What to do in/around Canakkale/Kepez, Turkey

We are stopping for an overnight in Canakkale, Turkey.

We have never been so wondering what to do in and around the town/area.

I know of Troy and the cove but is there anything else of interest?

I would probably do a private tour on one or both days.

I would appreciate to hear about the experience others have had.

Thank you.

Other than Troy, the main focus of interest is the pretty-disastrous Anzak (Australia & New Zealand) & British invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula in the First World War.

Even though there's no Norwegian angle, you'd find a tour of the sights both fascinating & informative.

Those sights are on the opposite side of the Dardanelles Strait.

You take a cheap 20-minute ferry trip from Canakkale across to Eceabat - the ferries run hourly or half-hourly, according to time & season. At Eceabat you can negotiate a tour with taxi drivers - most of them speak understandable English, and they know the sights that will be of interest.

Alternatively you can take the ferry to meet up with a pre-booked tour through one of the operators at Eceabat - that would be a lot cheaper than using an operator from Canakkale.

Here's one example http://www.gallipoli-tour.com/gallipoli-day-tour-from-eceabat.html

The main sights are the excellent dioramas of the Kabatepe museum which lead you through the Campaign (worth 90 minutes or more) and the landing beaches at Anzac Cove. Both are about a 10-15 minute drive from Eceabat, and you can carry on round a circular tour of other sights.

In a little park alongside the ferry pier at Eceabat is an interesting & imaginative display, replica trenches etc - an ideal place to spend up to 30 minutes if ferry times don't work out well.

Canakkale itself is a very pleasant little town centred on the waterfront near the ferry terminal. Plenty of restaurants & bars, and on the waterfront promenade the "Wooden Horse of Troy" that was used in the making of the film.

If you're on a small ship (I guess up to about 30,000 tonnes/800 passengers) you berth in the small docks about a 15 minute drive from Canakkale centre/ferry terminal.

I suspect - but can't be certain - that for larger ships this will be a tender port & the tenders will land at he same docks. Our ship provided a shuttle service from dock to town, I'm pretty certain yours will too.

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Middle_East/Turkey/Canakkale_Ili/Gallipoli-1842353/Things_To_Do-Gallipoli-TG-C-1.html

JB :)

Thank you for the informative reply.

We will be on the Celebrity Constellation and the ship is scheduled to be at anchor.

We are not interested in any war sights. (as interesting as they might be) so we will do Troy and Canakkale town.

I will also research the island of Imbros. It looks like there is a boat to/from the island to Canakkale.

Maybe Celebrity will be offering overnight tours from Canakkale as we are in Istanbul the day after.

Is there really so much to see and do in Canakkale that it would warrant an overnight??

Is there really so much to see and do in Canakkale that it would warrant an overnight??

No, it's one of those minor ports that doesn't attract big ships.

A pleasant & worthwhile little port-of-call but I'm very surprised that Connie should overnite there.

Can't even think of any distant sight that'd be better-accessed from Canakkale than from elsewhere, especially as your itinerary includes Istanbul.

I'd hazard a guess that it's to do with the logistics of your itinerary. Mebbe no berth available to overnite in Istanbul, or unable to reach the Straits from the previous port and navigate them in daylight.

JB :)

Thank you for your help.

Yes, I thought it would be a logistic issue. I will report back when X has put their shore excursions online. Maybe they have an overnight tour to somewhere:)

It would be interesting to see what is offered.

Perhaps in a long full day tour you could go to Pergamum, but it's hard to find much else closer by.

It would be interesting to see what is offered.

 

Perhaps in a long full day tour you could go to Pergamum, but it's hard to find much else closer by.

Fingers crossed X offers a tour to Pergamum as that is the kind of sight I find interesting.

Hi

being two Aussies we are ESTATIC that the ship will be both at Anzac Cove on the 100th Anniversary and then moving to Canakkale as this will give us a chance to tour ANZAC Cove and Lone Pine - we are amazed that Celebrity has arranged this itinerary - its the best Anzac 100th anniversary cruise itinerary we think - please bear in mind that there will be approx. 12,000 aussies and kiwis plus Royalty Heads of State and associated security at Anzac Cove overnight the 24th April for the Dawn Service on the 25th April - we are hoping to be able to tour these sites from the ship and pay our respects

No, it's one of those minor ports that doesn't attract big ships.

