After spending the summer of 2014 mostly on the borders of Turkey, we ended with Bozcaada, one of our favorite places.. Bozcaada, which has been discovered by many these days and whose population is increasing especially in the summer period, will probably attract more attention as the years go by and we will be stuck on the already tiny island.. We are sure that there are already people who have the conversation “Brother, the island has spoiled it a lot, it wasn’t like this before”.. However, we are not going to hide this gem from you so that it will not be crowded.. Let’s praise Bozcaada for a bit.
How to get there?
Since we live in Istanbul, we can only give our directions according to Istanbul, Google We don’t want to confuse you with abandoned information.. It is now possible to reach Bozcaada from Istanbul in many ways, by car, bus, plane or seaplane.. If you force it, you can even get off with an airship.
– By car: We always prefer to go by car because we need a car on the island, but be warned, the car issue on the island can be a bit of a problem. Narrow streets on the island are for you, especially if you are a beginner.. the classroom can turn into a horror movie. In addition, if you are in a busy period, there may even be moments when it is not possible to find a place to park and you wander around the island for 40 minutes.. If you don’t mind this, you have to go in the direction of Tekirdağ and reach Çanakkale in order to reach the island with your car.. To reach Çanakkale, you can use the ferryboats that take 30 minutes from Eceabat or 15 minutes from Kilitbahir.. Fees are about 25 TL one way.. (If you return on the same day, the return is free) When you arrive in Çanakkale, you need to reach Geyikli for Bozcaada ferries.. Normally, ferries depart from Geyikli to Bozcaada every hour, but there may be additional flights depending on the intensity.. It takes about 30 minutes to Geyikli-Bozcaada and the fee is 60 TL for a round trip.. Well, let’s answer the question of how long it takes to reach Bozcaada by car, at least 6 hours if you like to travel comfortably and taking a break like us. The option is to leave your car on the Geyikli side and cross to the island on foot.
-By bus: Especially in summer, from Istanbul to Bozcaada’ You will not have difficulty in finding bus services to or from. Buses go up to Geyikli and from there you have to cross the island on foot.. Except for the summer periods, buses usually go as far as Ezine, from here you can use the minibuses to Geyikli.. There are also sea buses that go directly from Çanakkale to Bozcaada during the summer season, if you come across it, it may be much more practical to go to Çanakkale center by bus and use this transportation route.
-By plane: Plane If you want to go to Çanakkale by train, Çanakkale airport is 2-3 km from the center.. From here, you can use the minibuses that go to Geyikli, or if you come across, you can use the sea buses to Bozcaada.
Where to Stay in Bozcaada?
If you’re dreaming of staying in a 5-star hotel and choking on a buffet all day without leaving the hotel, squeezing onions between your fingers because it doesn’t fit on a plate, you’re definitely in the wrong place.. Because Bozcaada is full of dozens of small boutique hotels, hostels and vineyards.. So much so that in some places, “Am I entering someone’s house, I wonder?” While thinking, you may realize that you have actually arrived at the hotel you will be staying at.
There is a great variety in terms of price when it comes to hotels.. There is also a hostel where you can stay for 50 liras per night, and a boutique hotel where you can stay for 300 liras.. (Someone explain to us whether this boutique hotel and hostel distinction is made according to how much they spend) Therefore, you can shape your choice primarily according to your budget.. You can check outhotelz.com to find a hotel option that fits your budget, there are many options out there.. After solving this issue, the second detail you need to determine is, do you want to stay in the center, close to restaurants, cafes, pier and castle area, or in a vineyard house, away from the center?
–For those who want to stay in the center: We stayed at the Katina Hotel on our last visit and we can say that we left quite satisfied.. Because the location is central enough to walk to many places and the hotel was very clean.. However, a warning from us to you, if you stay on the ground floors, you will be exposed to endless children’s noise from 7 in the morning, because there is no sound insulation.. Unless you’re a retired colonel who likes to wake up at 7 am, head upstairs.
