Coast to Island

Greek Island Ferries Go Winter: What Closes After 1 November

Car sailings to Chios drop to weekends, some routes fall to once a week, and Greece sets its clocks back on 25 October. The latest on Aegean routes for winter 2026.

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On this page
  1. What happened?
  2. Clocks go back: watch your return time
  3. What does it mean for travellers?

Ferries from the Turkish coast to the Greek islands switch to their winter pattern from the last week of October. On Çeşme–Chios, Ertürk’s car sailings drop to Friday–Sunday in November and are not in its December timetable (Turyol’s car-carrying ship also sails in December, see the update below); on Aliağa–Lesbos the last sailing on sale is 1 November, and Kuşadası–Samos falls to one round trip a week from November. On top of that, on 25 October Greece puts its clocks back one hour and Turkey does not. If you are thinking of going to an island in November–December, check the following before you buy a ticket.

What happened?

Companies and ticket sites began publishing their winter timetables in mid-October. Route by route (as of 15 October 2026):

  • Çeşme–Chios: According to the timetable on Ertürk’s own website (checked on 16 October 2026), the passenger fast boat runs Wednesday–Sunday and Monday 30 November in November: from Çeşme at 09:00 (09:20 on 1 November), from Chios at 16:30. The car-carrying Apostolos S. sails on Fridays and Saturdays in November from Çeşme at 09:50 and 18:00, from Chios at 08:00 and 16:00; on Sundays it sails from Çeşme at 18:00 and from Chios at 16:00. In December only the fast boat is listed, on 4–6 and 11–13 December; no sailings appear after 13 December. If you want to take your car to Chios, look at the weekend sailings in November. Update (18 October 2026): Turyol’s own timetable runs to 18 December; its ship Chios, for which car fares are listed, sails on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays in November and December, and Ertürk has added 18 December. Details: Çeşme–Chios keeps car sailings in December. Update (22 October 2026): Turyol’s timetable now runs to 31 December, with Chios sailing until 29 December; Ertürk’s runs to 20 December (24 Oct: Ertürk now lists sailings to 3 Jan 2027). Update (24 October 2026): Turyol has opened its timetable to 30 September 2027; the car-carrying Chios sails until 3 January, the catamaran five days a week all winter (our report).
  • Ayvalık–Lesbos: The route stays open in winter. Jalem Tur runs Wednesday–Sunday from 19 October to 1 November, and Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in November and December. Turyol’s car-carrying ship Fokaia sails on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays in November; December sales have not opened yet. Update (23 October 2026): Turyol has opened its timetable to October 2027; the Fokaia is listed four days a week until the end of March 2027 (update 1 November 2026: in both directions on all four days, at least to the end of April 2027) and the catamaran Friday to Sunday until 28 February. Details: Ayvalik-Lesvos: Turyol publishes winter and 2027 timetable. Return times move earlier after 25 October.
  • Aliağa–Lesbos: On the joint Turyol and Jalem Tur route, the last sailing on sale is 1 November (Sunday). There are no sailings for November and no winter programme has been announced. Update (12 November 2026): the route runs again in winter from 21 November, mostly at weekends; see our new report.
  • Kuşadası–Samos: The Pythagoreion sailings end on 18 October. According to the agent site’s timetable, there is one round trip a week to Vathy between 1 November and 27 December: Saturday from Kuşadası at 09:15, Sunday from Vathy at 17:00. In other words, from November a day trip to Samos is practically impossible and you need to stay at least one night. Update (28 October 2026): Meander Travel’s own timetable on samosaferibot.com shows daily sailings (Kuşadası 09:15) up to and including Sunday 1 November; the weekly round trip runs from Saturday 7 November to 27 December 2026 (Saturday from Kuşadası at 09:15, Sunday from Vathy at 17:00), so there are no sailings from 2 to 6 November. Nothing is published for January–March 2027. Separately, Ferryscanner showed no sailings on the route from 2 November when we checked on 25 October. Details: Kuşadası to Samos ferry.
  • Marmaris–Rhodes: (correction of 17 October) The pattern “Monday, Wednesday, Saturday from 16 November to 28 February” that we gave when we first published, based on an agent site, does not match the timetable of Sea Dreams, which sells the route in Rhodes. According to Sea Dreams there is a sailing every day in November, 14 days in December, and in January 2027 only 1 January and Saturdays. Yeşil Marmaris Lines confirmed the November and December pattern by email on 25 October 2026. See our Marmaris–Rhodes winter timetable article for details.
  • Bodrum–Kos: Summer timetables end on 31 October. For November–March the agent site says there are sailings every other day or 3–4 days a week, but it does not give times by company. Update (22 October): Bodrum Sea Lines is selling sailings Wednesday to Sunday from 4 to 29 November (Bodrum 09:00, Kos 16:00); on 25 October the company told us by email that this programme is final and that there is no December timetable yet, to be announced during November. Details in this story.
  • Kaş–Kastellorizo: (update of 31 October) Meis Express’s own timetable lists 13 sailing days in November and 6 in December, not a daily service, and nothing for January 2027; Meis Ferry Lines runs two or three days a week in November and on Saturdays in December. No sailings are listed from 27 December to 26 February (news, 31 October). The evening 23:00 returns and the morning sailing from the island end on 31 October. See our Kaş–Kastellorizo winter timetable article for details.
  • Dikili–Lesbos (İDO): We could not find a current and reliable timetable for winter sailings. Call the company before you set out.

Clocks go back: watch your return time

Greece leaves summer time on Sunday 25 October 2026; at 04:00 Greek time the clocks are put back to 03:00. Because Turkey has stayed on UTC+3 all year round since 2016, after this date the islands will be one hour behind Turkey. The gap lasts until 28 March 2027; what it means for ticket times is in our clock change report.

In practice this means: departure times from the islands are generally written in Greek time. For example, a 16:30 return from Chios corresponds to 17:30 Turkish time. Your phone may change the time automatically; work out when to get to the port from the time on the ticket and the local time of that country.

What does it mean for travellers?

  • If you are going by car, choose your day carefully. On Çeşme–Chios, cars are carried on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in November; in December only Turyol’s Chios takes cars, on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays until 15 December (update 22 October: now until 29 December). You can still cross to Lesbos by car in winter with Turyol’s Fokaia. For the documents, see our guide to taking a car to the Greek islands.
  • If you are planning a day trip, check the days. In winter many routes have no sailings on Mondays and Tuesdays. Ayvalık–Lesbos and Çeşme–Chios are still the most suitable routes for day trips.
  • Greece’s visa-on-arrival scheme for Turkish passport holders also applies in winter. According to the press, the scheme runs until April 2027. Because the application is made for a specific sailing and through the company that operates it, first find your day in the winter timetable and then apply.
  • Weather: Wind cancellations are more frequent in winter. Do not leave your return for a tight day.

For route details: Ayvalık–Lesbos, Dikili–Lesbos, Çeşme–Chios, Kuşadası–Samos, Bodrum–Kos, Marmaris–Rhodes, Kaş–Kastellorizo. You can see the status of all routes by month in the ferry season calendar.

For an overview of which ferries run between November and March, see our guide Greek Islands in Winter 2026–2027; for the holidays, see Greek Islands at New Year.

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