Island people have a unique calmness, you know, Ayvalık Cunda Island is a place where you can see exactly this.. On top of that, when the love of the Thracian people is added, it is perfect.. If you ask what’s wrong with Thrace, most of the inhabitants of the island came from Western Thrace, Lesbos and Crete with the population exchange.
If you summarize Cunda Island to me in one sentence; We can say that it is a place where Greek architecture, stone streets, Cretan appetizers and haphazard people live.. Another? There is also Ortunç dark; a clear sea and a water like buzzz. Well, is there anything else? It exists, but even this much is enough for a person.. It starts to get lively around 9 in the morning, breakfast started at 9 in the place where we stayed, this is how it is in most places.. We said they’ll relax, they’re not in such a hurry. A long enjoyable breakfast is a must. Then you take a little something to eat at noon and throw yourself into Ortunç Bay. If you are settling in the shade of trees, the camping chair and table will add to your pleasure here, keep that in mind too.. Then you jump into that ice-cold water and you come to your senses.. A whole day passes while I’m trying to read a book, sleep a little, take a nap, swim or not.. In the evening, you can spend the day with raki and Cretan appetizers at a place you catch your eye in the center of Cunda.. The rest is up to you, but we think it’s quite enough
If we come to the details, where Alibey Island is Alibey Island, where are the places to visit in Cunda Island, where to stay, where to eat, When to go, Cunda Island beaches and all the other details we have compiled for you and we have prepared a very nice Cunda Travel Guide.
>> Places to Visit in Cunda
>> Cunda Beaches
>> When to go?
>> Accommodation
>> Food and Drink in Cunda
>> Cunda Nightlife
>> Where is Cunda Island?
>> How to Go to Cunda?
Before we get to the information, “What’s the point of changing the name of this place to Alibey Island when everyone knows it as Cunda Island?” History lesson for those who say: 172 who first started an armed struggle in the War of Independence. The commander of the regiment is Lieutenant Colonel Ali Çetinkaya.. According to a story, Ali Çetinkaya swam from Ayvalık to Cunda Island and started the armed struggle.. Therefore, although we generally find it unnecessary to change names, this is Alibey and Ali Çetinkaya’s island.. By the way, if you hear the National Anthem at 17:00 on Friday and Sunday, it’s coming from the municipal speaker.. The flag, which is hoisted in Ayvalık Cumhuriyet Square on Friday evening, is also lowered on Sundays.. Meanwhile, the National Anthem is playing all over Ayvalık.. The reason for this tradition, which has been going on since 1955, is to commemorate the armed struggle initiated by the regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ali Çetinkaya.
Places to Visit in Cunda
Cunda Island is quite it’s a small place, so the number of places to visit is not too many, if you say let’s go and finish it if we don’t count the bays, you can finish it in 2-3 hours.. Of course, don’t do that, be an island person and wander calmly, take a long walk on the streets.. It’s just a pain to drive around anyway, because the streets are very narrow and steep.. The best thing is to leave the car in a parking lot in the center and hit the roads with force.. You can be sure that you will not get tired because Cunda Island places to visit are very few and very close to each other.. You just have to be careful while walking, ladies who go out to dinner with high heels and drink a little too much raki can sprain their ankles on the stone streets.. oh you be careful.
Aşıklar Tepesi
Located at a walking distance from the center, Aşıklar Tepesi has a beautiful view of Cunda and Ayvalık.. On the hill; There is Agios Yannis Church, Windmill, Sevim and Necdet Kent Library and a cafe where you can sit and relax.. In addition, you will pass beautiful streets while walking and you will be able to see the old Greek houses in Cunda more closely.
Agios Yannis Church
Agios Yannis Church, which remained idle after the exchange, is serious. destroyed in the sense. The ceiling collapsed in the earthquake in 1944 and remained as 4 walls until it was restored by Rahmi Koç in 2007.
Sevim and Necdet Kent Library
Located on the Lovers Hill. this library is actually a chapel restored by Rahmi Koç. The Sevim and Necdet Kent Library was founded by Necdet Kent’s son Muhtar Kent with the donation of his father’s books.. Although it is very small inside, it is said that there are between 1300-1500 books.. All of these books belong to Necdet Kent.
You can visit Sevim and Necdet Kent Library free of charge between 09:30 and 17:30 every day except Mondays.
The Windmill
Cunda and windmills overlap so much that those who do not go to Cunda even have Cunda magnets with windmills in their homes.. As such, one expects to see a lot of windmills.. However, you can see only a few windmills.. One is adjacent to the Church of Agios Yannis and has been restored.. Another is just ahead of the Church, which has been partially restored.. Since there is no business inside, you can also enter it.
