Istanbul in a few hours
All super cute, the guide a 7, took us to the mosques to the cistern, wonderful.
Gallipoli to Ephesus in Three Days: Battlefields & the Aegean
Ephesus, Gallipoli & Troy
Overview
This three-day itinerary covers four of Turkey’s most significant archaeological and historical sites in a single southward sweep along the Aegean coast. You start at Gallipoli, where the 1915 campaign left its mark on the landscape and on the national identities of Turkey, Australia, and New Zealand. The next day, you stand at Troy: the city Homer wrote about, then continue to Pergamon, one of the great intellectual centers of the ancient world.
On your final day, you walk through Ephesus. Not a ruin in the usual sense: more like a Roman city frozen mid-stride, with its library facade, 25,000-seat theater, and marble-paved streets still intact enough to feel lived-in. After Ephesus, you fly from Izmir back to Istanbul. No long return drive, no wasted hours on the road.
This tour does not include Istanbul sightseeing. It is designed as an add-on for travelers who want to cover the western Aegean sites efficiently, with a licensed guide on a small-group tour, all logistics handled.
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1
Istanbul to Gallipoli
Early morning departure from your Istanbul hotel. The drive to the Gallipoli Peninsula takes approximately 4.5 hours, with a rest stop along the way.
Your guide walks you through the battlefields and memorials of the 1915 campaign:
- ANZAC Cove: originally known by its Turkish name Ari Burnu, this beach was renamed after the Australian and New Zealand troops who landed here on April 25, 1915, beneath cliffs the planners had underestimated. The cove’s new name stuck, and so did its place in the national memory of three countries.
- Lone Pine Cemetery & Memorial: 1,167 graves, many unidentified, marking some of the fiercest hand-to-hand fighting of the campaign
- Johnston’s Jolly & The Nek: opposing trenches so close that soldiers could hear each other talking; The Nek is where successive charges met concentrated machine-gun fire
- Chunuk Bair: the New Zealand memorial on the ridgeline that was taken, lost, and never retaken
- Brighton Beach: the evacuation point where the final withdrawal took place in December 1915
- Kabatepe War Museum: personal effects, weapons, and letters from both sides of the campaign
After the tour, you cross the Dardanelles by ferry to Canakkale. The strait itself is part of the story: this is the waterway the Allies tried and failed to force by sea before the land campaign began.
Day 2
Troy & Pergamon
Morning visit to Troy, or more precisely, the nine layers of Troy, stacked on top of each other over 4,000 years of continuous habitation. Your guide explains which layer corresponds to Homer’s Iliad (Troy VII, if the archaeologists are right) and walks you through the excavation trenches that Schliemann carved through the site in the 1870s.
Then you drive south to Pergamon, the city that rivaled Alexandria as a center of learning and medicine:
- Acropolis of Pergamon: perched on a hilltop 335 meters above the plain, with the steepest theater in the ancient world (10,000 seats cut into the mountainside) and the foundations of the Great Altar of Zeus
- Asklepion: the ancient healing center, where patients were treated with water therapy, dream interpretation, and herbal medicine in a complex that functioned as both hospital and spa
Late afternoon transfer to Kusadasi, on the coast near Ephesus.
Day 3
Ephesus & Flight to Istanbul
A full day at one of the best-preserved ancient cities in the Mediterranean. Your guide takes you through:
- Celsus Library: the iconic two-story facade, built in 117 AD as both a library and a tomb for the Roman senator Celsus, once held 12,000 scrolls
- Great Theater: 25,000 seats carved into the hillside, where St. Paul once addressed the crowd (and was shouted down by silversmiths protecting their trade)
- Temple of Hadrian: delicate relief carvings of Medusa and the founding myth of Ephesus on a surprisingly intimate temple facade
- Terrace Houses: Roman villas with intact mosaic floors and frescoed walls that reveal how the wealthy actually lived
- House of the Virgin Mary: a small chapel on a wooded hillside above Ephesus, recognized by the Vatican as a pilgrimage site
- Temple of Artemis: one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; a single column marks where a structure four times the size of the Parthenon once stood
Lunch is included. After Ephesus, you transfer to Izmir airport for your domestic flight back to Istanbul. You arrive in the evening: no overnight bus, no six-hour drive.
