Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Around the island
Beyond the village - there are few vehicles and no paved roads - the hilly
landscape
,
dotted with a surprising number of oak trees, is deserted apart from rabbits, sheep and
the occasional shepherd.
Alonítsi
, on the north coast - ninety minutes' walk from the
port following a track due east and over a low ridge - is the island's best
beach
, a
1.5km stretch of sand with rolling breakers and views across to Límnos. South of the
harbour lies a series of grey-sand beaches, most with wells and drinkable water,
accessible by roundabout tracks.
Áyios
Dhimítrios
, an hour-plus distant, and
Lidharió
,
ninety minutes away at the end of a wooded valley, are the most popular.
9
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
ÁYIOS EFSTRÁTIOS
By ferry
There are ferry connections with Lávrio (4 weekly;
8hr 30min), Límnos (4 weekly; 1hr 30min) and Kavála (4
weekly; 5hr). You can also visit from Límnos on one of the
overpriced day-trips (2-3 weekly; €35 return).
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Veranda
T
69470 50153.
The best of the island's handful
of tavernas, near the port, has super-fresh though rather
pricey fish and seafood, plus a limited range of salads and
starters.
June-Sept daily noon-midnight.
Xenonas Aï-Stratis
T
22540 93329.
The only bona fide
pension on the island (otherwise just look for rooms signs)
offers cosy and comfor
tabl
e lodgings on the north side of
the village. May-Sept.
€45
Límnos
Bucolic
Límnos
is a sizeable agricultural and military island that has become positively
trendy of late: there are upscale souvenir shops, old village houses restored by
mainlanders as seasonal retreats and music bars during summer at nearly every beach.
For all that, the island's remoteness and peculiar ferry schedules protected it until the
mid-1990s from most aspects of the holiday trade, and conventional tourism was late
in coming because hoteliers lived primarily of the visiting relatives of the numerous
soldiers stationed here. Most summer visitors are still Greek, particularly from
Thessaloníki, though some Brits and other Europeans now arrive by charter flights.
The island has often been the focus of
disputes
between the Greek and Turkish
governments, with frequent posturing over invaded airspace, although the détente of
recent years has seen such incidences cease. As a result, Límnos's
garrison
of 25,000
soldiers - at the nadir of Greco-Turkish relations during the 1970s and 1980s - is now
down to about 6000, and set to fall further if, as expected, the remaining bases close.
he
bays
of
Bourniá
and
Moúdhros
, the latter one of the largest natural harbours in
the Aegean, divide Límnos almost in two. The west of the island is dramatically hilly,
with abundant basalt put to good use as street cobbles and house masonry. The east is
low-lying and speckled with seasonal salt marshes where it's not occupied by cattle,
combine harvesters and vast corn fields. There are numerous sandy
beaches
around the
coast - mostly gently shelving - and it's easy to find a stretch to yourself.
Like most volcanic islands, Límnos produces excellent
wine
- good dry white, rosé
and retsina - plus ouzo. The Limnians proudly tout an abundance of
natural food
products
, including thyme honey and sheep's cheese, and indeed the population is
almost self-sufficient in foodstuffs.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
LÍMNOS
By plane
The airport lies 18km east of Mýrina, almost at
the geographic centre of the island; a few taxis always
linger outside, there being no shuttle bus into town.
Frequencies below are for June-Oct.
Destinations
Athens (1-3 daily; 50min); Híos (2 weekly; 1hr
30min); Ikaría (6 weekly; 1hr 40min); Lésvos (5 weekly;
30min); Rhodes (5 weekly; 2hr-3hr 30min); Sámos (2 weekly;
1hr 45min-2hr 30min); Thessaloníki (6 weekly; 40min).
By ferry
Límnos lies on two ferry routes, the one from
Lávrio to Kavála and from the northern mainland ports
down through the eastern Aegean.
Destinations
Áyios Efstrátios (4 weekly; 1hr 30min); Híos
