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The ferry from Aliağa, north of İzmir, to Lesvos will run in winter after all. The route closed its season on 1 November and had nothing on sale on 2 November, but when we checked Turyol’s booking system on 12 November 2026 it listed sailings again from 21 November. The winter pattern is mostly Saturday morning out and Sunday afternoon back. The whole 2027 season is also on the timetable up to 31 October 2027, with daily sailings in July and August.
What happened?
We checked the timetable of the Aliağa (Aliaport)–Mytilene route, run jointly by Jalem Tur and Turyol, in Turyol’s online booking system on 12 November 2026 with two different date ranges; both returned the same sailings. Departure from Aliağa is 08:00 (arriving Mytilene 09:50); departure from Mytilene in winter is 16:00 (arriving Aliağa 18:00). The boat is listed as “Emine Jale” outbound and “K. Şevket İyidere” on the return.
- November: out Saturday 21 November, back Sunday 22 November; both ways on Friday 27 November; out Saturday 28 November, back Sunday 29 November.
- December: out on Saturdays 5, 12, 19 and 26 December, back the next day (Sunday). For New Year: out Thursday 31 December, back Saturday 2 January. The system also shows entries on 1 January, but all of them have zero seats; we have not counted them as sailings.
- January–February: the weekends of 9/10, 16/17 and 23/24 January; between 27 January and 7 February sailings on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. No sailings between 8 February and 4 March.
- March–April: the weekend of 5–7 March, daily from 8 to 14 March (Ramadan Feast in Turkey, 9–11 March 2027), then weekends. From 28 March the Mytilene departure is 17:30; there is also a sailing on Friday 23 April.
- 2027 summer season: weekends in May plus daily from 14 to 23 May (Feast of Sacrifice, 16–19 May), Friday to Sunday in June, daily in July and August, and fewer sailings in September and October. From June to October Aliağa departures are at 07:45; the last sailing is on 31 October 2027.
No fares are shown for the 2027 sailings. The fare table on Jalem Tur’s Aliağa page is still for 2026: adult €35 one way, €45 return. Jalem Tur’s own timetable page listed no dates on 12 November, so our source is Turyol’s timetable. Turyol’s system does not say whether the Mytilene departure time is Turkish or Greek time (in winter Turkey is one hour ahead); ask when you book.
What it means for travellers
- A winter weekend on Lesvos from İzmir is possible. Leave Aliaport at 08:00 on Saturday and come back on Sunday afternoon, which means one night on the island. Same-day returns in winter only work on the few days with sailings in both directions (27 November, 27 and 29 January, 3 and 5 February, 5 March and 8–14 March).
- Turkish passport holders can use the visa-on-arrival scheme for Lesvos, valid for now until the end of April 2027; see our visa-on-arrival guide. We could not confirm on the operators’ own pages that it is accepted on Aliağa sailings, so ask the company. Other nationalities travel under the normal Schengen rules.
- Travelling mid-week or with a car: the year-round Ayvalık–Lesvos ferry is the only option.
- Planning 2027: the Aliağa route’s 2027 season is now known; in 2026 regular sailings started on 10 April, while in 2027 weekend sailings continue from late March. For the other routes see when the 2027 ferry season starts.
- Operators and context: Turyol, Jalem Tur and our winter ferry report, all updated the same day. For the earlier picture on 1 November see Greek islands ferries: winter schedule.
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Sources
- Turyol – ferry timetable, Aliağa–Midilli (checked 12 November 2026 with two date ranges)
- Jalem Tur – Aliağa–Midilli tickets and 2026 fares (checked 12 November 2026)
- Jalem Tur – Aliağa–Midilli sailings (12 November 2026; no dated sailing list)
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