How it works. This is not a fixed-departure coach tour: your trip starts on the date you choose. Guided days are regular tours shared with other travellers, with a licensed English-speaking guide and no more than 18 guests in a Sprinter van, and transfers are shuttles timed to your flights unless the itinerary says private transfer. Prefer the whole trip private? Ask us and we'll quote it.
Where You'll Stay
2 nights with breakfast, in central, hand-picked hotels.
Çanakkale1 night
Büyük Truva Hotel or similar, in Çanakkale near the Dardanelles.
Kuşadası1 night
İlayda Avantgarde, İlayda Hotel or Efe Boutique, or similar, by the Aegean Sea, close to Ephesus.
We confirm the exact hotel for your dates before booking. If one is full, we book another of the same category and let you know.
What's Included
- All ground transportation in a shared, air-conditioned small-group vehicle
- Domestic flight: Izmir to Istanbul
- Dardanelles ferry crossing
- 2 nights accommodation in 4-star hotels with daily breakfast
- Lunches on Days 1, 2, and 3
- Professional licensed English-speaking guide throughout
- Entrance fees to all sites on the itinerary
- 24/7 local support
Not Included
- International flights
- Dinners and drinks
- Istanbul sightseeing (not included in this itinerary)
- Personal expenses
- Travel insurance
- Guide and driver gratuities (optional, appreciated)
Who Is This Tour For?
This itinerary works well for:
- ANZAC visitors with limited time who want Gallipoli, Troy, and Ephesus covered in three days and refuse to spend six hours on a return bus to Istanbul
- Mythology and military history fans: you walk Homer’s Troy one day and the trenches of Lone Pine the next, with Pergamon’s Asklepion in between
- Travelers adding a side trip to an Istanbul stay: you fly back to your Istanbul hotel on the evening of Day 3, ready for whatever comes next
- Anyone who hates long drives: the return flight from Izmir cuts what would be a full day on the road down to one hour
What Our Travelers Say
Frequently Asked Questions
No. This itinerary begins with a pickup from your Istanbul hotel and ends with a flight back to Istanbul from Izmir. It is designed as a standalone Aegean route or as an add-on to an Istanbul-based trip.
Moderate. Gallipoli involves walking on grassy, uneven terrain across the memorial sites. Troy is relatively flat. Pergamon’s Acropolis is on a steep hilltop (cable car available). Ephesus involves 2–3 hours of walking on marble and stone streets. Comfortable walking shoes are sufficient for all of it.
This standard itinerary covers the key ANZAC sites year-round. If you are visiting specifically for the April 25 Dawn Service, contact us: we arrange separate ANZAC Day itineraries with adjusted timing and logistics.
Yes. Want to add a night in Kusadasi? Skip Troy and spend more time at Pergamon? Extend into Pamukkale? Tell us your priorities and we will adjust the itinerary.
Yes. If you prefer to stay in the Kusadasi/Selcuk area after Ephesus (to continue to Pamukkale, catch a Greek island ferry, or simply relax on the coast), we can remove the return flight and adjust accordingly. The route is the same; the ending is flexible.
Evening arrival, typically between 7:00 and 9:00 PM depending on the flight schedule. We will arrange a transfer from Istanbul airport to your hotel if needed.
Questions before you book?
Tell us your name and email and we send you a personalized quote for your dates.
Gallery
From $
868
/ person
3 Days · Guided Tour
in a double or triple room · daily departures
What's included
- All ground transportation in a shared, air-conditioned small-group vehicle
- Domestic flight: Izmir to Istanbul
- Dardanelles ferry crossing
- 2 nights accommodation in 4-star hotels with daily breakfast
- Lunches on Days 1, 2, and 3
- Professional licensed English-speaking guide throughout
- Entrance fees to all sites on the itinerary
- 24/7 local support
How you pay
20%Deposit, when we confirm
40%About 30 days before arrival
40%On arrival in Turkey
Your deposit is never lost: if your plans change, it stays as credit for 12 months.
From
$
868
/ person
