Lesvos (Λέσβος) , also spelled Lesbos and often also referred to by the name of its capital city, Mytilene (Greek: Μυτιλήνη), is the third biggest island in Greece, after Evvia and Crete. Located in the Aegean Sea, it belongs to the prefecture of Lesvos along with islands Lemnos (Λήμνος) and Agios Efstratios (Άγιος Ευστράτιος).
Understand
The Ancient Greek poet Sappho, whose erotic poems gave rise to the word lesbian, was born in Eressos (Ερεσός) in the South-Western part of Lesvos.
Cities
The capital city of Lesvos is Mytilene (Μυτιλήνη), also written Mitilini.
Other destinations
Pirgi Thermis
Molivos (Mithimna)
Eresos (Sigri) - Petrified forest.
Thalia
Madamados
Vatera
Getting there
By plane
The island is served by Odysseas Elytis (Οδυσσέας Ελύτης) airport, named for the 20th century Greek poet of the same name, which is located in the far South-East of the island, around 8km South of Mytilene. Flights run regularly to/from Athens, Thessaloniki, Chios and Lemnos. Internationally, the island is a popular holiday destination so is served by regular charter flights.
Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines provide daily scheduled services from Athens.
By boat
The island is also connected with the mainland and other islands by ship. Many major companies offer routes between Lesbos and Athens. The main shipping company is . Third class tickets (No bed) is about 42 Euros return from Athens. First class with a bed and tv cost 120 Euros. I suggest not travelling third class as the bathrooms are disgusting! The trip is 11-13 hours depending on which ship you board. There are four, Agios Rafael is the slowest and Mitilini is the fastes taking 11 hours. It is a tiresome journey, so it would be better to try book on ships that depart late in the afternoon and travel by night, arriving at their destination a couple of hours after dawn. You won't miss any scenery, since the ship crosses the Aegean Sea and for hours you would only be viewing endless water.
Recently (since 2005), also connected Mitilini with Piraeus (Athens' port) with a faster ship, Nisos Mikonos. With a stop at Chios, the trip lasts about 8-9 hours.
Jale Tur maintains a year-round ferry service between Mytilene and Ayvalık, Turkey, a city opposite Mytilene on the Aegean coast. During high season there are boats every day; outside season a few times a week (weather permitting). The crossing takes about 90 minutes. The ferry does take cars, but is fairly small. Advance reservation is recommended. Contact: Jale Tur, +90 266 331 31 70 / +30 22510 41400, +90 266 331 31 70 / +30 22510 41400, Atatürk Caddesi, Güzide Apt. No:5, Ayvalık, Turkey / Tzeims Aristarchou Street 1 (around the corner from Kountouriotou), Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece, both in Ayvalık and in Mytilene directly opposite the entrance/exit of the immigration/customs building on the waterfront During high season several other companies also maintain ferry services between Mytilene and Ayvalık.
Traveling around
Local buses run all around the main roads; tickets are 1 Euro each for a single trip. You can buy tickets over the counter at local coffee shops or small deli shops. The major bus stop and information station is located at Mitilini.
Taxis are cheap, and most use the meter. They do drive like crazy though. Taxis based in Mitilini are yellow and most are turbo Opels. Taxis not based in Mitilini are grey-coloured and rarely use the meter. The latter taxis use mostly fixed fares for trips connecting various locations outside Mitilini, with an average cost of around 1 Euro per Km.
A good way to see the island is to rent a car. A local, good quality and affordable car rental place, Auto Moto, can be found at the airport, and many more car rental places at and around Kountouriotou Street at Mitilini's harbour front. Recommended if you are a confident driver! The locals drive pretty fast, but usually obey the traffic rules. The roads are generally quite good, and even the mountain roads not too challenging.
The island offers nice hiking routes between the villages. The hiking maps are available in tourist offices.
See
The big beach of Vatera at the south part of the island.
The medieval (Genovese) castle at Mytilene.
The picturesque village of Agiasos, situated on the north-east slope of Mount Olympos.
Pyrgi Thermis.
The small picturesque fisherman's village of Skala Sykamineas at the north side of the island.
Molyvos, a traditional, touristic village with a medieval fort on the top of a hill overlooking the area.
The petrified forest on the Western part of the island.
The Geological Museum in Sigri, one of the best museums in Greece.
Things to do
Safari tours Visit traditional old villages, and hidden paths with Jeep safari tours.
