Lesvos

Entry/Visa
To get to Lesvos you simply need a Passport of the EU or other Schengen countries (i.e. Switzerland, etc.). If you are not from a country in the Schengen area you need a Schengen Visa for trips less than 90 days. For longer stays you need a special visa permit.

Vaccines
There are no specific vaccines required, but it’s recommended to vaccinate against Tetanus.

Climate
Lesbos has a mild Mediterranean climate with winter rainfall, what makes it mild is the climate influence of continental Asia Minor which contributes with a steppe climate. The precipitation levels decrease from north to south and from east to west. In the period from 1955 to 1997, the absolute maximum temperature was 40.4°C. The lowest temperature was in Mytilini at -4.4°C.

Time Zone
The time zone is GMT +2h.

Currency
The official currency is the Euro.

Language
Modern Greek (also known as Demotiki), which is the Greek spoken today, is a language derived from vulgar Greek and was made official in 1976. It is very different, both in pronunciation and vocabulary, from ancient Greek. In the main tourist resorts, hotels, restaurants and shops, people also speak English, French, German and Italian. You'll also find menus, directions and tourist brochures written in Italian, English, French and German.

Electrical outlets / phone coverage
Electrical current is 220 volts. In the case of different socket, you can buy an adapter locally or at the airport.

When you enter, your telephone will automatically connect to a Greek telephone operator.
For calls to Greece, the country code is +30, following with the local area code.

Customs / Culture
Lesbos has a split culture. On one side there is the part of the population that has accustomed to the many tourists traveling to the island, on the other hand the great part of Lesbos has stood true to the culture and the peaceful village life. The tourist centers are more populated and have also accustomed to a more modern lifestyle with supermarkets, clubs, bars and restaurants.

Traditions
Lesbos is known for its Ouzo. It is said, to be the best in Greece. The Lesbians have a very strong tradition regarding Ouzo - they drink it; at all times! The tradition is not only drinking the Ouzo, but also eating Mezedes whilst drinking Ouzo, apparently they keep the alcohol from overwhelming you and enable you to drink for hours and enjoy a calm state of mind.

Religion
Over 90% of the population is Greek Orthodox. Religious ceremonies are a very impressive performance, as the Orthodox liturgy is based on a number of rituals. In the country there are also minorities of Jews, Protestants, Catholics and Moslems.

Airports / Car rental
The one airport in Lesbos is the airport in Mytilini. It is a rather small airport, but it does handle flights out of the country. For most flights from outside of Greece you need to transfer in Athens though; there are 4 daily flights to and from Athens.
Getting to your destination from the airport is best done with the taxi service. Lesbos has unbelievable scenery, which makes it undeniably essential to enjoy the view from a taxi rather than from the rented car. If you have rented a car or plan to, you can always get it delivered to your hotel.

Ship / Ferry
This is really the best way to get to the Island. Despite the airport in Mytilini, most transfers to the island are done by ship. This is really exciting because before starting your holiday in a hotel or one of the resorts, you can get into the right holiday mood with this overnight cruise. Also you can really finish off your stay with partying on the ship. So your holiday isn’t quite over once you leave the hotel.
There are also ship tours available to nearby islands and to turkey where you can go shopping. Many Lesbian people do in fact go shopping in turkey.

Public transport
Public Transport is limited to the bus service of KTEL. It connects to towns but not necessarily to the villages of the Island. Getting to your destination might be a problem if it isn’t big enough, unless of course, you rented a car or the hotel offers a transfer service.

Taxis / Infrastructure
Taxis are available on the Island. They can get you to any place on the Island, they are priced accordingly. Long transfers aren’t that expensive, but it is wiser to rent out a car for traveling around the island.
Lesbos has an extensive road network – you can get anywhere. However, the roads might not be as good as you are used to; sometimes they even change into pebbled roads – remnants of non-motorized travel and transport. The roads also get smaller when they are pebbled. A main road might even look like a private driveway ;-)

Culinary Specialties
The culinary specialty in Lesbos is Ouzo, there many different producers of this licorice liquor. It is said to be the best in all of Greece.
Another specialty closely related to Ouzo, in terms of intake, are the Mezedes (snacks). You eat them whilst drinking Ouzo.
Other typical foods you can find in Lesbos are:
Tsatsiki sauce (garlic sauce)
Fish (fried, cooked or deep-fried): especially Lakerda, sardines, octopus, mussels, clams, Kalamaraki (squid), Sardeles Pastes, and shrimp.
Green beans with lemon and oil
Squash and Eggplant served with
Fava beans with oil and oregano
Deep-fried Zucchini stuffed with cheese
Lesbian bread
Wine

Lifestyle
Lesbian life is simple easy and untroubling. Although many parts of Lesbos are influenced by the tourism business, the people of Lesbos outside of the tourist centers live life the traditional way; working in traditional businesses like agriculture and common labor.

Sights
One thing to see is one of the vineyards of Lesbos; wine from this Island is very good.

Next to the vineyards there are also other sights to see on the Greek Island: The villages of the island. They haven’t been very susceptible to modernization. Apart from the electricity telephone and TV, the life here is as it was a hundred years ago: townie, calm and peaceful.

There is a whole list of other things to see on the island; the remnants of the different cultures, which have populated the island from era to era: castles, temples, baths, monasteries and churches.
Following is a list of these popular sights:
• The Leimonos Monastery
• The Monastery of Agiou Raphael
• Chruch of Panagia
• Chruch of Taxiarches
• More churches…
• The baths of Polichnitos
• Lisvori
• Eftelou springs
• Skal a Thermi
• Other Thermal baths…
• Molyvos castle
• Mytilini castle
• The Roman Aqueduct of Moria
• Christian Temple of Chalinados
• Sigri castle
• Ancient Pyrra
• Petrified forest.

Lesbos also offers museums in retrospect of Lesbos’ rich history; like the: Theophilos Museum, the teriade Museum of Modern Art, The folk Art Museum, the Old Lesbos House, The Gogo Museum of Vatoussa, etc.