Transport
Mytilene town is 8 km away: about €15 by taxi or €2 on the city bus. Molyvos and Petra are 90 minutes across the island (about €80 by taxi), so most resort guests arrive by coach or pre-booked transfer.
Read more: TransportGuide to Mytilene Airport
Mytilene Airport “Odysseas Elytis” (MJT) sits on the shore 8 km south of Mytilene, the capital of Lesvos, on the road to the airport-side beaches of Neapoli and Kratigos. Named after the island’s Nobel poet, it handles around 700,000 passengers a year: a solid year-round domestic trade for the university and the island’s 80,000 residents, plus Dutch, German, Scandinavian and British summer charters.
Fraport Greece renewed the terminal in 2021: one building, arrivals and departures together, bus stop and taxi rank outside. Lesvos is the third-largest Greek island, and its famous corners, Molyvos, Petra, Skala Eressos and the petrified forest, are an hour and a half from here on mountain roads.
Parking
An open-air car park beside the terminal, from about €3 an hour or €10 a day. Lesvos has a large resident population flying to Athens all year, so it is busier than most island car parks around holidays.
Read more: ParkingCar rental
Rental desks are in the terminal with the cars beside it. Lesvos is huge, its sights are two hours apart and the KTEL runs a few times a day, so a car is close to essential for anyone not staying put in one resort.
Read more: Car rentalLocal tips
- The city bus really does serve the airport, hourly, all year, for €2. It is the cheapest airport transfer in the Aegean.
- Molyvos is not near the airport, whatever the brochure implies: 90 minutes across the island. Book the transfer before you fly.
- The airport beach at Kratigos is a ten-minute walk; a delayed departure is better spent there than in the hall.
- The Ayvalik ferry to Turkey leaves from Mytilene port in the morning; with an evening arrival, stay in town and cross the next day.
See also
Prices and timetables are indicative and change seasonally. Confirm before you travel.