Lesbos Travel Guide: Mytilene, Molyvos and Island Villages

LESBOS ISLAND

As you may remember, we spent almost two months of summer 2016 on Samos for an Erasmus internship. During that period, one of my childhood friends made the wonderfully romantic decision to hold a wedding on Lesbos, so in mid-July we enjoyed a beautiful trip to the island. With colourful, characterful stone buildings, lush hills and lively towns, Lesbos deserves a special place among the Greek islands. We even caught ourselves imagining what it might be like to live here. First, Lesbos is large and has many different places to explore. Second, compared with Samos and Chios, prices felt a little more affordable during our trip. We genuinely loved its mountain villages, peaceful restaurants and green hills.

Practical update (August 2026): The prices, ferry times, beach arrangements and car-rental details below come from our 2016 visit. Ayvalık–Mytilene sailings still operate, but schedules and operators vary by season. Turkish ordinary-passport holders need either a valid Schengen visa or, when the Greek islands' short-stay visa scheme is available, must apply through the participating ferry operator in advance; it is not a simple walk-up visa. Check current Greek consular and ferry-operator rules before booking. We could not confidently verify every small hotel, café and taverna under the same name.

Fishing boats at Skala Skamnias =)

Straw hats are wonderful =)

PLACES TO VISIT ON LESBOS

As the map makes clear, Lesbos is a large island. Even with four days, we could not see everything. In true Greek-island fashion, public transport is limited, so hiring a car is usually the most practical way to reach the island's many villages, beaches and towns. Below are the places we managed to see during our four-day visit, with plenty of photographs =)

Mytilini

Mytilene is both the island's capital and the name often used for it in Turkish. Ferries from Ayvalık arrive here. Although it feels more urban than the rest of the island, we love lively places with real everyday life, so the city excited us. The University of the Aegean also brings plenty of students.

Mytilene's harbour road facing the bay.

Mytilene by night =) Agios Therapon in the background.

Mytilene's best-known shopping street is Ermou. Keeping siesta hours in mind, walk it either from morning until around 2 p.m. or after roughly 6 p.m. It has everything: familiar and local fashion labels, bakeries, cafés, antique shops and markets. One end begins near Agios Therapon Church in the centre; the other leads toward the well-known Ermis restaurant.

Ermou Street and Agios Therapon Church

Ermou Street remains lively until siesta.

We also liked the thought that Mytilene might stay lively year-round. At night, both the waterfront cafés and bars and the bohemian venues inland come alive, with wonderful graffiti adding to the atmosphere.

One of Mytilene's best-known cafés is Panellinion Cafe. With high ceilings and a historic interior, it is ideal for coffee. Despite the hot weather, we sat inside, where a lovely breeze circulated. Working online forces us to learn a city's cafés and find places offering both power sockets and internet; Panellinion was one of those. Food cost slightly more than elsewhere, though coffee prices across the Greek islands seemed remarkably consistent.

We used Panellinion Café as our office on Lesbos =)

In Greece, coffee usually comes with a small biscuit.

The restaurant we liked most during our two days in Mytilene was Paratairon Restaurant. This meze restaurant had lovely décor: a raised terrace used as a garden, greenery all around and ceiling lights made from lemon crates. For a light dinner we chose bulgur salad, cheese balls and meatballs. The cheese balls were legendary.

We loved the lighting.

Meatballs, cheese balls and a bulgur salad similar to kısır.

The street around Paratairon reminded us of Karaköy in Istanbul. At night it was full of life and jazz drifted through the air. We spent plenty of time wandering there. A live jazz set was due to begin, but when we could not find seats, we returned to our hotel.

Mytilene is very lively at night =)

Like Alaçatı, every wall and corner has been put to use.

If, like us, you returned your car a day or two early, or chose to stay in the centre near the ferry, Tsamakia Beach is an option for swimming. It was about one kilometre—or a 20-minute walk—from our hotel. Lesbos's beaches did not strike us as quite as enchanting as those of Samos or Chios, but they still met a good standard. Tsamakia lies just below the castle, shortly beyond the Statue of Liberty.

Mytilene's Statue of Liberty

Tsamakia Beach

The simple kiosk we used at Tsamakia Beach.

Online information mentioned a €2 entrance fee, but nobody asked us to pay and even the loungers were free during our visit. Tsamakia then had two choices: a stylish beach club and a simple kiosk. We chose the kiosk because more loungers were available; a frappe cost €2 and the staff were very friendly. We entered the sea in front of the beach-club side because the other section was extremely rocky. These prices and arrangements belong to 2016 and may have changed.

