The Aeolian Islands are what happens when volcanoes decide to become beautiful. Seven of them rise out of the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, each with its own character: Lipari bustling, Salina green, Panarea glamorous, Stromboli alive.
Island hopping by hydrofoil
The aliscafi connect everything. Buy tickets at the port the morning you travel, find a seat by the window, and watch the islands rise and fall on the horizon. We spent two weeks drifting from one to the next with no fixed plan.
Salina, for the food
Salina is the greenest island, terraced with vineyards and caper bushes. Try pane cunzato — a toasted bread piled with tomatoes, capers, tuna, and ricotta — and a glass of sweet Malvasia wine at sunset.
Stromboli at night
Stromboli has been erupting almost continuously for 2,000 years. With a licensed guide, you can hike to 400 metres in the late afternoon and watch, as darkness falls, the volcano throw fountains of lava into the sky every twenty minutes. Below, the lights of the village flicker on.
- Go in June or September for warm seas and fewer crowds.
- Rent a scooter on Lipari and Salina.
- Swim at Pollara on Salina, beneath cliffs from the film Il Postino.