A pleasant & worthwhile little port-of-call but I'm very surprised that Connie should overnite there.

Can't even think of any distant sight that'd be better-accessed from Canakkale than from elsewhere, especially as your itinerary includes Istanbul.

I'd hazard a guess that it's to do with the logistics of your itinerary. Mebbe no berth available to overnite in Istanbul, or unable to reach the Straits from the previous port and navigate them in daylight.

 

JB :)

being two Aussies we are ESTATIC that the ship will be both at Anzac Cove on the 100th Anniversary of Australia and New Zealand's MOST important national day and then moving to Canakkale as this will give us a chance to tour ANZAC Cove and Lone Pine - we are amazed that Celebrity has arranged this itinerary - its the best Anzac 100th anniversary cruise itinerary we think - please bear in mind that there will be approx. 12,000 aussies and kiwis plus Royalty Heads of State and associated security at Anzac Cove overnight the 24th April for the Dawn Service on the 25th April - we are hoping to be able to tour these sites from the ship and pay our respects

being two Aussies we are ESTATIC that the ship will be both at Anzac Cove on the 100th Anniversary of Australia and New Zealand's MOST important national day and then moving to Canakkale as this will give us a chance to tour ANZAC Cove and Lone Pine - we are amazed that Celebrity has arranged this itinerary - its the best Anzac 100th anniversary cruise itinerary we think - please bear in mind that there will be approx. 12,000 aussies and kiwis plus Royalty Heads of State and associated security at Anzac Cove overnight the 24th April for the Dawn Service on the 25th April - we are hoping to be able to tour these sites from the ship and pay our respects

It sure sounds like an amazing event. I would like to see if Celebrity offers any tours to the event..

You mentioned on the roll call that the Constellation will enter the Cove at the exact time (2am) and date the troupes entered the cove 100 years ago.

being two Aussies we are ESTATIC that the ship will be both at Anzac Cove on the 100th Anniversary of Australia and New Zealand's MOST important national day and then moving to Canakkale as this will give us a chance to tour ANZAC Cove and Lone Pine - we are amazed that Celebrity has arranged this itinerary - its the best Anzac 100th anniversary cruise itinerary we think - please bear in mind that there will be approx. 12,000 aussies and kiwis plus Royalty Heads of State and associated security at Anzac Cove overnight the 24th April for the Dawn Service on the 25th April - we are hoping to be able to tour these sites from the ship and pay our respects

Can't believe Celebrity's failure to promote the reason for this one-off itinerary. :confused:

Or is it different in Kangaland & Kiwiland ?

On Celebrity's UK & US websites it's just another cruise to "Greece & Turkey".

Their itinerary mentions a day "cruising Anzac Cove" & two days in Canakkale (Kepez). Full Stop.

Their website is keen to tell everyone about the delights of Rome, Istanbul, Santorini, Naples & Athens. But no info at all about Canakkale, let alone the Gallipoli campaign, let alone the centenary of the Anzac landings - which has to be the reason for overniting in Canakkale.

Why bother to go to Canakkale at all unless you promote the reason? :confused:

Its almost like the itinerary was the brainchild of one executive who then left the company.

How strange. How ridiculous.

And I've checked a few cruise agents' websites, same again. Even Cruise Agents ;) in Aus only headline the cruise "Greece Turkey & Salute to Anzac Cove", with no mention that Canakkale is the port for touring the Anzak sights. But they're the other side of the world, I doubt they've even heard of the place & were relying on Celebrity.

BTW, I checked to see if Connie tenders or docks in Canakkale. According to Google's translation of the port's website, the quay has enough length & enough draught.

Celebrity's website says docked.

But then it says docked in Santorini. Anyone who's been to Santorini will giggle at that silly notion. :D

If she does dock in Canakkale, it'll be the same pier we used.

