper for me to do it this way. Oli helped me plan my trip via a few emails and then kept in touch with me each step of my journey to ensure everything was ok. The tours are extremely well organised, the coaches are very comfortable and there is plenty to see and do and the tour guides are all experts in their field. In one week I visited Istanbul, Troy, Gallipoli Battlefields (2 days), Ephesus and Pamukkale. All of these were day tours.

I can only say that the expectations of how my trip would be were exceeded. I wanted to walk in my relative’s footsteps at Gallipoli, to visit where he arrived, to visit where he died in battle and also to visit his grave – and I did all three of these things plus much more. Of course this was not part of RSL’s regular itinerary, but this was no problem, Oli changed the itinerary to suit my request and then she chose Hasan to be my tour guide. Hasan went above and beyond what I expected. He researched into the night to find every piece of information he could including maps, photographs, documents. We visited my relative’s grave and it was very moving and special. We had other tours booked in for the rest of the day and I asked to come back to look for Tommie’s trench where my relative died. After the other tours had concluded Hasan took me for a Turkish dinner at Krithia and while we sat there he used Google maps to obtain the gps coordinates to locate Tommies Trench and together we discussed and planned. Then we drove to the area of the 2nd battle for Krithia and walked through what is now part pine forest and olive farm. Hasan expertly located some trenches, but knew the direction of Tommies trench and quickly located it. I was able to be right there thanks to Hasan. Later he took me to V Beach where my relative landed. I walked on the beach and the roads that my relative walked on. It was amazing.

My accommodation was very comfortable, in a good location and usually with a great view. Many breakfasts and some lunches and dinners were included in my tours. The price was great too. I had the greatest time. Everyone I met was so nice and I made many new friends.

No matter what sort of trip you want to do in Turkey e.g. a research trip to Gallipoli or a regular tour or exploring other areas of Turkey, I thoroughly recommend RSL Tours. When I go back to Turkey I will book with RSL tours again.

This was an outstanding tour with a great guide in Yusef and well organised by Ash. There were 6 of us and we opted for the private tour. The mercedes van was very comfortable and Yusef made it clear from the start that we could do anything we wished on the day...with mine being to go for a swim in the Dardanelles. He took us to all the sites, which were largely free of other tourists and allowed us to fully soak up the atmosphere. His explanation of the events was outstanding and nothing was too much trouble. We saw the lead up to the invasion, had a great swim and then went to a restaurant with panoramic views. After lunch we visited the beaches and memorials (the Turkish one is breathtaking, and moving, as is Anzac cove and cemetery). It was a long day (about 4.5 hours one way), but it was absolutely worth it, and I would highly recommend the extra cost of a private tour.

My partner and I were on a cruise ship and organised a private tour with Huseyin Uysal to Gallipoli. He works for Trouble free tours/which is a subsiduary of RSL tours. Huseyin was an excellent guide who talked constantly and explained everything in detail about what happened in Gallipoli and also was able to answer any questions asked. Our tour started with being picked up from the cruise port of Canakkale and being driven to the ferry to cross the dardenelles. On arriving there we were given a detailed walking tour of the replica of where we were going to visit, then we set off to Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair memorials, Anzac cove Johnston's Jolly The Nek and Kabepe. The nostalgia that one feels visiting these sites is very emotional but also gives such a sense of pride. It is a full day tour and I think one of the best guides to show us. We all came away hopefully knowing and understanding this war a lot more than we did before visiting. Lest we FORGET…

We took the private car option with RSL, and for us it was the right choice. We were picked up on time by a very friendly and helpful couple of interpreter and driver and sped off to Gallipoli. The drive was just great through very attractive farmland and countryside. The stop for breakfast was a good one. Clean and well presented roadside restaurant. No different to what we have in Australia.

Then on to Eceabat. With breakfast stop, the trip took about 4 hours 20 minutes. This journey was very enjoyable.

We were then introduced to our personal tour guide, Joseph. He turned out to be a great success with us. Very knowledgeable, many interesting and unusual facts to share with us. Very informative and a thorough delight to be with as he illuminated the whole story of the conflict, the various sites and the history of the times.

We also went to the new Turkish multi media theatre complex to see the various AV presentations. This is well worth the visit as one hears and sees the story of Gallipoli from a Turkish point of view. We were very pleased we did this. It takes about an hour but well worth the time.

My wife has a relative who died at the landing on 26 April 1915. Joseph was very helpful in finding his name engraved in stone at Lone Pine. We were able to leave a poppy my wife had brought from Australia there next to his name.

Lunch was very pleasant. Soup was excellent and the meat balls were the best meatballs I had whilst in Turkey.

Ash is the gentleman managing this company and throughout all our email correspondence and our time in Gallipoli he and his staff were professional, helpful and a pleasure to be with.

The trip back to our hotel was just as enjoyable as the trip down. As too was the roadside diner stop.

