Private Helles Gallipoli Tour From Eceabat, Canakkale

After pickup from your Eceabat hotel, travel through countryside to the village of Alcitepe, to the south of the Gallipoli peninsula. Before your tour, if you are keen to find a particular war grave in the area, let the local tour supplier know: they may be able to help in locating it. On route, hear interesting background to the WWI 1915 Gallipoli campaign, learning about the landings of British and French troops on the southern part of the peninsula. Timed to coincide with the arrival of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) forces further north, the landings were made on several beaches, including the codenamed S, V, W, X, and Y, around Cape Helles, the peninsula’s southern tip. On arrival at Alcitepe, known as Krithia at the time, visit Achi Baba hill, where the Turks maintained their main defensive line. Then, visit the Redoubt Cemetery, home to over 2,000 graves, and so-called after the Turkish forts across the peninsula that ultimately prevented the Allies’ advance. Visit Skew Bridge Cemetery, the Turkish Memorial, French Memorial, and Seddulbahir, and see the grave of Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie, awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery. Stand at Morto Bay, V Beach, and W Beach, where the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers landed and cut through wire fences and trenches to reach the cliff edge, and pay your respects at V Beach Cemetery and W Beach cemetery. Other stops include the Pink Farm and Twelve Tree Copse cemeteries, the New Zealand Memorial, and the Helles Memorial, where a massive obelisk commemorates the whole Gallipoli campaign and the over 20,000 fallen Commonwealth servicemen with no known grave. After your explorations, have lunch a local restaurant and then return to Eceabat, where your tour finishes with a hotel drop-off.