-For those who want to stay in the orchard:If you want to have breakfast with products from the garden right in front of you, head to the upper floors. If you are part of the product-hungry segment, we think Irmak Bağ Evi and Nar Bağ Evi are great options to both stay and satisfy your longing for spending time in the natural environment.. Of course, considering that these places taste like a “family place” (not a religious family place, but the kind that you respect just because people sleep and the baby wakes up), let’s also mention that if you set out with a group of friends with the goal of a vacation to drink until you’re full, let’s say that it would not be a logical choice. .
What to Do and What to Do in Bozcaada?
There are some important activities unique to Bozcaada, When you come back without doing these things, people can raise your nerve coefficient to high levels by reacting “ooo how can you not go, how can you not go”.
The first of these activities is, of course, watching the sunset in Polente. Polente It is a bit difficult to reach the point where Feneri is located, because the roads are not very smooth and you can feel like it is your last journey with your car, but if you reach it, we guarantee that you will be satisfied with the result.. Of course, if you go without taking anything with you, it can turn into a much more enjoyable experience if you take a nice wine if possible (we will detail the wine issue below), a snack, an ipod speaker to cheer up the environment, and something to throw your garbage in on the way back.
-You don’t have to go by car, there is public transportation available to get you there.
-If you have difficulty in finding the way, let’s describe it as follows, proceed from the pier road, that is, from the center, towards the Ayazma direction, and try to reach the wind roses you see in front of you. follow the road. This is our technique, don’t be angry if you can’t find it.
The second of our main activities is swimming at Ayazma Beach. If your ancestral sport is spending time on the beach with 800 people buttocks (politeness), you’ve covered the wrong place again.. Ayazma is equal to swimming in a crowd where no one hurts each other, everyone hangs out on their own, and is not disturbing.. Therefore, it is necessary to leave aside what you see in Çeşme and Bodrum and come here with a different expectation.. When you go to the beach, you can rent a sunbed for a ridiculous price and spend your day there.. (we don’t know the price because people can be so sweet sometimes that when they had to leave suddenly they gave us their sunbeds and receipts and told us not to waste money)
-There are 2-3 facilities just above Ayazma. We usually prefer Korean for no reason, but of course you can consider others as well. You can have as much “brother, I love shabby places” chat here as much as you want, and praise the naivety and beauty of shabby places all together.. We know you love it.
-You can go by car, except for public transport, it’s not a problem to park on the side of the road.
-There are a few more spots where you can swim outside of Ayazma.. The most preferred of these is the Aquarium Bay, which has one in every town.. If you’re looking for a more vacant place, why not? Of course, if you don’t have a car, you may have some difficulties in transportation, keep in mind.
One of the things you should not return without doing is eating almond cookies with mastic gum at Çiçek Patisserie. Why? Because a flavor identified with Bozcaada. Do we give a hundred percent guarantee that you will love it? No. If you don’t like mastic flavors, there’s no need.. If you like it, let’s make an analogy right away, the version of the flour cookie with gum mastic added to it.. But we can guarantee its ice cream. Even those who don’t like ice cream ate it with love.
What to Eat and Drink in Bozcaada?
While we were talking about the subject without eating and drinking, we would like to detail a few places we tried.. As you can imagine, there are not 100s of activities to do on the island.. After getting lost in the streets for a while, swimming a little, watching the scenery in Polente and fainting under a tree, you don’t have much to do.. (Of course, this does not mean that you will get bored) Therefore, we would not be wrong if we say that a significant part of the day is occupied by eating and drinking-oriented activities.
Maya Bozcaada
As people who are obsessed with organic food, to be honest, we were a little hesitant on our way to Maya.. Because, as you know, not knowing what breakfast will look like, which has a lot to do with happiness, can cause people who love to eat to panic.. But after trying it, we came to the conclusion that Maya is one of the best places in Bozcaada for breakfast and you can definitely choose it.. Yes, everything you eat and drink is organic, the products they grow/make and the variety definitely satisfies you.. We say save a morning here and don’t forget to make a reservation in advance.
-They said that they were also ambitious about dinner, but we didn’t have the chance to try it.. Let those who know tell those who don’t.
-The location of the maya is a bit difficult. If you call before you go, they describe you step-by-step and they don’t get mad at you calling repeatedly.. (we had a friend too..)
