Anzac Day 2027 at Gallipoli: Passes, Packages and a Week Plan

An Anzac Day package to Gallipoli has two separate parts: a free, personal attendance pass that you register for yourself through the official government system, and the transport, hotel and guiding that a tour operator arranges around it. Anzac Day 2027 falls on Sunday 25 April. The Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) says planning for the 2027 service is under way and that registration will open towards the end of this year, so the 2027 arrangements are not yet published. Until they are, the 2026 programme is the best guide, and it is what this page uses. To build the days around the pass, start from a short trip such as our private 2-day Troy and Gallipoli tour from Istanbul.

Who does what: the pass and the package

The most common mistake is to assume that booking a tour gets you into the Dawn Service. It does not.

The governments run the services. The Dawn Service and the two later services are organised by Australia and New Zealand, with the Turkish authorities. Access to the commemorative sites on the day is controlled.

You register for your own pass. Attendance passes are free and issued to individuals. DVA states that registering with a tour company does not replace your own attendance pass, and that a tour operator cannot register on your behalf. Every person in your group, including children, registers separately.

The tour operator handles the rest. That means getting you from Istanbul or Çanakkale to the peninsula and back at the right time, a hotel for the nights around the 25th, a licensed guide for the battlefields on the quieter days either side, and meals and timings that fit the services. In recent years tour coaches and their drivers have also had to be accredited through an official system before they can bring passengers to the sites.

So the order of booking is: watch for the official registration, register as soon as it opens, then confirm the travel. A package without a pass gets you to Gallipoli but not into the Dawn Service.

What we know about 2027, and what we don't

Here is where things stand on 6 November 2026.

• Date: Sunday 25 April 2027. The night before is Saturday 24 April.
• Registration: DVA says the online registration system for the 2027 services in Türkiye will open towards the end of the year, and the link will appear on its Anzac Day Gallipoli page. New Zealanders should also watch the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) announcements, which in previous years have linked to the same registration.
• Service times: not published for 2027.
• Site rules, transport plan, security arrangements: not published for 2027.

For 2026, the official times were the Dawn Service at the Anzac Commemorative Site at 05:30, the Australian service at Lone Pine at 10:00, and the New Zealand service at Chunuk Bair at 11:30. Because of the timing, you can attend only one of the two later services. Expect a similar shape in 2027, but do not book anything that depends on an exact time until the official programme is out.

Two more points from the official advice that are worth knowing early. New Zealand's SafeTravel asks travellers to register their plans and rates Türkiye at "exercise increased caution", with higher levels for some areas. And the events on the peninsula stretch over more than one day: on 24 April 2026, for example, a Commonwealth commemoration was held at the Helles Memorial at the southern tip.

Lone Pine or Chunuk Bair: choose before you register

After the Dawn Service you walk or are moved up the ridge to one of two later services. You need to choose, because the timings overlap.

If your group includes both Australians and New Zealanders, settle this before you register. The walk from North Beach up to the ridge is long and uphill, and the day starts the evening before, so be realistic about what older travellers can manage. The official registration process has in the past asked about accessibility needs; mention them there, and tell us too.

A practical week around Anzac Day 2027

This is the plan we suggest to most travellers coming for the services. It assumes you start in Istanbul and are flexible after the 26th.

The Saturday evening is the hardest part to plan before the official programme is out, because the time the site opens and how people are moved there are set each year. We fix the final timings once the 2027 arrangements are published.

Book the hotel nights of 23 to 25 April as early as you can. Rooms in Çanakkale and Eceabat fill months ahead for Anzac week. Eceabat, on the peninsula side, is about 13 km by road from Anzac Cove; Çanakkale, across the strait, has more choice and is where most groups stay.

The night at North Beach: what it is really like

Most first-timers underestimate this part. You spend the night outdoors, close to the sea, with thousands of other people, waiting for a service that begins before sunrise.

• It is cold. The Turkish State Meteorological Service's long-term averages for Çanakkale give an April low of about 8 °C, and it feels colder on the coast in the hours before dawn. Bring a warm jacket, a hat, gloves and a rain shell.
• You sit on the ground. A light foam mat or a folding cushion helps. Check the official list of permitted items first, because there are security checks on the way in.
• Food is limited. Bring snacks and water you can carry easily.
• Toilets have queues. Plan for that.
• Phones lose charge in the cold. Carry a small power bank and keep your phone inside your jacket.
• Shoes matter. You walk on gravel, sand and uphill paths, often in the dark.

After the Dawn Service, those going to Lone Pine or Chunuk Bair move up the ridge on foot. By the time you reach your hotel on the afternoon of the 25th, you will have been awake for well over 24 hours. Leave the rest of that day free.

What an Anzac Day package should include

When you compare offers, from us or anyone else, check that these are covered in writing:

1. Transport timed to the services, with a driver who knows the access arrangements for that year, and a clear plan for getting you back to the hotel afterwards.
2. Hotel nights for 23 and 25 April, in Çanakkale or Eceabat, and ideally the 24th as well, so you keep your room and luggage while you are at the site. Ask exactly where the hotel is.
3. A licensed guide for the battlefield days either side of the 25th. On the day itself, the services are the programme.
4. What happens if the official programme changes. Ask how the timings will be adjusted once the 2027 details are published.
5. What is not included: usually flights to Turkey, some meals, and of course the pass, which is free but your own responsibility.

Our guides are licensed, our private tours come with your own car and driver, and you can reach us on WhatsApp during the trip. Prices for 23 to 26 April are quoted for the exact dates, because hotel rates on the peninsula are higher that week than at any other time of year.

Before and after the 25th

Anzac week is a good reason to see more of western Turkey, as long as you leave the 26th light.

• Troy is about 30 km south of Çanakkale and works as a calm half day on the 24th or the 26th. Our Troy destination guide covers the site and museum.
• Cape Helles, at the southern tip of the peninsula, holds the British and French memorials. It fits on the 24th with a tour like the Cape Helles and Anzac day tour from Çanakkale.
• Ephesus and Pamukkale are the natural next stops heading south. The 4-day Gallipoli, Troy, Pamukkale and Ephesus tour runs that line, and our Ephesus and Kuşadası guide helps you choose where to stay.
• Istanbul is about five hours back by road. If you fly home on the 26th, book an evening flight at the earliest.

If you are coming from the other side of the world, our pages for travellers from Australia and from New Zealand cover entry rules and flights, and our Turkey visa requirements summary helps if your group holds different passports.

Tours that cover this

These are the tours we use as the base of an Anzac week. Prices below are our regular starting prices; for 23 to 26 April we quote the exact dates.

• Private 2-day Troy and Gallipoli tour from Istanbul with hotel: from $535 per person.
• Gallipoli private tour from Istanbul, full day with guide and van: from $405 per person, useful for a quiet battlefield day before the 25th.
• Cape Helles and Anzac Gallipoli day tour from Çanakkale with lunch: from $211 per person, if you are already staying near the peninsula.
• Gallipoli, Troy, Ephesus, Pamukkale and Cappadocia tour, 7 days: from $1,426 per person, for a full week after the services.

See every option on our Gallipoli tours page, read the Gallipoli destination guide, or ask for a tailor-made Turkey tour built around your dates.

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