Lesvos probably isn’t going to be the first Greek island many people visit. It’s the kind of place you visit once you’ve already developed a love for all things Greek, once you’ve done the main islands and are looking for somewhere with less mass tourism. But it does have an international airport (thankfully, because the ferry journey is long).
I was super excited about visiting because I’d heard such good things from fellow Hellenophiles. If you like places that still have that authentic Greek feel then it’s ideal. It’s really popular with Greek tourists for this reason (and also it has previously been great value, but prices are starting to catch up with more visited islands).
I really enjoyed my trip to Lesvos, and there are some things about it that I really adore, but to be totally honest, it doesn’t quite rank it as one of my favourite Greek islands. It has a really nice balance of tourism and local life, but there are few points I found challenging compared to other islands. Here are my pros and cons.
The Food
The whole island is known for its amazing produce and tavernas. If your perfect trip is based around eating and swimming and eating then it’s a good pick. The produce on this island is fantastic, the tavernas are reliably great, but it’s not just the food – Lesvos seems to have endless tavernas and cafes with amazing atmosphere and views.
Lesvos is the spiritual home of ouzo, so don’t skip the ouzeries. If you want a distillery tour, you’re best to head to Plomari. The nutrient-dense waters around the island also mean wonderful seafood – it’s known for its sardines and cured mackerel. The waters here are teeming with fish and seafood.
The food here is authentic, seasonal, and very tasty. If you get sick of Greek food (travesty!) you’ll find more international food in areas like Skala Eressos and Petra, as well as Mytilini, but overall there’s less of the Instagram-ready cafes and snacks that you find on the more cosmopolitan islands.
Snorkelling and Diving
Lesvos isn’t the best island for beaches, to be honest. They’re mostly kind of grey and gritty – it’s a volcanic island and the beaches are a mix of stone and dark sand. But before I visited, I hadn’t really really considered that this makes for excellent snorkelling and diving (and fishing too).
That water is crystal clear and all of those minerals in the sea mean lots of sea life. The underwater world is much more varied than most Greek islands – you’ll find volcanic reefs, salt lagoons, seagrass meadows, thermal springs, and lots of shipwrecks.
I really wanted to go out with Black Rock Diving Centre in Skala Eressos but unfortunately the conditions weren’t in my favour (also I wasn’t quite organised enough, to be honest). They can organise snorkel trips as well as diving. But I did spend a lot of happy mornings snorkelling off Skala Eressos and Molyvos beaches, where you can see fish as soon as you step in the water.
Molyvos
Molyvos is the tourist epicentre in Lesvos – one look at a photo and you can see why. It’s a scenic harbour town on the north coast with a hilltop castle, slopes lined with pretty Neoclassical mansions, alleyways filled wisteria that bloom in the spring (Molyvos is the most well-known spot for this, but you’ll actually find a narrow street or two like this in many places in Lesvos and the wider Northern Aegean).
The harbourfront is packed with tavernas right on the water – it’s got to be one of my favourite places to eat in Greece. It’s just a vibe. Don’t skip the castle either, it’s not too steep a walk and the views are worth it.
Molyvos does have a small beach, but it’s so narrow that beach-focused people tend to stay in nearby Petra or Anaxos. I spent my mornings snorkelling and then brunching at Congas, which is a cracking beach bar between the beach and town.
Read more: A Quick Guide to Molyvos
Read more: A Quick Guide to Petra
Read more: A Quick Guide to Anaxos
Boat Trips from The Seahorse
Whilst I was staying in Molyvos, I took a few boat trips on the Mercury Express and these were probably my favourite days of my whole trip. It’s a great way to see the coast and immerse yourself in the sea. I love a boat trip, these were up there with my favourites. The boat is small and has plenty of seats, and there’s no rowdy music.
They do a couple of different itineraries, and there are a couple of boats doing different routes, so you have options if you’re staying for a week or two. The boat picks from Petra as well as Molyvos.
The BBQ boat trip will take you to places with incredible turquoise waters, but the sunset trip to Skala Sikamineas was my highlight – such a beautiful and relaxing little village, which has quite a different feel to other places I visited along the coast.
Read more: Reviewed – Boat Trip to Skala Sikamineas
Skala Eressos
Skala Eressos is a really unique little place on the west coast of Lesvos. It’s a bit of a pain to get to – there are buses from Mytilini, but they’re fairly infrequent. After a long journey, you might just want to shell out for a taxi.
But once you get there, the vibes are worth it. It’s a small beach village that’s lined with tavernas and cafes on colourful wooden platforms. It has long been a bit of a Euro hippie hangout, famous for its Sapphic festival in September, but is gradually morphing into a bit of a more modern boho place. Again, the tavernas are great (because it’s also really popular with return Greek visitors). The swimming is top notch. The beach is mostly unorganised and has a very different atmosphere to somewhere like Petra – the tourism here is definitely DIY.
The downside is that it’s quite remote and there’s not much to do in the wider area especially if you don’t have a car, which I did not. If you do, the Petrified Forest is quite near. As well as snorkelling/diving with Black Rock, there are a few things like yoga and massage (check out the Eressian Hammam & Spa Hotel nearby – one of the nicest places to stay on the island), and a cinema, but generally it’s just a place for chilling by the beach and eating good food.
