Gallipoli tour March 2005

[Mark Hone]

I am in the early stages of planning a possible tour to Gallipoli for a very small group of sixth form students. We are looking to spend a couple of days on site, probably in March 2005 before 90th anniversary tourism really gets under way. Unfortunately I have never visited the area before, so am unfamiliar with the basics of local travel, accommodation etc. Can any Pals help on:

The rumoured coach that runs from Istanbul to Channakale (We don't want to drive ourselves)

Accommodation in Channakale or on the Peninsula itself suitable for a small group.

I have tried to get on the Gallipoli website of a Pal called CGI who contributed to a previous thread, but can't get past the home page.

[Kate Wills]

How big is the group?

You are going to need transport around the battlefield, so are you thinking of hiring a vehichle at Channakale? If you stay at Channakale, you will be spending a good slice of each day travelling across the Dardanelles and on to your destination, be it Helles, Suvla or Anzac.

[Mark Hone]

The group is likely to be very small-only two students with a member of staff. They are all going to be physically fit types, so we are planning to walk round the battlefields, with a taxi being used to get to the general area. Probable itinerary: Day 1 Helles, Lancashire Landing, Krithia and Twelve Tree Copse and Day 2 Anzac Cove area and possibly Suvla.

Kate, You seem to favour staying on the peninsula itself. Any tips?

[Paul Reed]

Mark - there is some material on my website for visiting Gallipoli which you might find of use, if you haven't seen it already:

http://battlefields1418.50megs.com/gallipo...attlefields.htm

Why don't you want to drive? It will be a lot more pleasant than using a Turkish coach - the ones I have seen on the roads between the battlefields and Istanbul would have been condemned here years ago! I doubt if there would be much difference between the coach fare and taxi hire over compared to hiring a car.

In my opinion best two places to stay are the Pension Panorama at Helles and the Kum Hotel. Both are on the battlefields, so no need for wasting time on the ferry every day.

[Kate Wills]

Mark

On our first visit we stayed at the Hotel Anafartalar, which is opposite the ferry terminal at Chanakale. On the peninsula itself we have only ever stayed at Pensyion Helles Panorama (which may not be open in March), but there are half-dozen others to choose from.

[paul guthrie]

You sure do want to stay on the peninsula and the pension mentioned is ideal, a stone's throw from Lancashire Landing. There is a very interesting single grave there. The man speaks English, former CWGC worker.

You say you may visit Suvla. If you go that far and don't you have a screw loose! For one thing, it's quite pretty and the 3 battlefields are so different in plant life, topography and this is prettiest.

And, do you ever need a car!

[MartinWills]

The coach runs very regularly from one of the Istanbul coach stations to the Cannakale coach station. I have a feeling its every couple of hours or so and people I know who have used it have been pleasantly surprised. It runs on the north side of the Marmora and crosses the Dardanelles from Eceabat to Canakkale.

Some local minibuses run in the area and would take you from Eceabat to Seddulbahr but are not terribly predictable.

The Pansiyon Helles Panorama in Seddulbahr is economical and offers excellent Turkish food, though as Kate said many such facilities are closed in March. It would be perfect for walking V beach, Helles memorial, W beach, Lancashire Landing, X Beach, Pink Farm, Twelve Tree Copse & Gully beach. You would need transport from there to Anzac and could walk the Anzac battlefield in a day, though not in great detail. Suvla would be extremely difficult without transport.

The Aussie & NZ backpackers use "TJ's" in Eceabat and spent their evenings in the Vegemite bar (it may have been renamed by now) where it is rumoured Mel Gibson's Gallipoli video plays on a continuous loop! TJ does run his own tour using his own transport covering the basics of ANZAC in less than a day.

The Kum Motel just south of Gaba Tepe would be as close to Anzac as you can in terms of accomodation but would entail more walking than is reasonable for a day. Nonetheless the time of year may dictate that it is easier to find accomodation in Canakkale, but the journey across the water is a bind and wastes good touring time.

