Ferryboat services between Cesme district in Izmir province, western Turkey and the coastal town of Lavrion close to Athens in Greece will commence as of June 2, 2019, connecting for the first time the Turkish and Greek mainlands.
Via the launch of daily ferry services, the authorities expect to reduce the traffic density along the border gates while helping the growth of economic relations between both countries.
The Cesme-Lavrion was chosen as it's the closest distance between the Turkish and Greek mainland and the trip is taking around 7 hours.
Image: Port of Lavrion (Greece)
Currently, there are a variety of regular ferry and hydrofoil services between the Greek islands in the Dodecanese, the North Aegean and coasts of Turkey, with the popular resort Bodrum being the hot spot for destinations to a number of Greek islands like Kalymnos, Kos, Leros, Patmos, and Rhodes.
There is also a daily ferry service available between Cesme and Chios (named Sakız Adası in Turkish) and daily 90-minute services from Ayvalik, western Balikesir province to Lesbos Island (also named Midilli in Turkish).