Cunda / Alibey Island (Ayvalik)
It is a beautiful and relaxing place. Food is great. Forget about the crowd and stroll around. (After few days in Istanbul you will love it!) Enjoy tea & coffee and nice food at the seaside. Doesn’t sound interesting but me and Ronald couldn’t get enough of this place after 3 days J We went for nice dinners and to a greek tavern one night.
Places To stay: Tas Konak Hotel http://www.taskonak.com.tr/?islem=paket/sayfaP/sayfa.php We stayed at this hotel before. Very nice hotel & the owners are lovely people. We payed bed and breakfast 120TL per night (this was a special rate but I guess the normal rate is 150TL)
Things to do:
Olives: Taste olives! Go to olive shops and try a few. The olive oil and the olives in this region are the best. It is believed that Alexander the Great found the olive trees in this region and took them to Greece & Italy J
Rmk museum: Old library http://www.rmk-museum.org.tr/english/index-cunda-eng.html Walk up the hill to see this museum. It has a nice café to relax with sunset views. I believe the museum closes at 4pm
Restaurants
In Cunda the restaurants and cafes are lined up at the sea side. They are all quite alright. You may ask the hotel to advise too.
Bay Nihat: This is quite a famous restaurant. Fresh dips (mezzes), fish, salads. Everything we ordered was good. They will ask you to walk inside and have a look at the fridge and point what you like J http://www.baynihat.com.tr
Moshos taverna: You can eat your dinner here. They have live music every night. It is greek and Aegean Turkish music. The food was good. http://www.moshostaverna.com
Snack : Ayvalik tostu – That is Ayvalik style toasted sandwich with cheese tomatoes, pickels. Ice cream won’t be as good as the places I listed in Istanbul.