Read more: A Quick Guide to Skala Eressos, the Northern Aegean’s Hippie Hangout
Mytilini
I think Mytilini is an underrated destination. It was the biggest surprise of my visit, partly because I just didn’t find much about it when researching Lesvos. I don’t know why, because it’s a really cool little place!
Sure, it’s not as manicured and tourist-ready as cities like Chania, and it’s probably not quite relaxed enough to want to base yourself here for a whole trip, but it has some interesting historical sites, a harbour, a small beach, and some buzzy streets with great bars and restaurants. It reminds me of Athens outside the city centre, probably due to the large student population. I would definitely recommend a night here at the start or end of your trip.
Read more: A Quick Guide to Mytilini
Agiassos
You haven’t really seen a Greek island until you’ve visited one of its inland villages. In Lesvos, the most popular mountain village to visit is Agiassos. It’s towards the south side of the island and not too far from Mytilini, nestled amongst hills of pine and olive groves, and is heaven if you like buying ceramics (which I definitely do). The problem is leaving enough space in your luggage to get it home.
It’s significantly cooler up here in the hills – there was mist swirling when I visited, and then an epic thunderstorm. Agiassos is home to a church (the Panagia of Agiasos) which is one of biggest Greek Orthodox pilgrimage sites, so it’s used to receiving visitors. As well as the ceramics, there are shops selling icons and other carved wooden items, so it’s a great spot if you’re interested in crafts.
The centre of the village has a truly excellent selection of traditional cafes, ouzeries, and tavernas, and some wisteria of course.
Even without a car, I managed to get here on a day trip from Molyvos (although the tour was in Dutch). There are buses from Mytilini too. It would be better if you have your own car because the tour did feel like a rush and I’d have loved to spend a leisurely day here – the scenery and atmosphere is great and I’ll bet there are some nice walking trails around.
Free Sun Loungers
I hope I’m not jinxing it, but Lesvos feels like one of the last bastions of free sunloungers on the beach (free as long as you buy some drinks and food from the attached cafe/taverna). Happily, this is still the case even on the more developed beaches like Petra. There are a couple of fancier beach bars, but you have to hunt for them. And there’s plenty of free space and completely unorganised beaches too. Long may it last.
The more popular islands (especially places like Mykonos and Paros) have been overtaken by expensive sun loungers that are priced by demand and can be booked via apps. Part of the problem, as far as I can make out, is that the Greek government is using the beaches as a cash cow and has increased the prices they charge to beach establishments for renting the right to put sun loungers on the beach. Prices have gone crazy, especially in August prices. To be honest, it’s an understandable move from the government in the current economic climate, but it is ruining the beach experience for many people. Especially locals. It has also resulted in beach bars packing an illegal number of loungers on the beaches, even in protected areas. There is an app called MyCoast which you can use to check if a sunlounger is legal, and report potential breaches.
So, overall there are some really great reasons to go to Lesvos. But what about the downsides? I did find a few.
Difficult to Get Around
Lesvos is definitely one of those islands where it helps to have a car. I’m a pretty intrepid taker of public transport, but some places don’t make it easy.
The distances in Lesvos are big, and the journeys longer than you might think. You can reach most parts of the island but it might take up the best part of your day, and involve a change of bus in Kalloni, so don’t count on doing day trips by bus. If you want to explore the island by public transport then you’ll need plenty of time.
Once you reach your destination, options for exploring the area around you can be limited. Molyvos/Petra/Anaxos is the most developed coastal areas and the tourist infrastructure here is better than other parts of the island.
Read more: How to Get Around Lesvos By Bus
Read more: Rating Greek Islands I’ve Visited By Their Public Transport
Slightly Dated Accommodation
Obviously, it’s great to visit somewhere that feels like it hasn’t changed much over the past few decades and isn’t overrun with tourists. But one downside of this is that the hotel scene hasn’t improved much either, certainly not compared to the changes I’ve seen on other islands over the past 5 years. And the older I get, the more this is a problem for me!
I’m sure there are some great places to stay – friendly, warm, and traditional. But there are also a lot of places that feel dated, unfriendly, and lazy. Personally, I’m at that age where I’m happy to pay a bit extra to know that I will have a comfortable mattress, warm service, good wi-fi, AC, and a mini-fridge that doesn’t keep me awake all night, but places like this are few and far between. Fancy resort hotels and design suites have yet to hit Lesvos. There are some nice villas around but you’ll need a car.
Gritty Beaches
This is probably what has protected Lesvos from mass tourism so I shouldn’t gripe, but the beaches aren’t as visually great as other islands. I do love a sandy beach like the ones on Naxos, or a white pebble beach like the ones on Kefalonia and Lefkada. But most of the beaches on Lesvos are kind of grey and gritty.
They’re definitely better once you’re in the water. The excellent swimming and snorkelling nearly made up for it, but not quite. I didn’t visit any beaches which made me go ‘ahhhh’. This is possibly because Lesvos is big and I just haven’t visited the right beach yet. Coastal towns and villages that I loved? Yes, absolutely. All of them. But if beach time is your primary reason for getting away, it might not be the island for you.
Read more:
Where to Stay in Lesvos: Ultimate Beach Resort Guide
The Nicest Places in Greece with a Direct Flight