We saved Mytilene for the end of our trip to make the return journey easier. We even explored streets with student housing, imagining how pleasant an Erasmus stay here might be. It felt like a calmer, playful and very beautiful version of İzmir. We never knew İzmir when it was still filled with two-storey homes, but the black-and-white photographs on restaurant walls made us imagine that old İzmir might have looked like this.

MOLYVOS

There is a church around every corner in Greece.

Stone houses with red shutters =)

Molyvos, about 65 kilometres from Mytilene, could be called the island's Istanbul. Its official name is Mythimna, but it is widely known as Molyvos by both Turks and Greeks. Imagine one- and two-storey stone houses arranged in rows up a sea-facing hill, with wooden shutters in blue, green, white and, most of all, red. The dream of owning a red-shuttered home seems to have come true here =)

Molyvos's wonderfully scenic roads.

This distinctive village has steep cobbled lanes, sweet little shops and vine leaves hanging from above to provide shade. Add cafés with breathtaking terraces where you can enjoy carefully prepared desserts with a frappe.

Charming cobbled streets in Molyvos.

Octopuses preparing for the evening =)

Because Molyvos spreads across a hillside, most buildings have unobstructed sea views. The disadvantage is the fierce daytime sun. As we mentioned, however, vine-covered streets provide shade for shopping, while open-fronted cafés catch the breeze.

Another small church on the way down to Molyvos harbour.

The shopping streets lie in the shade.

Molyvos also has a beautiful beach. Congas Beach Bar was the most popular venue there, busy both day and night, but we were tired and chose the much quieter Olive Press at the other end. Part of a boutique hotel, it served food we enjoyed. Like many beaches on the Greek islands, the shore is pebbly and the sea clear and calm. Olive Press had a lovely grassy area beneath trees where you could enjoy a beer, as well as a pool we did not use. We spent half of our first day on Lesbos relaxing here.

Molyvos Beach

Loungers where the crowd was barely noticeable =)

Late in the afternoon, on our way back to the hotel for a nap, restlessness struck again. We abandoned sleep and wandered the narrow cobbled lanes of this fairytale village. We browsed shops selling charming souvenirs, but after enough Greek islands for one summer—and in need of energy—we really wanted an ice-cold frappe. Only later did we learn from other blogs that Blue Fox Café, whose sweets caught our eyes at the doorway, was quite famous.

The wonderful view from Blue Fox Café—slightly crooked, but never mind =)

You could stare at the sea from a terrace like this forever. We relaxed with an ice-cold frappe and tiramisu and, naturally, took plenty of photographs. The baklava-like pastries tempted us, though the tiramisu was excellent. After struggling to pronounce their name, we learned that a pastry rather like su böreği with custard between the layers was called “Galaktoboureko”. It strongly resembled Laz böreği, perhaps reflecting older regional connections.

Apparently frappe and tiramisu contain no calories when eaten with this view =D

Blue Fox's side terrace.

Molyvos is lively at night too. The streets glow, romantic restaurants fill the air with fresh seafood, and there is even an open-air cinema if you have time. We ate the Greek gyros wraps we love at sea-view Gyros Corner, then wandered through the streets.

Gyros Corner is at the top of this hill.

The harbour seen from above.

Our sweet guesthouse in Molyvos did not serve breakfast, so we walked straight down the waterfront road to the harbour and ate at the yellow tables of Sea Horse Hotel. Our mothers had breakfast here on an earlier trip too. It was not extraordinary, but eating tomatoes and cheese right beside the sea on a crystal-clear summer morning was a joy. If only they had served proper brewed tea! The Greek Breakfast offered on some islands had made us hope for something like a Turkish breakfast, but it was quite different: chopped tomatoes, peppers and feta on a plate.

Sea Horse Café is the place with yellow chairs.

A Greek breakfast is actually rather like a Greek salad =D

Our final Molyvos recommendation was Byzantino, a café-restaurant beside the castle at the very top, ideal for sunset. We had driven up intending to visit Molyvos Castle, but as usual, the changing sunset colours captured us more than the monument, and we found ourselves at Byzantino.

Our Aperol moment at Byzantino.

With a sea view that is hard to look away from, this is a perfect late-afternoon café. As the sky changes colour, you can sip a drink or coffee. One more curious detail: Turkish mobile networks reached us from here!