You will need to acknowledge that you may be in areas where safety, particularly of a school group is important and out of season you would have difficulty in finding help other than at a distance in the event of an accident (twisted/broken ankle; snake bite; dog bite, etc). Some areas that you will visit really should be regarded as remote and unpopulated To that end and with the precautions that are appropriate for a school party a vehicle would make all the difference as well as helping get about the battlefields and would not stop some robust walking on the battlefield, particularly in your target area at Helles. The predictability of your own transport would ensure you have as much time as possible on the battlefield, but do remember that the road surfaces on the peninsula vary from passable to extremely poor to non-existant.

Lancashire Landing Cemetery, where I know you have a visit to make should be looking good in March. It was extensively renovated during 2004 and regrassed for the second time in three years.

By all means ask if you need any specific pointers.

[Mark Hone]

Dear all,

Thank you for your detailed suggestions. I shall pursue them and probably ask follow up questions anon,

Mark

[Guest CGI]

I have just reworked the 'Gallipoli Trip' pages on my site : all prices of transport, addresses etc. have now been updated. To find all information, go to :

http://user.online.be/~snelders/contents.html

Greetings,

CGI

[Hedley Malloch]

I am in the early stages of planning a possible tour to Gallipoli for a very small group of sixth form students. We are looking to spend a couple of days on site, probably in March 2005 before 90th anniversary tourism really gets under way. Unfortunately I have never visited the area before, so am unfamiliar with the basics of local travel, accommodation etc. Can any Pals help on:

The rumoured coach that runs from Istanbul to Channakale (We don't want to drive ourselves)

Accommodation in Channakale or on the Peninsula itself suitable for a small group.

I have tried to get on the Gallipoli website of a Pal called CGI who contributed to a previous thread, but can't get past the home page.

My knowledge of the Gallipoli on DIY basis is now six years old, but here goes:

The public bus to Cannakale runs run from the Srinevler Otogar (bus station). There is a direct metro from the airport to the otogar. Once there look for the Radar, Ulusoy or Trakya bus lines; these are the three bus lines which run to Gallipoli. Shop around, haggle and you should be able to do it for $6-7 per head one way.

I cannot agree with Paul's assessment of the transport possibilities. Turkish buses are wonderful: just give yourself up to the whole experience of cologne to cool you, tea and the sort of cakes you haven't seen since you were a kid. As for driving yourself my advice is simple - don't. I lived in Turkey for over two years and never drove a car - and I like to think I don't frighten easily. Turkey has one of the worst road safety records in the world with over 40,000 deaths a year - and they are just the ones the Turks own up to. 5 seconds on any Turkish road will tell you why. Having said that you will need some form of transport once you are there; think about hiring a mini-bus from Cannakale for the duration to drive around the peninsula where, to be fair, the drivers are not too bad.

Hotels: the general advice is stay on the European side and I would agree with this. Helles is OK for adults, but there is nothing there for young people to do at night. Eceabat is good; one or two local places for young people and they can always take the ferry to Cannakale. And it is more central for the battlefields and better for Troy. I always used the Eceabat hotel, owned by the local council: simple, clean and B&B for $7 a night, and run by great people. I am sure that if you asked the manager's wife nicely you could negotiate an evening meal.

[Chris Best]

Hi Mark

I visited Gallipoli twice in 2002, first on recce then with a military group. Our main guide was a retired NZ infantryman, Chris Pugsley, who now lectures in the history department at Sandhurst. Accommodation in both instances was at TJ's. A very popular spot with Aussies and Kiwis on pilgrimage; very relaxed, good value for money, friendly staff and lovely owners. I understand they've since gone upmarket in Eceabat and now offer accommodation of hotel and hostel standard quality.

I agree those who recommend hiring a car. But for me, based on experience with Chris Pugsley, my preference would be to walk the battlefields. And they are so different. I would suggest a minimum of 3 days to get a good feel for the area. You could probably get to Troy late one afternoon too.

A terrific place. I'll visit again.

Chris