|
Island Hopping
By Sea:-
Lesvos is not an easy destination to include in an island hopping itinerary.
Its size, and the distance of the main tourist centres from the port at Mitilene,
make it more suitable for an extended stay than a brief visit.
Its relative isolation in the north-eastern Aegean, away from the main island groups,
and the near monopoly until recently of the local ferry company
NEL on routes to the mainland
(whose fleet is shrinking as vessels reach their age limit and are pensioned off with
no apparent plans for replacements, and whose large remaining ships
are in any case unsuitable for quick turn-rounds in small ports),
only increases the problem for anyone hoping to visit other islands.
Apart from its Chios and Piraeus services from Mitilene, in summer 2010
NEL has two sailings a week to Kavala and two to Thessaloniki,
operated by Theophilos, returned from her humiliating grounding in 2008.
All these call at Limnos on the outward and return voyages,
and continue south to Chios and Samos.
And Hellenic Seaways' six nights a week service to Piraeus
currently calls at Mykonos (three nights a week) and Syros.
In addition Blue Star Lines are operating a weekly service
from Rhodes to Thessaloniki via Sigri from early June to late September 2010
(departing Sigri northbound Friday 08:30 and southbound Saturday 05:30)
calling at Kos, Kalymnos, Samos (Karlovasi), and Chios.
Finally, there are daily services to Ayvalik and Dikili in Turkey
(these are operated by much smaller boats, and mainly used for day excursions,
but tickets are also available for normal travel)
Please note that all schedules are subject to change at short notice
and we cannot promise to keep up.
Even the ferry companies' own websites are not necessarily up-to-date:
check with www.ferries.gr before making final plans.
They will almost certainly all have major changes, or disappear completely for the winter,
at the end of September.
Also, schedules can be disrupted by bad weather at any time of year
(what would be regarded as a slightly rough in the English Channel will,
under strict Greek government regulations, often keep Greek internal ferries in port)
A booking agency at www.ferries.gr
offers current timetables and online booking for all ferry lines.
By Air:-
There are one or two daily flights to Thessaloniki by Olympic and Aegean Airlines,
plus regular flights to and from Limnos, Chios, Samos, Rhodes, and Crete.
|
