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[vickianne]

Hello
We are travelling by car from Istanbul to Bodrum and want to make an overnight stop on the way. We think that somewhere between Bursa and Balikesir City would be convenient. We are driving the long way round instead of using the Bandirma ferry because our hire car company does not allow us to travel on the ferry.
Can anyone recommend a reasonable place, the nearer to Balikesir City the better.

Thanks in advance

Vickianne

[manzara]

Hello Vickianne. This is just a suggestion passing on my own personal preferences. Balıkesir is a transport hub but not really a tourist destination so the choice of decent hotels is very limited.
If I were travelling from İstanbul to Bodrum, I would drive another 80 kms and stay in the coastal town of Ayvalık, where there is an excellent choice of accommodation options Trip Advisor, Ayvalik

I would then continue on what I consider the more interesting route via Bergama, Meneman and İzmir, taking the excellent city ring road if you're pushed for time and joining the 0.32 Motorway in the direction of Aydın but leaving it at the clearly marked Bodrum junction. You then travel to your final destination via Söke and Milas.

This is just my personal choice of route. Please let me know if you require any more information - and I wish you pleasant and safe journeys.

[vickianne]

Hi Manzara
Thank you so much for your helpful suggestion, it's a little bit daunting when we are in England and just looking at a map. We were thinking that we would just drive until we were tired and then look for a bed and breakfast/guest house as we would do in England but I don't think there are such things in Turkey. 80 klics is not such a distance to go so I will look to see what is available.
Thanks again
Vickianne

[manzara]

No, it's not quite the same as the UK where it's fairly easy to find good B & B accommodation even in smallish towns and even villages. So, I would really recommend heading for a tourist area and Ayvalık is well worth a visit.

If you have a bIt of time to spare there, Sarımsaklı, just 7kms south of the town has a lovely beach and it's also well worth a trip up to Şeytan Sofrası (Devil's Dinner Table) for absolutely stunning views across the bays and islands of the Aegean. The turning is just before Sarımsaklı and then a 3km drive up to the rocky outcrop.

Enjoy your trip!