Gestaş

Who they are

Gestaş (Gestaş Deniz Ulaşım) is the ferry company that runs the car and passenger crossings of the Dardanelles at Çanakkale, one of the most historically resonant stretches of water in the world. It took over the Çanakkale piers and ferry services from the state operator Türkiye Denizcilik İşletmeleri in August 2006, and 99.87% of the company is owned by the Çanakkale Special Provincial Administration (Çanakkale İl Özel İdaresi). Its short, frequent ferries link the Asian and European shores of the strait, serving local residents and giving visitors the main way to cross to the Gallipoli Peninsula.

The Dardanelles is a narrow natural waterway, barely 1.2 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, separating the Asian and European parts of Turkey. Before the 2022 opening of the Çanakkale 1915 Bridge to the north, ferries were the only way to cross the strait. They remain the most direct and atmospheric way over, particularly for those visiting the battlefields and cemeteries of Gallipoli.

All Gestaş routes are domestic Turkish services, so no passport or border formalities apply.

Network and routes

Gestaş runs two crossings from the city of Çanakkale on the Asian shore. The principal service runs to Eceabat on the European side, the gateway town for the Gallipoli Peninsula. This is the route most visitors use: ANZAC Cove, Chunuk Bair, Lone Pine cemetery and the other First World War sites are all reached from Eceabat, typically by organised tour or hire car.

The second crossing runs to Kilitbahir, a small village a few kilometres south of Eceabat, directly opposite Çanakkale at the narrowest point of the strait. It is dominated by the Kilitbahir fortress, built by Sultan Mehmed II in the 1460s. The Kilitbahir crossing is shorter (around 15 to 20 minutes) and runs about as often as the Eceabat route, but it does not take heavy vehicles.

The Eceabat route runs around the clock. In the 2026 summer timetable there were sailings every hour from about 07:00 to 23:00 and every one to two hours overnight, with about 21 to 23 departures a day in each direction. Kilitbahir ferries ran from about 06:00 until 00:35. From 5 October 2026 some night sailings are dropped for winter, so check the current timetable before planning a late crossing.

Gestaş also runs the Lapseki–Gelibolu crossing further up the strait, the island ferries from Kabatepe to Gökçeada and from Geyikli to Bozcaada, and a Southern Marmara line from Erdek to the Avşa and Marmara islands.

Fleet and on board

The strait crossings use car ferries: vehicles drive on and park on the main deck while foot passengers sit in the saloon or on the upper deck. The crossings are short (around 25 minutes to Eceabat), so facilities are simple, and the open upper deck gives good views of the strait, the fortress at Kilitbahir and the steady traffic of container ships and tankers passing through the Dardanelles.

Watching large ships pass on a busy international waterway is itself part of the experience of a visit to Çanakkale.

Booking and tips

Most passengers and drivers turn up at the terminal and board the next sailing. Tickets are sold at the port, where cash and cards are accepted, and online at online.gdu.com.tr or in the Gestaş app. An online ticket guarantees a place on a specific sailing, which is useful for vehicles on summer weekends and public holidays, when queues form.

Fares in 2026 were 40 TL for a foot passenger on either crossing, 725 TL for a car to Eceabat and 715 TL to Kilitbahir, and 290 TL for a motorcycle to Eceabat. Oversized vehicles and caravans are priced at the ticket office.

The town of Çanakkale itself is worth more than a passing visit: the Archaeological Museum, the wooden horse from the 2004 film Troy on the seafront, and the ancient site of Troy (a UNESCO World Heritage Site, around 30 km south of the city) make Çanakkale a logical base for a day or two.

ANZAC Day (25 April) sees exceptionally high demand on the Eceabat crossing, with commemorations drawing large numbers of Australian, New Zealand and Turkish visitors. Arrive well in advance if travelling on or around this date.