Just off the north coast of Sicily are the Aeolian Islands, a group of seven major islands and some other minor ones. A few years back we cruised through the Strait of Messina, the waterway that separates Sicily from the tip of the boot of Italy. I recall beautiful views as we cruised this area, and the active volcano of Stromboli bookmarked this area in my mind. When we looked at a return to Italy, we researched more about the Aeolian Islands and decided to spend a month on the island of Lipari.

Leaving Palermo was so much nicer than arriving. We left our Airbnb at the 10 AM checkout time and hired a black car via Uber (black cars being the only Uber option in Sicily). He expertly drove us to the port. We had a few hours to wait but there was a small, clean terminal with a café and garden. The time passed quickly while we snacked and worked on some itinerary planning. The Liberty Lines ferry was a comfortable passenger-only hydrofoil, and it was a pleasant ride. 

The Aeolian Island ferries from Sicily take a route from Palermo (on the west side) to Messina (on the east side), hopping between the islands on the way. This meant our route to Lipari Island was around four hours as the route stopped at four ports prior to our destination.

Canneto, Lipari Island

The largest town on Lipari Island is the town of Lipari. The second largest town, located just to the north, is Canneto.

Our Airbnb sent a driver to pick us up at the pier. I love seeing a man waiting for me with my name on a sign! It’s the little things. He drive us through the town of Lipari and on to Canneto, pointing out shops and bakeries as we passed. The large passenger van turned up the hill and only made it three-quarters of the way up the street before having to stop. He couldn’t squeeze in any closer as the streets narrowed. There we met our Airbnb host, who walked us up the rest of the hill with our luggage. It was just another small block to the steep driveway of the property. There at the top of the city we were greeted with sea views and the wafting scents of citrus and jasmine. The lemon trees around the city grew lemons the size of American footballs! We definitely made good use of the fresh lemon juice in food and cocktails while hanging out on Lipari.

The apartment itself is a small one bedroom, but the terrace is large and there are areas to eat, lounge, and swim outdoors. A tour is here on Youtube. With a long stay in shoulder season we were able to score a deal at $40 a night. It was an above ground pool, but I am not a snob! It was perfect for midday plunges.

Canneto is the second largest town on this island but it’s far from bustling. There’s a nice sea walk area that we took advantage of often. Both sunset and sunset walks were enjoyable. The main roads parallel the beach and the town extends around 3-4 blocks up the hill from there. There is a public bus system on the island but the buses are really sprinter vans that hold between 10-20 passenger. Sometimes we would walk to the other small villages on the island and then take the bus to get back to Canneto. 

A month of relaxing on the Aeolian Islands in the Mediterranean Sea was as peaceful as it sounds. Each morning the scent of jasmine and mandarin oranges filled the air while dozens of birds chirped in the garden just outside the bedroom door. Even on a touristy island, it felt like we got to experience local life.

Here are some highlights from Lipari and the other Aeolian Islands.

Friendship

The first two weeks Corey and I caught up on travel planning, finances, and writing while scouting out activities for the second half of our stay. We had our friends Kal and Mary join us for the final two weeks. We had met up with them in Japan and explored Tokyo DisneySea together, and then sailed back to Seattle on Holland America’s Westerdam. Last summer they drove down from Vancouver to have lunch with us in Bellingham. We enjoy their company and the four of us went on some pretty epic adventures in Lipari.

Food

We only went out to eat a handful of times. Most of the dining options were tourist-focused seafood ristoranti with gorgeous sea views, and the pricing to match. We did not find a homey osteria like we have in some other Italian cities. But there were a number of bars that serve a Sicilian tavola calda, the “hot table” of prepared foods to much on. At those bars, we enjoyed aperitivo hour, always a good way to take in affordable local wine (as low as five euros for a half-liter) and get whatever snacks are brought to the table. The food is typically fried finger foods like arancini, French fries, and fish. It’s a lot like happy hour! In Canneto, we liked a place called Papisca because the employees were really nice and welcoming.

Restaurant prices were higher than we like to pay, but grocery costs were quite reasonable. So we enjoyed simple meals and fresh food “at home”. Canneto is the type of small town where you buy your fresh bread each day, and visit the butcher to see which cuts of meat are available. There was also a fresh fish store where they start receiving and distributing fish at 3 AM as the boats are coming in, and open for retail business at 8 AM to sell the fresh Mediterranean fish caught just hours prior. But get in before lunch, as they shut down for the day at 1 PM!

Kal and Mary know their way around a kitchen (having once owned a BBQ restaurant in Vancouver) so together we had some awesome meals.

Beaches

Rocky beaches are not my favorite, but they are typical around Sicily, so that is what we visited. Lipari used to be known for white sandy beaches, but that sand was a fortunate byproduct of the nearby pumice quarry! That mine is no longer in operation, so the sand has washed away, leaving the pebbles. At least the water was a stunning aquamarine color when the sun was shining brightly. We enjoyed sitting on the large stones on Canneto, which features a very long stretch of beach to choose from.

North of Canneto are two beaches, called White Beach and Spiaggia Bianca (which means “white beach”). Neither are white anymore. Spiaggia Bianca can be reached by a footpath in about 15 minutes. There is a lido and restaurant there, and a quiet and secluded free beach. May was shoulder season and even on nice days we had the beach practically to ourselves.