Irmak Vineyard House
Have we come to someone’s house, which we mentioned above? They praised the breakfast of Irmak Bağ Evi, one of the places where we experienced the feeling, on the internet so much that we left with our expectations sky high.. The atmosphere is really friendly, it is impossible to get rid of the feeling that you went to breakfast with your friend.. However, in our opinion, breakfast is at the same point; “You went to your friend’s house and he prepared something for breakfast for two minutes.” We are not saying that it is bad, but considering that it is a bit far from the center, we think it will have the same effect as having breakfast at any point close to your hotel.
Sandal Restaurant
In our opinion, Sandal Restaurant, one of the best on the island, made us love itself first with its music.. In addition, although we do not have enough room in our stomach to try fish as always, we can say that we love their appetizers.. As a location, if you are staying in the center, we love this place extra because it is within walking distance.. Don’t leave without trying the purslane with green apple yoghurt!
Battı Balık
One of the other popular restaurants of the island, Battı Balık, has written its name in golden letters in the praised Bozcaada restaurant series on the internet.. But we can’t say it’s our favourite.. We don’t want to make a clear comment on Battı Balık, where the words “how can a person make calamari bad” do not fall out of our mouths, as we only have the chance to try the appetizers.. Maybe they are very assertive in fish, but let’s say that we didn’t appreciate its value.
Simyon
Simyon, which is located on the Greek Quarter side, right next to the Sandal we mentioned above, is the previous one. We had the chance to try it last year and we can say that we vouch for everything from appetizers to fish.. Prices are a bit high, but we think you can definitely get your money’s worth.. Remember, if you go without making a reservation during the busy period of the island, the probability of finding a place is very low.
Ada Cafe
Ada Cafe is at a point where you can come across it if you want to sit in a random place. It won’t be hard to find. We, on the other hand, came here not randomly, but with a purpose; Poppy Sherbet. Since it is a flavor we have never tried before, we cannot comment on whether this place is the best, but we can say that the sherbet we drink is very tasty and it is a very refreshing option, especially if you try it on a hot day.. Also, since it is at a central point where you can spy on all the people of the island, you can sit back and shamelessly gossip about the people around you.
The Wine Issue
We are sure that one of the most important features of Bozcaada is its wines.. As the presidents of the association of those who love wine but don’t quite understand it, we made a heart to buy wine when we went to the island, and in the process we discovered Tenedion Wine House.. Even though this event has been left behind because they literally screwed up the Bozcaada Vineyard Festival (we couldn’t help ourselves) within the scope of the laws regulating the liquor ban, it is still possible for you to go and taste wine.
For 10 TL at Tenedion. You can try 10 different wines. If you take your cheese plate with you, it is a very pleasant environment.. Thanks to the wine list they give you, you can mark which wines you like and avoid confusion.. It’s also really great that the staff are incredibly caring and open to satisfying your wine knowledge hunger.. We all thought we were Vedat Milor when we were dating.
As for where we bought the wine, we chose Yunatçiler out of many options.. Let’s also add that we prefer Vasilaki and Cabarnet Sauvignon grapes, even though we are not experts in this field, maybe you will like it too.
-Karalahna became our nightmare. We don’t know your taste, but prepare yourself before trying.
-Wine prices range from 15 TL to 40 TL.. For example Vasilaki is 15 TL, and a very very tasty wine. (we would like to say cheesy or something, but our wine knowledge ends here)
Tips
-For convenience, the candidate like us you can divide it into two parts. The left side of the pier road is Turkish, the right side is the Greek Quarter.. Don’t leave without wandering the streets and taking great pictures.
-There is a small bookstore on the island; Bozcaada Bookstore. If you forgot to take your book with you, or if you are sick with the disease that you will die if you don’t go to every bookstore you see, it is possible to find something at a very affordable price in this bookstore on the Turkish Quarter side.. Moreover, it is possible to find books in many different languages.
-There can be serious traffic on the way back from the island.. You can leave your car in line according to the time you want to go and continue to spend time on the island, and you can return to your car as the queue progresses.. You will be our prayer. In case you don’t listen to our golden advice, don’t worry, they add additional flights on very busy days.. You won’t be stranded.