Mytilene International Airport to Plomari
About 42 km south over the mountain; a transfer runs around โฌ99 and the coach requires a change in Mytilene.
The island's ouzo town, tumbling down a ravine to a small harbour on the south coast, with distilleries you can tour and the pebbled beach of Agios Isidoros a couple of kilometres east.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Plomari, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from โฌ90). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from โฌ7) but slower, with a change in the city.
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car โ so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus (per person) | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo ยท 1 traveller | โฌ7 | โฌ90 | Bus |
| Couple ยท 2 travellers | โฌ14 | โฌ90 | Bus |
| Family of 4 ยท 4 travellers | โฌ28 | โฌ90 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority isโฆ | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From โฌ7, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3โ4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Private transfer
That price gap surprises people: Plomari is twenty kilometres nearer than Molyvos and costs half as much again, because the route climbs and descends rather than running along a coast.
Where to catch it: Verified at about โฌ99 for the car โ noticeably more than the north coast despite being closer, because the mountain road is slow.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsBus / shuttle
The Plomari route is better served than the northern villages because it links two real towns rather than serving resorts โ so this change is more reliable than most on Lesvos. Around eight euros.
Where to catch it: Airport bus into Mytilene, then the southern coach over the mountain to Plomari.
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
Plomari is built into a ravine with narrow, stepped lanes, so name the accommodation and expect the car to stop at the nearest reachable point rather than the door.
Where to catch it: An hour over the mountain; agree the fare before departure.
Best for small groups in a hurryCar rental
Worth having for the southern coast โ Agios Isidoros, Melinta and the hot springs at Polichnitos are spread along a shoreline with almost no linking transport.
Where to catch it: An hour on a mountain road with hairpins; slower than the distance suggests.
Best for travellers who want to explorePlomari & Mytilene in photos
Buying tickets in Mytilene
Lesvos is Greece's third-largest island and its bus network is built for residents rather than arrivals. KTEL Lesvou runs the airport service into Mytilene for about โฌ2.10, taking around 25 minutes, with the last departure near 21:30 โ evening flights from Athens routinely land after it. Everywhere else means changing at the KTEL station in Mytilene onto a village coach that may run only once or twice a day: Molyvos and Petra in the north, Plomari over the mountain to the south, Skala Eresou two hours west. Tickets are bought at the station or from the driver in cash. Because of this, most visitors beyond the capital either pre-book a transfer or hire a car โ and the island's rental fleet is small enough that August sells out, so reserve before you fly.
Taxi scams & safety in Mytilene
Mytilene is a small airport with a correspondingly small taxi fleet, and the practical risk here is not overcharging but simply finding no car โ on the last arrival of the day the rank can empty once a full flight disembarks. Booking ahead for a late landing is sensible rather than cautious. Verified transfer prices are around โฌ65 to Molyvos or Petra and about โฌ99 to Plomari; note that some booking sites quote figures several times higher for these routes, so if you see a number in the hundreds for Molyvos, check elsewhere before accepting. The short run into Mytilene should be about โฌ15. One geography note that saves money: if you are travelling from the Turkish coast rather than Athens, the AyvalฤฑkโMytilene ferry takes about 90 minutes and lands in the harbour, removing the airport transfer entirely.
Getting from MJT to Plomari
Plomari is forty-two kilometres from the airport โ twenty kilometres closer than Molyvos โ and costs half as much again to reach. A transfer here runs about โฌ99 against โฌ65 for the north coast, and the reason is the road: instead of running along a coast, it climbs over the shoulder of Mount Olympus and drops down the other side in a series of bends that take an hour to cover a distance a straight road would do in thirty minutes.
Ninety-nine euros for forty-two kilometres
That pricing surprises people who look at a map before booking. Transfer operators price on driving time rather than distance, and this route is slow. It is worth knowing in advance so that the quote does not look like an error or an attempt at overcharging โ it is the standard rate, and the taxi rank quotes similar money at โฌ80 to โฌ100.
The bus route is unusually reliable here
An exception on Lesvos. Because Plomari is a real town of several thousand people rather than a resort, the KTEL service between it and Mytilene runs more often and more dependably than the village coaches that serve the north. The journey is the standard two-stage affair โ airport bus into Mytilene for โฌ2.10, then the southern coach over the mountain, around six euros more โ totalling roughly eight euros and two and a half hours. Of all the long-distance bus connections on this island, this is the one most likely to actually work when you need it.
Ouzo is made here, and you can see it being made
Plomari is the ouzo capital of Greece in a literal commercial sense: the largest producer has its distillery here and runs tours and tastings, and several smaller houses operate in the surrounding villages. The drink is made from grape distillate flavoured with aniseed from the hills behind the town, and the water is credited as part of the reason it tastes as it does. A tour takes an hour and is the standard excursion for anyone staying on this coast.
A town in a ravine, with lanes that cars cannot manage
Plomari tumbles down a steep gorge to a small harbour, and its older streets are narrow, stepped and frequently one-way in a direction that is not yours. Accommodation is scattered through this, which means a driver will often stop at the nearest reachable point rather than the door. Name the property when you agree a fare, and expect a short walk at the end โ usually downhill on arrival, which is the better direction to be carrying a case.
The beach is two kilometres east
The town itself has a small stony frontage; the proper beach is Agios Isidoros, a couple of kilometres along the coast, a long stretch of pebble with clear water and a line of tavernas. Melinta is a few kilometres further. Neither is walkable from the centre in summer heat, so anyone staying in town without a car will be taking short taxis or waiting for a local bus that runs infrequently.
Where a hire car earns back its cost
At โฌ25 to โฌ45 a day, and on the southern coast it does so quickly. The shoreline east and west of Plomari is a string of small beaches with almost no linking transport, the hot springs at Polichnitos are half an hour west, and the mountain villages behind โ Agiasos among them โ are reached by roads no coach uses. Given that a single return taxi to the beach costs several euros each way, a car pays for itself inside a few days.
The mountain road, and who should not take it
One practical warning. The route between Mytilene and Plomari climbs and descends through continuous hairpins for a good half of its length. Anyone prone to motion sickness should take that seriously โ sit forward on the coach, avoid reading, and consider that the taxi's suspension and pace will be gentler than a full bus on a hot afternoon.
In short: โฌ99 for a transfer or โฌ80โ100 in a taxi, both reflecting an hour of mountain driving rather than the distance. The โฌ8 coach route is the most dependable long bus connection on Lesvos and a genuine option in daylight.