Wine Tasting at Tenuta di Castellaro

One of our last minute excursions was to the other side of the island to taste wine. As wine tourists, we revel in the opportunity to try local wines. It required two buses and a 10-minute walk to arrive, but the views were spectacular. The wines were also fantastic! The Sicilian climate produces whites reminiscent of the sea breeze and rich reds with all the volcanic minerals. The winery is modern and is located next to a nature preserve that was a former quarry site (Kaolin Quarries, or Cave di Caolino), so a visit can be combined with a scenic hike – though we opted for just wine and a stroll around the vineyard.

Lipari Town, Lipari Island

On a few occasions we visited the town of Lipari, just down the road from Canneto. It’s the most bustling city on the island and the cobblestone streets are filled with tourists wearing lightweight Patagonia outfits and carrying hiking poles. It is a popular jump-off point for hiking treks, which is why everyone looked like they walked off a North Face advertisement.

Every other shop in town seemed to be a boat agency. There are also many souvenir shops and cafes. Right in the center of town is a high walled castle area, built in 1556 on the site of an ancient Greek acropolis. Inside is a beautiful cathedral that looks quite ordinary on the outside, but boasts a stunning painted ceiling. Adjacent to the church are ancient cloisters, and outside is a graveyard.

The hillside offers great views of the city, the port, and of course, the sea. And since this is Italy, from this church you can see two other churches!

Stromboli, Aeolian Islands

Stromboli is both an island, and the volcano on the island. It is not the food, which was invented in Philadelphia and cannot be found in the islands under that name (although we were served something quite similar).

Eruptions happen frequently on Stromboli, but the lava flow is predictable, and the population centers are located away from the lava. There are two ways to see the lava spewing: boat or hike. We opted to take an afternoon boat from the pier in Canneto. After a brief stop at Panarea Island, the boat traveled to Stromboli Town. We had several hours to explore the island by foot (or golf cart taxi). Then at sunset we sailed around the island for “the show”. With the sun experiencing a storm of solar flares, the sunset was a stunning display as the sun shifted into the clouds and disappeared under the sea. While I was taking photos of that, everyone on the boat squealed when lava started to burst out of the side of the mountain.

My attention quickly refocused on the volcano. I think I was holding my breath trying to keep my hands steady on my phone while the boat rocked with the waves. Fortunately we had scrambled to score great seats on top of the boat and the views were incredible. Check out this short video on Insta to see the action.

The boat crept by the island slowly as cameras recorded all the action. Stromboli is known to be very active and every few minutes a red-orange display would erupt into the darkening sky. It was such an exciting evening and well worth the 50 euros per person that we paid for the excursion.

Vulcano Island, Aeolian Islands

Yes, another volcano. During the last week of our stay, the four of us made a day trip out to Lipari’s closest neighbor, Vulcano Island (aka Vulcan Island), for hiking. We boarded the hydrofoil early in the morning and ten minutes later we arrived to the port. We knew we were there as our nostrils were greeted with the stench of sulfur.

We made our way toward the trailhead and stopped for a quick espresso along the way. We were in a bit of a hurry as we wanted to be sure that we were on the trail while there was still cloud cover and while the traffic light was green. What does that mean? The trail has a traffic light and if the volcano is emitting too much sulfur, or if it is too late in the morning, the light turns red alerting hikers to wait until the late afternoon.

The light was green when we arrived and we ascended on the path. We knew the trail would be short and steep and that’s exactly what it felt like. There is no shade so there were many options to stop and catch my breath and enjoy the incredible views.

The trip was mostly sand/ash mix but a section seemed to be washed out and we climbed over clay and rocks to make it to the gassy top. There are steam vents all over the side of the mountain and at the top. A cool breeze greeted us at the summit and a panorama of the crater and Aeolian islands.

In town there is a natural thermal bath that is currently being reconstructed. Technically closed, it was simple to get into, and there were dozens of people enjoying the sulfurous mud.

Next to that is a beach with thermal vents just a few feet into the sea, with the steaming bubbles making it look as if the Mediterranean is boiling! It was an interesting day and I am so glad we did not book a monthly stay on that stinky island!

Leaving Lipari

After a month of relaxing, it was finally time to bid farewell to Lipari. Kal and Mary shared a van taxi with us and we headed back to the port in Lipari for a very-early morning ferry trip. We were greeted with an incredibly beautiful sunrise of orange, pinks and purple skies. It was a stunning send off!

We waited around watching the sun rise over the sea until our boat left at 6:20 AM. We continued the Liberty Lines hydrofoil route west-to-east and were dropped off at Messina, on the eastern portion of the Sicilian coast. From there it was only a short walk to the train station, Messina Centrale. We booked a pretty unique train experience to get us up to Naples. We walked off a ferry, boarded a train, and then that train boarded a different ferry. Yes, a train on a ferry! Then the train disembarked and we rolled on up to Naples. It was a beautiful journey up the southern coast. We’ll have a full write-up on this train ride at a future time.

Final Thoughts

Spending time near active volcanoes was an absolute highlight and the Aeolian Islands are gorgeous. I am glad we visited in May, while the weather was pleasant and the prices were lower. It does not seem like a place I would like to be in July or August.

It felt like we got to enjoy the islands the way the locals do. We grocery shopped nearly every day for the small items that we needed to cook at home for the day. We got to know the butcher and grocery clerk in town. Though we enjoyed the garden island vibes, we probably would not return to the Aeolian Islands because the (rocky) beaches were not our favorite.