Introduction

Map of Aeolian Islands

The Eolie are seven beautiful islands off the coast of Sicily with an ancient and fascinating history.

The Eolie islands named after the mythological God Aeolus, the undisputed god of winds. According to a legend, the greek prince named Aeolus ruled a colony on the islands and he was able to predict the weather by observing the shape of the clouds that hung over Stromboli. The locals then began to believe that Aeolus was also able to change the weather and not only to anticipate and then he was recognized as “God of the Winds.”

UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Aeolian Islands offer an unbelievable variety of landscapes, colors, scents and each island deserves to be visited.

You pass from the beauty and the pristine wilderness of Alicudi and Filicudi, to the most famous and touristic Lipari with its pumice quarries, to Salina with its lush vineyards from which it is obtained an excellent Malvasia. A few minutes by boat you can reach Vulcano – an island with the characteristic smell of sulfur – and also Stromboli -  a volcano in the sea that fascinates everyone with its spectacular eruptions.

Do not forget Panarea, a little paradise in the Mediterranean, with its typical white houses and a wonderful sea…

Where?

The Aeolian archipelago is made up of seven volcanic islands and several islets and reefs and it is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northeast coast of Sicily.

The islands are arranged to form a Y where Vulcano represents the extremity down, Alicudi the west-end and Stromboli  the east-end.

The Aeolian islands include two active volcanoes (Stromboli and Vulcano) and they are characterized by different volcanological phenomena such as hot springs in Lipari (Terme di San Calogero) and the underwater fumaroles near Panarea.

All the islands are a part of the town of Lipari with the exception of Salina that  is administratively separated from the rest of the archipelago and it is also divided into three municipalities: Santa Marina di Salina, Malfa and Leni.

Getting there

The Aeolian Islands can be reached by ferry or hydrofoil, and even by seaplane with departures from the airports of Palermo, Catania and Reggio Calabria.

Milazzo is the main port from where depart ferries to the Aeolian Islands and it is also the suggested because it is the closest to the islands. From there the connections are very frequent, especially in summer, and the trip to reach Lipari by hydrofoil takes about 50 minutes. Milazzo is reachable by car, by train or you can use the shuttle service connecting the airport of Catania directly with the port (The best known: Giuntabus and Garage delle isole).

Other cities from where depart hydrofoils and ferries to the Aeolian islands are Reggio Calabria, Messina, Naples, Palermo and Cefalù.

The main shipping company operating the connections are: SNAV, Ustica Lines, NGI and Siremar. Some of them reduce or suspend the links to the Isles during the winter.

When to go there

The climate of  Aeolian Islands is Mediterranean: warm and breezy in summer and cool in winter.

To fully enjoy the wonders of the archipelago, is suggest to go from March to October, taking into account that in July and August the temperatures are around 30 ° and the islands are filled with tourists.

In winter the Aeolian Islands are much less frequented and the links with the islands are also sometimes difficult because of bad weather.

Some information

There are several ways to visit the archipelago of the Aeolian Islands: it is possible to stay on one island and participate in the daily trips to the other, or organize a tour, stopping on each island for several days.

It all depends on the type of holiday you want to do; please be aware that the tours organized by travel agencies and fishermen can taste the essence of the Aeolian islands, however, to fully enjoy the wonders of the islands, it is advisable to stay on all of them for a few day to discover more sights that with organized tour you have no way of seeing.

We suggest you to attend the outings with the boat because it is the only way to see the caves, deserted coves and memorable sights.

Also for lovers of the underwater world, the Archipelago Sea offers beautiful diving.

Restaurants/Typical cuisine

The Aeolian cuisine is predominantly a sea-cuisine. It is very spicy and refers to the Sicilian tradition.

Among typical products you can taste the capers and “cucunci” (which are the fruits of capers) that are used, along with olives, to prepare the excellent Eoliana sauce. At Salina is produced the famous Malvasia of Lipari islands, white wine with amber-colored  ideal with fruits and sweets.

Shopping

On the islands there are several shops that sell eolian high quality ceramic. Typical of the archipelago is obsidian – with which are created trinkets and jewelry – and even the pumice.

Links

On the website of the town of Lipari in the “Tourist Service” you can find all the information on the islands of the archipelago.