See the small village of Pyrgi Thermis on the east side of the island. Very friendly people, Small beach, war ruins near the beach. And also foreign university students during the whole of summer. There is also a 4-star hotel, Lesvos Inn, on the sandy beach close to the thermal baths of Pyrgi, that offers rooms from 50-100 Euros a night and excellent service. The hotel offers Internet access and spa facilities. They speak English.
Visit the thermal baths at Eftalou beach on the north side of the island, about 5 km from Molyvos. You can cool off from the hot water by going in the sea, and go back and forth as often as you want.
Eat
The island offers a variety of sea-food with reasonable prices.
Also the sweets of the island and the local spirit "Ouzo" are quite an experience.
Drink
Coffee is the most available drink on the island, even more than water. Prices start from 1-5 Euros
Alcohol is sold at every Coffee shop in every village or bars in the capital Mitilini near the wharf where the ferry will drop you off. Almost all Major hotels serve Alcohol as well.Price : 3-12 Euros.
Lesbos is famous for its Ouzo.
Sleep
Vatera Beach Hotel, Vatera Beach, Budget Hotel and Studios - run by very friendly family and staff, situated right on the sea front.
Talk
Greek is most common but many people, especially younger ones, know English as a second Language.
Safety
Never take photos of Military compounds/bases.
The Greeks are quite friendly and traveling around would be very safe.
Tradition
Lesvos is quite well-known for the great number of its local, traditional products. As mentioned before, Lesvos is very famous for Ouzo, as it is considered one of the places it originates from. Also, Lesvos is quite famous for its pottery. Agiasos and Mandamados are the two villages that have the biggest tradition in ceramic art. Many ceramists live and work in these villages. Some of the ceramists there are Antonia Gavve( and Demetrios Hadjigiannis. Except for ceramics, woodcraft is also very developed in Lesvos.
Get out
Daily ferries connect Lesvos with Ayvalik in the Turkish mainland during the high season. A round trip costs € 30/person.
Contact & location
Be the first one to add a review
The photos displayed on this page are the property of one of the following authors:
Some photos courtesy of:
. The photos provided by Flickr are under the copyright of their owners.
This travel guide also includes text from Wikitravel articles, all available at View full credits
Efstratios Gavves, Colin Jensen, David, Jani Patokallio, Tom Holland, John Kirlis, Jim Logan and Christos Papadopoulos, Whatsinaname, Tatatabot, Vidimian, Sailsetter, Morph, Episteme and Huttite
This travel guide also includes text from Wikipedia articles, all available at View full credits
Lesvos (Λέσβος) , also spelled Lesbos and often also referred to by the name of its capital city, Mytilene (Greek: Μυτιλήνη), is the third biggest island in Greece, after Evvia and Crete. Located in the Aegean Sea, it belongs to the prefecture of Lesvos along with islands Lemnos (Λήμνος) and Agios Efstratios (Άγιος Ευστράτιος).
Understand
The Ancient Greek poet Sappho, whose erotic poems gave rise to the word lesbian, was born in Eressos (Ερεσός) in the South-Western part of Lesvos.
Cities
The capital city of Lesvos is Mytilene (Μυτιλήνη), also written Mitilini.
Other destinations
Pirgi Thermis
Molivos (Mithimna)
Eresos (Sigri) - Petrified forest.
Thalia
Madamados
Vatera
Getting there
By plane
The island is served by Odysseas Elytis (Οδυσσέας Ελύτης) airport, named for the 20th century Greek poet of the same name, which is located in the far South-East of the island, around 8km South of Mytilene. Flights run regularly to/from Athens, Thessaloniki, Chios and Lemnos. Internationally, the island is a popular holiday destination so is served by regular charter flights.
Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines provide daily scheduled services from Athens.
By boat
The island is also connected with the mainland and other islands by ship. Many major companies offer routes between Lesbos and Athens. The main shipping company is . Third class tickets (No bed) is about 42 Euros return from Athens. First class with a bed and tv cost 120 Euros. I suggest not travelling third class as the bathrooms are disgusting! The trip is 11-13 hours depending on which ship you board. There are four, Agios Rafael is the slowest and Mitilini is the fastes taking 11 hours. It is a tiresome journey, so it would be better to try book on ships that depart late in the afternoon and travel by night, arriving at their destination a couple of hours after dawn. You won't miss any scenery, since the ship crosses the Aegean Sea and for hours you would only be viewing endless water.
Recently (since 2005), also connected Mitilini with Piraeus (Athens' port) with a faster ship, Nisos Mikonos. With a stop at Chios, the trip lasts about 8-9 hours.
