Verified
Very good tour. I could have skipped the time to visit the onyx shop and instead spend more time at Pamukkale.
We did 2 tours with Crowded House:
1. Gallipoli (private tour) - this was exceptional. Great pick up/transfer from Istanbul in a comfortable van. Wonderful and knowledgeable private tour guide, Charlie. He was obviously very interested in Gallipoli to the point that he read books about it and hiked the trails outside of work hours. Lunch was included but was not good. A traditional tavern, but with dry meats and unclean table cloths.
2. Ephesus (group tour) - this was great. Again good transfers. The guide Mustafa was great. But the tour was only really a half day tour. The lunch was a pretty terrible buffet with only 2 meat options. The afternoon was at best a waste of time. A stop at a leather shop and Turkish dessert and spice shop where everything was marked up in price. And then a stop at a mountain village that was painfully touristy. These were not on the itinerary and I would have preferred to have just gone back to the hotel instead. The time would have been better spent going to the Basilica of St John and the Ayasuluk Citadel.
My advice - do the tours privately and cut out parts of the itinerary you would prefer to avoid.
We had a two day tour out of istanbul. It was really well organized. The guides are super knowledgeable on history and archaeology. And so informative at Gallipoli. We took the ferry to canakkale for the night and Troy the next day. With so many people and different itineraries, I'm not sure how they could keep it so well organized. The downside was very very full buses, esp the long drive too/from istanbul.
Verified
The Gallipoli tour was amazing. We were so impressed with our guide Burak. He was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, funny and really made the day an unforgettable experience.
Verified
Good. Beutifull
It was quite a logistical operation, with bus changes along the way and a stop to pick up some notes, but having said that, everything went smoothly. The guide was truly excellent, motivating, and very knowledgeable.Even though it was a rather brutal climb up to the theatre at Hierapolis, we are talking about a world-class attraction, and it was a magnificent experience—magnificent being the key word.The Cotton Castle was also impressive, although we only viewed it from above. That was probably a sensible choice, as we have walked up there before and remember the ascent being quite demanding.All in all, it was a very good day, and we were fortunate to have such pleasant weather
Verified
Very informative tour. A very harrowing day & I would highly recommend to fellow Aussies to do it.
Verified
Gallipoli Day Trip
Really interesting day with a great guide. Burak was able to give us lots of interesting insights into Anzac Cove and the surrounding areas along with the Turkish Monuments.
Verified
Firstly, I was exceptional. His knowledge was excellent, and he explained it in an engaging way. There was enough time at all of the stops. As an Australian, I found the experience very moving.
Thank you the team and especially our driver Coşkun and our guide Burak for the awesome ANZAC Tour! The description of the landings/battles was very detailed and we got golden nuggets of niche information along with deeply touching personal stories from both sides of this epic war. All of this delivered with great humor and verve. Highly recommended!
Verified
Amazing Experience!
We thoroughly enjoyed this tour, especially the tour of Gallipoli and our guide Burak who was a fountain of knowledge! He is obviously proud of his vocation and he provided us with great insight which he delivered with passion and objectivity. Burak has a great sense of humour and related with each individual on the tour, engaging with them and showing a keen interest in getting to know them. The accommodation at the Artur Hotel was good. The tour of Gallipoli is one of the best experiences we have had and Burak was a significant reason for this. Our guide for Troy and Bergama was Ahmed and he also provided great insight and knowledge into these areas. Ahmed also related very well with the individuals on that part of the tour.
Verified
Gallipoli tour with crowded tours
Amazing tour, staff friendly, supportive and made the experience so much better. Canakkle is a beautiful township where the office is situated. The little restaurant was awesome, meals looked amazing, unfortunately I was unable to eat anything due to post surgery but it looked great. Our tour guide was very experienced and knowledgeable and it really helped to have a guided tour as i had very limited history about Gallipoli so this made a huge difference. Tour was an eye opener and very emotional once we landed at the NZ memorial site, although I personally had no one who served during that war the wairua was very strong. The best thing for me was being able to touch the water in ANZAC Cove where our history started for our troops. Pit stops we're very good and gave options to purchase food for morningtea and dinner. Greatful to Guided Tours for arranging private puck up for us in the morning from our hotel as it took away the added stress of finding a way to meet at one of the pick up locations and it was pouring down with rain. I personally would highly recommend you to anyone thinking about taking the tour. Thank you fir an amazing experience, great way to finish our trip 🧡💛💚💙
Verified
An educational and engaging experience
We had such a lovely experience visiting Canakklale, ANZAK and Troy with Burak. He was engaging, thoughtful, and incredibly knowledgeable, and made the tour feel very personal and special. On a private tour day he shared so many interesting stories and insights that really brought the history to life, especially V- Beach. The whole experience was relaxed, engaging, and memorable. A big thank you to Burak for his time, knowledge, and warmth — we really appreciated it and it uplifted our experience! Declan&Bilge
Verified
I would improve the guide
The place is poorly maintained but it is worth knowing. The very tired guide did not explain anything to us... he gave us free time so that we could do the tour. They were late picking us up and we were the first ones