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Here's how to go from Istanbul to Troy and
the Gallipoli
battlefields comfortably
on an overnight excursion by rental
(hire) car.
(Here's
how to do it on a l-o-n-g day-trip.)
You can also tour Gallipoli by car on Efendi Travel's Gallipoli, Troy & Aegean Turkey 4-day private driver-guide tour, or Argeus
Tourism & Travel's Six-Day
Self-Drive Tour including Gallipoli, Çanakkale,
Troy &
Mount Ida, Bergama
(Pergamum),
Ephesus and Kuşadası. More...
Northern Shore Route
Tip: if you arrange
to pick up your hire car at Istanbul's Atatürk
Airport, you won't have
to negotiate Istanbul's heavy traffic
or confusing street patterns. You can
just head west on the expressway following
signs for Silivri, then for Tekirdağ,
then Keşan,
then Gelibolu and Çanakkale.
You can go from the Istanbul city center to Atatürk
Airport quickly
and cheaply
by Metro. More...
Have
a bite of lunch in Gelibolu—there
are plenty of good restaurants right
near the car ferry docks in
the center of town. Don't take the
ferry, but
continue southward and tour
the Gallipoli
battlefields. After
you've visited them, cross the Dardanelles (Çanakkale
Boğazı) from Eceabat to Çanakkale by
ferry.
Settle in at your Çanakkale hotel, then enjoy
a good dinner at one of the waterfront
restaurants overlooking the Dardanelles.
The
next morning after
breakfast, drive the 30 km (19 miles,
about 30 minutes) south to Troy (Truva),
and spend several hours touring the
ruins. Return to Çanakkale,
have lunch (or buy picnic supplies),
and begin the drive back to Istanbul.
If
you plan to take the southern shore
route via Bandırma and
the fast
car ferry, you may have time
for a stop at Manyas bird
sanctuary south of Bandırma
(depending upon the time of your
ferry's departure).
Southern Shore Route
Why pay to ship a car across the Sea
of Marmara? Ask to take delivery of your rental
car in Bursa or Bandırma on the south shore of the Sea
of Marmara, then drive along the southern shore to Çanakkale. If for some reason you must take the car in Istanbul, ask to receive it at the Yenikapı
Feribot Terminalı, on the Sea
of Marmara shore just south of
Aksaray Square, so you can catch a fast
car ferry to Bandırma.
You must have
reservations for your car and its passengers. More...
From Bandırma, drive west to Çanakkale (190
km/118 miles, about 2.5 to 3 hours),
then south to Troy (30
km/19 miles, about 30 minutes). Visit
the archeological site, and return
to Çanakkale for
a good seaside dinner and overnight.
The
next morning, cross the Dardanelles
by car
ferry to Eceabat. Allow
an hour for the Dardanelles ferry
crossing (average
30 minute waiting time, plus the
30-minute voyage). Ferries
leave every hour on the hour (with
a few late-night/early-morning exceptions.
More...).
Tour
the Gallipoli
battlefields, have
lunch in the town of Gelibolu, then head back toward Istanbul. You can return via the northern shore and return your rental car in Istanbul, or go back the way you came along the southern shore and
return the car in Bandırma or Bursa, then take a ferry back to Istanbul.
If you go via the northern shore, you
may want to arrange to drop your
rental car at Atatürk
Airport to save yourself
the trafficky drive into the city.
You can return to your hotel quickly
and cheaply by Metro or taxi. More...
—by Tom Brosnahan
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