Jale Tur maintains a year-round ferry service between Mytilene and Ayvalık, Turkey, a city opposite Mytilene on the Aegean coast. During high season there are boats every day; outside season a few times a week (weather permitting). The crossing takes about 90 minutes. The ferry does take cars, but is fairly small. Advance reservation is recommended. Contact: Jale Tur , +90 266 331 31 70 / +30 22510 41400, +90 266 331 31 70 / +30 22510 41400, Atatürk Caddesi, Güzide Apt. No:5, Ayvalık, Turkey / Tzeims Aristarchou Street 1 (around the corner from Kountouriotou), Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece, both in Ayvalık and in Mytilene directly opposite the entrance/exit of the immigration/customs building on the waterfront During high season several other companies also maintain ferry services between Mytilene and Ayvalık.
Traveling around
Local buses run all around the main roads; tickets are 1 Euro each for a single trip. You can buy tickets over the counter at local coffee shops or small deli shops. The major bus stop and information station is located at Mitilini.
Taxis are cheap, and most use the meter. They do drive like crazy though. Taxis based in Mitilini are yellow and most are turbo Opels. Taxis not based in Mitilini are grey-coloured and rarely use the meter. The latter taxis use mostly fixed fares for trips connecting various locations outside Mitilini, with an average cost of around 1 Euro per Km.
A good way to see the island is to rent a car. A local, good quality and affordable car rental place, Auto Moto, can be found at the airport, and many more car rental places at and around Kountouriotou Street at Mitilini's harbour front. Recommended if you are a confident driver! The locals drive pretty fast, but usually obey the traffic rules. The roads are generally quite good, and even the mountain roads not too challenging.
The island offers nice hiking routes between the villages. The hiking maps are available in tourist offices.
See
The big beach of Vatera at the south part of the island.
The medieval (Genovese) castle at Mytilene.
The picturesque village of Agiasos, situated on the north-east slope of Mount Olympos.
Pyrgi Thermis.
The small picturesque fisherman's village of Skala Sykamineas at the north side of the island.
Molyvos, a traditional, touristic village with a medieval fort on the top of a hill overlooking the area.
The petrified forest on the Western part of the island.
The Geological Museum in Sigri, one of the best museums in Greece.
Things to do
Safari tours Visit traditional old villages, and hidden paths with Jeep safari tours.
See the small village of Pyrgi Thermis on the east side of the island. Very friendly people, Small beach, war ruins near the beach. And also foreign university students during the whole of summer. There is also a 4-star hotel, Lesvos Inn, on the sandy beach close to the thermal baths of Pyrgi, that offers rooms from 50-100 Euros a night and excellent service. The hotel offers Internet access and spa facilities. They speak English.
Visit the thermal baths at Eftalou beach on the north side of the island, about 5 km from Molyvos. You can cool off from the hot water by going in the sea, and go back and forth as often as you want.
Eat
The island offers a variety of sea-food with reasonable prices.
Also the sweets of the island and the local spirit "Ouzo" are quite an experience.
Drink
Coffee is the most available drink on the island, even more than water. Prices start from 1-5 Euros
Alcohol is sold at every Coffee shop in every village or bars in the capital Mitilini near the wharf where the ferry will drop you off. Almost all Major hotels serve Alcohol as well.Price : 3-12 Euros.
Lesbos is famous for its Ouzo.
Sleep
Talk
Greek is most common but many people, especially younger ones, know English as a second Language.
Safety
Never take photos of Military compounds/bases.
The Greeks are quite friendly and traveling around would be very safe.
Tradition
Lesvos is quite well-known for the great number of its local, traditional products. As mentioned before, Lesvos is very famous for Ouzo, as it is considered one of the places it originates from. Also, Lesvos is quite famous for its pottery. Agiasos and Mandamados are the two villages that have the biggest tradition in ceramic art. Many ceramists live and work in these villages. Some of the ceramists there are Antonia Gavve( and Demetrios Hadjigiannis. Except for ceramics, woodcraft is also very developed in Lesvos.
Get out
Contact & location
Be the first one to add a review
The photos displayed on this page are the property of one of the following authors:
Jonathan Lundqvist, April Killingsworth, Jon Eben Field, Jean-François Renaud, stefg74
Some photos courtesy of:
. The photos provided by Flickr are under the copyright of their owners.
This travel guide also includes text from Wikitravel articles, all available at
View full credits
Efstratios Gavves, Colin Jensen, David, Jani Patokallio, Tom Holland, John Kirlis, Jim Logan and Christos Papadopoulos, Whatsinaname, Tatatabot, Vidimian, Sailsetter, Morph, Episteme and Huttite
This travel guide also includes text from Wikipedia articles, all available at
View full credits