ANZAC Day Gallipoli Tour

The tour was okay but had some faults. Specifically, the first hotel in Istanbul (Hotel Grand Halic) was poor. It was dirty and out-dated. The breakfast was poor and it was noisy. It was not 4 star as advertised. The hotel for the 23rd was nice, however we arrived later than planned (around 7:30pm) so I didn't get to experience much of it. The final hotel (Golden Tulip Istanbul) was of a better standard than the previous hotel, however it was in a poor location with very little around. I ended up needing to get a taxi into Istanbul proper which took 40 minutes in peak hour. We had to supply money towards the kitty (understandable) for entrance tickets, etc. On my paperwork, this was stated we could pay in Turkish Lira, however we needed to pay in Euros. This was frustrating as many people did not have enough, or any Euros on them and had to seek them from an ATM or money exchange. The tour itself was okay but we had very long days (I understand ANZAC Day is long, but the other days were too). The days dragged on as people did not return to the bus or meeting point on time, which meant we were late leaving. For example, people being late meant we missed the ferry which meant we had to wait around for an hour for another ferry. People were late most times, and I don't think we left many places on time, usually 5 or 10 minutes later than planned. The food across the tour was not a great standard. I understand tours often don't have fantastic food, but the quality of food and choices were quite poor on this tour. I had come to this tour after finishing another tour with another company and have to say I had a better experience with the other company.

An excellent trip, one of the best I have experienced, thank you.

The tour was comprehensive and wonderful. Being able to experience Gallipoli and learn about the war from a Turkish perspective was invaluable. Our guide Reggie was the best! He was so knowledgeable and friendly, went out of his way to help me during the tour. I have expressed to all of my friends that a tour in Turkey wouldn't be complete without Reggie. Thanks for a great tour!

Reggie was an absolute star and a wonderful guide. His knowledge of the history and sites was great and he shared it in such an easy way. His tours were fun and relaxed. You could ask him any questions and while he told you when to be careful he certainly didn’t scare anyone with unnecessary warnings. I would most definitely book another tour, particularly if Reggie was the guide. The coach was comfortable and clean and fine for the trip though I think it wouldn’t have been so comfortable if we had had a full tour compliment and you spent longer travelling. Information on the ANZAC ceremonies was excellent - it was a real shame that you couldn’t do both the Lone Pine service and make it to Chanuk Bair in time for the NZ service but there isn’t much you can do about that. We were well informed and I think it is important to make sure that continues as I know there were other visitors who had been told conflicting information and didn’t make it to Chanuk Bair when that was the main service they wanted to get to. I thought both the Backstreets tour and the City tour were very good and I would highly recommend doing both of them if people have the opportunity. I am really pleased I booked with On the Go Tours. I had the most amazing experience and felt comfortable and safe because everything was so well organised.

I took your ANZAC digger tour last week and it was amazing. Experiencing the dawn service at Gallipoli was truly moving and our tour guide Reggie was so funny and knowledgeable. He answered our endless questions not just about ANZAC and Turkish history but also modern Turkish life in general. The tour was better for having him as our guide and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to other Australians considering touring Turkey.