PETRA BEACH

We did not swim at this long beach only four or five kilometres from Molyvos, but naturally we stopped for photographs =) Petra is also a sizeable village, with restaurants along the shore and loungers available to rent.

TARTI BEACH

Tarti Beach has sand and turquoise water.

In the island's south, around an hour and a half from Molyvos and roughly 30 minutes from Plomari or Mytilene, Tarti was said to be among Lesbos's best beaches. It has sand, turquoise water and several businesses along the shore; loungers may be free or charged depending on the operator. Since our mothers needed to catch the evening ferry to Ayvalık, its relative proximity to Mytilene made Tarti a practical choice.

An ice-cold Mythos on the beach =)

Aubergine moussaka, Greek salad and a mince-filled flatbread at Elia Taverna.

We chose Taverna Elia and were impressed by both the prices and the waiter's endless good humour on an exceptionally busy day. We ordered lamb chops, Greek salad, tzatziki and ice-cold beer. A portion of lamb chops was about €5–6 then; that is a 2016 price.

Tarti Beach

Tarti's colour =)

Skala Skamnia

Compared with many other Greek islands, Lesbos is remarkably green and somewhat mountainous. Mountain villages often have a separate harbour settlement whose name begins with Skala. Skala Skamnia is one such village's outlet to the sea and unquestionably one of the island's most romantic places.

The tiny harbour of Skala Skamnias =)

Blue-checked tablecloths ready for long ouzo conversations =)

We were excited both because my childhood friend's wedding would take place here and because the waterfront taverna Mouria tou Myrivili—“Under the Mulberry Tree”—had even appeared in The New York Times. Its speciality was carrying the freshest seafood straight to the table.

Reaching Skala Skamnia is challenging: narrow, winding mountain roads climb and descend all the way. We came from Molyvos on a bus arranged by our friends for the wedding; had we driven ourselves, I do not know how we would have returned after dark. Sunset is the most beautiful time in this coastal village, especially from the terrace of Panagia Glykofilousa—the Mermaid Madonna church—beside the sea.

MANTAMADOS AND TAXIARCHES MONASTERY

St Basil's Church

We love domed buildings.

Even the doorsteps are green.

On our second day, we wanted to see the famous Taxiarches Monastery at Mantamados. Ayvalık also has a church with the same dedication. The Lesbos site is associated with Archangel Michael; its stone church and surrounding monastic buildings reflect a long Byzantine tradition. Although it was never used by the Ottomans, for some reason the complex reminded us of a small külliye. A baptism was taking place during our visit, so we tried not to disturb anyone.

Taxiarches Church

The woodwork is also remarkable.

Mantamados village interested us even more than the monastery. It appears in fewer Lesbos travel notes, but its narrow stone streets combine with the Greeks' wonderful eye for landscaping, and before you know it, you have photographed half the village. Mantamados was exactly that kind of place. We were told its name came from a Turkish word and that the area was known for high-quality meat.

Mantamados village square.

A marvel of Greek decoration =)

A rural café in the centre, blue-and-white chairs, vines shading the streets and siesta lending the village an abandoned feeling. Free Wi-Fi in the square also drew Syrian refugees from the nearby camp, who sat on benches watching programmes on their phones.

Kalloni

The streets of Kalloni.

We found an arch, so naturally we took a photo =)

We passed Kalloni repeatedly between Mytilene and Molyvos and understood it to be one of the island's larger centres, so we decided to explore on foot. In truth, there was little for us to see. We still remember the excellent spinach pie from a bakery in the centre. Since it was Monday, banks and supermarkets had long queues; before boredom won, we moved on to Agiasos.

AGIASOS

Agiasos is known for handmade ceramics.

A village square full of colour.

Had we known how beautiful Agiasos, a traditional village on Mount Olympus, would be, we would have allowed more time. Tourist sources mentioned it surprisingly little, but we strongly recommend it. It became our favourite village on Lesbos.

We parked near the entrance to the village, about 27 kilometres from Mytilene, and browsed a few nearby souvenir shops. Just as we thought that was all, a gentle climb brought us to lively little squares. Older Greek men rested on colourful chairs; a seller spread fragrant mountain thyme across wooden tables; villagers drank ice-cold lemonade outside beautiful bakeries. It made our heads spin.

The time to return our rental car arrived, so we said goodbye to this green mountain village over a €1 Greek coffee—in other words, Turkish coffee =). That was another historical price. If you have time, stay much longer than we did.

