Sep 9, 2024
Two days, three guides - a wonderful experience - An amazing two-day excursion jammed pack with history and vivid descriptions delivered by three wonderful guides who were not only extremely knowledgeable about their specific areas of expertise, but delivered their commentaries with humour and imagination.
I cannot recommend this tour highly enough for those seeking an introduction to Gallipoli and the ancient city of Troy.
All credit to Crowded House Tours for unbelievable time management - our two day adventure was timed to perfection no standing around waiting, yet plenty of time to enjoy and experience.
Review provided by Viator
Aug 8, 2024
Great history tour of Gallipoli with knowledgeable guides and well organised company - Really good guide who spoke good English and engaged with all the guests, particularly the Aussies and Kiwis.
The emphasis was on the military history and why the different sides did what they did.
It felt like I visited all the important places on the Gallipoli Peninsula and certainly all the places I had heard of over many years.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
May 21, 2024
Great experience with Crowded house tours - We had a wonderful experience visiting Gallipoli and seeing the beach landings and the memorials to all the lost soldiers. As an Australian, it was particularly poignant experience and I felt honoured to visit and pay my respects. The Turkish guide, Chari, was fantastic and shared many interesting stories about the Gallipoli campaign with perspectives on how this campaign galvanised the Turkish people and created the Anzac legend. The words of Mustafa Kemal were striking and evocative.
The trip was well planned and pretty seamless, with early morning pick ups and then a nice lunch at Exeabat. The Gallipoli tour was pretty busy as this is a large area with many special places to visit. I probably would have liked more time to walk around, so if you are a serious history buff, this is something to consider. However I think the tour was very good.
We stayed overnight at cannakule which was really lovely after the intensity of Istanbul. Our tour to Troy was nice and a lovely guide but for those people coming from Istanbul for this, it is a very long day with a smaller site to visit then Gallipoli.
All up, I thoroughly recommend Crowded House tours, they went above and beyond to help me sort out accommodation in Istanbul on our return and made the whole experience wonderful.
Thank you Ramazan and team
Review provided by Tripadvisor
May 2, 2024
Well worth the time and money. - Guides Ibrahim and Hasan were superb. They have extensive knowledge of the area and also of their country and seem to really enjoy the interaction with their clients. Because they are local, they know things about the area that other guides probably do not such as the presence of a good track from the coast to Chunuk Bair. The company's organization could not be faulted; transport was good, as was my accommodation. My tour went to Hill 60 because I have a family connection there and Ibrahim researched this thoroughly and accommodated my questions and also my need for some quiet time at the memorial.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Apr 1, 2024
Exceptional Tour - Well-constructed, well-planned, and exceptionally well-led tour of Gallipoli and Troy. Our guide Burak has an immense knowledge of the region and brought the events fully to life with engaging dialogue and an effortless ability to make the group feel welcome and at ease. Having been on several tours, this was definitely the best.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Apr 18, 2022
Wonderful - After three years waiting my Mother and I finally made it to Turkey (thanks to Covid)
Crowded House couldn't have been more helpful.
Ramazan, the manager arranged for us to visit a particular war cemetery that is not on the usual itinerary in search of a relative's grave.
We visited the Gallipoli WW1 sites with Hasan, who was incredibly knowledgeable and really cared about telling the whole story, making sure that we knew our relative's story, wherever possible.
We visited Troy with Baruck, who brought the whole place to life, and was very good humoured throughout the trip!
Our boat trip to the landing beaches was on a smaller boat than we expected, but was an unforgettable experience.
Safe, calm professional drivers in very comfortable minibuses.
Worth every penny and highly recommended
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 26, 2020
Great - my friend, who went to Canakkale earlier, recommended it. a professional tour company, to be exact. transfer, Food, Guide, Everything is very well organized. I would definitely recommend. Thank You, Mrs. Funda.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 13, 2019
Go Gallipoli - This was a fantastic side trip. I arrived in the early hours of the day the trip was to commence. I was concerned as I had not reconfirmed, but they turned up on time and ready for me to climb aboard.It is a 4 hour trip Eceabat near Gallipoli, but in the early hours Istanbul is soon left behnd. They stop halfway for a breakfast break. You pay this yourself. Biggest challenge is working out how to eat Turkish food. The bus is new and very comfortable. When you arrive at Crowded House main office in Eceabat you are greater by a very organised woman who speaks good English and lets you know what’s happening for the day. You commence with a nice lunch around 1:00 pm. After this you head to Gallipoli and you are provided with an excellent Guide, Burak. Although I have read a fair bit of Gallipoli material, nothing beats being there and the Guide also provides evidence that some of the ideas about the landing are not substantiated by fact. The tour is well balanced and comprehensive from an Australian and New Zealand perspective. You return to Eceabat about 5:30 pm a tad tired. You look after your own evening meal and I was over nighted in the Crowded House Hotel. This is quite adequate, except it would be worth taking the ferry across to the other side Cannukule, which is a much larger and more dynamic area for the evening. The next morning a Turkish breakfest is provided, I was still trying to work out how to make it work. You have free time until 12:00 pm and then you have a supplied lunch at around 1:00 pm, same as the day before. Then the ferry across to Asia to experience an informative and interesting tour of Troy. The bus heads back to Istanbul around 5:30 pm and stopping halfway at a different location for dinner, you buy this yourself. The drive is long but you do have an added bonus of seeing some beautiful countryside. I was very surprised to find out that much of the Gallipoli area is wonderful fertile farmland. The roads you travel on are very safe and expressway standard. I did this side trip by myself and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who has two days to spare. Some do as a day trip, but this would be very tiring as you are looking at 8 plus hours of driving or being driven. My only suggested improvements would be to provide the option or encouragement to visit Çanakkale on the other side of the Dardanelles, if not to sleep but in the morning before you meet for the Troy tour. Also a quick briefing on how to arrange Turkish food for breakfast would be helpful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 23, 2019
Gallipoli tour - Great company who picked us up from our hotel on time. Everything went like clockwork. Tour guide was exceptional
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 9, 2019
Burak Tour Guide - Enjoyed a wonderful Gallipoli experience today and the contribution by Burak our guide made the day. His English is great with some Australuan accent on certain pronunciations. His knowledge of the battle was exceptional. Its guides like Burak who made the occasion a great experience. Thank you
John and Carole Adelaide Australia
Review provided by Tripadvisor