Holidays to The Aeolian Islands, Sicily |
To reach the islands you need to catch the hydrofoil or ferry in Milazzo
(companies are:
1. Siremar - Tel - 090 981 22 00 for hydrofoils or 090 981 13 12 for ferries.
2. Snav - Tel - 090 981 24 48.
The islands are as follows, Vulcano, Lipari, Salina, Stromboli, Panarea, Filicudi and Alicudi. There is the main tourist office on the largest island of Lipari but other offices are on Stromboli, Vulcano and Salina in summer.
Lipari - Via Vittoria Emmanuele202, Tel - 090 988 00 95. This office can deal with questions about the others as well.
Lipari
Lipari has Greek and Roman origins and there are artefacts in the museum
in the main town. Here there are the usual bars and cafes, banks etc. The
island has many good swimming spots. Scuba diving is popular, for information
contact Centro Nautico Eoliano, Tel - 090 981 26 91, or the tourist information
office.
There are also boat tours run by Viking, Tel - 090 981 25 84. You can go and see Stromboli by night and visit the other islands form here.
Scooter hire is available at Foti Roberto in the Marina Lunga, Tel - 090 981 23 52. Also you can hire boats here.
Vulcano
This island has three volcanoes, only one of which is still just active.
As you approach the island and dock you do get a bit of a smell of sulphur
from the volcano but you get used to it quickly. The climb to the top of
the main volcano is exciting and not too hard. Once at the rim you can see
the yellow sulphuric rock and fell the heat beneath your boots.
At the bottom of the volcano lies a mud pool which is thick, hot and smelly but wonderful for smooth skin, and rheumatic pains. After the mud bath you can go and bathe in the sea close by that has bubbling warm water. Very relaxing and exciting! Just do not get the mud in your eyes – it really stings!
Stromboli
This is a very popular island where you will see an erupting volcano in
action. The crater was formed only 40,000 years ago and launches periodic
showers of fiery lava.
You can arrange a guide, which is vital if you want to climb up the volcano, through Alpine Guides (090 98 62 63). This is the volcano’s own tourist office. The guides take groups of 15 or more to the crater between 3.30pm and 6pm returning at around 10pm to 11.30pm. The darkness shows the full beauty of the volcano.
There
is a privately owned tourist office here on Stromboli, Tel - 090 98 63 90
or website www.strombolania.it
under the Ossidiana Hotel at Porto Scari.
There is a diving centre (La Sirenetta Diving Center, Tel - 090 98 60 25).
There is a boat tour from the Societa Navigazione Pippo, (Tel - 090 98 61
35), the boat, called Pippo, leaves at 10pm from the northern port and 10.10pm
from Ficogrande.
Also Viking offer evening boat trips (see Lipari). To get to Stromboli it takes four hours by ferry from Lipari or one to two hours by hydrofoil. Tickets again available from Siremar (Tel - 090 98 60 16) or Snav (Tel - 090 98 60 03).
If you have any queries, our FAQ page may have the answer that you are looking for. We also welcome you to send us an email, or if you prefer, you can give us a call. All our contact information is available on our contact us page.
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