Our ship (24,000 tonnes compared to Connie's 90.000 tonnes) managed to get stuck in the mud when berthing - apparently the captain and/or pilot didn't approach dead in line and the dredged channel is very narrow. You might want to mention that to your captain, & watch him blanche :D

Cost us an hour while they tugged (pun intended) and heaved.

Aussies & Kiwis will certainly find plenty to fill their two days, see my first post.

But being the two days after the centenary might put a different complexion on the availability of tours on-the-fly. It's a long way from anywhere & I feel sure that folk travelling for the centenary will want to spend more than a day there.

We were there last October so it's still tolerably fresh in my mind.

Happy to help with any questions that my one foreshortened day can answer.

JB :)

We are also booked on the Constellation. Celebrity is not offering tours on the 25th. We found one private tour to Troy, but they are charging $450PP for 4.5hrs. Any suggestions for tour guides? I tried http://www.gallipoli-tour.com, but they are not avaialble.

We are also booked on the Constellation. Celebrity is not offering tours on the 25th. We found one private tour to Troy, but they are charging $450PP for 4.5hrs. Any suggestions for tour guides? I tried http://www.gallipoli-tour.com, but they are not avaialble.

Canakkale to Troy is about a 30 minute drive.

Some operators are more expensive than others, the proximity of the Gallipoli anniversary may have an effect on availability & price, and no doubt there are rip-off operators. But Turkey is an inexpensive country, and Canakkale is no exception.

$450 p/p for a 4.5hr tour sounds just so very wrong that I feel sure that there's some misunderstanding somewhere.

Confusion over currency rates?

$450 total for a van?

Worth getting back to them to query?

I googled "tour operators Canakkale" and "tour operators Eceabat" and found these, there are probably others if you dig deeper or use "taxi" or "Dolmus" in your google search. I didn't see prices shown, you'll need to e-mail for them.

http://www.crowdedhousegallipoli.com/

http://www.anzacgallipolitours.com/about_us.htm

http://gallipolianzactour.net/

http://gallipolitourguide.net/

You'll need to sift out tours which operate from Istanbul, over 4 hours away. But note the prices of those long-day tours from Istanbul, they do rather demonstrate that $450 p/p for a local half-day tour is a nonsense.

If you use just a taxi or dolmus for Troy rather than a tour, you will need a guide in order to understand what you're looking at - I don't know if they're available on-site, it would be a worthwhile exercise to find out.

But for Gallipoli, although you need private transport you'll get by fine without a guide, even if your driver speaks little English.

We and many others visited the Gallipoli sights DIY, others did the same to Troy, all very easy and inexpensive.

But ours was a much smaller ship, and we weren't there on or near a significant date - I don't know how much difference that will make.

I'll repeat my disgust with Celebrity.

This isn't just a regular itinerary which happens to port at Canakkale on an inconvenient date. It's a one-off itinerary presumably targeted at the Anzak anniversary.

Yet they offer no tours at all?

Ridiculous. :(

JB :)

I'll repeat my disgust with Celebrity.

This isn't just a regular itinerary which happens to port at Canakkale on an inconvenient date. It's a one-off itinerary presumably targeted at the Anzak anniversary.

Yet they offer no tours at all?

Ridiculous. :(

JB :)

Keep in mind that this is a one-off event and still just under 10 months off. It's very likely Celebrity is working to arrange some special tours and probably just does not have them available or listed yet.

Keep in mind that this is a one-off event and still just under 10 months off. It's very likely Celebrity is working to arrange some special tours and probably just does not have them available or listed yet.

My history letting me down again, cruisemom. :rolleyes:

Saw the OP was sailing Celebrity, eastern Med, October 2014, so put two & two together.

Quite right, this one isn't 'til next April.

That also leaves me confused.

OP is sailing Eclipse trans-Atlantic 16 days on 21st April.

And this cruise on Connie on 25th April. :confused:

That still doesn't explain why Celebrity are simply marketing the cruise as a "Turkey & Greece" cruise.

Or why for Canakkale they don't at least mention something like "excursion details to follow"

Or, come to think of it, why Italy also isn't mentioned in the title !