Taksiyarhis Church
The church, which was built in 1873, remained idle like many other churches in our country and was seriously damaged.. It was restored in 2011 and opened as Rahmi Koç Museum after 3 years of work.. The museum is closed on Mondays and open until 19:00 from April to September on other days, and until 17:00 in other months.. You can enter the church for free and see the collection, of course, there are also classic cars in the collection.
Cunda Beaches
We ate, drank, visited, everything was ok But after all, we came to the island and we need to swim and sunbathe a little.. Don’t worry, you can find at least one good place among Cunda beaches. If you are looking for calmness, you can go to the beaches in Ortunç bay, if you are looking for fun, you can go to the beaches at Patrica bay. If you are looking for a shallow sea, you can go to Çataltepe beach, if you want no one, you can swim in the cove just opposite Pyrgos Island.. Since we want to explain the beaches in a little more detail, we plan to prepare a separate article for Cunda beaches as soon as possible.
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When to go?
I wish we could go 12 months of the year even though there are many alternative places to stay, but unfortunately most of the Cunda hotels and pensions are open between May and September.. It will be much more enjoyable as the beginning and end of the season will be a little calmer.. But there is also a downside to going at the start of the season, places that are still under renovation etc.. In short, everyone may not open the season at the same time, so you can choose the end of the season.. Everything will be open and the environment will be calm, of course, the sea will be warmer than in May.. What we have to say is that we always go to Cunda, but the best time is September.. When you say not to go, holidays etc.. long holiday periods such as overcrowding. Also, in this period, unfortunately, the tradesmen do not hurt at all
Accommodation in Cunda
The 4th of the Aegean Sea. Although it is the largest island, the settlement area on Cunda Island, which is mostly a nature park, is quite small.. However, it is possible to find an accommodation that suits your needs.. If you are looking for a luxurious place, Ortunç Hotel, if you are looking for sincerity, Duru Pension, which we can call a small boutique hotel, or camping areas for camping lovers, it is not possible to have any problems with accommodation on Cunda Island.. It is useful to be careful not to choose it only during very busy periods.
Cunda hotels, hostels and camping areas; In short, you should definitely take a look at our article “Where to stay in Cunda?” for all accommodation options.
Eating and Drinking in Cunda
Now we know the appetizers of Turkish cuisine, but Greek cuisine has more and more in this regard.. These two cuisines came together in Cunda Island, so wherever you go, you come across amazing appetizers.. If you say olive oil products, Ayvalık equals olive oil, naturally olive oil products are also excellent.. Well, of course, you also need a main dish, there is the Aegean Sea for it, so don’t go to Cunda and return without eating Papalina.
Lal Cretan Cuisine
Normally, this is In such places, an appetizer tray comes to your table and you make your choice from there.. The situation is different here; You go inside and choose, I think they did it like this because there were many appetizers.. You can’t choose the appetizers as you go because they take them in order and you have to wait for the tables that come before you.. The number of appetizers is quite large and there are also unknown appetizers, so they introduce the appetizers one by one.. The job of choosing appetizers gets longer and longer. As you can see, first you wait for your turn to choose appetizers, and then you wait for the appetizers to arrive.
The appetizers are quite good; We liked the Cretan Turkish delight, Papucaki and Cretan yoghurt.. The garden of cutlery and pepper was not bad either.. Other appetizers were also nice and there are appetizers that you really can’t find anywhere else.. While making a choice, the person who tells it specifically states that it is our grandmother’s special recipe for some appetizers.. As a main dish, we have lamb sleeve with thyme. We came to Cunda and said, “Can we eat lamb?” and we buried ourselves in appetizers.. What are the prices of Lal Cretan Cuisine? As far as we can see, the prices are flexible, there is no menu, you have to face the bill They wrote 25 TL for our appetizers, only Cretan delight was 50 TL.. If there is raki on the table, you have to sacrifice 150-200 TL per person.
L’arancia
A very nicely decorated, cute place. You can choose it for both breakfast and other meals.. If you are one of those who say that I do not order without seeing the menu, this place is ideal for you, you can see the prices without ordering and it is more affordable than other restaurants.. We mostly prefer to sit outside and have a drink, they are really good in terms of service.
Uno Cunda
If you are tired of the Rakı Fish concept, your savior is Uno Cunda. will. It has a menu mainly of Italian cuisine, it stands out with its pastas and pizzas.. They really created a different concept for Cunda and it’s a nice alternative.
Cunda Körfez Restaurant
We came here especially to eat Papalina, we liked it so much. We went again the next day.. We chose this place on the recommendation of the hostel owner; he said some places don’t serve real papalina but Gulf restaurant does real papalina. Also, unlike other restaurants, they cook the papalina after cleaning it, which made us feel more comfortable.. If you come here, do not forget to eat Hürrem Sultan dessert on top of your meal.. we liked it a lot. Portion of papalina is 40 TL, there are definitely cheaper places, we saw places with the lowest 35 TL.. However, it was not the place that we felt very comfortable.. That’s why we can say that the price of Körfez Restaurant is quite good.