These guys are good and the service is terrific.

This tour from Istanbul was led by Hassan from RSL tours who proved to be a very knowledgable and entertaining tour guide. Also very accommodating including in the tour a trip to a not usually visited war graves site where one of the tour participants has a relative buried. I would recommend this company to anyone who was planning a trip to Gallipoli.

Hasan met our small group in Istanbul and travelled with us to canakkale where we overnighted for a tour of Gallipoli and Troy, this fellow is wonderful he is witty and helpful and very knowledgeable about his subject which he obviously loves...we could not have been more foirtunate than to have been guided by Hsan of RSL Tours....Nothing was too much trouble and I thoroughly recommend hsan and hope one day to be back again!

Gallipoli was a wonderful experience and thanks to Hasan I found Troy very interesting, thats the beauty of his guiding he makes everything straight forward and delivers his information in a way that is very easy to digest and keeps your attention Well done Hasan!

My partner and I had a 2 day private tour from Istanbul of Troy and Gallipoli peninsula. The tour was organised by Turkland Tours who then sub contracted out the individual day/site tours to RSL Tours. The RSL tour guide for Troy is a young guy called Burak who is one of the most passionate and knowledgeable guides we came across and really brings the whole Troy archaeological site to life - definitely made our visit worthwhile. In respect to Gallipoli peninsula we did the full day north and south tour which included the Turkish and Allied memorials and highly recommend this tour as you get a much more balanced perspective that the conflict caused to the Turkish people and terrible loss of life of both sides. Our guide on this day was Hassan who is also very knowledgeable and likeable and made sure we got a balanced and informed view of the conflict - he also made the private tour fun with tea stop in local village with locals and lunch stop on roadside "café" serving local home cooked foods - highly recommend as well

Did the private Gallipoli day tour as a group of 4 mates from Istanbul. Although a long day, which we already expected, it was very well organised & everything worked like clock work. From bring picked up from our hotel we were driven to Gallipoli in a comfortable air conditioned van with a friendly & knowledgable staff member (sorry, forgot your name). On arrival we had a nice lunch at Eceabat & met 'Mick', our local tour guide. 'Mick' as a local spoke great English & had a clear interest in the history of the area & genuine enthusiasm about what he showed & told us. Although slightly rushed at points, we saw all the sights we wanted to & understood the time frames of a day tour from Istanbul. Overall, our group was very impressed & thought that the day tour gave us what we wanted in seeing the main Gallipoli sights without requiring us to use more days out of a busy touring schedule. Would highly recommend to those with a similar plan.

My family ( 2 adults , 3 teenage children) organised a 2 day private tour of Gallipoli starting and finishing in Istanbul. This is an expensive option but well worth the money - AUD$2000 when all said and done.

We were picked up from our hotel at 7.30am and taken in a very comfortable minibus to Eceabat stopping for breakfast on the way. We arrived at Eceabat at lunch time. After lunch we drove with our guide Baris to a new interactive display of the Gallipoli campaigns. The presentation is designed to simulate some of the experiences of those envolved in those campaigns. Although in Turkish we were given electronic devices which enabled us to hear an English version. It was excellent.

We were then taken to the southern sector at Cape Helles.There we visited the massive memorials to the British and the Turks. Both are simple but very impressive. We also saw some of the landing beaches including V Beach. Now very beautiful but on 25 April 1915 a virtual slaughterhouse.On the return trip to Eceabat we stopped off at a small village for cay. Although we could have had dinner at Eceabat we took the ferry to Canakalle where we ate in one of the many seaside restaurants. The ferry ride across the Dardenelles at dusk was very beautiful. The next morning we toured the northern battlefields where the ANZACs fought. This time our guide was Hassan. We had time to walk along ANZAC Cove and Z Beach.This gives you an appreciation of just how difficult the terrain was. We then walked up towards the Baby 700 cemetery. We then visited the Lone Pine cemetery, the Nek and finally the magnificent Turkish monument at Chunuk Bair. You get an appreciation of the terrible conditions each side fought under. In a couple of places the trenches are only metres apart. Lone Pine is not much bigger than a soccer field.. Yet for 3 days thousands of men fought and died over this now tranquil place.

I cannot speak too highly of both our guides. Both Baris and Hassan are experienced, extremely knowledgeable,interesting and easy to deal with. They both have a passion for what they do. Each told the Gallipoli story from the Turkish as well as the Allied side. The Turks regard Gallipoli as hallowed ground as we do. It was really interesting to get that perspective. RSL Tours did a fantastic job. It was even better than we anticipated.

Accomodation at Eceabat was basic. I think it might be best to stay in Canakalle.

Irealise that most will want to do a day trip from Istanbul but if you are able spend 2 days at Gallipoli.You won't be rushed.Try and give yourself time to walk in some of the cemetries. Seeing so many young men's lives wasted will break your heart.