Balıkesir is one of those provinces that contains too much. The Kaz Dağları (Mount Ida) on the southern border, where Homer says the gods watched the Trojan War; Ayvalık on the coast, with one of the densest old-town walks in western Türkiye; the island of Cunda, joined by a causeway; inland geological landmarks at Devil's Table and the column formations near Sındırgı; and at the centre, an active provincial capital most travellers skip entirely.
We're going to skip the capital and concentrate on the parts of the province a traveller would actually drive for. The list below covers Kaz Dağları and the upper viewpoints, the Ayvalık-Cunda coastal pair, and a handful of inland oddities that are worth the detour.
Three days minimum. Four if you want a slow day in Cunda. Best in May–June and September–October. And if you want to see these places in motion before you go, there are a few of our own films from the region further down the page.