PLOMARI AND ERESSOS

We never managed to fit these two leading visitor destinations into our route. Plomari is known for the Barbayanni ouzo distillery, while Eressos is associated with the poet Sappho and has long been an important destination for lesbian travellers.

WHAT TO EAT ON LESBOS

Like the other Greek islands, Lesbos is a seafood paradise. The aromas of meze, salads and especially octopus drift through the streets and mingle with the sea air until you automatically find yourself at a wooden table. During our visit, prices—especially for alcohol—felt much lower than in Türkiye. We recommend octopus baked in a clay dish or grilled, grilled squid and cheese saganaki. At our friend's wedding in Skala Skamnias, we tasted a wide range of seafood at and enjoyed everything that reached the table.

You do not have to eat seafood throughout a Greek-island trip. For something quick, tasty and inexpensive, try gyros. It can be made with pork or chicken; we preferred chicken. Meat, greens, tomato and tzatziki are wrapped in pita, making a filling meal. Gyros cost around €2.50–3 during our visit, but that is a 2016 price.

If you have had enough seafood but do not want another gyros, try lamb or goat. Lamb chops are a dependable choice in Greek restaurants. We were very happy with ours at Elia Taverna on Tarti Beach. Greek kitchens also love fried dishes; courgette fritters with a garlicky yoghurt sauce make an excellent side.

WHERE TO STAY ON LESBOS

Accommodation on Lesbos often takes the form of modest guesthouses, especially small stone buildings converted from local homes in the villages. Mytilene also has several conventional multi-storey hotels. On this trip we spent two nights in Molyvos and two in a small Mytilene hotel.

The view from our room in Molyvos.

In Molyvos we chose Marina's House, where our mothers had stayed on a previous trip. We could not find it on a booking website, but contacted the owners directly. We paid €35 per room in high season. Our rooms were spotless, had balconies with magnificent views and included air conditioning. The price and contact arrangements are historical; because we could not verify the property confidently in 2026, we have omitted the old personal email address.

The view from the neighbouring balcony.

The entrance to Marina's House.

The location was very central, only about 150 metres from Molyvos harbour. Kostas and his wife ran the small stone guesthouse behind a plant-covered entrance. We often saw his wife mopping the floors with curlers in her hair. There was no breakfast, but Wi-Fi was available. We loved our stay; verify the property's current identity and recent reviews before trying to book.

Our airy room at Fontana Rooms.

In Mytilene, about 400 metres from the ferry terminal, we stayed at Fontana Rooms, a basic hotel roughly 50 metres from the waterfront and 30 metres from Ermou Street =) We paid €38 per night without breakfast. The room was comfortable and spotless, and the staff very friendly. We could walk to the ferry with ease. A kettle in the room earned an extra point from us. This price and description belong to 2016; check the property's current status.

HOW TO GET TO LESBOS

Lesbos is reached from Türkiye by ferry, with services leaving Ayvalık for Mytilene. Depending on the season, tickets may be sold by operators such as Turyol, Jalem Tur or Jale Tur. During our trip, a return ticket cost €25 and sailings were listed around 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.; the crossing took roughly 90 minutes. All of those details are historical—compare current operators, ports and schedules before travelling.

Because we arrived from Samos, we used Hellenic Seaways. Our Samos–Lesbos return ticket cost €38 and the journey took six hours. We had previously used the same company between Chios and Samos; the vessel was large and comfortable. Current inter-island routes are sold under evolving brands and seasonal timetables, so consult the operator's official booking system rather than relying on this old itinerary.

One of the Hellenic Seaways ships.

Turkish ordinary-passport holders need a valid Schengen visa or, when available, approval through the Greek islands' short-stay visa scheme. The latter requires documents to be submitted in advance through a participating ferry operator and is restricted to designated islands; it should not be treated as an automatic visa issued on arrival. See our historical explanation here, but use current official instructions for your application.

HIRING A CAR ON LESBOS

A major drawback of large Greek islands such as Lesbos is limited public transport. Services may be infrequent and unsuitable for visiting several villages and beaches in one trip. A rental car is therefore extremely useful, though not literally the only option; check current KTEL Lesvos timetables if you prefer buses. Distances across the island are substantial.

As soon as we left the ferry, we negotiated with Discover Car Rental beside Delicious Café and hired a Ford Focus for €35 per day. That company, location and price reflect our 2016 experience and must be verified before relying on them.