Mirror Restaurant
There is another alternative besides the Raki – Fish concept. Mirror Restaurant. The menu is really different, they have an extraordinary menu not only for Cunda but also in general.. A menu with different dishes such as cold fish cooked in lemon, Spoiled Rice made with seafood. They also do a different dish every day that is not on the menu. Considering the price, we can say that Mirror restaurant prices are above the average.
Ice Cream Maker Öztürk
We were a little suspicious when the ball was 3 TL, we thought it was ice creams made up of only sugar in holiday destinations.. However, it was fine, you should try the mastic gum.
Taş Kahve
The atmosphere is nice, so how can we say, even if we have never been here, we would see something like this when we say Taş Kahve.. His coffee is pounded in a stone mortar, that’s its specialty, but we still don’t say it was the best coffee we’ve ever had.. Also, let’s say in advance to those who say that this coffee has no number, I drank it; Instead of dealing with coffee, raise your head and look at the high ceiling where these birds nest, and those stained glass windows.. In short, coffee is an excuse, this place was a coffee shop when we were gone and it will probably exist after us, even thinking about it is enough to think about it.
Black Sea Patisserie
When you enter, one’s eyes roll. Even someone who doesn’t like sweets can lose themselves when they see those cookies, those sweets.. We liked the mastic cookies and kavala cookies very much.. It is a very ideal place for breakfast in the morning, if you do not have breakfast at the place you are staying, you will definitely go here.. Because you don’t have many alternatives. Prices are not bad, we did our shopping here before going to the beach because we had our breakfast in the hostel.. It cost around 15 TL and we didn’t eat anything else until dinner.
Cunda Nightlife
Vino Winehouse
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The Vino Sarapevi, located next to the Black Sea Patisserie, is one of our favorite places in Cunda.. Although it is identified with wine due to the name of the place, its liqueurs are also quite different and famous.. The place is in a side street and tables are thrown into the streets.. However, it is so beautifully decorated that it is a real pleasure to sit on this street, of course you have to go a little early to find a place or you must be very lucky.. Ms. Reyhan, who makes the liqueurs and is also the owner of Vino, stays in the place until 8 pm and takes care of the customers.. You can ask him anything that comes to mind.. If there is no Ms. Reyhan, the waiters are also knowledgeable and very helpful with drinks.. We started with liquor and then, due to the hot weather, we tried sangria.. The liqueurs were really hard and tasted just as good.. Sangria, on the other hand, was quite soft and a perfect summer evening drink.. As for Vino winery prices; Wines start from 18 TL per glass and 80 TL per bottle, liqueurs from 20 TL, 70 cl sangria from 85 TL.
Franky Bar
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If you’re looking for something a little more fun after sitting in Vino long enough, you can listen to live music at Cilveli Bar.. You must make a reservation to find a place inside.. If you don’t have a reservation, you can sit at the tables outside, but after 12 o’clock the police have the doors closed, so you stay outside.. Meanwhile, the service continues, but the live music is gone.
Cundeli
Cundali, which has a new generation tavern concept that we don’t like very much, is a bit Cunda’s favorite. Even though it may seem contrary to its spirit, it gets very crowded in the evenings.
Where is Cunda Island?
Cunda Island is an island connected to Ayvalık district of Balikesir.. By the way, the island of Cunda is connected to the mainland by a bridge, so it is a little different from the other islands.. Cunda island located in the Aegean Sea; Gökçeada is the 4th largest city after Bozcaada and Uzunada.. It has the feature of being an island.
How to Get to Cunda?
By car… Come on, this is pretty secret information! you may be saying. Anyway, we know that this is not what you want to learn, but we thought we’d say it anyway.. Because you definitely need a car to reach the beaches easily.
If we talk about Istanbul, you have 3 options; İDO, Eskihisar Topçular Ferry and Osmangazi Bridge. If you say not to tire yourself and especially if you live on the European side, you can reach Bandırma in approximately 2 hours by the Yenikapı-Bandırma ferry.. Then, you can reach Ayvalık by using the Balıkesir-Susurluk road, and from there to Cunda by using Turkey’s first Bosphorus bridge.
Continue to Yalova by using the Osmangazi Bridge or our favorite Eskihisar Topçular Ferry.. Have a nice breakfast here Then set off for Bursa whenever you feel comfortable.. Before coming to Bursa, take the Balıkesir ring road, after Balıkesir, Ayvalık and then Cunda.
If you say we have nothing to do with the beach, we are coming to relax, you can of course also come by bus; You can reach Balıkesir by intercity buses, Ayvalık by minibus, and Cunda by minibus again.. Balıkesir Edremit Koca Seyit Airport is very close to Ayvalık and there are minibuses as well as paid services by airlines.. After arriving in Ayvalık, it is easy to get to Cunda, you can reach Cunda Island either by road or by sea.