JB :)

John Bull: I did question the $900 for the tour and it was not a typo. They said it was due to the holiday. I heard back from another tour operator and they are charging 350 Euros. Thanks for the suggestions. I will contact the other companies. I think your comments were right about this being brainchild of one executive who then left.

cruisemom42: I have been in contact with Celebrity. I received an email back from them stating they were not going to have tours on the 25th due to the peninsula restrictions. I questioned Troy and if they were planning on letting us off the ship. I then received a call from guest relations. We have had a few conversations, but I have not received any concrete answers. She is supposed to get back to me next week. They do have tours for the 26th. I booked one that goes to Gallipoli.

I believe the OP canceled this cruise and booked a different one.

We also are booked onto this cruise and although we won't be ON Anzac Cove for the 25th, cruising off the coast will be poignant enough I believe. My great uncle was there for the landing and many brave souls took their last breath that day but luckily my uncle survived and lived out the end of the war in the 3rd Field Ambulance. We have booked a private tour on the 26th as I know the peninsula will be awash with visitors and we wanted the flexibility to move around the various sites independently. I am awaiting advice from Celebrity as to whether the Connie will be moored in Canakkale or whether we will need a tender transfer to shore. Hopefully we will be docked so we can make an early getaway and beat the bulk of the crowds. It am also hoping Celebrity arrange a dawn service befitting the occasion on the 25th. A very special day for all Aussies and Kiwis.

There will be no access allowed to the peninsula on the 25th except for ticket holders. A ballot was completed earlier this year for the tickets (see RSL website) and they had 42 000 applicants for 10 000 tickets. The Turkish government set the numbers and control the event as one would expect.

We were fortunate enough to attend in 2006 and even then access was strictly controlled. Unless you had prearranged transport because of disability you had to walk everywhere; from Dawn Service to the Australian service, the NZ service and the Turkish service.

I think the large cruise ships are planning to be as close as possible to the site of the Dawn Service. But I have heard that there are issues about it and also the way some tour companies are advertising. That may be why there is not more information.

You cannot overestimate the importance of this event to Australians and New Zealanders. It may seem strange to others that we commemorate a battle which our troops lost and where they were slaughtered, but it is as it is.

I am presuming that we o/night in Canakkale due to the fact that this cruise is being marketed to Aussies like myself who wish to see the battlefields on or near the date of the centenary of the Anzac Landing. It s the reason I am doing the cruise.

975Euro per person for 1 day private tour of battlefields through http://www.anzacgallipolitours.com/ includes pick-up from ship lunch

I am hoping it will be very poignant for both myself and 14y.o. grandson who want to be as close as possible to where it happened on this special day.

irenew, I paid a quarter of that 3 months ago. Honestly it's not worth that, grab a ship tour instead. When I booked my private tour Celebrity hadn't announced their shore excursions and I didn't want to miss out. But it means we will be the last off the ship!

We are also booked on the Constellation. Celebrity is not offering tours on the 25th. We found one private tour to Troy, but they are charging $450PP for 4.5hrs. Any suggestions for tour guides? I tried www.gallipoli-tour.com, but they are not avaialble.

There is an all day tour coordinated by Dunmore1 - thread on the Constellation roll call listing. Includes Troy/Assos/local villages AND lunch. 105 euros pp. There are two spots left in our van. Will leave ASAP after tendering and return at sunset. Far cheaper and better than the ships excursion.

you can also email me - az_tchr at yahoo dot com

Thank you for that but I really want to go to the battlefields rather than Troy. I am as yet unable to view the excursions on offer from Celebrity as I am awaiting a passport for my grandson and so not able to complete the check-in process.

975Euro per person for 1 day private tour of battlefields through http://www.anzacgallipolitours.com/ includes pick-up from ship lunch

The Constellation has tours on the 26th. Suggest one look at a ships tour that day as time will be short with a 4:30pm on board requirement. Dunmore2 - see Constellation roll call - has a private tour on the 25th - all day - to Troy and Assos. Am sure the will be a way to get near Gallipoli on the 25th if you query enough companies. 975 Euros, however, is crazy!